UPDATE APRIL 2009:  The DA has dropped all charges against both men for lack of evidence.

Feb. 24, 2009:  This morning the Riverside Country Board of Supers (above) passed an ordinance that in theory gave Scientology what it wanted but did not prevent protests at Gold.  Realizing they had exhausted that avenue they seem to have decided to "invent" a citizen's arrest similar to what they pulled at the Hollywood Christmas Parade. There Anonorange was subjected to citizen's arrest and then nobody came to press charges. But it did let the police take his signs and get him out of there.

Upon arrival at Golden Era Productions I was dropped off and went over to the guard shack to tell them we were going to protest. This guard who you will see on video jumps out and hassles me and my camera. They were very touchy about trespassing and I recall him spouting some legalese about why I would be arrested. Didn't get that on vid.

Meanwhile down the hill my lawyer Graham Berry, Mark Lowell, and Wise Beard Man arrived and parked in the lot where protester AnonOrange was beaten for trespassing. Also along was a lady who once lived in the cult for years here at Gold. She spoke to the Riverside Supers that morning of how she had a twin sister still Scientology but she didn't know if the woman was still alive.

Of course they parked right where they should not as it was too close to the curb, and a security risk because we always park there. There is a nearby dirt road sci's pop out of and mess with the vehicles that they know are always there. If I had been there I would have parked farther from the curb or someplace else.

But meanwhile I wet myself, or so I thought, because SPLOOSH! Sprinkler tech! The cult that couldn't stop us with the surround sound speaker system has now added their sprinklers as crowd control. Perhaps if they could synchronize the sprinkler spurts with the the speaker sounds you could have a sort of "waltzing waters" effect. But I digress. By the end of the episode the water had gone on and off several times and left a river in the gutter. This was annoying in that my lens kept getting wet. Since my thing is to tough it out and trudge through the mud and water I ended up quite soggy. And in my dress up clothes I wore to the Supers meeting to boot! This wetness will be more pleasant when it's really hot out in the desert and I'm not in squishy dress shoes.

As the other protesters started coming up the hill they got sprayed with water designed to keep them off the curb and in dangerous traffic. I watched two Riverside Sheriff's dept vehicles pull into the gate. Usually they park outside and talk to us first. Cult bigwig Tommy Davis and Gold Base lady Catherine Fraser talked with them for a while inside. I realized later she was telling them she wanted a citizen's arrest and she pretty must wanted it now. I yelled "Scientology cannot cure homosexuality ... Tommy!" Well that cult cutie pie just whipped his head around when he heard his name. And this was the second of three times I mentioned his closeted status to him today!

The two sheriff's dept officers drove out to where we all were. They parked in front of the guard shack and one gave us the "don't block egress and ingress" speech. But then he said "pick a side" meaning you can't walk on the public road at all. We argued back and forth. I'll have to check the vids but eventually it came down to "anybody who walks really slowly or stops for even a moment in the roadway in front of the shack will be arrested. Gold leader Catherine Fraser came out to oversee as Tommy Davis went back and forth. He is sooo gOrgeous in person! Tiny but handsome and a zillionaire! I really wanted to see him up close. I have been waiting to meet him for some time. Oh, right, the narrative ....

Everyone got annoyed with the cop who appeared to be acting like a tool of the sci's. He kept making ridiculous demands about not blocking the enormous right turn lane either. He wanted us far from the guard shack. At one point he tried to push us far uphill away from the guard shack towards the Sea Org residences we are forbidden to target! We photographed everything and Graham began taking notes. I mentioned to the police that the only people blocking egress and ingress really were the cops with their parked cars in front of the guardhouse. Mark Lowell had been recording slowly as he walked across the gutter of the public road we had all walked on before. But he started walking too slow, and even though there were no cars for us to block, and even though he was not far from the curb, for a moment he was barely moving. And that's when Catherine stuck out her finger and said "him" and they came over and arrested him. At this point everything was about egress and ingress (not blocking exits) so I assumed they were going to pretend he was blocking the way. Of an empty drive.

This has been recorded and I will edit to the wee hours to get it out tonight and we can get a clearer picture of events. In the mean time check out the documents Catherine was holding at the time in the post above.

So we are livid. They arrested him for being on public property. Graham and Wise Beard Man (Emmy award winner Mark Bunker) tried to work out where the property line is based on the curb. Property lines at Gold base are always unpredictable. Then Mark Bunker walks out into the middle of the walkway where the two police cars were parked. He pauses while recording. I think to myself "Here it cooommmmeees." Officer Morales arrested him. I assumed Wise Beard Man was blocking egress and ingress but when he came out of the Hemet Sheriff's Office an hour later the charge was for "602.1(a) PC Trespassing" - a misdemeanor. They will both have to show up in court in Murrieta April 24th. Ugh, there goes another schlep waaay down south again. Anonorange will be appearing there in June. We need to get nearby San Diego anons more involved. Go Xenubarbitol!

Up until the end we thought the cops were arresting our people directly. But at the Hemet Station we learned that the Scientologists had made a citizens arrest and the cops were forced to act. It got the protesters out of their hair ... for today. How many other people will be arrested for nothing at all before this is over at Gold?

At the police station the officer was eventually kind of apologetic and wished us the best. But earlier he seemed a lot like a tool. Later Anonorange called and told me he went back to the Riverside Supers and to our only real ally on the board, Bob Buster. Orange told Buster's assistant of the arrests and the news was relayed to the Board.

To put this in perspective, Graham was delighted that the had happened and called it a slam dunk case. Then he was told that this was a "citizen's arrest" not a "police arrest" and he said "Wow I was wrong this is a double slam dunk!" He is sure they have really overstepped their bounds and are perhaps going to get a wrongful arrest suit. He is musing about calling Board Super Jeff Stone as a witness. Others just want to protest outside Jeff Stone's house. Hey kids, be sure to stay 30 feet away from the property line. And no saying of anybody's name who lives in Jeff Stone's house. Especially Jeff Stone! Unfortunately Anonorange tells me that Stone lives in a gated community. Of course Orange had already looked into this sort of scheming months ago. Much more effective would be protests at Jeff Stone's place of business, his pharmacy, or his non-residential properties. Don't picket residences! It's just a mess. Really really a mess.

Meanwhile people who want to protest sex offenders in Riverside are now feeling hamstrung and very angry that Scientology has come out of nowhere selfishly hijacking their rights. It's also feared perverts will flock to Riverside to live because it's harder to be protested there.