Amanda Billyrock

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Amanda Billyrock (birth name Amanda Johnson) is a self-described "anarchist blogger and lover of cryptography". She interviewed Ron Paul[1] and created a video documenting her 2012 visit to the Mises Institute and meeting Lew Rockwell.[2] Billyrock published a series of cartoons summarizing chapters from Economics in One Lesson.[3] In 2013, Jeffrey Tucker described her as "a huge figure in the libertarian world over the last two years. Amanda is a young idealist who dreams of bringing freedom to the U.S. were shattered and so she decided to seek it out on her own, in New Zealand."[4] Billyrock has also been featured in John Light's "Your Personal Bitcoin Consultant".[5] She explains her anarchism as follows:[6]

I referenced the word Anarchy – the Greek root simply means without rulers. That’s all it means. You can actually see some mainstream dictionaries mis-defining the word into “Chaos” and “Lawlessness.” What?! Dictionaries get to make up their own definitions now, really?? So when I want to use the word Anarchy or Capitalism, or even the words “Private Property”; that is so misunderstood because if a cop is allowed to enter your property and kick down your door and if you cannot legally defend yourself and shoot the person that is entering your house, then it is not private property. If you have to pay taxes to live on your property (I.e. property taxes) then it is not private property.

Arrest

On 13 December 2013, Billyrock was arrested in Laconia, New Hampshire after allegedly running a red light and then not speaking to police. A Freecoast post noted, "What she didn’t do was give in to standard police tactics designed to manipulate people into incriminating themselves."[7] She was charged with driving under the influence, resisting arrest, and illegal drug possession, among other things.[8] On the advice of her attorney, she took the video footage of the interaction with the officer off the Internet.

She called the officer's behavior "unwarranted aggression" and stated that all charges were false. She said, "I was not intoxicated. I was not impaired. I had my wits about me the entire time. I chose not to speak, not because I was impaired, but because it is my right not to speak. Moving on: possession of a controlled substance. What they're referring to are my prescriptions." It is indeed common practice for police officers, when making arrests, to seize prescription drugs without evidence that the drugs were possessed illegally, whether "pending investigation" of the drugs' provenance or otherwise. Billyrock also claimed to be unaware of her passenger's having left an open container of alcohol in her car.[9] On 2 January 2014, she posted a video naming the "aggressor", police officer Michael Armstrong, and describing how she was treated at the jail, including being denied a blanket and her medications. After her release, she was denied the right to travel.[10]

Other videos

One of her videos, What Happens When You Talk to Cops Like They Talk to You, begins by noting, "Two cops in their cars have been parked in the street, blocking traffic, with no stated purpose. They've been sitting and watching peaceful patrons come out of a night club." A heckler approaches the scene and begins questioning the officers. He asks, "You don't think I have a legitimate purpose in asking you what your business is here?" When the officer responds that he is busy, the heckler asks, "Busy with what?" He then asks the officer for some identification and asks the officer's consent to search his police cruiser, including its trunk. The heckler asks, "Do you have anything illegal in your car? Have you been drinking this evening, sir? Do you have something to hide? Is that why you won't let me look in your vehicle?"[11]

References

  1. Amanda Billyrock (20 November 2012). "BillyRock interviews Ron Paul". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEr_jrKEuvE. 
  2. Amanda Billyrock (27 September 2012). "BillyRock at Mises University". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47EC6kKNISQ. 
  3. "Posts Categorized: Economics Cartoons". AmandaBillyRock. http://amandabillyrockarchived.dandylionstudio.com/category/economics/. 
  4. "Should You Move to New Zealand? Interview with Amanda BillyRock". Laissez Faire Club Blog. http://lfb.org/blog/should-you-move-to-new-zealand-interview-with-amanda-billyrock/. 
  5. Light, John (13 January 2014). "Everything You Need To Know About Bitcoin In Five Minutes". Your Personal Bitcoin Consultant. http://bitcoinconsultant.me/tag/amanda-billyrock/. 
  6. Anabell (14 December 2013). "An Interview With Amanda BillyRock". Tenacious Thinking. http://tenaciousthinking.com/2013/12/14/an-interview-with-amanda-billyrock/. 
  7. "Why Amanda Billyrock’s Stand Is Undeniably Right". Freecoast. 16 December 2013. http://freecoast.org/2013/12/16/why-amanda-billyrocks-stand-is-undeniably-right/. 
  8. Ian (16 December 2013). "Amanda Billyrock Charged With DUI, Resisting Arrest, Drug Possession, & More". FreeKeene. http://freekeene.com/2013/12/16/amanda-billyrock-charged-with-dui-resisting-arrest-drug-possession-more/. 
  9. Amanda Billyrock (18 December 2013). "Billyrock's Statement About Arrest: All Charges Are FALSE". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3m3KlaZU80. 
  10. Amanda Billyrock (2 January 2014). "What Happened in Jail (and How the Charges Were Fabricated)". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6pB3iV8l1E. 
  11. Amanda Billyrock (21 January 2014). "What Happens When You Talk to Cops Like They Talk to You". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH5MZbHyg8o. 

External link