LAUREL, MS - Last week Pete blogged about our return to Jones Co, MS. to get accountability for our wrongful arrest in May of ’09 by the Jones County Sheriff’s Department (JCSD). I wanted to take a moment to let those who are interested know exactly what we’ll be up to while in town.
We arrived in Laurel late Monday afternoon after stopping in Hattiesburg to create fliers, contact media (our related press release was sent to 500 outlets in the state) and hash-out our game plan. On Tuesday we went to Mayor Mack’s office, the JCSD (where we learned Alex Hodge, the sheriff, took the day off), the Laurel Leader-Call (to place a public notice which will run today through Friday), the County Board of Supervisors and spent about two hours handing out fliers in the downtown area close to these buildings. That evening we distributed Liberty On Tour materials with our Jones Co flier in some residential areas in Laurel and got a chance to talk with many of the good folks who call this area home.
The outreach seemed to be effective. Like our last time in Laurel, we’ve had a lot of positive feedback from folks we’ve met, many of whom have joined our call for accountability. Today a front page article in the Laurel Leader-Call features an article about our unjust arrests and our work to get accountability from Alex and the JCSD. The story also notes that the JCSD and city office indicated that they have received a number of calls about our outreach.
The rest of the week we’ll be doing the following:
Today and Wed – We’ll continue to do outreach in the form(s) of handing out fliers and holding signs in the Jones Co area. We have a few more signs to make up (if you’re interested in doing so as well contact us). We’ll also be connecting with other folks that have been harmed by the JCSD. Again, if this is you please contact us.
Thursday – We’ll be on Paul Gallo’s Radio show at 7:05 am to give an update on our case and week in Jones Co. We’re also working on the details to meet with Alex (his secretary contacted me while writing this). We’ve asked to meet at a neutral location, with David Owens (from the Laurel Leader-Call) and stated that we’d be recording the conversation for transparency.
Friday – We’ll be attending a protest outside the JCSD located at 419 Yates in Laurel, from noon to 3 pm. We encourage everyone to show support and voice your concerns. We’ll be shooting video and will listen to anyone who wants to share their story about their interactions with the JCSD. That evening we’ll be hosting a meetup at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Laurel at 7 pm. The purpose of this gathering is to connect others in the community who’ve been wronged by JCSD and to share tactics on how to gain accountability from such agency.
Saturday – We’ll be attending the 3rd annual Community Appreciation Day (11am – 1 pm) hosted by the JCSD again at 419 Yates in Laurel.
We’d like to thank all the folks who’ve showed us support while striving for accountability in this matter. If you see us around town feel free to stop in and say hi. We’re much kinder than the JCSD.
A side note to those who visit our site regularly, we’re a bit busy with our stop here, so content might lack for this week. Don’t worry though, we’ll be back to our usual self next week and will continue to post LOT content even after our ‘official’ end date. Thanks in advance for understanding.
I’m so proud of you guys! Hopefully I’ll make it down to this since I didn’t get to see you in New Orleans!
Brilliant work putting all this together, and pulling something positive out of such a lame incident. Bravo!
(the link to http://www.jonesso.com/view_releases.php?id=357 doesn’t work, btw)
Great job guys! Looking forward to seeing the footage of Friday’s protest.
While I echo the comments above regarding your excellent execution of the publicity and outreach aspects of your triumphant return to Jones County, I think it is awfully suspicious that the Sheriff wants to meet with you guys all of a sudden. My guess is, he wants to arrest you for something related to the flyers, like impersonating an officer or somesuch BS. Please, BE CAREFUL!!!
Election for sheriff coming up soon. Please contact me again. If you are not satisfied with Hodges statements it’s likely the other candidate will state that his policies will be different. he good people of Laurel will elect someone with appreciation of Constitutional rights. We need your input.