Thursday morning I was heading to the airport to fly from DC to Atlanta then to Nashville, TN. I was going on a 6 day vacation (with a mix of outreach) to join the Motorhome Diaries crew aboard MARV, their RV, as a “fellow traveler”.
Upon my drive to BWI (in Baltimore, MD) I read a tweet from Jason Talley stating that Adam had been arrested in Jones Co. MS for video taping the police officer who pulled them over. I immediately called Jason to no avail . Simultaneously I received a tweet from Jil Wright, who I have met through Campaign for Liberty, residing in Jones Co, MS stating that she was on the case. We decided that due to the lack of communication with Jason- that chances were that all three had been arrested, and that some action was needed.
I flew into Atlanta in haste with worry for the guys all the while getting updates from Jil. We decided that I would change my flight from Nashville, Tn to Jackson, MS where she would pick me up, and we would figure out the next step from there. She had been in direct contact with the jail and was hesitant of me coming because the officers there had told her that due to the Department of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms (ATF) hold, none of the guys would be getting out within the week. I refused to accept this and decided to go down anyway. Throughout this endeavor I updated my tweets accordingly. I then boarded my flight into Jackson not knowing where I would stay.
I landed in Jackson around 4:30pm to have 15 voicemails, my phone constantly ringing, and confirmation from at least four individuals offering to purchase a hotel room for me (Thank you to Whitton for getting me a motel room for 2 nights!). So many concerned folks contacted me with support and inquiry, including the guys from freekeene.com who helped us get the word out to readers of their site.
I immediately began a venture to raise funds within the liberty movement for bail money. After tweeting about the options and contacting several bailbondsmen, it was expressed to me that we had to have cash to get any of them out, and that the only funding options would be Western Union. Me, freekeene.com, those on twitter, the Libertarian Party (both national and Mississippi chapter), Mississippi Center for Public Policy, Campaign for Liberty supporters, those in the Free State Project, and many many others spread the message and within two hours supporters from all over the country had raised $2580 to get the MHD guys bonded out!
Jil and I then spent the rest of the night clarifying the bonding amounts only to find that some of the charges had been dropped and that all three could be bailed out for under $1000. At 10 PM we freed the three of them (Pete and Adam coming out shirtless!) and Jil drove us to the Motel 8. Jason immediately insisted on taking a shower to cleanse himself of the pepperspray from his body.MARV would have to wait till the morning.
We awoke with the goal of finding the fourth that had been locked up- MARV. $500 later we were in MARV and on our way to Birmingham.
Since then, I have had time to reflect on everything and catch up on voicemails. I must say I was amazed at the outpouring of love and support from so many of you out there.
I want to thank those of you that gave for the bailout individually:
Jil Wright, Elisabeth McCaffrey, Stephen Thomas, Vince Richardson, Darryl Perry, Jim Davidson, Sarah Williams, Antonio Musuneci, Nikki Sullivan, Tarrin Lupo, Melissa Hayes, Peter Orvetti, Nicole Kardell, Isabel Santa
There are many more out there that gave support and great inspiration, and I really sincerely appreciate everything that you and this movement have given to me and the MHD guys.
I beleive that this event truly reasserted the fact that this movement may be diverse … but when our people are needing us- we come together. It moved me to see this unification. I can’t say how thankful I am to be apart of this family.. the Liberty movement. I know that Adam, Pete and Jason agree wholeheartedly!
Allison mispronounced and misspelled my last name.
