FROM TRACES OF REALITY
Another Man Arrested at a Checkpoint for Doing Absolutely Nothing Illegal
Guillermo Jimenez
Traces of Reality
July 15, 2013
In yet another example of how the Border Patrol, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security, operates in an area near the border known as a “Constitution-Free Zone,” the video below illustrates the ways in which CBP routinely exceed their authority and harass motorists.
Watch as Robert Trudell, a native Arizonan, has his car driver-side window smashed, then pulled out of his vehicle and handcuffed for simply filming the agents and refusing to speak, as is his legal right to do.
There are a number of examples of this sort of harassment and mistreatment at the hands of the Border Patrol at suspicionless checkpoints, as a quick YouTube search will show.
In the past few years, hundreds, if not thousands, of people have risen up and engaged in a form of civil disobedience by refusing to cooperate at these “Soveit-style” checkpoints.
I say a “form of civil disobedience” because, technically, there is no law being broken in these instances. The Border Patrol has publicly admitted in previous statements to the press that there is, indeed, no law requiring anyone to answer any questions at a checkpoint. Despite this admission, they insist they will not allow motorists to proceed down a road they are tasked with patrolling until they “feel satisfied.” Absent that feeling of satisfaction, they have been known to detain people for prolonged periods of time, and in some cases even arresting them on frivolous charges. All of this being done in clear violation of their own federal codes, statutes and regulations that supposedly govern these checkpoints.
I explain this in detail in a video I made in response to the arrest of Cosme Cortez Jr. at another CBP/DHS checkpoint approximately 40 miles north of Laredo, Texas:
For more context on the issue, you may also watch one of my personal experiences at one of these same checkpoints in the video below:
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