ORLANDO COURTHOUSE ARREST, 12-5-16
The arrest: On December 5, 2016, at 11:45 am Julian Heicklen, Mark Schmidter, and 2 ladies entered the Orange County courthouse courtyard in Orlando, FL. The 2 ladies sat on a bench far from the public sidewalk leading from the parking lot to the main entrance of the courthouse. Mark and Julian went to the public sidewalk, where they could not see the ladies. Julian held a sign reading JURY INFO and held out one page Nullification by Jury flyers. Some people walking from the parking lot approached Julian and took a flyer. Mark stood about 6 feet from Julian and just observed the event.
At about 12:00 noon when Heicklen had given out about 15 flyers, Heicklen was approached by 3 columns of 8 sheriff officers each (24 total sheriff officers) and told that he was trespassing on private court property and had to leave. Heicklen refused to leave. He was placed under arrest. The police officers started a discussion with Heicklen.
While this was going on, a plain clothes person approached, started mumbling from some document, which Heicklen thought was someone telling him to believe in Jesus. Actually he was a court official reading the trespass law to both Mark and Julian. Julian was annoyed by this and asked him to stop reading. He did not. Heicklen ordered him to go away. He continued reading. Julian said that if he did not go away, he would hit him in the face. He continued reading. Julian jumped up and approached him wielding a fist. The officers stopped Julian, placed him and Mark in handcuffs and declared them under arrest. Mark objected because he was only an observer and not a participant. The officers did not care.
Julian charged with 3 misdemeanors and 1 felony
- Trespassing on public property after warning
- Threatening public servant
- Assault
- Threat, throw, or Discharge Destructive Device
Items 1 and 2 are correct
Items 3 and 4 are outright lies.
Julian went limp, another officer showed up with a wheel chair for Julian and wheeled Julian to a building adjacent to the courthouse to interrogate him. He was searched but the only items had were a kleenex pack and the U. S. Constitution, plus his flyers and signs, pen and writing clipboard. No ID, no money. There were 2 interrogators and 2 sheriff officers present for the interrogation. Everything, except the U. S. Constitution was taken by the police. While Julian was still in the wheelchair, with both hands in handcuffs, some time was spent discussing Heicklen's previous appearances at other courthouses, which Heicklen was delighted to discuss at great length.
Finally questions were asked about the present event. Julian immediately went dead silent, bowed his head, and refused to even look at anyone. He was wheeled away, taken to the courthouse to face a judge in court. The judge asked his name. Heicklen answered "Call me Honey." The judge then asked the court stenographer for Heicklen's name and other information. The judge asked other questions but Heicklen just hung his head and said nothing more. The judge said somethings to the court stenographer, which Heicklen could not make out. She typed a paper and gave it to Heicklen. It included charges which were as given above. Parole was not permitted for any of the charges. The arraignment date was set for January 12, 2017.
- Nine days in prison: After the arraignment, my hands were placed in handcuffs, leg irons were placed on my legs, and I was put into a van with 5 other males and 5 other females. A metal sheet separated the males and females, so we could not see each other. After about a 20 minute ride, we reached the county prison. There we had the hand and leg cuffs removed, were stripped of our clothes, and put into prison clothes: a tee shirt, undershorts, pants and slippers. After we were registered, then we were led to our male and female "hotels." The male hotel is a large lounge filled with guards and prisoner helpers, 2 TV sets, a telephone, and a few tables with chairs. Surrounding the lounge were the cells.
I was assigned to cell #1, a private room for 1 person. It was 10' x 10', and 15', high. At the ceiling was a very large light which was kept on 24/7. Also there was a sink with a toilet connected to it, a small shelf to keep small bathroom articles, a towel, and a cot. There were no sheets on the mattress. On the second day a body bag and blanket were added. Also I was given a pen and pad to keep notes. The lights and TVs were kept on 24/7.
Meals were given in your cell at 5:00 am, 11:00 am, and 5:00 pm. Breakfast consisted of half of a small FL orange, some liquid identified as milk, corn flakes, 2 slices of bread, and sometimes a salami. Lunch and dinner were brought to the cell and consisted of a half baby orange, the funny milk, lettuce, and 2 slices of bread. Sometimes a slice of salami was also included. In addition the lunch and dinner food had meat, potatoes, and beans, all of which were uneatable.
The lobby was open to the prisoners from 2:00-4:00 pm. After breakfast and dinner, 3 guards and the nurse arrived with my daily pills, took my pulse rate, blood pressure, and temperature. Mark Schmidter had given the nurses all of my daily pills. I did not receive my "at home" breakfast addition of a shot of prune juice each day. As result, I made only 1 bowl movement during my 9-day stay. it clogged the toile, but after a few days someone came and unplugged the toilet.
On 3 consecutive days I made requests for access to the law library. On the 3rd try, I also included additional requests. All of the requests were ignored. We were allowed 1 free telephone call. However I did not use it, because I have early Alzheimer's disease and could not remember any phone numbers.
During the 2-hour open lounge daily time, I was allowed to enter the lounge and visit with other prisoners, watch TV, and make telephone calls. However the temperature of the whole prison was kept at about 60 degrees fahrenheit. I was not allowed to take my blanket or any other item out of the cell. Consequently, I rarely left my cell, and then for only a short time. I had caught a cold within 24 hours of my arrival at the prison.
In the lounge, I met 2 other prisoners who where helpful. Both of them joined Tyranny Fighters. One of them gave me 3 of the prison library books to read and one of his own to keep. One of the books: "The Covenant House" was about the Catholic home for wayward children in Manhattan, NY. I read the stories of several children. After each story I cried heavily: not only tears but my body shook heavily for about 15 minutes after each reading. I also read 2 of the other books. I kept the 4th book "40 days to Freedom" which the inmate gave to me as a present. I have yet to read it.
On the 9th day in prison I was notified of my release. A public defender had arranged for me to be paroled on $8000.00 bond. My own clothes were returned to me. Five other men and five women were handcuffed and driven to the courthouse where we were dismissed until arraignment to come. Mine was set for January 12, 2017. I called Mark Schmidter who picked me up, took me to the bail bondsman who arranged my bail at $8000, of which I had to pay $800 at that time. Mark took me home for the next several days where we met with several lawyers to prepare for my arraignment set for January 12, 2017.
Mark and 1 of the 2 others who had accompanied me were also arrested and were waiting for arraignment on January 5, 2017. Mark was imprisoned for 1 day before release. The other arrested lady was released 9 hours after being charged. Several days later the state attorney dropped the charges against Mark and the woman. My charges and trial dates were not changed.
On December 26, I left Fort Lauderdale and flew to Newark airport where I stayed until I left for Israel on December 27 and arrived in Tel Aviv on December 28. The Orlando courthouse still has my carry bag with my "Nullification by Jury", "Duty of a Witness" and "Legalize Marijuana" flyers, FIJA pamphlets, a clipboard, and "Jury Info" and "Legalize Marijuana" signs.
I am now living in Jerusalem, Israel with no intent to ever return to the United States. I wish to be buried in Israel, among my people. I hope that my family will not desecrate my body by burying it in the United States.
Yours in freedom and justice—Julian
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