Almost All Occupiers Now Allowed Back in HRM Parks

I'm Watching You James!

Another chapter is thankfully closed for many, but not all, of those members of Occupy NS arrested on November 11th. All but one of those who appeared in provincial court this morning will now be allowed back in municipal, provincial, and federal parks within HRM jurisdiction. Battling out the lingering “Obstruction of Justice” charges remain, but most members of Occupy are now free to stroll amongst Halifax's green spaces, talking of revolution, fomenting plans, and hatching all manner of schemes to wrestle power from the 1%.

Such is not the case for one James Wiseman, however. Wiseman is currently battling a second charge, that of “Breaching Conditions”. He is accused of being in a park on November 19th, after already being told that he must not go in parks. Wiseman vehemently denies that he was in a park on the 19th. Indeed, Wiseman claims that he has over a dozen witnesses who can attest to the fact that he was not in a park on the 19th, and that police literally scooped him off the streets later in the day, without warning. Wiseman, readers may remember, was choked unconscious and given a concussion by Halifax's finest on November 11th, and it may well be that he is a marked man. Wiseman, we must remember, is Occupy NS's master of cinematic documentation.

On this 29th of December, as the Crown Prosecutor raged against Wiseman in a diatribe that ranged on the fantastic, it was difficult to remain silent, and not encourage the Prosecutor to maintain some degree of perspective. For almost three hours, members of Occupy had sat and watched violent criminals, thieves, drunk drivers, and con artists come and go through the halls of justice, with nary a peep from prosecution. But when it came time for the prosecution to deal with the never-before-convicted Wiseman, the man seems to have become possessed with the spirit of a revival preacher.

Prosecution spoke of events that never transpired; of protestors dressing as police, and encouraging them to do battle with socks filled with “BBs”. He spoke of November 11th, as a “moment of hell”, and it was clear that the onus for the ascension of whatever demons were now plaguing the man fell clearly on Occupy's shoulders, and not that of Halifax's vicious police force. It should be noted that the police, who laid hands on many of the Occupiers, will all likely never stand trial, due to any number of biases within the legal system.

 This was a sermon meant to vilify Wiseman, and to keep his influence from Halifax's virginal parks, no matter the cost. With jaws collectively open in wonderment, members of Occupy could barely wrestle reason from the maw of this deluded deluge. The judge, powerless to overturn the “Thou must not enter a park” lunacy attached to Wiseman's “Breach of Conditions” charge due to some legal loophole, listened with rapt amusement.

Felons and drunks will wander freely in Point Pleasant tonight, but not Wiseman. His abilities to incite spontaneous revolution are clearly too dangerous for semi-wooded areas. Families will skate gleefully in Halifax's newest climate-controlled incursion upon the Commons, provided the weather lets up. Wiseman can't even purchase a delicious BeaverTail (TM) if he wanted to. So meander freely, Haligonians. Let your dogs off the leash. But spare a moment of thought for James Wiseman, the best man in Halifax currently not allowed in a park.

Over 60 actions organized internationally in response to... Jan 12

GROUNDWIRE OCTOBER 8 | MMIW HEARINGS AND VIGILS, MASS... Oct 16

GroundWire | Housing in the Budget, Fontaine Boushie... Mar 16

Activist Court Support: Kinder Morgan wants permanent ban... Mar 15