Impeach Obama Sign

Man Arrested at Alaska State Fair for
Impeach Obama Sign
A brutal assault by security personnel on a LaRouche supporter.

"I have free speech!"

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A supporter of frequent presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche who carried a sign that called for President Barack Obama's impeachment was handcuffed and arrested at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer.

A bystander posted video of the incident on YouTube.

Fair officials say Sidney Hill drew complaints Thursday that he was disrupting fair entertainment.

The video shows Hill claiming his free speech rights were violated. He said he was disabled and that fair security personnel hurt him as they pinned him to the ground.

Fair spokesman Dean Phipps says the fairgrounds are private property and fair goers are subject to rules. He says excessive force was not used.

Hill was charged with assault, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.

Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Obama protester arrested at Alaska State Fair

This first day of the 2010 Alaska State Fair starts with sunny skies and a brutal assault by security personnel on a LaRouche supporter.

At about 5pm Alaska Time, Thursday, August 26, 2010, security personnel approach Sidney Hill, a lone man peacefully displaying an impeach Obama sign near Pioneer Plaza on the Alaska State Fairgrounds in Palmer. Minutes later, a crowd assembles, additional security forces arrive, and they physically assault the man holding the sign. He’s taken to the ground with force and detained.

An unidentified Alaska State Trooper arrives to physically disperse the crowd, and at several points during the conflict, crowd members yell in support of the demonstrator’s right to speak his message. The demonstrator’s personal firearm is confiscated by fair security, and he is held captive until Palmer police arrive to escort the man away in cuffs.

Sidney Hill was in jail awaiting a pre-trial at 1:00pm on August 27, 2010 at the Palmer Courthouse. He has been charged with Assault 4-Cause Fear Of Injury, Disorderly Conduct-Challenge To Fight, and Criminal Trespass 2- Upon Premises. However, according to the Valley Frontiersman newspaper, “Assistant District Attorney Trina Sears said her office decided not to prosecute Hill on the assault charge.”

Assault on protestor at 3:30

Trooper distracts me, but I barely catch the gun in security guard’s left hand at 4:41

Court record of arrest: http://bit.ly/bPSx6D
ADN coverage: http://bit.ly/bwE3u9
Frontiersman coverage: http://bit.ly/9V4gyn
Newsminer coverage: http://bit.ly/bEEq2K
Alaska State Fair official statement: http://bit.ly/cY5U2u