By John Vibes
The Texas activist group Don’t Comply was making waves again this week after they were ejected from a bioterrorism drill for filming. Members of Don’t Comply signed up to be “crisis actors” in a mock government drill, which is said to train police and emergency crews for an actual attack.
Don’t Comply members Matthew Short, Murdoch Pizgatti, Brett Sanders and others were accepted to take part in the drill, and they decided to bring their cameras and film the event so they could give the public a better idea of how these drills work and ultimately, how their tax dollars are spent. The group had responded to a public call for volunteers that was broadcast through NBC News. The article asked for 200 volunteers play the role of a “patient” in a mock bioterrorism attack.
According to Addison fire chief John O’Neil, there were multiple government agencies involved in the operation, including the local fire department, health department, and police department.
“The fire department does frequent training so that we can be prepared for any emergency. By Partnering with these other agencies, we are able to participate in exercises we could not possibly manage alone,” O’Neil told NBC.
Matthew Short told The Free Thought Project that Don’t Comply wanted to get to the bottom of what was really going on with these training drills and these crisis actors, to experience for themselves and to show the world what was happening.
“We were interested in what they were training for. There was a public call for up to two hundred crisis actors. The Dontcomply crew thought it would be a great idea to get cameras inside to look past conspiracy theories, and find out what was actually going on,” Short said.
“My nickname online is showme. I like to see things to believe them,” he added.
As expected, as soon as they entered the drill, their presence and the presence of their cameras was unwelcome and they were asked to stop filming by a number of organizers and volunteers.
Brett Sanders described the encounter in a recent article, saying that,
One Dallas County volunteer who was sporting an official lanyard of some kind requested that I not film her, which I politely refused. Not only was she working in an official government capacity, she was in a public space with no expectation to privacy. That didn’t stop her from charging at me and my camera, attempting to knock the camera out of my hands. I’m not a lawyer, but I believe I was assaulted by this government volunteer for refusing to stop recording.
Sanders went on to describe how his crew was kicked out, and that the local mainstream news affiliate was kicked out as well.
Don’t Comply activists are calling these actions taken by police and government agents an attack on the freedom of the press and the first amendment.
“As an independent journalist, I took great interest in this event and believed that the public has a right to know how their own government is allocating resources and should be aware of how the drill was being conducted,” Sanders said.
A video of the activists being kicked out of the drill can be viewed below:
As we reported last month, Don’t Comply regularly feeds the homeless in their area despite a local law that prohibits them from doing so.
Interestingly enough, Don’t Comply also made headlines earlier this month for an entirely different type of protest. In addition to being advocates for the homeless, Don’t Comply is also heavily involved in gun rights and open carry activism.
Earlier this month, they staged a mock mass shooting at “gun free zones” to demonstrate how long it took police to arrive. Their protest was controversial, but actually changed the minds of many who rely on police as their only source of protection.
John Vibes is an author and researcher who organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference. He also has a publishing company where he offers a censorship free platform for both fiction and non-fiction writers. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can purchase his books, or get your own book published at his website www.JohnVibes.com.
