Tea Party Protesters Distracting Drivers On Overpass Fail To Leave, Get Arrested

[OmahaBlueDog]

From Progressive Populist: http://progressivepopulist.org/2013/08/19/tea-party-protesters-distracting-drivers-on-overpass-fail-to-leave-get-arrested-video/

One of the newest idiotic fads that Tea Party bozos have come up with as an outlet for their Fox News-fed delusions are overpass protests calling for the impeachment of President Obama. They even have a Facebook page with over 30,000 likes called Overpasses For Obama’s Impeachment.

Over the weekend in Missouri, near St. Charles, things didn’t go very well for one group of these patriotic protesters who are bravely standing up for our freedoms and liberty. As you will see in the video below, the moron (named “Mark M”) with the “Tyranny Response Team” shirt on argues with Missouri State Highway Patrol officers and then refuses to comply with their requests to, like, get the hell out of there and quit causing a distraction for drivers on a damn interstate highway with people traveling at a high rate of speed.

Watch the video and tell us what you think. Police overreach, or justified?

4 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Justified
	3 (75%)
	Police Overreach
	1 (25%)
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[KansDem]

1. True to form...

It's "sick to my stomach," not "sick on my stomach."

And it's "paddy wagon," not "patty wagon."

[Beearewhyain]

10. And they are using the terms

civil liberties and civil rights interchangeably. They are NOT the same thing.

[Jamaal510]

2. Now they know how Occupiers felt.

I'll never get over how interesting it is that the 'Baggers claim to be "standing up for freedoms and liberty", but have no problems with the voter ID laws or Stop-and-Frisk. Why can't they be consistent for once?

[KansDem]

4. I thought the same thing...

Where were these First Amendment supporters when Occupiers were being arrested, usually after being pepper sprayed?

I don't recall a single Teapublican speaking out.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

8. Flip the script.

[Arctic Dave]

3. I think what they are "protesting" is idiotic but

they are doing so peacefully and are exercising their rights.

I call bullshit on the police department.

[surrealAmerican]

5. The thing that gets me about these right-wing protesters ...

... is their assumption that the police will treat them well. They actually stand there arguing with the cops. If left-wing protesters were in a similar situation, they would expect to be arrested, and that's assuming they weren't pepper sprayed, and/or beaten too.

I'm not 100% happy with the way the police reacted. They should have made it clear to these people that they would be arrested if they did not leave, that they were being ordered to leave (not asked), and told what law they were breaking. That said, we have seen far worse in recent years from police forces all over the country.

[TBF]

6. My pet peave is the "charities", school kids etc who stand out in traffic

collecting $$$ in pails. I'm always afraid I'm going to accidentally hit one when they are darting about ...

But if it's not illegal I don't see how these clowns should be arrested either.

[Ganja Ninja]

7. It might be overreach but I'm finding it hard to care.

These people are gullible idiots and it would do them some good to be torn away from their Fox news addiction.

[Populist_Prole]

9. I'm actually surprised they were accosted, let alone arrested

So far it seemed/seems that right wing protesters get away with a LOT more than those from the left.

[Beearewhyain]

11. Kinda on the fence on this one

From what I could tell there had been an accident(s) nearby that the officers attributed to the protesters activity. As such the police are within their authority to tell them to move as a matter of public safety. However, because public safety is a rather nebulous thing I am reluctant to accept that as a reason to curtail the activity without further information. That said, these baggers don't seem to have a firm grasp about the liberties they profess to protect.

Does anyone have a news link that might shed more light?

[OmahaBlueDog]

12. Here Ya Go - Post Dispatch

More at: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/mark-schlinkmann/arrest-of-anti-obama-protesters-on-st-charles-overpass-sparks/article_1470b643-9c15-5c20-99de-28e0a54ababb.html

Arrest of anti-Obama protesters on St. Charles overpass sparks controversy

ST. CHARLES • The arrest Saturday afternoon of two anti-Barack Obama protesters on an Interstate 70 overpass is stirring controversy - fueled by a video of the incident circulating on the internet.

The two — Marc S. Messmer, 41, of St. Charles, and Jimmy D. "Duane" Weed, 57, of Bridgeton — say that their constitutional rights were violated.

"Citizens have a right to peaceably assemble," said Messmer, who was part of a series of overpass demonstrations around the country seeking the president's impeachment. "We were simply doing that. There were no laws broken."

Sgt. Al Nothum, a spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol, said the potential for a traffic hazard was why the two and 10 or so other protesters were told by officers to leave the Fairgrounds Road overpass about 2 p.m.