I arrived at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan at 11:45 am on Monday, November 2, 2009. The weather was sunny, but a little cooler than the two precious weeks. I stood in the middle of the plaza in front of the courthouse. I did not have my JURY INFO sign, because I did not have the time to replace the one that was seized the previous week.
I again started to pass out the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) pamphlet entitled "A Primer for Prospective Jurors" along with my handout (see below). At 12:00 noon, a Homeland Security police officer approached me and asked for a copy of the brochure, which I gave to him. He informed me that I could not pass out literature on federal property.I assured him that I could. He left without identifying himself.
At 12:21 pm, two other Homeland Security police officers approached me. I requested them to identify themselves, but they refused. We had a disagreement about my right to pass out literature. They ordered me to stop, but I continued. Then one of them said that I was under arrest, and ordered the other officer to get my hands behind my back and to handcuff me. Immediately, I fell to the ground face down. I remained in that position for over an hour, before I was lifted onto a gurney and strapped securely. I was never handcuffed nor received a citation or summons. It was an out and out kidnapping.
I was taken to Bellevue Psychiatric hospital and arrived at about 2:00 pm. Again I gave no response to any questions of either the police or the hospital personnel. All my personal belongs including sneakers and a belt were taken from me.
At about 3:00 pm, I received a telephone call from Chris Goldstein, a radio reporter, who said that he would start the publicity rolling.
After about 4:00 pm, I made a fuss to see someone in charge, so that I could either be released or brought in front of a magistrate. My requests were ignored, and became more persistent. Against my wishes four attendants grabbed me and gave me a shot of Thorazine to calm me down. It worked, I got an excellent night's sleep.
Dr. Lowe is the head psychiatrist for the Bellevue unit in charge. He made it a point to see that I was not interviewed the first day. On Tuesday morning I was interviewed by psychiatrist Dr. Striker and social worker Kari Wolf. After a calm discussion with them, I was released at 11:55 am. A set of follow-up instructions was given to me.
During my stay, I was treated well by the staff, received 3 full meals, and extensive medical tests of the usual variety were done. It was a thorough medical exam.
On Tuesday morning, I was given a NOTICE OF STATUS AND RIGHTS C.P.E.P. EMERGENCY ADMISSION. In principle I had rights, But it would not be convenient to exercise them.
I signed all documents John Galt. I was released at 11:55 am and voted for Ken Kaplan for Governor of NJ on my way home.
- Julian Heicklen
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM IS ETERNAL VIGILANCE
THE PRICE OF JUSTICE IS ETERNAL PUBLICITY
THE JUDGE WILL INSTRUCT THE JURY THAT THEY MUST UPHOLD THE LAW AS HE GIVES IT. HE WILL BE LYING.