Statement from Congressional Candidate Tom Wells on his arrest

This statement from Congressional Candidate Tom Wells is presented verbatim, including all images, as he sent it to us.

I was arrested Sunday January 30, 2022 around 3PM at an event on Flavet Field on UF property. Alachua County jail released me ~10PM on RoR – Release on Recognition. The only charge was Resisting Arrest Without Violence. Which begs the question of what I was being arrested for.

Background:
I began campaigning for FL CD3 in June of 2016.  I have campaigned face-to-face on Campus more than 100 times, including perhaps 20 times at Flavet Field events, without incident.  And I have spoken with numerous UF groups, been to many on campus protests.  A number of my campaign volunteers are UF students.

The event:
The event was advertised on Facebook, ergo it was a public event.  Flavet Field is open on the north and west sides; the largest freely accessible venue for public events on UF campus

https://www.facebook.com/events/1628941084113391/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A%2229%22%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3A%22event_aggregate%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&notif_id=1643281738686589&notif_t=event_aggregate&ref=notif

Several days prior to the event I responded that I was going (one of only 25 positive responses).

Events of Sunday June 30, 2022

I entered Flavet Field from the open north side around 2PM, walked over to the event and began talking politics/elections with people.  When I got to the sign-in table at the South East corner I went and signed-in.  The sign-in tables were occupied mostly or entirely by HSA members and I spoke with each.

Some time later the apparent leader, or at least spokesperson, of HSA sought me out and asked me to leave as I was talking politics.  I replied that I had registered for the event, that it was a public event as argued above, and that my private conversations at this event were no more disruptive than the many conversations between strangers that were happening across the field – that my oft repeated experience in UF public events was that I was within my rights.  She argued that allowing me to converse of politics with people at her event made HSA look bad.  I could only state the obvious.  That no one was identifying me as a representative of HSA.   And that there were a fair number of people standing in lines having conversations with people they just – could we be sure that they were not talking politics?

A few minutes later 2 UFPD officers came over to ask me to leave stating that I was trespassing.  I replied that I was at a public event and  asked them under what statutory authority they could demand that I leave.  Again I argued that my comportment did not materially differ from that of others at the event.  The reply was that this was a private event, that I was not invited, and that the Host of the event, the HSA personage that I had spoken with both had the authority to order my eviction and had done so.  [The lawyer that called me this afternoon volunteering to assist in my defense indicated that the UF President could specifically authorize such power.  It occurs to me now that to do so in a public event would still be over-reach.  Yet it would be of interest to know if such dispensation was given for this event Host.  Unless that is common practice, I’d be astonished.]  The officers displayed some patience with going through these arguments and my counters several times.

Then with no warning of arrest – I recall only something like ‘gotta do it the hard way’ – they put their hands on my back and pushed with mild force.  I did not start walking as they intended.  I was resisting.  5 seconds later I was  on the ground with one arm twisted behind my back and  cuffed.  I did not respond rationally in the moment.  I resisted giving them my other wrist.  Totally futile.  Perhaps 2 minutes later I had been marched to the police car.  The officers gave me plenty of time of hoist myself into the back seat with my hands tightly cuffed behind me.

An officer, there were several of them by this point, noticed that my right wrist was bleeding.  They called med team – swabbed the wound – no big deal,  Put my cuffed wrists behind me again.

Through all this I never felt any anger.  I’ve thought about/observed what too often happens to black people, to brown people, to Latinos in our inJustice System for so long that I could feel my white privilege even as I sat in the police car with my cuffed wrists behind me bleeding.   The pain in my wrists and shoulder was quite intense, but just pain.  It did not betoken injury.  Would/did end and be forgotten.  Soon.

And no read me my Miranda Rights.  This means that they cannot use anything I said against me.  So it seems to a couple of my judicially experienced correspondents today that the Prosecutor has a weak case and is likely t drop the charges.  But there is a ‘secondary’ issue which is vastly more devastating to this campaign – hence to me.

The Trespass Warning, reproduced above, issued to me makes it criminal trespass for me to set foot on UF property for the next 3 years.  The only appeal is to the UF Police Chief.  Examination of the record of such appeals is necessary.  Likewise for  power invested, by statues quoted, in the (new)President of UF.  I suggest that petitions for annulment are in order.  Further protest of this Draconian measure against projected speech is a subject worthy of protest.  I am aware that the Red Legs are in session in Tally and far more hideous curtailments of voting right and all rights (save gun rights) are imperiled.  These are the times we times live in.  These some of the reasons that we campaign.