# First Amendment Audit videos **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 20, 2020, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448 "2020-12-20T07:14:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/21 "2020-12-20T11:58:18Z")
> [@jimmyjoeraybubbabob](#): > > I honesty though more folks here would just be supportive of knowing and flexing their Constitutional rights. This sounds less like “knowing your Constitutional rights” and more like [Randy Marsh being arrested for drunken brawling.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2zlPNGuPbw&ab_channel=TobleroneJones) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/22 "2020-12-20T12:04:59Z")
Let’s say someone gets pulled over for no reason, and starts rolling tape. This person knows their rights, argues with the cop until he leaves, then posts the video for the world to see. Kudos, well done. Turning the camera on first, then heading out there seeking a confrontation is pretty fucking stupid, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![jimmyjoeraybubbabob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eada6e/32.png) [@jimmyjoeraybubbabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmyjoeraybubbabob)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/23 "2020-12-20T12:14:03Z")
I don’t know what you’ve been looking at but yes, baiting cops is pretty fucking stupid and not anywhere within the scope of what I clicked on. That being said; I know exactly how I’d respond to cops trying to violate my Fourth Amendment rights at home. Would you go belly up and let em in with no warrant or have some balls and tell em to get fucked? Lets get real here. Joe Citizen (me) ain’t eating that shit sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/24 "2020-12-20T12:16:02Z")
If cops asked if they could come in, I’d say no. If cops bust the door down, I’m hitting the floor. Call it balls if you like. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/25 "2020-12-20T13:07:48Z")
> [@jimmyjoeraybubbabob](#): > > I honesty though more folks here would just be supportive of knowing and flexing their Constitutional rights. I’ll stick with legitimate journalism like Dr. Phil from here on out. Rather than attacking everyone here for lacking your clearly advanced sociopolitical capabilities, perhaps you should reflect on why the material in question is causing people to keep their skeptical distance. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/26 "2020-12-20T14:58:27Z")
> [@jimmyjoeraybubbabob](#): > > You’re not helping or adding anything constructive here if you think the First Amendment is a concept. This is mpsims, and we expect the tone here to be friendlier and… More about sharing and exchanging points of view than what this kind of post projects. Also, this is an example of “junior modding”. This forum asks posters not to confront each other like this, but to complain to the mods if you think a post is moving the conversation off-topic. So, two strikes. This is just a mod note, and not an official warning on your record. But i suggest you read the guidance on posting on general, and on posting on this category. edited to add: > [@Terms of Service and FAQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registration-agreement-rules-and-faq/823562/2): > > The first rule of the Straight Dope Message Board remains, “Don’t be a jerk”. While there are other rules covering posting behavior they derive from that one rule. Moderators in all forums are here to ensure the rules of the board and each forum are followed. Violating any of the board rules as outlined in ATMB and the various forum specific rules may result in various levels of sanctions. Context is critical when interpreting the rules and moderation will take such into account. If you suspect… See especially the sections on insults and junior modding. Edited again to add: This part of your post is really inappropriate. Direct insults are not tolerated outside the pit: > [@jimmyjoeraybubbabob](#): > > The bullshit Max is spewing is in fact the crux of the biscuit here. You’re ignorant. You’re paranoid and putting forth ideas that filming in public is criminal or even terroristic is nuttier than squirrel turds. please don’t do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/27 "2020-12-20T15:12:45Z")
> [@jimmyjoeraybubbabob](#): > > And furthermore if you really don’t wanna be recorded I’d suggest not confronting someone who’s exercising a Federally protected First Amendment Right and flaunting your ignorance. These “first amendment auditors” seem to be birds of a feather with those jerks who walk around openly carrying assault rifles, terrifying everyone around them, and claiming that they’re just exercising a federally protected right. Yes, I supposed the first amendment does protect people’s rights to be assholes. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/28 "2020-12-20T16:26:42Z")
Crap! That ain’t someplace called Patucket, that’s Pawtucket Rhode Island. That is a dilapidated old industrial city that now has traffic fines as it’s major source of income. Most of those fines are for illegal parking on street sweeping days even though you’re lucky if your street is ever swept. I’ll make this short and say if you want to find incompetence in government then you’ll find a lot of low hanging fruit in Rhode Island, and the Pawtucket branches are particularly close to the ground. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/29 "2020-12-20T16:44:29Z")
There is a channel, Audit the Audit, where an aggregator grades both the cops and auditor giving both a grade of A to F. He provides a link in the video back to the auditor’s channel so you can see the whole interaction as presented by the auditor, not just the parts he himself shows. He may be cherry picking picking but I have yet to see any where the auditor was outright provoking the cops and does give a higher grade to an auditor who stays calm. He did once give an auditor an F grade for completely and beligarently misstating the particular statute he was using. A common scenario is the first contact officer getting a low grade while the supervisor called in gets a much higher grade, often an A. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/30 "2020-12-20T17:01:05Z")
Just a last desperate attempt to return this thread to the realms of reality. The First Amendment is not an absolute. Congress and courts have established limitations to the rights. So have state legislatures before and after a series of decisions ruled the that 14th Amendment extended the First to state law. This [First Amendment Rights article](https://www.ushistory.org/gov/10b.asp) provides a brief overview of what isn’t allowed. Especially applicable her is what they call “speech-plus.” > Speech-plus involves actions, such as demonstrating or protesting, as well as words. Speech-plus is not generally protected as strictly as is pure speech, because actions can be physically dangerous. The courts have ruled that demonstrators may not obstruct traffic, endanger public safety, or trespass illegally. The definitions of those terms are codified in state and federal laws. You can’t globally declare that none of them apply to you just before you feel like it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/31 "2020-12-20T17:01:51Z")
> [@jimmyjoeraybubbabob](#): > > The bullshit Max is spewing is in fact the crux of the biscuit here. You’re ignorant. You’re paranoid and putting forth ideas that filming in public is criminal or even terroristic is nuttier than squirrel turds. Modding: This kind of comment is not permitted on the boards (except in the pit). This is an official warning. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/32 "2020-12-20T17:04:44Z")
I wouldn’t have a problem with this if they were up front about it and started out by saying “We are pretending to use our legitimate right to observe the functioning of government in order but actually we are trying to get you to over-react so people will watch our videos, and in so doing we are actually interfering with the legitimate function of government and have no right to be here.” I never heard of this before, I was curious what this thread was about, and then wondered about a place called ‘Patucket’ so I looked at the video and found out it was actually ‘Pawtucket’. The location didn’t matter, just look at the video, they walked into the probation office and nothing was going on there. There wasn’t anything to observe, I doubt they had any reason to believe they could observe anything of interest in that lobby, so I just don’t see them being there for a legitimate purpose. I have friends who live in Pawtucket and the outrageous property taxes and traffic fines they pay to live in that dump should not be wasted on dealing with morons like these phony auditors. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/33 "2020-12-20T18:17:05Z")
> [@jimmyjoeraybubbabob](#): > > I watch various youtube channels and just wanna know what the folks here have to say about them. I have zero affiliation with anyone on such channels including “Auditing America” and “Amagansett Press” but just can’t stop looking at them. _Yawn._ You seem to be working your way through the alphabet. Let me know when you get to “Miranda Sings.” I’ll have _plenty_ to say about that. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/34 "2020-12-20T18:42:36Z")
It’s one thing to observe the police or other government officials while they are in public. I agree with that entirely. If someone wants to record an interaction between a cop and someone they pulled over, as long as they are not interfering, they should be allowed to. But the first amendment isn’t a free pass. Having a camera does not mean that you get to walk into the back offices of a government building and observe the work going on there. It doesn’t mean that you can go into a hospital and observe the patients and their treatment. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/35 "2020-12-21T11:22:10Z")
I’ve watched many such ‘First Amendment’ videos (including the parallel cases of ‘Sovereign Citizens’ who claim they don’t need to obey State traffic laws as they are ‘travelling’ in a car, not ‘driving’ it.) If a journalist wants to do a piece on Government officials, they would: - be a real journalist - behave in a civil manner - know the difference between the actual law and some Internet rubbish - contact the office in advance to arrange filming and interviews ‘First Amendment’ auditors clearly just want to get viewers for their Youtube channel and raise money from suckers to pay their fines or bail. They do no preparation, including finding out what the actual Federal + State law is. So they try to bring cameras into courtrooms, despite there being case law up to and including the Supreme Court. They film victims of crime at police stations. They interfere with the police trying to investigate crimes. One ‘Auditor’ actually tried filming through the window of a refuge for victims of domestic violence. They follow an Internet script (which has no basis in law) and have no interest in a reasoned discussion. They want to provoke a reaction from police, crime victims and government officials. They are prepared to scream insults (“tyrants” is a popular one) and repeat them selves endlessly. Of course the First Amendment is a vital part of freedom in the USA. However these stupid, rude, selfish ‘Auditors’ have no idea what it actually means. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/36 "2020-12-21T11:37:34Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Yes, I supposed the first amendment does protect people’s rights to be assholes. And this is the crux of it. The First Amendment gives Americans quite a lot of freedom to be raging dicks. That doesn’t mean I think people should do it. For example, I believe people have the right to burn the American flag (local fire codes withstanding) but I reserve the right to consider them petty, puerile jerks for doing so. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Let me know when you get to “Miranda Sings.” I’ll have _plenty_ to say about that. Carmen or Lin-Manuel? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/37 "2020-12-21T11:40:46Z")
> [@jimmyjoeraybubbabob](#): > > You’re not helping or adding anything constructive here if you think the First Amendment is a concept Indeed, I don’t understand why you’re allowing people to post such things in your thread. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/38 "2020-12-23T01:46:47Z")
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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448/39 "2020-12-23T01:47:41Z")
Since the OP has been banned, let’s close this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-audit-videos/928448.md?page=1)