Big party gets busted

[malfeas99]

Let me explain something as people on IA.com don't see to have all of the info:

1. The party was illegal. Yes, illegal. WHY was it illegal you ask? Simple: they did not have the proper permits for such a large party (over 250 people). That is Utah law.

2. Undercover officers were in the crowd early on and witnessed MANY illegal activities going down.

They were FULLY w/in their right to bust this party.

It was illegal. Nothing else left to say.
[/thread]

This is what it's beginning to look like.. they obtained a health permit but not a 'right to assemble' permit.. but regardless, they DID find guns and drugs, so busting the party was legal. I personally believe that a) the War on Drugs is idiotic, and b) The notion that I would have to have a permit to assemble 1, 5, 100, or eleventy billion people on my own private property is a grievous affront to my basic constitutional rights, though. The method by which it was busted is rather suspect. I can't imagine why people would have their cameras smashed/confiscated, even if they were filming while they were leaving, unless the police felt like they did not want it videotaped for some reason.

That, and feeling the need to come in with fully automatic weapons and a SWAT team is kind of overkill, considering none of these people could have been considered armed or dangerous based on observed substance abuse.

This is probably overkill due to another case recently in Utah where they tried to break it up but didn't have the manpower. It's been shown, here in the US and elsewhere, though, that raves much larger than that can be dispersed peacefully. We'll see how it goes.

Also, this is Utah. Who's surprised? I'm not. Comparing it to what happened in the Czech republic though is ridiculous.