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Website: Checkpoint USA
Blog: Roadblock Revelations
"Freedom of movement is basic in our scheme of values. Our nation, wrote Chafee, has thrived on the principle that, outside areas of plainly harmful conduct, every American is left to shape his own life as he thinks best, do what he pleases, go where he pleases." - Justice William Douglas
Checkpoint USA is dedicated to confronting those who would place roadblocks in the path of free individuals and to exposing the police state - one checkpoint at a time.
For those who aren't already familiar with the legal action, the lawsuit was filed against the Pima County Sheriff's Department & various Customs & Border Protection agents in their individual capacities while the tort claim was filed against Cus
In a 3 to 2 vote earlier this month, the Pima County Board of Supervisors opted to reject $1.4 million dollars in federal funds associated with the Operation Stonegarden grant program for the first time since the Pima County Sheriff's Dept. began p
Border Patrol's Obscure, Omnipresent 100-Mile-Zone
The records contain recurring examples of Border Patrol agents detaining, searching, and terrorizing individuals and entire families at interior checkpoints and in "roving patrol" vehicle stops far into the interior of the country; threatening mo
Rick Rynearson writes about his recently denied SCOTUS petition: "But my case demonstrated that the Supreme Court is not actually interested in a delicate balance of our rights against the oh-so-pressing interest of illegal immigration (which thes
It is an issue that affects millions of American motorists: Can border patrol agents detain you simply because they believe you are being difficult? Last year, a federal court concluded that it was "reasonable" for border patrol agents performin
The trucker, who is a naturalized U.S. Citizen, exercised his right not to answer investigatory questions at the roadblock and was promptly removed by force from his vehicle and unlawfully detained for nearly three weeks before being released without
During the three years in which a fully armed & corrupt Canales was allowed to continue working in the field, interacting with an unsuspecting public in a position of power and influence, Canales managed to dig his hole even deeper by shooting and in
"There's growing concern surrounding southern Arizona's Border Patrol checkpoints. An increasing number of complaints are now coming from United States citizens who believe they're wrongfully being questioned and sometimes detained by agents...."
While being seized & detained at the roadblock for peacefully & lawfully exercising his right to not answer investigatory questions, the trucker's window was busted out by U.S. Border Patrol Field Supervisor Lial. Lial then had his lackeys drag the t
Beginning Friday November 21, 2014, the public radio show This American Life will air a segment on internal Border Patrol checkpoints. I was interviewed last month by the show regarding my history & experiences at some of these checkpoints.
Four days after my hour long hearing in Pima County Justice Court, the hearing office ruled in my favor - not guilty of excessively honking my horn while being detained by armed federal agents at an internal Border Patrol checkpoint with a spike stri
Good news regarding Major Richard Rynearson's lawsuit against the Border Patrol has recently surfaced. After having his case dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Del Rio in September of last year, the 5th Circuit
Yep, you read that correctly. On April 30, 2014 I was ticketed by a Pima County Sheriff's Deputy for beeping my horn at the CBP checkpoint after a CBP agent threw a spike strip down in front of my vehicle. I was stopped at primary and I asked the age
Unfortunately for the Border Patrol however, it's impossible to hide such malfeasance forever and as more and more people have awoken to the lawless nature of Border Patrol operations against the general public, the heavily fortified wall of secrecy
After two years of letter writing and petitioning got them no where (something I'm quite familiar with), the organization decided to take a more active role and gather the data they were seeking by directly monitoring checkpoint operations themselves
For the second year in a row, Checkpoint USA has teamed up with several other liberty-minded organizations to sponsor a video contest designed to increase government accountability through transparency. Transparency that can only come about from incr
Take for instance an account (see video above) of the illegal stop & search of Clarisa Christiansen and her two young children near Three Points, Arizona on May 21, 2013. The depraved actions of Border Patrol agents, who not only illegally seized & s
Mike Flanders went public with his allegations of Border Patrol misconduct at internal checkpoints after his attempts at redress within CBP (Customs and Border Protection) were rebuffed. Not only were his concerns marginalized by his chain of command
"A federal agent who is standing in the middle of a public highway, wearing a public uniform, collecting a public paycheck while seizing the public absent reasonable suspicion has no expectation of privacy," says Bressi in regards to filming border p
As a followup to an incident one of NPR's On The Media producers recently had at the border (see My Detainment Story or: How I learned to Stop Feeling Safe in My Own Country and Hate Border Agents), I was recently contacted and asked to talk about so
On July 11, 2013, police in Albemarle County, Virginia setup a roadblock to check ID's in a residential neighborhood after the police allegedly received several complaints from the public regarding speeding in the area. One resident of the neighborho
On July 1, 2013 in Pima County's Consolidated Justice Court, hearing officer Chris Holguin dismissed the single charge of "stopping unnecessarily in the highway" levied against me by Pima County Sheriff Deputy Thomas Audetat after he decided he neede
(Update - charge dismissed against Checkpoint USA) On Monday July 1, 2013, I'll be back in Pima County Justice Court defending myself against a bogus traffic citation issued on March 29, 2013 at the SR-86 Milepost 146.6 CBP roadblock. The citation wa
One of the advantages of video recording your compelled encounters with Border Patrol agents at internal suspicionless checkpoints no where near the border they're supposed to be patrolling is the history the videos reveal & the searchable database t
Up until a few months ago, video of the jury trial had not been made available. Fortunately, Anderson has now posted the video of the trial in its entirety in 14 separate clips. I've embedded those 14 videos below. For those interested in getting rig
For those who want a little more definitive feedback regarding the legality of refusing to answer questions at internal CBP/BP checkpoints while being seized & investigated by Federal agents absent suspicion, I've embedded a video of an interview wit
Pete Eyre over at Cop Block has announced the results of the checkpoint contest (winning video appears above). Part of the announcement appears below with a link to the remainder.
The Camera Is The New Gun.... To help get the new gun into the hands of individuals who need it and in conjunction with Cop Block and Free Talk Live, Checkpoint USA is sponsoring a checkpoint content contest. Details regarding the contest can be f
3,451 days after being seized, detained, dragged out of my vehicle & arrested at an illegal general law enforcement roadblock conducted by Tohono O'odham Police Dept. officers with the assistance of Senior Special U.S. Customs agents along with dozen
What's interesting to note in the Motions in limine filed in this case is that we (the plaintiff) filed a single 4-page motion with the court dealing specifically with exclusion of hearsay testimony & any issues not directly related to the specific i
As previously reported, the final pretrial conference in my nine year running civil rights lawsuit against several Tohono O'odham police officers for conducting an illegal checkpoint operation in December of 2002 was held on March 19, 2012.
After more than eight long years, hundreds of legal documents later and several court challenges (including a reversal by the 9th circuit court of appeals), Checkpoint USA's lawsuit is finally being scheduled for trial after being launched in Decembe
A former tribal police officer who, at the beginning of his deposition, couldn't remember having read anything related to checkpoint operations or interacting with the onscene commander prior to seizing people absent suspicion at a roadblock conducte
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It all started back in 2003 along SR86 in Southern Arizona with the establishment of a "High Intensity Enforcement Area" by the newly formed Department of Homeland Security.
In conjunction with the Tohono O'odham Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Agency recently installed a camera surveillance system along the West bound lane of traffic near mile marker 146 on SR86 in Southern Arizona. The location is just West of
As reported by Veterans Against Police Abuse (VAPA), the Chief Patrol Agent of the Del Rio sector, Robert L. Harris, took time out of his busy schedule saving us from the invading hordes to write a letter of complaint, full of falsehoods, to the offi
What the agent at primary understood and re-iterated for the world to hear was that the primary purpose of internal homeland security checkpoints is to f_ck with people to make them compliant to arbitrary interference in their daily lives. Arbitrary
It's been a while since I've posted a new video of my suspicionless homeland security checkpoint encounters along SR86 in Southern Arizona but on Friday February 25, 2011, the actions of Border Patrol field supervisor Trevino who seized me at the pri
What's of special interest to me regarding Mr. Lukacs encounters is the fact that he quite ably demonstrates an individual's right to remain silent is still mostly intact at the border despite the large amount of discretion courts have given CBP insp
Why then would Border Patrol agents manning a permanent checkpoint in the Southwest United States be more interested in harassing private individuals driving personal cars than well-connected commercial truck drivers representing powerful commercial/
In late September of this year, a California college student and a friend decided to go on a road trip to California's picturesque Anza-Borrego State Park. Little did they know before leaving on their trip that they would be subjected to arbitrary st
For those of you who object to individual's exercising their rights while being seized absent suspicion at such checkpoints on the grounds that if they save just one life they're worth it, please review the effectiveness of such checkpoints for yours
Given these clear-cut examples of police harassment merely for exercising one's rights while being detained absent reasonable suspicion, I note that two of the three encounters took place at suspicionless sobriety checkpoints where the officers had n
Inspired by the lucrative practice by local, state and federal agencies of shaking down the traveling public at suspicionless checkpoints around the country, armed and dangerous individuals unaffiliated with said government gangs are starting to brea
I want to send my thanks to Representative Russell Pearce who was the primary sponsor of Arizona's S.B. 1070 along with David Gowan, Chuck Gray, Linda Gray, John Kavanagh, Frank Antenori, Carl Seel and Ray Barnes. In one fell swoop, these eight p
Violent authoritarian thugs with guns and badges make up an excuse to assault a Canadian couple at the U.S. Border who had the nerve to come here to spend their money.
"...It would appear that of all applicants for agency positions who undergo thorough background checks, 60% are turned away due to questionable motives and backgrounds. The really troubling part is only 10% of new hires undergo a thorough background
As the video and transcript make perfectly clear, the driver was courteous and answered all immigration-related questions directed to him. Nonetheless, the federal Homeland Security agent attempted to gain access to the interior of the vehicle for a
Since agents had neither probable cause nor consent in this case, the search of Mz. Cooper and her vehicle were illegal. Additionally, its unlikely the stop itself was legal since conducting a lawful u-turn along a public highway does not constitute
My guess is that the federal agents involved in the beat-down know that whatever Mr. Watts did, it didn't rise to the level of assault. They probably also know that if they tried to charge him with assault themselves, the federal prosecutor would eit
Instead of serving as an independent agency conducting a neutral review regarding the effectiveness of internal checkpoints, in its report the GAO went out of its way to downplay data showing border operations are more than ten times more effective t
The last speaker identifies herself as a Tubac homeowner who wants to know how checkpoints can be effective if all they do is verbally request someone to state their citizenship. Chief Gilbert indicates that checkpoint agents are trained to look f
GAO representative Richard Stana responds to Marshals questions regarding SBInet from the previous video. Stana indicated neither SBInet or Project 28 have lived up to expectations but work will continue on them. He also indicated SBInet's ultimate g
Of special note is Chief Gilbert's feigned outrage after being accused of not listening to community concerns regarding the proposed checkpoint. To show just how much concern he has, Gilbert assured the speaker the community will have a say in the ty
Representative Giffords responds in this video by making it clear she's bought the Department of Homeland Security's propaganda hook, line and sinker. She indicates the maps of (permanent) checkpoint locations and statistics speak for themselves. I w
To really add insult to injury, Chief Gilbert went on to say the American people deserve a 'defense in depth' but failed to mention whether or not the American people also deserved to be routinely stopped, seized, interrogated and searched absent sus
Stana went on to say he wanted to conduct comparisons between different checkpoint operations but made no mention of comparing checkpoint operations to actual border operations. As I've pointed out elsewhere, doing so would have undermined the GAO's
Chief Gilbert goes on to indicate the Border Patrol collaborates closely with local and state enforcement efforts while ignoring the fact that numbers from the GAO report make it clear border interdiction operations are far more effective than intern
Chief Gilbert attempted to artificially bolster the argument in favor of internal checkpoints by misrepresenting facts surrounding an increase in drug interdictions at checkpoints. Gilbert created the impression the increase was due to interdicting m
Border Patrol Chief Gilbert's presentation was filled with the same old lack-luster explanations and excuses we've heard from the Border Patrol for years to justify otherwise unjustifiable law enforcement operations. The Border patrol wants you to vo
Stana continued to reinforce my observations that the GAO report wasn't designed to be an independent, honest analysis of the utility and effectiveness of internal checkpoints but rather a tool to grease the way for the continued expansion of the bur
During this part of the meeting GAO
representative Richard Stana used a very poor sports analogy to try and
convince the public that interior checkpoints on America's streets are
necessary. What Mr. Stana failed to acknowledge is that football
players, and fans who attend football games, are engaging in voluntary
interactions. Nobody forces football players to play the game and no
one grabs individuals off the streets and forces them to watch and
cheer the football players on.
In summary, the second part of Mr. Stana's presentation was even more
disappointing than the first. Mr. Stana went out of his way to ignore
facts that undermined his conclusion that interior checkpoints are
needed while artificially bolstering facts absent proper context that
supported his position.
In summary, the GAO presentation was misleading from the beginning. It
ignored fundamental facts regarding alien interdiction rates inside the
country vs the actual border. It misrepresented Border Patrol legal
authority at interior checkpoints in comparison to the actual border.
And it brazenly claimed interior checkpoints are needed because ports
of entry are designed to be purposefully ineffective so as to not
overly burden border traffic and commerce.
In response to the GAO report, Congresswoman Giffords, featured above with local Border Patrol Union
Boss Edward Tuffly (on right), has organized a community meeting
tomorrow morning with Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief Robert Gilbert
in Green Valley to discuss the implications of the report and its
possible effect on plans for the I-19 checkpoint the Border Patrol has
been trying to push down the throats of Southern Arizona communities
for several years now.
At some point during the time frame the travelers were being detained by Border Patrol agents at secondary, Arizona DPS officer M. Anguiano, badge #05915, approached the vehicle and ticketed the driver for not wearing a seatbelt. It's unclear why
Putting to rest the lie that internal Border Patrol checkpoints are primarily about stemming the flow of illegal border crossers (as if you could stop illegal border crossers 40 miles North of the border to begin with), the video below clearly shows that the Department of Homeland Security use so-called immigration checkpoints as a pretext to search for contraband.
I happened to be in the right place at the right time on August 19th to witness a spectacular sunset within line of sight of a nearby thunderstorm in Southern Arizona. A short video appears below followed by a few additional images.
"Because we reverse the dismissal of Bressi’s claim for damages under § 1983, we also reverse the district court’s denial of his claim for injunctive relief..."
While photo radar is indeed ridiculous, what's even more ridiculous is the local union's claim that Border Patrol agents should be allowed to ignore posted speed limits while also ignoring the border they're paid to patrol in order to pro
The agents initially brought their concerns forward to their superiors and the Office of Inspector General. Instead of investigating the complaints, the agents were told they were jeopardizing their careers. Nonetheless, the agents persisted...
Instead of protecting an Arizona citizen who was peacefully asserting his rights in the face of aggressive, over-reaching federal agents at a suspicionless federal checkpoint, these so-called state 'public safety' officers chose to initiate p
Checkpoint USA will be in Pima County Justice Court this afternoon defending against a malicious state charge of impeding traffic issued by a tribal cop after being stopped and seized by federal agents at a federal checkpoint located off the reservat
This page serves as an overview & clearinghouse for information regarding HB 2380, a bill introduced by AZ Rep Jerry Weiers that creates special privileges & immunities for a small group of well connected individuals that violates freedom of speech,
Be Border Patrol Free: Stop Border Patrol checkpoints, raids, surveillance, racial profiling, expansion plans & the waste of tax dollars
Entered By: Terry Bressi
This is a quick update regarding the December 20, 2008 DHS/tribal police encounter I previously discussed here. TOPD Officer Robert Carrasco worked closely with
In mid-December 2008 it came to my attention that YouTube had removed several videos from my YouTube channel highlighting a few of my encounters at an internal suspicionless Homeland Security checkpoint. This was done without notice or explanation.
I've compiled several interesting news articles & YouTube videos regarding a public forum held on November 3, 2008 in Jefferson County, Washington below. The forum was prompted by widespread concern regarding the use of suspicionless checkpoints
Not to be disappointed on the 6 year anniversary of an illegal joint task force roadblock I ran afoul of on December 20, 2002, I was molested by the same agencies yet again six years later under slightly different circumstances...
Instead of protecting the traveling public, these checkpoints primarily serve as exercises in obedience training through dominance games along public highways. While such suspicionless enforcement tactics are commonplace in 3rd world dictatorships, t
The Supreme Court gave the Border Patrol an inch in Martinez-Fuerte after ruling against them on three separate occasions in the 1970's. Not to be deterred however, 32 years later the Border Patrol has taken that inch and stretched it well over a
The 1st BCT’s soldiers being deployed in the U.S. will also learn how to use “the first ever nonlethal package the Army has fielded,” 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic control equipment & nonlethal weapons des
I have previously highlighted information regarding the use of Homeland Security checkpoints at Ferry docks in Northern Washington State but this latest intrusion spreads the Homeland Security cancer even further into the interior of the country.
The suspicionless warrantless checkpoint seizure & drug dog search depicted in the photo above took place on May 16, 2008. The only crime committed by the individual receiving extra special attention from armed federal agents was that of driving alon
According to the whistleblowers, 'shotgunning' occurs when agents on Roving Patrol stop vehicles absent reasonable suspicion and make up an excuse for the stop after the fact. This practice is illegal because agents are required to have reaso
According to the news articles linked to below, the Department of Homeland Security has continued the expansion of its un-American enforcement activities by directing them against Washington State residents utilizing Northwest domestic Ferry services
While driving to a remote work site late in the evening on May 14, 2008, I was targeted by a DHS agent on roving patrol and followed for several miles along SR86 in Southern Arizona. After following me, the agent initiated a traffic stop absent reaso
The recent online posting of the Customs & Border Protection Inspector's Field Manual by a California-based attorney shows DHS violations ranging from unlawful detainment at internal checkpoints to possibly illegal border laptop searches
It appears that well over 100 U.S. Citizens were recently discovered sitting in Homeland Security Detention facilities around the country awaiting deportation orders after being denied access to counsel.
As a result of documenting and reporting on these suspicionless homeland security checkpoint experiences, there are currently several efforts underway by various individuals to either shutdown my website or force the removal of content already posted
Present were no less than twelve agents visible at any given time along with six Homeland Security vehicles lining the entry to the checkpoint. There was also a large United States flag flying over one of the trailers - something that hasn't been
During this checkpoint stop, a Homeland Security K-9 handler ran his specially trained drug sniffing dog 360 degrees around my vehicle at the same time the stopping agent demanded I roll down my window and state my citizenship.
As the officer moved quickly towards me and continued demanding that I stop taking photographs of the vandalized Army recruiting station, I complied by switching my camera into video mode and recording the ensuing encounter.
After passing, the agent pulled in front of me and slammed on his brakes before he finished working his way back into the East-bound travel lane. This extremely unsafe maneuver placed me in imminent danger of a collision and forced me to apply my bra
Attorneys are putting new scrutiny on a practice that has become common among law enforcement — having officers, not medical personnel, draw blood with syringes in suspected drunken driving cases.
Giffords once again uses the pretext of illegal narcotics as an excuse for legitimizing interior Homeland Security checkpoints which interfere with the right to privacy and travel that every American (used to) enjoy.
A Missouri motorist who recorded a St. George cop's threats to falsify charges against him in order to throw him in jail & teach him a lesson, is now being hounded & harassed by other area cops after his videotape resulted in the first officer**
...Police roadblocks that check for driver's licenses and warrants impermissibly burden citizens' Constitutional Right to Travel and Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures...
These 'tailgate profilers', positioned close to the lane of oncoming traffic, evaluate the reaction of vehicle occupants. If anyone responds 'suspiciously', the profiler signals a patrol vehicle further down the road to pull the vehic
With the next round of police state sobriety checkpoints starting tonight in Pima County, the Arizona Daily Star actually published a good piece of journalism regarding the ineffectiveness of sobriety checkpoints.
On August 23, 2007, the hosts of Free Talk Live, an online talk radio show in New Hampshire, discussed my experience at a suspicionless Homeland Security checkpoint. The show's archive is available online.
It seems that task force agents weren't just stopping vehicles and making inquiries. They were taking it much further and demanding to search vehicles absent reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing and threatening drivers, who refused to allow their v
Agent Dreeland's testimony reinforces my own account of the evening and makes it clear the scope of roadblock operations far exceeded legal limitations. Tribal police allowed a U.S. Customs agent to directly participate in roadblock operations an
The Pima County Sheriff's Department will be helping us remember what Independence Day is all about by improving on the historical excesses of the writ of assistance as used against the colonists prior to the revolutionary war.
While many of my articles highlight police tactics that are inefficient at their stated purpose and violate individual rights, every once in a while they do seem to get it right...
It appears that illegal multi-jurisdictional dragnet roadblocks are no longer just a phenomena of Southwestern Arizona. These intrusive suspicionless enforcement operations continue to proliferate in communities across America at an alarming rate.
Chief Finn's philosophy is misguided. The roads belong to the people, not the police. Individuals shouldn't be forced to plan their travel itineraries around invasive and questionable police tactics. Rather, the police should be compelled to
A concerned resident of Boulder City, Nevada challenges an illegal suspicionless checkpoint program that has operated for years without legally required written guidelines and involves suspicionless seizures and searches. Of course it's all for t
In a repeat of last year's papers please checkpoint in Southern Arizona, federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security are once again terrorizing Ameri
With labor day weekend upon us and the holiday season right around the corner, American motorists must once again be extra vigilant against those with little respect for the rights of others and even less regard for the traveling public's safety
As recent news reports have made clear, the federal government has been waging a full-scale campaign against the privacy rights of Americans for quite some time. The casualties of this undeclared war have not been limited to personal conversations, m
Thirty-two months after being stopped at an illegal multi-jurisdictional task force operation masquerading as a 'sobriety checkpoint', the TOPD finally implemented
This is an update on the unlawful multi-jurisdictional roadblock that took place on Arizona SR86 on December 20, 2002.
Those of you who have been followin
After being delayed several years due to budget shortfalls, one of the largest invasions of your privacy is now in full swing, compliments of the U.S. Census Bureau and a cadre of Department of Commerce corporate partners. In the past, the American p
For many of you, it comes as no surprise that surveillance towers along public highways, suspic
