US government terrorizes event goers in Utah...

I saw a post about this on ATS but I can not find it now. It really concerns me that a post about such an event was so quick to disappear and move down in the threads. A large group of individuals, most who were completely innocent, were terrorized by our own government. You people should be outraged! Where is the news coverage? Why is this not being reported?

For those interested in John Titor and his predictions, I think that this could be considered a "Waco style event".. Whatever you call it, it was *wrong*..

Here follows an individuals account of what happened..

Here is the video footage:

homepage.mac.com...



Knick of Evol intent puts the night's events into his own words::

Last night, I was booked to play an event about an hour outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. The hype behind this show was huge, they presold 700 tickets and they expected up to 3,000 people total. The promoters did an amazing job with the show.. they even made slipmats with the flyers on them to promote in local shops.

So, we got to the show around 11:15 or so and it was really cool. It was all outdoors, in a valley surrounded by huge mountains. They had an amazing light show flashing on to a mountain behind the site, the sound was booming, the crowd was about 1500 people thick and everything just seemed too good to be true really. Well...

At about 11:30 or so, I was standing behind the stage talking with someone when I noticed a helicopter pulling over one of the mountain tops. I jokingly said "Oh look, here comes big brother" to the person I was with. I wasn't far off.

The helicopter dipped lower and lower and started shining its lights on the crowd. I was kind of in awe and just sat and watched this thing circle us for a minute. As I looked back towards the crowd I saw a guy dressed in camoflauge walking by, toting an assault rifle. At this point, everyone was fully aware of what was going on . A few "troops" rushed the stage and cut the sound off and started yelling that everyone "get the # out of here or go to jail". This is where it got really sticky.

No one resisted. That's for sure. They had police dogs raiding the crowd of people and I saw a dog signal out a guy who obviously had some drugs on him. The soldiers attacked the guy (4 of them on 1), and kicked him a few times in the ribs and had their knees in his back and sides. As they were cuffing him, there was about 1000 kids trying to leave in the backdrop, peacefully. Next thing I know, A can of #ing TEAR GAS is launched into the crowd. People are running and screaming at this point. Girls are crying, guys are cussing... bad scene.

Now, this is all I saw with my own eyes, but I heard plenty of other accounts of the night. Now this isnt gossip I heard from some candy raver, these are instances cited straight out of the promoters mouth..

- One of the promoters friends (a very small female) was attacked by one of the police dogs. As she struggled to get away from it, the police tackled her. 3 grown men proceeded to KICK HER IN THE STOMACH.

- The police confiscated 3 video tapes in total. People were trying to document what was happening out there. The police saw one guy filming and ran after him, tackled him and his camera fell, and luckily.. his friend grabbed it and ran and got away. priceless footage. That's not all though. Out of 1,500 people, there's sure to be more footage.

- The police were rounding up the staff of the party and the main promoter went up to them with the permit for the show and said "here, I have the permit." The police then said, "no you don't" and ripped the permit out of his hand. Then, they put an assault rifle to his forehead and said "get the # out of here right now."



Now.. let's get the facts straight here.

This event was 100% legal. They had every permit the city told them they needed. They had a 2 MILLION DOLLAR insurance policy for the event. They had liscenced security guards at the gates confiscating any alcohol or drugs found upon entry (yes, they searched every car on the way in). Oh, I suppose I should mention that they arrested all the security guards for possession.

Oh another interesting fact.. the police did not have a warrant. The owner of the land already has a lawsuit against the city for something similar. A few months ago, she rented her land for a party and the police raided that as well. And catch this, the police forced her to LEAVE HER OWN PERSONAL PROPERTY. That's right. They didnt arrest her, but made her leave her own property!!!

Don't get it twisted, this is all going down in probably THE most conservative state in the USA. And this is scary.. a gross violation of our civil liberties. The police wanted this party shut down, so they made it happen. Even though everything about this event was legal. The promoters spent over $ 20,000 on this show and did everything they had to to make it legit, only to have it taken away from them by a group of radical neo-con's with an agenda.

This was one of the scariest things I have ever witnessed in person. I can't even begin to describe how surreal it was. Helicopters, assault rifles, tear gas, camoflauge-wearing soldiers.... why? Was that really necessary?

This needs to be big news across the USofA. At least in our music scene (edm as a whole)... this could happen to any of us at any time. When we're losing the right to gather peacefully, we're also letting the police set a standard of what we can get away with. And I think that's BULL#!

The system #ed up last night... They broke up a party that was 100% legal and they physically hurt a lot of people there at the same time. The promoters already have 6 lawsuits ready to file with their lawyers and the ACLU is already involved.

I'm sure some pictures (and hopefully some video) will surface soon. I'll make sure to post them up here on 404, so you can see the Police State of America at work.




the video with sound they didnt want you to see

homepage.mac.com..."

The thread was moved over to Below Top Secret. You can find it here.

Debate still rages, although most people agree that these were not special forces, but elements of the police force. There is also pressure on the rave organisers to produce evidence that they did in fact possess the correct permits they needed to stage the rave. Jump in over at BTS and let us know what you think.

[edit on 24/8/05 by Jeremiah25]

Utah County Sheriff's Office shuts down Rave Party in Spanish Fork Canyon.

Utah County Major Crimes was contacted to assist with undercover surveillance. Both local and state SWAT teams were called in to control the crowds ( Utah County Metro SWAT, Utah Department of Corrections out of Salt Lake and Gunnison, Department of Public Safety and their helicopter and Provo SWAT) approximately 90 law enforcement personnel combined.

Please get your facts straight. Thank you

I believe this is the story you're talking about?

Link

I guess this is just local news at this point. Anyone forsee this getting national coverage?

Seems for real to me.

Edited to respond to comments:

About 90 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies broke up what they said was a rave party on public and private property in the Diamond Fork area of Spanish Fork canyon.

From the link I posted. The sheriffs office coordinated the effort for jurisdictional purposes. Any idea who the multiple agencies might be? Maybe DEA? FBI? They're under the DHS, like everything else, so maybe a bored CIA agent and his seven pet brutes tagged along.

You can't really tell, because the LEOfficers in this country wear masks now too, just like the terrorists.

[edit on 24-8-2005 by WyrdeOne]

That seemed like an unnecessarily large force to shut down a rave, don't you think? Not to mention the brutality exhibited by the soldiers, if all the reports are true. Whatever reason the military had for doing this, I'm positive that it could have been handled much more gracefully. I would be absolutely outraged if I was assaulted and threatened by military personnel for doing nothing wrong at all. Obviously this was a disgraceful infringement of many people’s rights, and this incident should be brought to everyone’s attention. We should not allow the government to get away with actions such as this, or they will only become brasher and bolder in committing such, crimes. Not only was the way in which the situation was handled disgusting, but why was a military presence required to halt a perfectly legal rave? There are many questions I'd like answered!

*After reading further I understand that the forces were not military, but still, it seems rather excessive*

[edit on 24/8/2005 by Wowser]

Military is a bit of a stretch. I doubt these men were connected to the military, except in weapons and tactics, hence SWAT. Special forces for the states, if I understand the intent and mission correctly.

People should differentiate between uniformed military personell and an inter-agency swat team, which is what this appears to be.

They're not really soldiers then, are they?

It's an important distinction to make.

The point is not whether or not this excessive force was used by military or swat team.. the point is that several innocent even goers were ambushed by some force, whether it be military or not, for attending a 100% legal event.

Some people claim that this event was not legal. This is also not an issue here. I believe it was legal, but regardless of whether or not it was, the people attending had no idea that it was not. Why then did the police/military/whatever the # you want to call them, have the right to use such force on these innocent people?

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
People should differentiate between uniformed military personell and an inter-agency swat team, which is what this appears to be.

They're not really soldiers then, are they?

It's an important distinction to make.

What is the difference really thou? It feels like a semantics game.

It might not be the 'military' but it's still helecopters and SWAT teams with rifles and tear gas breaking up a legal party on private property, does the uniform really matter that much?

If it wasn't Utah's SWAT but instead a division of the US armed forces would that alone make this ordeal worse, even if the events carried out to break up the party were exactly the same? I understand that brings in a new level of authorisation but really, i'd expect states to be able to handle as much as they can before the NEED for military intervention. Martial law will rely on that.

I think the fact the army wasn't needed shows how easy it will be to enforce a martial law system when the time comes. These are some pretty well organised and equipted police who seem to be obviously running a live training drill on crowd control. The use of tear gas and masking the identities of the men in uniform suggest they were expecting the need for riot control in a controlled enviornment to train on. Why tear gas a peaceful crowd following instruction unless to insight some rioting that can be drilled for by the forces you've sent in. They knew the amount of people that would be there, they knew they were contained to a location which couldn't result in mass city riots, yet they used excessive force anyway. That spells a live drill, 'live' meaning the drill will be run on a real world scenario with real people.

Remember, Martial law has to start somewhere and the people invovled need training at some point in dealing with people that aren't paid actors playing a role in a drill.

Game Point

Originally posted by mirrorsparadise
The point is not whether or not this excessive force was used by military or swat team.. the point is that several innocent even goers were ambushed by some force, whether it be military or not, for attending a 100% legal event.

If that is the point, then it would behoove the event organizers to prove that the event was, in fact, 100% legal.

If it wasn't, then everything else starts to unravel rather quickly.

While I try not to make a habit of it, I've been to more than a few events (keggers, wild house parties, street drags, garage band concerts, festivals, protests, etc.) that have been broken up by police.

And every time it was the same thing. I was there, I saw what happened (a bunch of bored cops rousting people out and handcuffing people -- usually wasted -- who gave them lip), left without any trouble (I've never been arrested, and not for lack of cause), and sure enough, later it was like the freakin' Warsaw Uprising the way some people would tell it.

I'm waiting for some proof this event was legal, and will go from there.

Say for instance there was a tip regarding illegal substances at the party which we all know that there probably were some. What happened to integrity and upholding the law in a CIVIL manner?
If there was a tip then the SWAT team knew who they were going after and I am sure that didn't encompass the entire party.
Why when someone asked for a ride home instead of offering assistance after the raid they beat the crap out of her.

The question is certainly raised here. We depend on these folks to protect us not beat down innocent bystanders.

I think this was gross misconduct at the very least and out and out abhorent behaviour from those that seek to protect and serve?
They certainly aren't serving us the innocent person.

Th military may not have been involved with the incident in Utah but that does not mean that the miltary is totally innocent in all cases. I recently posted a thread there that discussed the findings of a military inquiry over accusations that the local National Guard in California was spying on anti-war protests.

www.abovetopsecret.com...'

I would not totally absolve the military on issues like this.

The not funny part of this, is that the Parents are probably the ones who are harrasing the police to shut these down...

In Oklahoma there was quite a stir, regarding the massive date rape scenarios...
parents of knocked up teenage girls (that had been gang raped at Raves) cried for something to be done...

so the Utah police meet the need by beating the hell out of same said teenage girls... yahh... lots of good that does...

You can't keep kids from getting into trouble, but you can try to introduce lesser damaging fun. (dead concerts were always fairly civil, and peaceful)
but that was in the days where most drugs had more than 3 letters...('___' excepted)

Majic
According to one source, the party was too large to be legal. They apparentlty didn't expect more than 250 people, so they didn't take out a permit for a large gathering, they only cleared the event with the Health Department.

SOM

What is the difference really thou? It feels like a semantics game.

No, it's not just semantics. If the Utah LEOs are using the military to enforce drug statutes, that's a gross violation of the principles of both the army and the concept of civil enforcement. The army is a big dog, that we let off the leash to attack other big dogs. It's not the tool to use for domestic law enforcement, not by a long stretch. That's why it's such an important distinction, not because of morality, because of jurisdiction.

It might not be the 'military' but it's still helecopters and SWAT teams with rifles and tear gas breaking up a legal party on private property, does the uniform really matter that much?

Not to the partygoers. It does to the courts though. I'm certainly not defending the actions of the SWAT team, nor am I going to bat for a bunch of raver monkeys without knowing the extent of their mis-step.

It's a bad situation, I'm just trying to understand it.

I think the right to free assembly should make this a no brainer, but because of our convulted legal system, there are no rights anymore. Everything is rolled up in miles of red tape, and as a result, the soul of the law suffocates.

If it wasn't Utah's SWAT but instead a division of the US armed forces would that alone make this ordeal worse, even if the events carried out to break up the party were exactly the same? I understand that brings in a new level of authorisation but really, i'd expect states to be able to handle as much as they can before the NEED for military intervention. Martial law will rely on that.

Yeah, but I don't think it was a division of the armed forces. It was apparently multiple agencies, which to my mind means alphabet agencies, not soldiers.

There is no practical difference between what the SWAT would do and what the Army would do in the same situation. The difference is, the Army has no place enforcing drug statutes on domestic soil. That's a (stupid) job for Law Enforcement, and entirely the domain of the alphabet schmucks.

I think the fact the army wasn't needed shows how easy it will be to enforce a martial law system when the time comes.

No doubt, it'll be a snap, intially. As it drags on though, the strain of the job will crush the alphabet jerks beneath the weight of their own guilt, and the resistance will most likely prevail in the long term out of necessity, survival is a powerful motivator.

That's what I predict anyway. I won't be fighting for either side when the time comes, so I have no vested interest either way. I just call 'em the way I see 'em.

Remember, Martial law has to start somewhere and the people invovled need training at some point in dealing with people that aren't paid actors playing a role in a drill.

Bush landed in SLC on Monday to deliver a speach propping up the WOT. I thought it was interesting that two days earlier, state employees were happily terrorizing partygoers from around the country.

It was a decidedly anti-war concenrt as well. But I'm sure that had nothing to do with it. This is the sort of strong-arm response one expects from the mob, or a rival corporation. It's not the way a benevolent protector acts. This should prove to some folks that the government is NOT a benevolent protector, it's our master now. We do what it tells us to, not the other way around as used to be the case.

The nation has become a spitting image of its sworn enemy, the terrorists. This is inevitable, and for those who read extensively, there was plenty of precedent in fiction. For those who study history, there was plenty of indication there. For those who study human behavior, the clues are ripe pickins. This is the way things go, this is the nature of the universe (cyclical).

Of course, American literacy is practically an oxymoron at this late stage of the game. An uneducated citizenry is an open invitation for tyranny. We owe the current state of America to one group primarily, Americans. Reap what you sow and all that. We let it happen. Some of us did so willingly, most simply were too consumed with flashing lights and loud noise to pay attention.

Edited twice because it unpossible that me fale Inglish.

[edit on 24-8-2005 by WyrdeOne]

[edit on 24-8-2005 by WyrdeOne]

There was no need to bring in the national gaurd or military...Whoever they were...

Why was that necessary?

And of course the idiot sherriff is going to deny any wrongdoing, he doesn't want to lose his job...


This is totally un american, and a big violation of civil liberties.

If I was there I would be rounding up people's phone numbers, contacting the lawers and yes even the ACLU and file suit.

And I say that because you can't retaliate and kick their ass, you have to kick their ass in the court room these days and the only way you'll hurt them is by tarnishing their reputation, and taking their money.

ps: Were they on government property and didn't know it???

TrueLies did you actually read the facts of what happened and why it happened, or do you read the tile and start ranting?

You have voted WyrdeOne for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have used all of your votes for this month.

Now there is an example of a person who keeps a cool head and reads the facts.

Please move the discussion to the original and ongoing thread

Utah Rave Video

already covered with link provided above
and Here
Closing this thread.