Henrico County Violates 1st amendment.
Libertarian signs confiscated

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 3, 2004

Glen Allen, VA - Early in the morning this election day, George
Marchenko, chairman of the Henrico County Libertarian Party, was
peacefully participating in electoral politics and exercising his
right to express himself. At about 8:30 AM, he placed three signs for
Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian Party's candidate for President,
right next to Kerry and Bush signs at the Gayton Library polling
station on Gayton Road.

Marchenko left the polling place shortly afterward to secure more
Badnarik campaign material and to briefly visit another polling place.
He returned to Gayton Library around 10:00 AM, only to find Badnarik
and Kerry yard signs GONE.

Volunteers at the Republicans for Bush booth advised Marchenko that a
Henrico County police officer removed the signs because "there were no
representatives of either party manning a table."

Marchenko contacted Henrico County police.

Fifteen minutes later, the police returned his call and asked him to
return to the polling place to retrieve his Badnarik signs. Henrico
officer Pecka (badge: 0897) met him at the polling place and claimed a
voter had alleged the Badnarik signs were illegal.

Pecka showed Marchenko county ordinance # 24-104, Section 7,
subsection d, which prohibits "Any sign erected on public land,
including street right-of-way, other than project identification signs
approved and maintained as required by this section. Any such
unlawfully erected sign is subject to immediate removal."

Officer Pecka demanded Marchenko's identity card. After recording his
data, she returned his signs.

Witnesses and onlookers were astonished as Marchenko returned his
signs to the median surrounding the library.

Another Henrico officer soon arrived, who summoned Ms. Pecka to a
remote part of the parking lot for an extended conversation.
Marchenko remained at the library, protecting his signs for over an
hour, making friends and making his case to the voters.

Other signs all around Marchenko's polling station, all also on public
land, remained untouched.

Officer Pecka admitted that there was no effort to confiscate any
other signs.

Marchenko was frustrated at the incident. "Public safety officers
should never be willing accomplices to the suppression of free speech
and arbitrarily removing the lawful display of political messages --
especially during an election cycle. We hear of government
suppression of minority political candidates in third-world nations.
It isn't supposed to happen in the Land of the Free," Marchenko said.

 

I swear that is sooo fucked up man

this was going on through out the whole country.....just wrong....oh well we have the same for 4 more years. I hope Bush doesnt declare war on the wrong country again and catches osama....I pray

 

Fucked up... yea... does it really matter no

 

the repression of free speach doesnt matter to you?

 

Why does it not matter that injustices were done?
Thats like robbing someone but the perp did not get caught.....and saying it does not matter....ofcourse it matters.

Will anything be done about it....prolly not

 

It's poeple that say this now that will turn around and complain about cops with nohting better to do than write you a ticket for illegal exhaust. That doesn't really matter either, now does it?

 

LOL@ Merrill. You have a point on that one.

 

HAHAHA..i know Officer Pecka..ahhahahahaha.

 

Typical political bs.

 

haha thats the polling station were i voted at, i cant remember seeing any signs there other than bush and kerry though, i went around 430 in the afternoon