Broken Hallelujah

Vegans file lawsuit over surveillance at ham store

By JILL YOUNG MILLER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/23/05 They don't eat ham. And they don't like to be spied on, either. The story begins outside a HoneyBaked Ham store on Buford Highway just before Christmas 2003.

Vegans Caitlin Childs and Christopher Freeman were arrested after a protest at a HoneyBaked Ham store.

That day, two vegans — vegetarians who eat only plants and plant products — were wrapping up an animal cruelty protest with a handful of other vegans when they noticed a man in a CVS pharmacy parking lot taking pictures of them.

After the ham protest, Childs and Freeman walked over to the mysterious man's car and wrote down his license plate number. When they drove off, they noticed the car following them.

They pulled into a parking lot at a Mexican restaurant. The car and a police car pulled in behind them. The vegans were ordered out of their car and told to hand over the piece of paper with the tag number on it. Childs refused and was handcuffed and searched. She and Freeman were arrested for disorderly conduct and jailed.
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This case illustrates the overreaching of homeland security by monitoring clearly peaceful protesters. This is a poor allocation of resources and chills free speech.
Thanks Carol