No arrest

Well, Loretta failed to get arrested today, but she had an interesting discussion with a marshall:

While I was standing there waiting on Kev to get back and hating cops in general a Federal Marshal walks over to me and smiles politely and says hello. I returned his gesture and greeting all the while wondering what was about to happen and bracing for a head cracking or some such brutality.

Shockingly though, he began to tell me that he was the Marshal who was in charge of transporting Jonathan Magbie to the jail. He said he was called to the courthouse to pick him up and was expecting just another regular person convicted for smoking pot to be there waiting on him.

He said when he saw Magbie and his condition he was shocked and upset that a person like that could be sent to jail. He said he felt like the lowest piece of scum on earth for having to drive him to jail and that he felt deep down that something horrible might happen.

He told me when he read the story in the Post a few days later he broke down and cried like a baby.

He said he felt responsible to a degree but that as a federal marshal he had to do what he was told. …

He then told me that pot should be legal and that most people even on the federal side as well as regular civilian police officers felt that way as well from what he could tell.

I told him of my plans to enter Judge Retchin‰s courtroom and unfurl my banner at 2 pm and asked him what I could expect from the Marshal‰s. He said that I would be escorted out if I didn‰t get too rowdy and the charge would be disrupting court. He said that if I refused to leave the courtroom or resisted then I would be charged with contempt and arrested.

He said if he were assigned to that courtroom today that he would see that I was handled gently and treated with respect. …

He smiled, thanked me for having the courage to speak out and said with a wink ‹If anyone asks I told you to move on.Š

The judge was gone for the day, so she’s going to try again tomorrow.