First they ignore you, and then…

Last November I carried out a 12 day hunger strike to protest Santa Clara Family Court’s unwillingness to address and prosecute perjury committed by the opposing attorneys Stefan Patrick Kennedy and Tamara Tandoc Costa.

I started my hunger strike in front of the court house as planned, on Monday morning, 11/15/2010. First day went without any problems; sheriffs from the court were nice and cordial. I did not have any problems with them. Monday night I slept in a sleeping bag on a small retaining wall next to the court house. It was cold but I managed.

On a second day (11/16/2010), around 6:30 PM one of the evening/night guards (not a sheriff) came to tell me that I must move away from the “private property” (court is apparently renting the building from CityView Plaza (owned by BPG Properties, LTD 2009). I asked the guard where the “private property” ends so that I can move my things. He was pointing to the small retaining wall and kept repeating “you must move, you must move”. It was already getting dark, and I moved my things to the sidewalk, one foot away from the wall.

Around 10:30 PM friend of mine came to bring me hot tea.

 

Within five minutes two night guards came out and the first one (the guard from 6:30PM incident) started yelling at me that I have to move away from the “private property”. I repeatedly asked him to tell me where does the private property end, but he would not answer. He continued: “I’m watching you, see that camera… I’m watching you every second, every move you make,… If anything happens to the property, you will be responsible!!!” I kept my calm (friend of mine was standing next to me) and asked again: “Ok, tell me where does private property end” (sidewalk is 12 yards wide)? He would not answer, but kept repeating: “I’m watching you on that camera, every move you make. If anything happens to the property, here, there (showing passage way on the side of the building that I had never entered), you will be responsible.” “Ok”, I said, “You are watching me on the camera, then you will know that I didn’t do anything; so how am I going to be responsible for what happens in the back”.

 

He continued: “I’m watching you, if anything happens to the property, any damage, you will be responsible” and walked away. The second guard remained. I asked him to tell me where does the private property end? He arbitrarily pointed to the line on the sidewalk that left me two yards between street curb and imaginary property line. I asked him: “Why are you doing this?” He uttered: “There was a request from the upper office”. “Who is this “upper office”, I asked. He did not answer. Leaving, he repeated: “You must leave!”

 

As I was entering my third day without eating I felt a bit weak and decided that I would not feel safe staying the night in front of the court-house. These two guys were on a mission, that was for sure.  I packed my things into friend’s car and decided to sleep that night at home.

 

Funny, I thought First Amendment rights applied to everybody in this country. Apparently not, as some local high positioned thugs exercise their own set of rules. I have an idea who that “upper office” might be, but I’ll leave it for some other time.