109 lines
7.0 KiB
Plaintext
109 lines
7.0 KiB
Plaintext
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The 7/2/93 Seattle 2600 meeting
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The inclosed notes are from EDword's point of view. All of this is
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accurate and in the order that it came. I appologize for any grammar
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mistakes as I was in a hurry to get this out to the public.
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It started out as a typical 2600 meeting in Seattle, people slowly poured
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into the Washington Trade and Convention Center. Dark Tangent showed up at abo
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ut 5:10pm and all was going well. We started to chat about DEFCON I and talked
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about the ad in Mondo 2000. Many meeting goers purchased beverages from the
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SubWay sandwich shop on the first floor (we went in there to get
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cafenated). After a while we noticed a strange looking man in a Blue coat
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watching us from the balcony above. Naturally, we looked back at him to see
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who was watching us (After all he could have had some intent to harm one or all
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of us.) So about half the group went up to the second floor to see the new pe
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rson. We walked past him and sort of glanced at him to try to see what he wa
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s up to. He then positioned himself to observe both groups. Then he got up an
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d went to the bathroom. Actually having to use the bathrooms, I went in and he
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was just standing there looking at the urinals. I went about my business
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in the bathroom and used the facilities. When I was done, the man was gone and
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so I left the restroom. The man was watching us from across the walkway, and
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having to wash my hands, I went back in the restroom. The man was there again
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but I paid no attention him and carried out my business.
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I came out and sat down on the bench. The man approached us and wanted to know
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why we were at the Convention Center asking if we were playing some sort of ga
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me there. The man was questioning Dark Tangent, because he looked to be the mo
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st in charge. He then told the man in the blue coat that he would gladly leave
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if he wanted us to leave. Dark Tangent asked the man in the blue coat
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for some Identification and was denied several times. Dark Tangent stated that
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he would like to leave the building.
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At this point, the man motioned two Seattle Police Officers over who were walki
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ng by. He spoke with them for a second as we watched them. He then identified
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himself as 'Security' to the police officers, yet he did reveal that to Dark T
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angent. The Police Officers asked for some form of Identification from Dark Ta
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ngent [Note: nothing was said in the form of memorandum rights]. Dark Tangen
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t refused stating he didn't have any identification on him, and stated that he
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would be happy to leave. The police said that if he wasn't going to talk ther
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e, they would have to take him down to the station to find out who he was. D
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ark Tangent was never placed under arrest nor was he read his rights or charged
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with anything, they just sized and hand cuffed him. Dark Tangent asked if he
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could speak with his attorney yet the officers ignored him. Then, Dark Tangent
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said 'EDword would you please take the officers' badge numbers'. I complied,
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only being allowed to get one badge number. The Officers illegally searched
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him without consent and hauled him down to the station. The Security officer
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then stated that they might press charges of criminal trespass on him although
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there were no 'NO TRESPASSING' signs and Dark Tangent was never asked or told t
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o leave. As a matter of fact, he requested to leave and was denied that right,
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yet he had done nothing unlawful. The Security officer stated that they were
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'making an example out of him' and then mumbled something to the affects of a w
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ord to one makes words to many, and if we cooperated no one else would be arres
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ted and no one's parent's would be involved.
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Around that time Dead Addict walked in from having a cigarette and asked where
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Dark Tangent was. I told Dead Addict that Dark Tangent had been arrested and D
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ead Addict replied, 'no really'. One nod of the Security officer's head and
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he knew that it was true. The Security Officer wanted to know what I had scrib
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bled down in my book, so I flashed a random page, then decided that he had no r
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ight to see it and told him it was my property and he didn't have a right to se
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e it. He gave up and warned us that if we come back in the building he would h
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ave grounds to charge us with criminal trespass.
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We were never asked to leave so we were never TRESPASSING. The Security office
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r has no legal leg to stand on. I told the security officer that we thought it
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was ok because the building was owned by the government and it was
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a public access building. He said that it was not in fact owned by the tax pay
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ers and that business bought bonds to build the place. Now who do you buy bond
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s from? The government. And the government is there to serve the people. He
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also threatened to press other charges of some nature because we moved a few ch
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airs. I told him I would be happy to re-arrange the chairs which ever way he l
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iked them. He said that he 'has people that do that' and would not let me re-a
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rrange the chairs. We decided that we had better leave since we were no longer
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being forced to stay. I was once again threatened that if I were to come back
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to the Washington Trade and Convention Center that I would be arrested. I cau
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ght up with Dead Addict and the Security Guard was talking to him outside. We
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inquired about what would happen to Dark Tangent, and the security officer stat
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ed that Dark Tangent was in big trouble and would probably end up in jail (yeah
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right). I felt that the Security Guard's attitude was way out of line and tha
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t he didn't really know what he was talking about (gee big surprise), and that
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he was just trying to intimidate us.
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Dead Addict, Dr. Bombay and I then went looking for a book store to find a rece
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nt copy of 2600 to get their phone number, but were unsuccessful in our attempt
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s. Then we walked about a mile to the police station. We signed in and took s
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ome blue elevators to the third floor and Dead Addict was informed that Dark Ta
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ngent was released before we had arrived. Later I paged Dark Tangent and he to
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ld me they just made him go down to the station and set him free 'after a short
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stay in a urine smelling detention cell'. Dark Tangent was also informed that
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he would 'not being able to go back to the Washing State Trade and Convention
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Center for a year without being prosecuted for criminal trespass'.
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Dark Tangent was the victim of police officers that didn't know what they were
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doing and thought they could intimidate us. He was never asked to leave and th
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e law states that they must ask you to leave the property before it can become
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trespass. The bottom line is that you have certain rights and they will be ste
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pped all over unless you stand up for them. Dark Tangent being a criminal just
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ice major, knew he was in the right and had not done anything
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wrong. Make sure you know your rights so you can't be taken advantage of.
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Dark Tangent can be reached by E-mail for comment at dtangent@defcon.org.
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EDword - edword@peachdee.eskimo.com
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Seattle, WA
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