I'm no supporter of the Occupy movement but....

[PredatorFett]

This is sad.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29683079/detail.html

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Police have arrested an Occupy Fort Collins protester in connection with a $10 million arson fire that damaged dozens of condominiums and businesses in Fort Collins.

Benjamin David Gilmore, 29, was arrested on Thursday night on suspicion of arson, burglary and criminal mischief.

On Oct. 24, a fire started at 3:30 a.m. in a four-story apartment complex under construction. The fire spread to the occupied Penny Flats condominium and retail building next door.

The fire at Penny Flats caused heavy fire damage to the fourth floor and roof, and heavy smoke and water damage to the first, second and third floors, according to Poudre Fire Authority spokesman Patrick Love.

Damage was estimated at $10 million.

A joint investigation between Fort Collins Police Services, Poudre Fire Authority, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators found the cause of the fire was incendiary, meaning the fire was intentionally set, officials said.

Gilmore was taken to the Larimer County jail around midnight.

Gilmore In Court On Friday

Gilmore made his first appearance before a judge on Friday afternoon via a video camera from jail.

Gilmore stood up and told the judge, "I would just like to go home with my wife," and then he started sobbing.

Bond was set at $250,000, cash only.

In the courtroom, Gilmore's mother asked the judge to reduce the bond.

The judge decided to keep the bond at $250,000 because he said it was a serious crime that put many lives in danger.

After the hearing, several Occupy Fort Collins protesters distanced the movement from Gilmore.

"He may have stopped by the protest, but he is in no way a direct relation to our movement," said protester Julia Crisafi. "We are peaceful protesters."

"One person's actions do not represent this group as a whole," said protester Andrew Stover. "Non-violence is the way to change."

Gilmore Well Known At Occupy Fort Collins

Gilmore joined the Occupy Fort Collins movement in mid-October.

“He showed up on the 3rd or 4th day,” said Rich Crisler, who identified himself as the media coordinator for Occupy Fort Collins.

Crisler said he doesn't believe Gilmore started the fire.

“He had no reason to do this,” Crisler said. “They’re [investigators] just looking for a scapegoat.”

Crisler said Gilmore owns a honey business. Crisler said Gilmore is very kind, soft-spoken and wants to help people.

“He’s not an arsonist. I’ve dealt with people like this,” said Crisler, who said he was trained as a psychologist. “Nothing would make me think of him doing something like this.”

Crisler believes the fire was started by several homeless people who took refuge in the apartment complex that was under construction. Crisler said the men had invited him to join them on the 3rd floor in the back of the building several times to stay warm.

“You could see it [the fire] was burning from the back,” said Crisler.

Crisler said the protesters told investigators about the five homeless people. He said the five men were arrested, questioned and released.

“It’s not a good story to say five homeless people accidentally started a fire,” Crisler said.

 

[JollyRoger]

Link to video.

 

[Glassfan]

A lot of YouTube videos of the occupier movement show small groups of what appear to be young men, often wearing bandana-masks, damaging property and provoking police. While certainly the majority of occupiers are peacefull and law-abiding, they of course attract troublemakers and violent incidents are bound to occur damaging their image and reputation.

As the old saying goes, If you sleep with dogs, you're bound to get fleas.

 

[amadeus]

Kudos to this young gentleman for helping stimulate our economy.

 

[Glassfan]

I suppose it's also a sign of the growing sophistication of the movement that they now have their own media coordinators (spin doctors) like Rich Crisler.

 

[amadeus]

No, I think it just so happened there are jobless communications and marketing graduates out there...

 

[Tee Kay]

I wouldn't discount the theory that people may have been hired to pose as protesters and riot.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

I suppose it's also a sign of the growing sophistication of the movement that they now have their own media coordinators (spin doctors) like Rich Crisler.

They're only spin doctors when you disagree with them.

A lot of YouTube videos of the occupier movement show small groups of what appear to be young men, often wearing bandana-masks, damaging property and provoking police. While certainly the majority of occupiers are peacefull and law-abiding, they of course attract troublemakers and violent incidents are bound to occur damaging their image and reputation.

As the old saying goes, If you sleep with dogs, you're bound to get flees.

So, as a republican, I trust you are a proponent of Dominionism~

 

[Skwink]

Good, since they have to rebuild the building probably, they'll have to hire workers to do so. Burn more buildings, get more jobs!

Funny, if one Tea Partier misspells something on a sign, everyone attacks the tea party. But when a Occupier burns a building, everyone goes around saying he's just a bad egg.

 

[Tee Kay]

The "unfairly persecuted" argument would be more palatable if the people using it aren't doing it themselves.

 

[Linkman226]

So, as a republican, I trust you are a proponent of Dominionism~

Dictator, you're a republican? And if so, how does that make Glassfan a Dominionist? Where's the connection?

 

[Mr. Dictator]

Dictator, you're a republican? And if so, how does that make Glassfan a Dominionist? Where's the connection?

Though many dictators are, I was speaking to him, not of myself.

 

[Dreadnought]

What the heck does Dominionist have to do with anything?

 

[warpus]

A lot of YouTube videos of the occupier movement show small groups of what appear to be young men, often wearing bandana-masks, damaging property and provoking police. While certainly the majority of occupiers are peacefull and law-abiding, they of course attract troublemakers

which includes dumbasses, anarchists, and agent provocateurs

 

[Linkman226]

Though many dictators are, I was speaking to him, not of myself.

My bad, although my misinterpretation owes to your grammatical mistake.

 

[Glassfan]

So, as a republican, I trust you are a proponent of Dominionism~

I had to look this up in my dictionary. I suppose you don't mean the Commonwealth, or those bad guys in Deep Space Nine, but rather a kind of social authoritarianism. I'm a Republican by party, but Republicans are "democratic" by nature. We believe in freedom of assembly and speech as much as we do ownership of small calibre firearms.

I generally support the principles behind the occupiers, while regretting the violence and mahem. Although you may find this surprising, even though I'm a Republican - I'm not a billionaire! I'm just a worker bee as I suspect are you, and both our jobs and 401(k)'s are in the hands of high corporate executives.

Certainly the excesses of our top capitalists, combined with the incompetence of our government regulators, should absolutely be exposed and corrected.

 

[7ronin]

Kudos to this young gentleman for helping stimulate our economy.

You mean for selling honey and employing the homeless or for generating business for the local construction industry?

 

[Formaldehyde]

A lot of YouTube videos of the occupier movement show small groups of what appear to be young men, often wearing bandana-masks, damaging property and provoking police. While certainly the majority of occupiers are peacefull and law-abiding, they of course attract troublemakers and violent incidents are bound to occur damaging their image and reputation.

As the old saying goes, If you sleep with dogs, you're bound to get fleas.

I find it quite similar to those who condemn a religion with over a billion peaceful adherents on the basis of the acts of a few thousand.

Kudos to this young gentleman for helping stimulate our economy.

Only based on the article and others, this Republican may very well not be guilty.

And what's even worse is that it is all based on "sealed" documents, which makes me suspect that one of the "occupiers" is either a cop or an informant.

http://www.reporterherald.com/news/larimer-county/ci_19265908

His mother, Virgina Gilmore, also asked the Larimer County Court judge to lower the bond, but based on sealed court records that the public cannot see, Lynch maintained the bond set late Thursday night by the judge who signed an arrest warrant for Gilmore, charging him with starting the fire.

Fort Collins police announced Gilmore's arrest but said details about how the fire allegedly started and why they are blaming Gilmore have been sealed. Assistant District Attorney Cliff Riedel, too, didn't reveal any details in court, instead asking Lynch to rely on the judgment of the district court judge who saw the detailed reports and set the initial bond.

"He's a local business owner who is a nice gentleman and who employed the homeless and hobos - random acts of kindness," she said.

"He showed up every day with his liberty flag and talked about going local and bartering."

Like the rest of the community, Crisafi wants to know the basis of the three felony charges filed against Gilmore - arson, burglary and criminal mischief - in connection with the early morning fire.

Certainly the excesses of our top capitalists, combined with the incompetence of our government regulators, should absolutely be exposed and corrected.

Don't forget those who deliberately removed all the safeguards which prevented banks from making such unwise and greedy investments in the first place.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

I had to look this up in my dictionary. I suppose you don't mean the Commonwealth, or those bad guys in Deep Space Nine, but rather a kind of social authoritarianism. I'm a Republican by party, but Republicans are "democratic" by nature. We believe in freedom of assembly and speech as much as we do ownership of small calibre firearms.

I generally support the principles behind the occupiers, while regretting the violence and mahem. Although you may find this surprising, even though I'm a Republican - I'm not a billionaire! I'm just a worker bee as I suspect are you, and both our jobs and 401(k)'s are in the hands of high corporate executives.

Certainly the excesses of our top capitalists, combined with the incompetence of our government regulators, should absolutely be exposed and corrected.

My point was that I don't see you as a dominionist, but there are those in your ranks who are. So why should the violence be used against the occupation~

And of course you're not a billionaire. You wouldn't be here, most likely, if you were. At least I wouldn't be, if I were one.

Do agree on your last statement though. Anyone who thinks the government officials or the corporate officials are solely to blame don't see nearly the full picture.