By Matt Agorist
In a video uploaded to YouTube recently, a brave grandmother filmed herself refusing to ‘show her papers’ at an unconstitutional DUI checkpoint in California. The results were inspiring.
Sobriety checkpoints — also known as DUI checkpoints — are the most common roadblocks you might encounter. They function as a general purpose investigatory tactic where police can get a close look at passing motorists by detaining them briefly. A roadblock stop is quick, but it gives police a chance to check tags and licenses, while also giving officers a quick whiff of the driver’s breath and a chance to peer into the vehicle for a moment.
Remember that your constitutional rights still apply in a roadblock situation. Though police are permitted to stop you briefly, they may not search you or your car unless they have probable cause that you’re under the influence or you agree to the search. As such, you are not required to answer their questions or admit to breaking the law.
Also, during DUI checkpoints in California, police will require you to show your driver’s license. If you do not, you may be charged with Vehicle Code 12951 VC failure to display your driver’s license.
Because courts have upheld the tyrannical practice of stopping anyone and everyone, regardless of guilt, does not mean that it is just.
Because of the unjust nature of DUI and driver’s license checkpoints, individuals from coast to coast have formed an entire realm of activism known as DUI or Checkpoint refusal. For years, the Free Thought Project has been covering this form of activism and promoting the brave men and women who dare stand up to the police state.
Below is a video of Kate, who refused to be bullied into submission by police officers just doing their jobs.
To those who would say, “if you are not doing anything wrong, you should have nothing to hide,” you are the problem. Families do not draw the curtains in their homes at night because they are doing something wrong. One does not lock the bathroom door in public because they are doing something wrong. It is about maintaining, asserting, and protecting your rights — without being forced to lose your privacy.
According to the description on YouTube, Kate began filming after she was moved into the detention area for refusing to show her driver’s license. That is when the video starts.
I ran into a DUI checkpoint here in my town this evening. I have been trying to teach my children the ways that the authorities are violating your constitutional rights. I had to practice what I preached, hence this video. Sorry about the bad camera work, I was nervous! This was not at all planned or expected.
Matt Agorist is the co-founder of TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared. He is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Follow @MattAgorist
She’s AWESOME. She’s correct too.
Unless investigating a crime of property or against a person,
the D.C. have no authority to stop people or otherwise interfere in their lives.
The Constitution for the United States of America gives her the right to travel so the nation states cannot require a license for it.
In most nation states, the nation states claim that people hauling commercial freight or commercial passengers need a drivers license.
Perhaps the D.C. are confusing a drivers license with a motor vehicle operators permit?
If you want to be able to freely move around without showing papers you must be an illegal alien.
No just Lawful American Citizens of our original Constitution. Not the bastardized version from the illegal US Incorporation!
Yeah, that was my point.
You seem like the kind that needs to think before you speak or type I should say in this situation.
I was being sarcastic. illegals are driving without insurance or licenses, so CA decided they should give illegals driving licenses. Illegals claim 20 dependents and get a refund over the tax they paid in – if they paid any at all. The cops in AZ are sued by the US government because they want to ask those stopped for cause if they are citizens. So, what is your problem with my comment?
I was expecting the cops to pull her out of the car – taze her 3 or 4 times – THEN send her on her merry way.
sorry but bullshit. The supreme court ruled that this was entirely legal IF they stop everyone coming down the road and not racial profiling by stopping only those meeting that racial profiling. Do not try this crap in Texas. They will keep you on the side of the road as long as they want, they can and will search your car with or without your permission (and without probable cause), including dragging everything out of the car, the trunk up to and including the car seats…and when they ascertain that you are okay, i.e. if they don’t find evidence and/or PLANT evidence to the contrary, they can and will leave you on the side of the road with everything (including the seats) outside the vehicle and let you put them back in. You are allowed to legally avoid the checkpoint (If you see it in time) but this is not illegal and not unconstitutional. Texas is a police state…and so is California and every other state, but the supremes say this is not illegal.
While the U.S. Supreme Court may claim that it is
over the other branches of government,
over the Constitution for the United States of America,
over the people,
over the rights granted by the Creator, and
over the Creator,
the U.S. Supreme Court is not over any.
The U.S. Supreme also saying that civil forfeiture, no-fly lists, the TSA, anti-gun legislation, osamacare, and many other violation of people’s rights are “legal” also doesn’t make it so.
The three branches of the Federal Government are described as “co-equal”.
Tell the “co-equal” business to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Had I the brief opportunity to tell them something, that wouldn’t be it.
Cops knew they were in the wrong that’s why they let her go. Plain and simple.
Hitting the boot liquor a little heavily today, are we?
According to our original Constitution it is!! They are using an illegal version from the illegal US INCORPORATION.
@Ghost,
Actually that’s not entirely true. In the majority opinion, which I believe was penned by the chief justice, it states that DUI checkpoints are “a little unconstitutional” but also necessary due to the excess of drunk driving related traffic accidents and deaths at the time. This is an inconvenient fact for the pro-statists and other fans of bigger/more government since it points out the hypocrisy of the court; choosing to rule in favor of something unconstitutional and admitting to doing so under the guise of its being necessary.
By the way, she had a right to turn around and not go through the checkpoint..
Hmm.. go another way
Yea sure! You do that and they chase you down!!!
Actually she was not Driving a Motor Vehicle!! Motor Vehicles are use for commercial purposes, i.e., transporting people or freight for hire. She was Traveling which is a right!!
TITLE 18 MOTOR
VEHICLE CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
(6) Motor vehicle.–The term “motor vehicle” means every
description of carriage or other contrivance propelled or drawn by
mechanical power and used for commercial purposes on the
highways in the transportation of passengers,
passengers and property, or property or cargo.
(10) Used for commercial purposes.–The term “used for
commercial purposes” means the carriage of persons or
property for any fare, fee, rate, charge or other consideration,
or directly or indirectly in connection with any business,
or other undertaking intended for profit.
Yesssir.
We might as well all be Ubering if we are going to be treated like one.
YUP!
it if has tags on it, it is commercial
Otherwise, if it is private it is household property..
And not regulated
Correct! It’s called traveling.
Resistance IS victory.
resistance is not victory. ending up in jail is not victory. Learning the law would be handy.. There is what is known as an ordinary and an extraordinary use of the highway.. Using the highway commercially is regulated and requires a driver’s license. Ordinary use does not. But once you have tags and license you are considered commercial.. Showing your papers is not optional.
What’s really amusing is while these Einstein’s were wasting their time with this non-threat lady, five drunks just went through the checkpoint due to less scrutiny caused by diminished manpower.
Question: If this is a DUI checkpoint then the purpose of it is to catch inebriated drivers, right? So, once they determine you are not intoxicated you should be free to go, period! Otherwise, these are fishing expeditions using DUI as a ruse and they are operating under the color of law…thus, unlawfully.
Society is bad when you have a large criminal element, but society is even worse when you have criminals with a badge. There is far more to be feared from criminals with the authority of the state behind them who can take your property and imprison you under false pretenses than there is from any run-of-the-mill criminal.
Exactly!!!!
Power corrupts and we have dumbed down easily corruptible people in positions of power everywhere you turn.
I am very glad this turned out well for this normal lady! Unfortunately, I have seen tapes where perfectly innocent people are subjected to extreme searches, including drug dogs, and when travelling with cash (in this case because they traveled out of state to a relative’s funeral), their OWN CASH is confiscated, and drugs can be planted, or they are simply told the dogs have “alerted” to drugs. OMG – I hate to think of what follows at the cop shop. We must join w/ACLU or some organization like that to REGAIN our tattered and torn Constitution, before we are all incarcerated in one of the 400 FEMA Concentration Camps ready and waiting for us. The cops in Watertown, CT, also illegally threw people out of their homes, did not allow them to get their meds or even shoes or clothes they needed, claimed they would lock up their homes when they were done, and left the homes unlocked with all the lights on in every case. They had no warrants, and spoke to the citizens in rude and – since these cops were SWAT teams, were armed to the teeth – terrifying manner. Constitution, anyone? Better join the legal fight to regain it – TODAY. Cheers
Kudos Katie of Gaia – hold yer ground – the cops don’t (understand?)know and haven’t read what the constitution offers up.
Causing granny unnecessary stress – thumbs down to the cops (duuh I think I can ask you for your drivers license – captain you there?).
And the Act Of 1871 which happened to our Country without our knowledge, behind our backs and without our consent. This is why we are where we are now. Illegal and Un Constitutional!!
And the real culprit behind all of these un constitutional shenanigans , Mr. Lincoln the President that brought big government into the lives of the American people. Hence, Civil War.
Just remember, driving is a privilege not a right. I did notice that many other cars were going on past them. Why was SHE pulled over in particular?
There is her defense!
This is ridiculous. You can’t be this ignorant of the extent of real problems in the world and in the USA. The police and asking for your driver’s license are the least of your worries in most cases. Why are you praising her? I think she is a bone head and focusing on what? She was the problem here. Not the police. Focus on the CSE that has been implemented world wide and all over America. It really will bring down America and harm the children of the world if allowed to continue. Look at the truth behind 911. It’s way higher up than a few ignorant men willing to die for their beliefs. What grandma did is a waste of everyone’s time and money. This is another divide and conquer strategy by the very powerful people who pulled off 911. Look and think. The police are just trying to do their job and they are not the problem. Men like them were there trying to do their job at 911 and in Afghanistan. They are not the problem. Neither are their bosses. It’s way higher up than them. Deal with the root cause not a couple of guys trying to make sure no one is driving drunk. She pulled it off, because they were good guys, not bad guys. They are listening. What a waste of time. If her grandchildren are killed or harmed by a drunk driver, she would be mad at the police for not taking the guy off the road. No I am not missing the point. There are bigger fish to fry and it’s up to us “We the People” to deal with them. Read Abraham Lincoln’s quotes. Find out what is going on while you are making good men look bad. The police are on our side and they will be there for us when we need them. You are so off track with this one. Check out CSE and focus on this one that the media covered up. This is something that got behind closed doors, while you were all being mad at the police. You were successfully smoke-screened and sent down a distraction path while the enemy of our children’s minds got into our schools. Wake up. Please wake up and Vote Trump.
I am against law enforcement stopping cars for no reason. I was stopped twice many years ago in my teens. Once for not having my left turn signal on when I was in the right lane with my “right” turn signal on, to turn right. Two cops came to my car window and wanted all my paperwork and license of course. I was confused when they told me what my ticket was for. As I nicely but firmly tried explain to them that I was not turning left, I was turning right. They responded with “Would you like to spend the night in jail?” One smirked at me.”We can take you in right now.”
Another time I was in my own car, my boyfriend was driving. I was asleep in the middle of the front seat as it was 1:30 in the morning. I had to be up for work by 9am. We were on our way to take his three friends home that were with us in the car.
Suddenly there were bright lights surrounding the car and shouts of “Get out of the car and get on the ground!” by cops aiming rifles at us from all directions. It was pretty frightening.
They looked through the car tearing everything apart, and of course there was nothing for them to find. I had no idea what they might be looking for. We had not been either drinking or doing any illegal activity. I had never been arrested or in trouble with police. My car registration, insurance and everything was up to date. I was very conscientious as a teenager on my own.
They held us all overnight under a charge of “Vagrancy” which was a catch-all type of excuse much like “loitering” which most places have abolished. All they had to say they saw suspicious behavior, meaning anything. Since this was outside of Las Vegas, a 24-hour town, driving around in the middle of night was not a suspicious activity.
I had a rented apartment, owned the car we were driving, and I had a full-time job. No one in the car had ever spent time in jail or were wanted by the law. We were not drinking, using drugs or doing anything illegal.
This stuff has been around a long time – it is not something new. I am very much against “driving under the influence”. Far to many innocent people are injured, maimed, and killed every day by these drivers.
Bad cops should not be allowed to get away with their behaviors. Not all cops are bad, I’ve met many nice ones that went out of their way to help latter in life. I don’t have a problem with police stopping motorists at checkpoints for alcohol or drug use and driving. Neither am I offended going through a checkpoint near a border and having the dogs sniff my car for drugs or anything else, or check my I.D.
We have a world with a lot of things going on. People who have different agendas and don’t care about laws or people’s lives except their own. There are people in power who abuse it. It has likely always been that way on this planet. You have to use common sense sometimes, and pick battles that really mean something and can make a difference.
I don’t see that this lady proved anything – but that she wasted her own time and those who were working to protect us from drivers who don’t care if they maim and kill us while they are driving intoxicated. And, they quite often get off with a slap on the wrist after changing people’s lives forever and killing others.
Hopefully, it does not happen, but one of her family members might end up (or herself) as one of those victims of an intoxicated driver. Perhaps she might take up that cause that is far more worthwhile, than having to show your D.L. to a law enforcement officer.
You give up your rights to support supposed pre-crime prevention like DUI checkpoints, TSA, or other crimes against the people, you give up your rights period.
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In the U.S., it is a person that decides what medication or alcohol that the person takes, not the government.
In the U.S., a person has the right decide when to travel and when to not travel.
The government cannot violate our fourth amendment right by interfering with our free will to travel or not travel unless there has been a crime against person or property that they are investigating.
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To claim that there is a one in a hundred or one in a thousand chance that some unknown person may someday have an accident that may cause damage to unknown person or property where being drunk may have been a contributing factor does not give the foot soldiers for a corrupt government authority to stop you.
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To claim that there is a one in a thousand or one in a million chance that some unknown person may someday hijack an airplane does not give the foot soldiers for a corrupt government authority to stop you.
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Neither are valid functions of government.
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I applaud Granny Kate for standing up for her rights and the rights of everyone in the U.S.
She is a true patriot that in her way is just as important as Rosa Parks.
I wish that we had two to three hundred million like her in the U.S.
There are far more important issues going on in the USA and the world. We need the police.If you want to change the police, find out what else is going on, stop it with help from the police if needed, and then see what is needed to improve the police after you no longer need them. In the meantime, they may one day, be one of your children or grandchildren. Stop making the good guys look bad. Very few are bad but bad exists for sure and it needs to be dealt with. Playing around at a DIU check point solves nothing and wasted everyone’s precious time. energy and money. The reason you got away with it, is because you are a grandmother. They were showing you respect. Why didn’t you see this? If you must have something to complain about, and if you actually have the courage to step up and fight for something important, find out all you possibly can about the implemented, already in all schools in the world, Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE). You are not going to believe what is being done to your children, grandchildren and the children of the world. The CSE is a front for corrupting the minds of children and they are being taught that anything goes. You need to watch the Vimeo documentary to really see where this will lead. It’s worse than any war to date. It’s a War on Children based on teaching them immoral sexual ideas presented as normal. Watch Vimeo “The War On Children” documentary based on what is being taught in schools about sexual education. That is the CSE programs. However, there are many “other” War on Children documentaries and youtubes. Make sure you get the right one and don’t get side tracked. You need to know there are more things going on behind closed doors that demand your attention right now, than playing games with the police who are as imperfect as all of us are. They are human. Humans err. Watch the documentary and step up to that plate. It’s the most important issue on the table today but just one of many. If you solve that one, there are plenty more for you to take action against. As imperfect as they are, the police are the army are good Americans trying to do their job. Read all of Abraham Lincolns quotes. Pick your battles and make them count.
Your wild and crazy theory that because we have an issue in our schools that we should ignore an issue on our streets is a wild and crazy theory that I will not subscribe to.
Government does the same thing by pointing to a new tragedy that they created to have us ignore older tragedies that they created, but I try to ignore their newer and older fear-mongering and hope that they stop creating tragedies.
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Call me crazy as you but I believe that most D.C. actually take the job to try to serve.
The D.C. instead become foot soldiers of a corrupt government.
The D.C. are taught that it is okay to violate the Constitution for the United States of America by detaining people before any crime of person or property has occurred.
The D.C. are taught that it is okay to violate the Constitution for the United States of America by ordering people to answer questions or prove that their papers are in order.
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All D.C. and other government employees and politicians need to take an oath to uphold the Constitution for the United States of America and actually stick to that oath.
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It is sad that we need people like Granny Kate of Gaia to fight for our rights.
There are more important things to fight for is my only point. The policemen involved did respect Granny. That is very important to note and remember. We seem to dwell on the negatives the media report, and the media does not report the positives. There are far more positives but we are submerged in negatives. And yes a very corrupt power, even though it is a small minority of people world wide obviously, is continually throwing things in our path that distract us. It is not America but America is blamed. America and her people are fundamentally very good, but life is full of big and little fires Life on our exquisite, beautiful but suffering planet, needs balance and truth and perspective. We have to be aware of this. How do we stay focused and alert and on the job while continuing to enjoy the journey? How do we recognize truth? We need time to go fishing and reflect and get back to our inner source of wisdom and power so to speak. We don’t live forever and no one knows when their clock stops. Do we take the path of least resistance and ride it out only complaining when something little gets in our way? Sometimes we have to do just that but there are bigger issues. Do we pray and ask for God to point us to the issues we really need to deal with? All of us, sooner or later have to pick our battles and get our priorities straight. This may be to stick our head in the sand at times but at least we should know the journey our policemen and our vets took to arrive at what the media reports as bad behavior. Why don’t the media report as well the millions of good incidents of great everyday actions of the police and the army. Who are the media? The world today involves a higher level knowledge and awareness. I don’t think any of us should read the newspaper everyday but we need to catch up regularly by some means. We need balance in all aspects of our lives to remain strong, centered and well balanced and as American citizens to protect what we have. Compared to the world, we are better off with democracy and capitalism. It’s true. We have every opportunity to achieve goals no matter what circumstances we are under because there are ways and means available to us more than anywhere else on the planet. But we have to do the work. That is what made America great in the first place. Knowledge and awareness are the keys. The police are not the problem. They are trying to put out all the fires. United we stand and we need their help. If you major in minors, you waste your own power and the power of people who will unite with you to solve huge issues on the world’s table today. The police are human and they know what is going on too. The system is both good and bad. I don’t want a world government because I don’t trust the world organizations who would approve and put in place, all over the globe, this CSE program which is the most destructive to the minds and bodies of children ever put in place. I know this is an issue of destruction. Children are the future generations and this agenda will destroy more families that a world war. This is a sexual perversion War on Children. And they did this without the Media letting us know. So who are the Media? I do trust Donald Trump. He is a good man. He will be a fabulous President. He has not been careful enough of how he worded his concerns, but he does love America and he is toning down his anger about what has happened to America. As Kennedy said, “It’s not what your country can do for you. It is what you can do for your country”. Obviously you really care but are you completely informed about the issues and have you picked one of the most damaging and joined forces to stop it? What happens globally is happening here insidiously. This is your time and your watch. There bigger things to deal with than DUI police checks and police who clearly respected Granny and Granny’s concerns. Read Abraham Lincoln’s quotes and raise your awareness and pick on the really important issues. As you pointed out, you are being distracted from the big issues.
Your wild and crazy theory that because we have an issue in our schools that we should ignore an issue on our streets is a wild and crazy theory that I will not subscribe to.
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We must end government corruption, not only the tiny piece that you see, but all of it.
sorry.. but she is driving a “motor vehicle” that is owned/regulated by the state, i.e., the registration is provided by the state and she is engaged in a regulated activity. I don’t believe ID is optional when driving a motor vehicle.. If she was away from her “motor vehicle” and they asked for her ID, then I’d use her line.. but because she has tags on her car, she’s regulated and she doesn’t have any “freedoms.”