Jeep Weekend is an unofficially sanctioned event that draws thousands of people to Crystal Beach in Galveastston, Texas every May. It's home to a handful of small businesses and residents that over the years have become fed up with the crime that Jeep Weekend brings to their neighborhood. Mostly, it's drunk people acting like idiots leading to property destruction, fights, and in 2024, two shootings resulted in one fatality. In 2024, over 295 arrests were made during the event, mostly for disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, and fighting. Over the years, the chaos has gotten so out of control that local businesses have talked about simply shutting down for the entire weekend. A lot of us down here as far as businesses, we don't want our customers or our employees on the road late at night during all the chaos. Many of the Jeep clubs that started this event years ago don't even attend themselves anymore because of all the chaos brought in by other people. Most people agreed that something needed to be done. And so in the weeks and days leading up to Jeep Weekend, the newly elected sheriff of Galveston County, Jimmy Fulen, took to Facebook to let people know things were going to be different this year. Hi, I'm Jimmy Fen with the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, and I just want to go over a few new rules that we're going to have in place for this year's Jeep Weekend. Along with Jimmy Felon's new rules, he implemented a checkpoint along the main highway to the beach in which every single vehicle traveling through would be stopped and the drivers would be IDed. Now, there were many different opinions on this, whether it's legal or illegal, constitutional or unconstitutional, right or wrong. And many different news agencies went out to record, document, and report on it, including mainstream media, independent media, and even vloggers. One of the independent news outlets that showed up was Grizzy's Hood News. She was allowed access to all the public areas to watch police stopping cars, pulling them off the highway, searching them, making arrests, etc., as she should be. She live streamed the operations of the police for almost 2 hours, completely unbothered and unhindered. Then, just moments after she finished up and left, the Brazoria County scanner showed up with Harvey Freeird, also independent news outlets. They tried to get the same shots from the same locations other news outlets had, but they were met with a much different attitude. 25 stand. All right, man. What's your name, badge number rights? Name, badge number. All right. Thank you, man. All right. So, I heard earlier that Grizzy was up there. Is there something difference between me and her? Is there something different? Is there something different? I'm asking between me and Grizzlyhood News. I'm asking cuz she was allowed to go up there. I'm just saying. Uh you want to look at uh Fort Ben County versus Justin Pulian by the way. You want to check that out? Where you going? Oh, I'm going to record police. You know what? I'm going to record the police. No, you're not. Why not? That's a That's a restricted area right here. They got they've got police computers over there. So, which side can I be on? No. On the on this side of these lines right here and out of this area right here. All right, man. I'll just record you. What are you doing, man? What are you doing? Good. What are you doing, man? Walk off. All right, you can walk in the middle of traffic. Walk off, man. Drive in the middle of traffic. Walk off, man. Leave me alone. Leave me alone. Leave me alone. Take a walk. I'm trying to walk. You leave me alone. Take a walk. Leave me alone. Take a walk. I'm trying to walk. Get out of my way. Wrong way. Get out of my way. I'm trying to go over there. Say go. Get out of my way. What's your name and badge number, man? Right up in my face, man. You're either going to walk or you're going to have to that jail right over there. Right over there. Take a walk. So, what was the difference between these two independent news outlets? One granted unfettered access to all the public areas, as she should be, and the other met almost immediately with bullying, intimidation, and even threats of arrest. Now, the police didn't say specifically why they allowed certain media in and not other media. But Harvey Freeberg and Brazoria County Scanner believe that they were kicked out because many of their stories criticize police actions. Whereas Grizzy Hood News always sides with police actions. Alison County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff's own Jimmy Fulen. How are you doing, Sheriff? Everything's going great, girl. Thank you. Thank you. Tell us what are we seeing out here today? This is our checkpoint. This leading on to the Baltimore peninsula where we got officers out here making sure everybody's driving legally. They have driver's license. They have insurance. Uh if they don't, they're being pulled into this private parking lot over here and then we're making sure they get their citations and making sure they don't have any illegal contaminant or anything like that. The sheriff told me to get behind the police cars. And then this other loser told me to go stand by the road. They have 10 cars that they've pulled off of this highway. Look at there. There's cars blocked as far as you can see. They're just randomly pulling cars off of the road. There's 10 cars all in a row, all being searched. They're all having their constitutional rights violated right now. And these clowns are wrapping tape all around us because they don't want us to see what's going on. The police wrapped the entire area in crime scene tape and push the media out to the highway. They're not there to wrap me up in tape. I'm going to take a step back, you guys. They're not going to trap me in tape. They got 10 cars they're searching over there right now. They're trying to keep us from documenting, but we already documented. They got makeshift cages over here. if you let another journalist in there. After pushing them all the way back to the highway, Harvey starts walking along the roadside. The law for pedestrians is that when there's no sidewalk provided, you're supposed to walk against the flow of traffic. Harvey walks with the flow of traffic, after which a handful of police approach him. Is there a crime in there? What's up with the crime scene? Step down here. Step down. Yep. Come on. Come on. There you go. What's up? You're arresting me? What? I'm being arrested? What am I being arrested for? Walking on the wrong side of the road. Walking on the wrong side of the road. Yes, sir. Put your camera down. Are you serious? Hey, come get my camera. I need to set it down. Just set it down so it doesn't break. Come grab my camera. There you go. You get my camera to my friends. How am I walking on the wrong side of the road? Are you serious? Hey, please get my camera. Unfortunately, these are evidence, sir. [Music] It's a citation. That doesn't mean it can't be evidence of a crime. What crime? Walk down the road. They arrest Harvey, put him in a patty wagon, and take him to be booked into jail. They take almost $2,000 worth of recording equipment from him that contains the clearer images of what he recorded on this evening, claiming that they have to keep it as evidence of the crime of walking on the wrong side of the road. Refusing to allow Harvey the same access to public areas as other media outlets wasn't enough for the Galveastston County Sheriff. Harvey has already previously published stories criticizing this department. It may just be my bias, so you decide. But it looks to me as if the Galveastston County Sheriff's Office is trying to send a message to all media that you will not criticize them. And if you do, they will retaliate against you. They will cause you pain and suffering. They will throw you in jail. They have a narrative. They will spoon feed it to you. You will deliver it to the public as it is fed to you or else. Now, it should come as no surprise to you that every single news outlet out there, including your mainstream Fox and CNN, all the way down to your independent Facebook news outlet with 100 followers have their different political biases and opinions. It's become so obvious how biased news outlets are that it's opened up a market for people like ground news and all sides that compile news stories from different news outlets with different political opinions in order to give us a more rounded view and better perspective. I wonder how long it'll take these agencies to show their bias. At any rate, a free society is supposed to have a free press where anyone with a desire to gather information with the intent to disseminate it to the public is press. We decided a long time ago it was much better for all of us to have to sift through everybody's [ __ ] rather than be spoonfed [ __ ] directly from the government. The following day, Galveastston Island Transparency media outlet had picked up Harvey from jail and they were headed back to their hotel or Airbnb and had to go through the checkpoint to get there. Harvey was recording with a pretty crappy device since the department had already stolen his good ones. I'm Corpal Star with the G County Sheriff's Office. How's it going? We're going today is a driver checkpoint. Every driver required to provide a valid driver license in accordance to section 521.25B. So you're saying if I continue this way without giving you my driver's license saying it required by section 5.15 to provide a valid driver. What I'm asking because that's an unconstitutional checkpoint. Okay. I'm free to travel. So what I'm asking is if I continue in this direction without giving you my identification, are you willing to arrest people? What's more people? Are you fear for your safety or something? Bruce was arrested and charged with Texas Penal Code 382 failure to ID. A lot of people have talked about the law and the case law surrounding this stuff, which I do feel is important to cover because it shows that the government doesn't even obey its own laws. They show that they have little to no regard for written legislation and case law, which I say is not actually a bad thing. Most of the worst atrocities in human history and genocides were committed within the bounds of the legislation. I've shown over the last eight years how often the government is willing to violate the legislation in the case law to take life, liberty, and property from the innocent. What if they were willing to have the same level of defiance and disobedience in order to protect life, liberty, and property? The number one cause of death in the 20th century is democide, death by one's own government. You're six times more likely to be killed by your own government than you are to be killed by someone else's government as a result of war. And the one thing that all of these murders have in common is that they were carried out by people who were just doing their job, just following the law, and just following orders. In the 1970s, the famous Mgrim's obedience study was conducted by Stanley Mgrim. His goal was to try to figure out what in human nature allows democides to continue to happen, specifically the one in Nazi Germany. He conducted an experiment focusing on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience. The study showed that 82% of average everyday people were willing to significantly harm their fellow man if ordered to do so by perceived authority and 65% of people were willing to kill their fellow man for completely arbitrary reasons simply because perceived authority told them to do it. 80% of the people who were willing to inflict a small level of harm on their fellow men were also willing to escalate all the way to killing their fellow man. Therefore, whether these checkpoints be legal or illegal, I wanted to know if the people conducting them had ever questioned within their own conscience whether they believed that what they were doing was right or wrong or if they were just following orders. I called the Galveastston County Sheriff's Office to ask them this and I actually got a call [Music] back. This is James. Hello. How are you guys? Mr. James Freeman there. Yes, sir. Deputy This is Deputy P with the Gston County Sheriff's Office. I had a message to call you. Deputy what is it? Hulk. P A L K. P A U L K. Yes, sir. Hey. So, yeah, I was I was trying to figure out uh uh you work for Galveston County Sheriff's Office. You saw the checkpoint that was done this weekend. Did you did you work it? I was out there. I worked this weekend. Yes. You were at the checkpoint working? Yes, sir. I was Okay. Yeah. Um so, I I was told that it's legal in Texas to stop someone simply for traveling along a highway. and demand their license. Is is that the case? Right. Um is there is there something that you're reporting or are you requesting information from the sheriff's office in regards to policy and procedure? I'm trying to talk to a human being and have a a human conversation with them. So, so I'm wanting to talk to the actual human beings who stopped people without reasonable suspicion, probable cause, um, demanded their IDs, searched their vehicles, and and trying to find out if these people ever consult their conscience rather than consulting their policies or their legislation or what their boss told them to do. Okay, I can answer the I can answer the question of the purpose of the stops that we made. Okay. Okay. So, pursuant to Texas Transportation Code 521025B, boy, a peace officer may stop and detain a person operating a motor vehicle to determine if the person has a driver's license that's required by the transportation code in the state of Texas. Do you know when that code was passed by any chance? Um, I believe that was passed sometime. I don't have the date, but I know that all the uh the Texas Transportation Code was, you know, every year it goes through um the legislature re redo the transportation code, the penal code, all the other codes. They re-evaluate those year and they make changes every year. So, as of as of the last time I know that it was checked and updated was around January 1st of 2024. I I don't have the date whether it was done this last year or not. Any new codes that have come out, we take legislative updates every year and changes us easily put put across for those other codes. So, right now I don't have any other information on when the last time it was updated. All right. And I I usually get blown off when I ask this question, but I don't I don't mean to cause a problem or get anybody upset, but I I I have to ask, you know, there's been a lot of bad laws on the books in the past. And actually, all the worst atrocities in human history, every single genocide in human history was legal. It was written on paper that that law enforcement could do what they were doing. And so my my next question was um do you ever look at this stuff and and uh try to make your own judgments with your own conscience or uh it is there anything that could be written on paper and called law that you would not enforce? I I don't understand the premise of your question that what does it have to do with the checkpoint that we operated this weekend? Well, um so I I know it sounds cliche, but you there was a long time ago when when US citizens used to say that a checkpoint to check someone's papers was wrong. It was morally wrong. It was lawfully wrong. Um, and there was this one country that did it one time back in the 1940s and they they would set up checkpoints and demand the papers of every single person that came through it. And most of the world said that is wrong. The United States specifically, US citizens said, gosh, you know what? If there's a country like that, we need to completely topple that regime, blow everything up, kill everyone in charge, and institute a new government because that's wrong. That was called Nazi Germany. Okay. I live in the United States of America in the state of Texas, right? I don't want those questions about Nazi Germany has anything to do with this phone conversation because I will live in the state of Texas, right? And like I just said, back in Nazi Germany, they started checkpoints where they would stop people without reasonable suspicion, without believing anyone committed a crime and demand their papers, demand that they show, you know, that that they had a right to be traveling wherever they were at, that they had their, you know, equivalent of their driver's license. I'm telling you, nobody's travel was invaded this weekend. Nobody's. Nobody's. So there's not a guy named Bruce who was arrested uh because he asked a Galveastston. So what happened? Any arrest that any arrests that were made of any other civilian beside yourself, I will have to refer you to the PIO at this agency. Okay. So what if someone refused to show their papers at the checkpoint? What happened then? What papers are they refusing to show? Driver's license. Driver's license is not a paper. It's issued a Literally by definition of you know securing your person, your papers and your effects, it is literally what is defined as papers in your person, your papers and effects that you're supposed to be uh secure in. It literally is your papers. I disagree because No, no, it's not. It's not. As a matter of fact, we can disagree on opinions all the time like whether it's right or wrong. We can we can disagree on whether it's right or wrong, but as a matter of fact of law. Yes. Hello. Yes. Can you hear me? Yes. Yes. Is there a question that I can answer in regards to the checkpoint from this weekend? Well, I don't know why you interrupt me when I start correcting you that as a fact of law, it is your So, the question was, what happened if someone refused to show their license? Were they arrested or were they let go? Pursuant to the Texas Transportation Code 521025B, a peace officer may stop and detain a person operating a motor vehicle to determine if the person has a driver's license is required by the Texas Transportation Code to operate a vehicle on the highways and roads and areas on the in the state of Texas. So, if they refused to show their license at your checkpoint, were they arrested or were they free to go? They were arrested. Excellent. The question then is you, you know, I'm asking you these questions and you keep referring back to a code or a statute. And I told you earlier all of the worst atrocities in human history, all the genocide happened this weekend. You're interrupting. But that didn't happen this weekend. No genocide happened. You're you're absolutely right. It's what what started in in the 19. What questions can I answer to from you about the checkpoint from this weekend? Um, do you ever question what's right and wrong or do you only question what's in the legislation or the code? Is there any questions I can answer to you about the checkpoint from this weekend? That's what you call for. You're acting as if you're not human and you're just a robot. And I know that not to be true. I'm not a robot. I am a human. I know you are. And I want you I want you I can't force you, but I want you to act like it. You're asking to make statements in regards to things that are outside of my scope of the checkpoint. It it you're are you I believe you are a human. Are you a human? What questions can I answer? Choosing right and wrong. Deciding what's right and what's wrong is not outside of the scope of your authority as a human. I'm asking you, do you ever question whether what you're doing is right or wrong rather than just questioning whether or not it's codified in regards to the checkpoint? In regards to that specifically, but in regards to any law, in regards to the checkpoint, we follow the law. Even if it violates your conscience or you think it's wrong. You're asking for an opinion. You're not asking for information regarding the checkpoint. Again, I'm asking you to be human. I'm trying. I believe you are human. We I am human. I am answering the questions you're asking. Look, people talk about humanizing the badge all the time. I know you're human. I know you are. James, I'm answering the question you're asking about the checkpoint. Okay, this isn't a personal conversation between you and I about what my beliefs are, what my beliefs aren't. I'm at work. I'm answering the questions you're asking about the checkpoint. So, are there any other questions you would like to ask about the checkpoint? Do you believe that when you're at work that you are not allowed to follow your conscience and that you must follow the codified legislation or what your bosses tell you to do? James, yes. Are there any other question that I can ask you that you can ask me in regards to the checkpoint? Yeah, that that was a question in direct regards to the checkpoint. Do you believe that you must obey the codified uh rules on the checkpoint even if it violates your conscience? 51. That's outside the scope of the question regarding the checkpoint. Thanks. Show me how city ending mileage. We both know that that's just a trained response to avoid answering the question. I'm I'm answering your question. Ask me qu ask me a question about the check. I'll answer them all day long. Uh I I'm going to go ahead and just give you a a pass though. I understand that you you probably feel uncomfortable with the question. No, I don't feel I don't feel uncomfortable with the question. Ask me the question you want me answer. If it's within the scope of my duties and my ability to answer the question regarding to the checkpoint, I will answer it. Your duties as a cop or your duties as a human? Are you asking about the or are they one and the same? Ask me a personal question. Are your duties, let me ask you this then. Are your duties as a cop and your duties as a human one and the same or are they different? When I'm at work, I follow the law. Whatever the codified legislation says, you mean? Absolutely. So did Nazis. That's how genocide happens. That's how it happens. And that's your opinion. Did do do you have you ever questioned whether or not that checkpoint was right or wrong? It was right because I checked the codified code as you suggested. Well, the code once said that I could buy and sell a man as long as he was black. Was that right or wrong? Did that happen this weekend, James? It doesn't matter when it happened. It happened. Did it happen? Did Does that something happen this weekend, James? You're not going to get me in a gotcha moment because there that didn't happen this weekend. And that's and that's just it is that I I do feel like you're defensive because you feel like you're in a gotcha. And I get that. I get that. I'm not being defensive, James. I'm answering the questions about the checkpoint. I was called you I was told you were calling in regards to the checkpoint. I'm going to answer those questions within the scope of the information I have in front of me. And that we we perform the checkpoint in regards to the Texas Transportation Code as I've read it to you. 21.025B boy is what we based upon our stops that we made out there. Okay. So, check driver's license. All right. And when I asked you, do you you know, do you believe that you know would you did you ask your conscience whether it's right or wrong? You said you checked the code and the code said you could do it. Does that mean could I conclude from that then that anything that is codified into law anything that's written into legislation is therefore morally right and you should do it is that a question regarding the checkpoint James so you're telling me that I can only ask you questions regarding the checkpoint that I can't just talk to you like a human and ask you questions about your humanity or lack thereof. James, I was told that you were calling in regards to the checkpoint. That's the conversation we're going to have. So, you're not willing to speak about humanity at all. If you want to talk morally, personal questions back and forth with each other, then we can do that when I'm off work. All right. You got my number? You got my number? You got my number, right? Yeah. I'm not I won't be calling you when I'm off. Well, then why did you say we could talk about it when you when you got off work? I'm not going to talk about my personal opinions at work. Do you think that you're that that we met each other outside of work and you wanted to know my personal opinions? I might I might uh have a conversation with you, but I'm not going to call you on my time off. All right. Do you do you think that morality changes when you put your badge on and come to work? James, you want to talk about the checkpoint? We can talk about the checkpoint. I'm talking about the checkpoint. No, you're not. You're asking uh about me putting my uniform on. Right. Did you put your uniform on when you went out to the checkpoint? Absolutely I did. If you didn't have the uniform on, would you feel that you would have a lawful right? James, that James, I'm following the law. 521 025B. boy. You have any more questions regarding that, I'll be happy to answer them. All right. Uh, I was asking you when you're interrupted there, if if you didn't have your uniform on, when you get off work tonight, when you when when you get off work tonight and you're wearing plane clothes, do you feel that you have a right answer that question? That's a person. Do you feel that you have a right to set up a checkpoint without the uniform on? James, I'm not going to answer that question. I'm at work and regarding this phone call that you asked the sheriff's office for me to call you. I call the public service, which is what I've made, I'm answering the questions about the checkpoint. What question do you have right now regarding the checkpoint? Regarding the checkpoint, do you believe that you have a lawful right to conduct a checkpoint when you are not at work? James, I've answered that question already three times now. What was the answer? Was it yes or no? I I apologize. I'm not answering a question based upon a personal belief that I might have on or off work. So, your answer to the question was I'm not answering the question. Yeah, I told you that. Did I not tell you that? I I will answer to my performance of my duties while I'm at work at the checkpoint. And that's what you That was the purpose of your phone call. Am I Am I not correct? I'll I'll just conclude with this, man. I I want to let you know. I see all this stuff about humanizing the badge, okay? But then I the way that I see it, you won't answer the question about whether or not, you know, this would be okay for you if you weren't in uniform. You're still a human when you go home. You're a human when you put on the badge. You're a human when you go home. You are the same exact human. The fact that you think that that you that you try to disconnect the two about when you're at home and when you're in a badge tells me that maybe at one point you're human and at one point you're not. If if you have if if it's okay for you to do something, then it's okay. No matter what you're wearing or what time of the day it is, it when you're off work and you see somebody, an armed robber walk into a gas station and point a gun at a clerk, are you justified off of work in stopping that armed robber by any means of force necessary? What question does it have to do with the Look, man, I don't know why you think we're not allowed to talk about anything other than the checkpoint. If you see somebody robbing, if you see somebody robbing somebody else at gunpoint and you are off work, do you have the right to stop them, James? You know you do. You know you have a right whether you have a uniform on or whether you don't to stop that armed robber. Now, whether you have a uniform on or you do not, do you have a right to stop random drivers on the highway and demand papers from them? James, you dehumanize yourself through conversations just like this. You dehumanize yourself. If you show up at a checkpoint without a driver's license or fail to provide it, you're going to go to jail. Oh, I know. And you wonder, I'm sure, do you remember what happened back in Dallas in 2015 or 2016 when that guy went out and sought out as many police officers? Are we done questioning about the checkpoint, James? As many police officers as he could and slaughtered them, five cops. James, are you done asking question about the checkpoint? And you wonder, why is it what makes it easier to do something like that to people is when you dehumanize them. But you sit here and you dehumanize yourself. You do it to yourself. I try to humanize you and you try to continue to dehumanize yourself.