[lildobe]

UPDATE: Trial scheduled for Tuesday, July 14 at 0900.
See this post for details:
http://forum.pafoa.org/open-carry-14...tml#post810618 (Mtn Jack's Arrest and Legal Info Thread)


(A note - all news articles posted here are copyright their respective owners and are included here under Fair Use)

This is a quick summary of what happened to Mtn Jack. It's organized into four sections. (1) The initial event thread and when we were told about what happened. (2) News Stories from various media outlets (3) Cold Hard FACTS from Pa Patriot, who has been in contact with Mtn Jack since the incident. and (4) Miscellaneous Information relating to the incident.

As more information becomes available, we will add to this thread. The thread will be locked to keep superfluous discussion out, and leave only the facts of the incident and resulting actions. For general discussion regarding the incident, please go here: http://www.pafoa.org/forum/concealed...ally-site.html

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On Friday August 29th, 2008, it was reported on OpenCarry.org that Mtn Jack was arrested in a park across the street from the location that Senator Obama was scheduled to speak at later that evening.

Earlier that day, he had posted a thread to PAFOA about his intention to go to the rally:
http://www.pafoa.org/forum/general-2...ns-bibles.html

His original post:

Originally Posted by Mtn Jack

Bring your gun and Bible to Beaver tonite, lets show Obama how we hug our Bibles and guns. On a different note Pres McCain picked a gun toten women from Ak as his running mate. This is going to be good.

Stay safe Mtn Jack

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The story was quickly picked up and sensationalized by the media:

http://www.timesonline.com/articles/...2890214530.txt

Man arrested for having gun at rally

By Bill Vidonic, Times Staff

BEAVER — An Industry man is facing a disorderly conduct charge for attending the Barack Obama rally in Irvine Park with a loaded gun that was holstered on his hip, according to state police and the Beaver County sheriff’s department.

John Noble, 50, was questioned by police for several hours Friday night after the incident, in which witnesses said he also was passing out fliers with writing about gun rights.

John Atkinson of Vanport Township said he saw Noble passing out the fliers and noticed the small-caliber handgun strapped to the man’s waist. He said he quickly notified nearby deputy sheriffs, and deputies Joseph O’Sche and Rich Yonlisky approached the man as he walked along Market Street.

Atkinson said that when the deputies asked why he had a gun, Noble replied, “Because I’m an American,” and one of the deputies responded, “Well, you’re under arrest.”

Noble was hustled to a nearby vehicle, and state police took him to the Brighton Township barracks to question him.

Beaver County Sheriff George David said that Noble insisted he had a right to have the gun because he has a permit to carry it. It wasn’t clear late Friday whether Noble had a valid permit.

David said Noble “wanted to show his rights.” He said Noble never removed the gun from the holster or threatened anyone.

Noble’s arrest took place around 7 p.m., nearly 90 minutes before Sen. Obama and the rest of his campaign team arrived in Beaver.

Bill Vidonic can be reached online at bvidonic@timesonline.com.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/...84/detail.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26464328/

Police Charge Man With Disorderly Conduct At Presidential Campaign Event

POSTED: 12:24 am EDT August 30, 2008
BEAVER, Pa. -- A man armed with a gun and a Bible was arrested Friday at an event for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama in Beaver County.

WTAE Channel 4's news-exchange partners at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that a 50-year-old man brought a gun and Bible to the rally site an hour before it began at Irvine Park in Beaver.

The Trib reported that the man was protesting Obama's statement about Pennsylvanians looking to religion and guns because they are frustrated.

The man did not make any threats or gestures with the gun, and he did not take it out of its holster.

The Trib reported that the man will be cited with disorderly conduct as the investigation continues.

Authorities did not immediately release the man's name.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08243/908351-100.stm

Industry man contests arrest outside Obama rally
Saturday, August 30, 2008
By Milan Simonich, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Beaver County man who routinely wears a pistol on his hip says he was illegally arrested by local law officers before a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

"I am a threat to no one. Mr. Obama doesn't trump my constitutional rights. The president of the United States doesn't trump my constitutional rights," said John Noble, who was handcuffed, questioned for about two hours and then told by state police that he would receive two citations for disorderly conduct.

Mr. Noble, 50, of Industry, said he wore a holstered Glock 19 when he entered the park across the street from the Beaver County Courthouse more than an hour before Mr. Obama arrived for a campaign appearance Friday night.

"I had a Bible in one hand and an apple in the other. I was going to pass out my fliers [on the rights of law-abiding Americans to carry guns], but I never got the chance."

State police in Beaver County referred questions about Mr. Noble's arrest to Trooper Shawn Schexnaildre, of New Castle, who was part of the law enforcement detail in the park. The trooper, who was to begin his shift later today, could not be reached immediately for comment.

Jim Gehr, agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service field office in Pittsburgh, said the federal agency did not file any charges against Mr. Noble.

"Our people did talk to him. He never entered the event area," Agent Gehr said.

Mr. Noble said four or five law officers, plus a police dog, descended on him after somebody reported that he was wearing a pistol on his hip. He said they held him for 40 minutes in a Secret Service vehicle, then took him to the Beaver barracks of the state police for questioning. After being cuffed and shackled, he said, police eventually read him his rights. They also confiscated his pistol.

"Didn't even give me a receipt for it. There were lots of violations of my constitutional rights," Mr. Noble said.

After his arrest, his wife, Janet, handed out his fliers on citizens' rights to carry guns.

Mr. Noble said he had not decided whether to support Mr. Obama or Republican John McCain in the presidential election. He said he hoped Mr. Obama would call him to affirm the right of a law-abiding man to carry a pistol while a presidential contender visited.

Mr. Noble, a former body guard, said he used to carry his pistol in his clothing. But, he said, he has openly worn his handgun in a secure holster for the last four or five years. Nobody ever bothered him before, he said. He said he sometimes is asked why he carries a gun, and he explains that it is his constitutional right. In a practical sense, he said, he arms himself for protection.

He said he has a lawyer and may bring a lawsuit over his treatment by police.

Man says he had right to carry gun to rally

By Bill Vidonic, Times Staff

Published: Saturday, August 30, 2008 11:31 PM EDT
INDUSTRY — An Industry man insisted Saturday there’s nothing in the law that prevented him from wearing a loaded handgun to Friday’s presidential election rally in Beaver.

“I have it for protection, to protect my wife and my children,” said John A. Noble, 50. “I never gave it a thought. I wasn’t doing anything illegal,”

Noble, a horse and cattle fence builder, said he was simply standing with others at the rally, a Bible in one hand, and an apple in the other.

But it was the Glock 19 handgun holstered at his side that drew the attention of local and federal law enforcement. State police said just wearing the gun disrupted the event.

Noble said he had a handful of fliers that he wanted to pass out, spelling out gun rights.

Those fliers list Noble’s basic argument, citing a Pennsylvania statute that says a person may “openly carry a handgun in plain sight with no license.” Exceptions include in vehicles, in Philadelphia, and convicted felons.

To carry a concealed handgun, a person must have a state license to carry firearms.

Noble said he didn’t have a ticket to the rally, and he was standing with his wife, Janet, in McIntosh Park. While that area was fenced in, spectators did not have to pass through metal detectors to get into that area, as they did in Irvine Park.

In a news release, state police Trooper Shawn L. Schexnaildre wrote that Noble “breached the secured perimeter of a presidential candidate political rally with a handgun fully loaded, operational, holstered and exposed.”

Bystanders alerted police, and deputy sheriffs, Beaver police, state police and Secret Service agents took him into custody.

“(Noble’s) actions created a clear public alarm and caused a significant breakdown in the security measures at the rally” with officers abandoning their posts “to ensure his quick and safe apprehension and disarming.”

Friday, deputies and state police said that Noble never tried to draw his weapon and did not threaten anyone with it. Noble’s arrest took place more than an hour before Obama and Biden arrived in Beaver.

Noble never did hear Obama, as he was in state police custody until his release, and his firearm, which Noble said he has a permit for, was confiscated.

When questioned as to the wisdom of wearing a firearm to a rally with metal detectors, Secret Service agents, and dozens of local law enforcement, Noble replied, “His (Obama’s) rights do not trump mine.” He added he’s worn the gun in public for several years without incident.

Noble says he has an attorney, but said he’ll wait and see what charges he might face before deciding what course of action he’d take.

In the news release, Schexnaildre described the nature of the incident as disorderly conduct, and wrote that Noble faces misdemeanor grade charges that will be filed by state police; no federal charges have been filed.

Noble said his only previous criminal offense was “a speeding ticket while driving a church bus.”

“If it was that serious of an offense (Friday), I would be in jail,” Noble said.

Bill Vidonic can be reached online at bvidonic@timesonline.com.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_585890.html
Gun rights group protests arrest at Obama event
By The Tribune-Review
Monday, September 1, 2008

A gun rights group is calling on Gov. Ed Rendell to "order a halt to unlawful police-state tactics at presidential campaign events" after a Beaver County man was arrested Friday for openly carrying a gun near where Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama later made an appearance.

The group, OpenCarry.org, accused state police of suspending the right to bear arms in Beaver by arresting John Noble, 50, of Industry. State police said Noble would be charged with disorderly conduct for carrying a loaded, holstered and exposed 9 mm semiautomatic because he breached a secured perimeter of a presidential candidate rally, creating alarm and causing a breakdown in security.

OpenCarry.org says Noble was not at the Obama event, did not attempt to enter the event area and broke no law.

http://www.timesonline.com/articles/...e040519053.txt
Industry man charged with disorderly conduct
By Bill Vidonic, Times Staff
Published: Friday, September 5, 2008 10:39 PM EDT

An Industry man intended to disrupt an Aug. 29 Barack Obama rally in Beaver by wearing a loaded gun holstered on his hip, state police said Friday.

John A. Noble, 50, of 1063 Willowbrook Drive, has been charged with one count each of disorderly conduct and disrupting meetings and processions.

In court documents, police said Noble “came to this proceeding with an agenda and a plan,” as he posted on a Web site prior to the rally that he was going to take his gun “to test what would happen.”

Noble said Friday evening, “Why would there be a test? I was just inviting others from our group. There was no test about it.”

Police said Noble posted messages on the Pennsylvania Firearms Owners Association under the user name “Mtn Jack,” which Noble confirmed is his user handle, urging other gun owners to join him.

In filing charges, state police Trooper Shawn L. Schexnaildre said “the accused’s political agenda and intent to disrupt the proceedings at the Obama rally were clearly evident by his own statement and actions.”

However, Schexnaildre pointed out that Noble did not violate the law by simply having the gun, as it’s legal in Pennsylvania to wear a weapon out in the open without a permit.

Police and Beaver County deputy sheriffs earlier said that Noble was in McIntosh Square, adjacent to Irvine Park. A witness saw the gun, a Glock 9mm handgun holstered on Noble’s waist, and notified deputies more than an hour before Obama arrived. Noble also had fliers about gun rights.

Schexnaildre said that when police first questioned him, Noble said he didn’t know Obama would be in Beaver until his wife told him about it just prior to their arrival. Schexnaildre wrote that was obviously untrue because of the Web posting.

Noble had a Bible in one hand, and when he was questioned as to why, Schexnaildre said, Noble responded that he “was there to show Senator Obama that Pennsylvanians do, in fact ‘cling to their guns and religion.’ ”

Obama was criticized for a San Francisco speech in April in which he said small-town Americans are “bitter.”

Schexnaildre said Noble’s answers indicated “his intent was to disrupt the proceedings.” The trooper added that Noble said “he did not think he would get within a mile of the senator, but was apprehended within 100 yards of the podium after crossing the outer perimeter barrier tape and being in a position to see no less than a dozen police officers.”

After being interviewed for a couple of hours after he was taken into custody, Noble was released and his gun confiscated.

Police and deputy sheriffs said Noble did not threaten anyone and did not try to reach for his gun when approached by officers.

Schexnaildre said Noble’s wearing the gun was alarming to others around him, thus the disorderly conduct charge.

Noble said, “I wasn’t trying to go to the rally. I wasn’t at the rally. I just wanted to see people walking around.”

Bill Vidonic can be reached online at bvidonic@timesonline.com.

CALL TO ARMS?

John A. Noble of Industry admits that he posted the following messages on the Internet prior to the Barack Obama campaign rally Aug. 29 in Beaver:

•In a posting dated Aug. 29, apparently just hours before the Beaver rally, Noble wrote, “Bring your gun and Bible to Beaver tonite, lets show Obama how we hug our Bibles and guns.”

•On the Web site OpenCarry.org, Noble posted a similar message, part of which read, “Come to beaver tonite and show Obama what a Bible toten gun owner really looks like. My women and i will be there with both in the open.”