Video Shows Miller's Security Guards Initimidating Other Journalists

October 19, 2010 @ 1:38PM

Video Shows Miller's Security Guards Initimidating Other Journalists

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News

Private security guards hired by Alaska Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller attempted to block reporters from videotaping a journalist they had detained for asking the wrong question.

The Drop Zone security guards informed the journalists that they had the right to eject them from the event — which was open to the public in a public middle school — because they had rented the location for the evening, thus making it a "private event."

The reporters did a good job on holding their ground even as security guards shoved them while accusing them of pushing into them.

That is a common tactic we've seen among security guards and ex-cops that have been featured on Photography Is Not a Crime, including the video of the former cop in California assaulting a news videographer as well as the Metrorail security guard who was shoving me.

One of the reporters insists that the Anchorage police officer who is in the background take charge, but that officer did nothing as the security guards took the law into their own hands.

Comments

Roger

1 year ago

Report this and make it a media event, get there names, telephone numbers, home address etc. and publish them. Report the cop for falling to perform his job.

Johnny Law

1 year ago

The manager asked the journalist to leave. He refused. At that point, the security guards were legally justified in putting hands on him. The cop should be reported for failing to perform his job but only because he didn't arrest the reporter for trespassing.

Desert Rat

1 year ago

Actually the cop should be disciplined and retrained for failure to properly control the scene. Once there he should have told the goon squad to stand down and separate from the witnesses they were trying to intimidate. He should also have taken multiple statements, which some media reports have said was not done.

I am not familiar with citizens arrest procedures in Alaska, but the use of handcuffs does seem over the top. In California it would not be tolerated under these circumstances. More and more rent-a-cops need to be forcibly reminded of their limitations.

This incident makes Miller look bad, the cop like Barney Fife, and the security company came off lookiing like Blackwater. PR disaster for everyone but the media.

asa_0

1 year ago

C'mon, J.L. you can do better than that. A buzzcut and an earpiece do not a LEO make. Just because someone comes up to you and declares the event to be "private" does not make it private. And in any case, it certainly does NOT permit you to put hands on someone. This isn't someone's personal property. It's a public building.

If this were so, I could go up to anyone at any "public" event, tell them it's private, and then beat the crap out of them when they don't leave.

ACLU-Tom

1 year ago

Public property, public event, though we've come to expect you standing up for authoritarian control freaks who abuse power.

Johnny Law

1 year ago

Tom,

I'm sorry you don't understand how the law works but that event was indeed private. Watch the video. The manager/director even explains why it is private. At private events, you can be thrown out if you refuse to leave. You may not like it but is how the law works.

It's strange how many of the people here who are so fired up about photography rights have no respect for property rights. Why is that?

Carlos Miller -...

Pixiq Expert

1 year ago

Property rights?

If I own a piece of property that is funded by local taxpayers, does it really make it private property?

So what if these jackasses rent out the space for a night for an event in which they invited the public to attend.

That building is still maintained by the local taxpayers, which I'm sure did not get to vote on whether they agreed with this event or not.

Johnny Law

1 year ago

So can you walk around that school any time of the day while classes are in session? Can you have access once it is closed? No? Why not? It's funded by local taxpayers.

It was rented out to a private entity. The law is pretty clear on how this works. It's the same way if an org rents out a public park area and throws a fence up and charges admission. Happens all the time. Heck I've worked security at those events and thrown people out of the "public" park at the request of management. Perfectly legal.

Michael Kerney

1 year ago

Balko, as usual, sums up the real problem rather nicely:

"So to recap, a candidate for the U.S. Senate sees nothing wrong with active duty U.S. troops providing private security for a political candidate, then handcuffing and threatening journalists who ask the candidate tough questions."

http://www.theagitator.com/2010/10/20/joe-miller-security-scandal-gets-m...

I'd be less concerned about "property rights" and more with "government military personnel as private security."

Johnny Law

1 year ago

I would be concerned if those security personnel were in military uniform, identified themselves as US military, or were there under official orders from their command.

Instead, they were working the event as private citizens and at no time did they say or imply they were operating under the authority of the military. The whole issue with getting permission from their chain of command is an administrative problem and does nothing to change the legality of the issue.

So exactly what jobs are you comfortable with off-duty military working?

ACLU-Tom

1 year ago

Public venue, with an invitation to the public to hear, and ask questions of Miller. What part of that are you not understanding? The "manager/director" had absolutely no authority to have the journalist illegally detained by the security goons who were there, and if you didn't notice, he was released by the police and this has turned into a PR boondoggle for Miller. It's a shame you're supporting the wrong side in this, though given your history here, it's not surprising that you support illegal detention of somebody whose only crime is asking a question that Miller didn't like.

Johnny Law

1 year ago

You can deny it as much as you want but the law gives them the right to ask someone to leave if they have the location reserved for them. Just because you ask the public to attend doesn't mean you give up the right to ask disruptive (or what you perceive to be disruptive) people to leave. And if they refuse,you can force them to leave.

Now as far as the handcuffing goes, I am not sure of the laws in that state for citizen arrests. I would think that the guards would have been able to legally toss that guy out but I'm not sure if the handcuffing was legally okay.

I couldn't care less about what questions they ask. That has nothing to do with the fact that they have the right the kick people out.

Guy Fawkes

1 year ago

I think people get confused, They think public school = public event. I guess some towns do rent out public facilities for private functions to garner a little extra $$. That being the case you can get thrown out, just like at any other private event. In the case of politicians the best way to deal with those bozos is to post on youtube the video of getting thrown out, give it to the local media outlets as well. Nothing like some bad publicity to teach a little press tolerance to arrogant pols. Maybe send the video to his opponent as well, makes a nice attack ad.

K. R. Omen

1 year ago

It was a publicized public town hall meeting in a public school building. All three were reporters for the Alaska dispatch, not bloggers as reported by Miller's camp. No one was arrested for trespassing. They only detained the reporter because they did approve of the questions that were being asked of the candidate. Supposedly, some of the security were Army soldiers at a nearby base who were not even granted permission to work this detail.

Desert Rat

1 year ago

In other media coverage the goons were all said to be vets. If they are active duty, they will face an Article 15 for being part of the incident.

According to other stories the so called security company also does bail boands and bounty hunting. Sounds like a real winner.

At this point everyone is looking stupid except the media, rare, but it happens.

Michael Kerney

1 year ago

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/19/1881049/guards-at-alaska-miller-ev...

Guards at Alaska Miller event included active-duty soldiers

Was Joe Miller required to bring a security detail to his town hall meeting Sunday at Central Middle School in Alaska?

That's what Miller, the Republican Senate candidate, told two national cable news networks Monday in the wake of the arrest by his security squad of an online journalist at his public event.

But the school district said there was no such requirement made of Miller -- he only had to provide a hall and parking lot monitor, and advise participants of school district courtesy and food rules.

Meanwhile, the Army says that two of the guards who assisted in the arrest of the journalist and who tried to prevent two other reporters from filming the detention were active-duty soldiers moonlighting for Miller's security contractor, the Drop Zone, a Spenard surplus store and protection service.

The soldiers, Spc. Tyler Ellingboe, 22, and Sgt. Alexander Valdez, 31, are assigned to the 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade at Fort Richardson. Maj. Bill Coppernoll, the public affairs officer for the Army in Alaska, said the two soldiers did not have permission from their current chain of command to work for the Drop Zone, but the Army was still researching whether previous company or brigade commanders authorized their employment.

...

Oops. Looks like they might be in trouble if they don't find previous permission then.

Desert Rat

1 year ago

If they had permission, it will be revoked at this point and get ther asses chewed fir being dumb.

If they didn't have the required permission, there is some discrestion. If they are otherwise good troopers, a major ass chewing and informal punishment. If they are average or below guys, its an slap dunk Article 15.

Glad to see the national media keeping on top of this story.

Michael Kerney

1 year ago

Actually, I believe this is from the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=158865367477527&index=1

"Town Hall Meeting with Joe Miller
Sunday, October 17th at 3pm
Central Middle School, 1405 E St, Anchorage, AK 99501
Your friends, colleges, family, acquaintances, neighbors, need to be informed and hear Joe Miller speak for himself. Don't let the media skew your views. Make the decision for yourself. Help send Joe to DC! Joe is standing in the gap, restoring liberty to our state and nation. Help us get his message out directly to the people by coming to the event."

They invited whole *colleges* too? Man, they must have really wanted it public.

Apparently in this instance, "town hall meeting" means "pep rally" for the candidate. Though the wisdom of having hired goons toss out media who are providing your coverage (aside from the question of whether you *can* from a rented public building) is still questionable.

One thing we know for certain: this Joe Miller guy doesn't have any problem using hired goons to get rid of people he doesn't agree with.