Eminent Domain Protester 'believes Absolutely In What She's
Doing'
Woman declines legal help after her arrest for refusing to
leave NL City Hall
By
RICK KOSTER · Features · Published on 9/21/2005 [in
The Day, New London, CT]
New London— There haven't been too many would-be tenants
clamoring for apartments in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.
Lauren Ann Canario, however, is an exception.
A few weeks back, Canario, a resident of Las Vegas and member of a New
Hampshire-based group committed to reducing the role of the government in
society, contacted Bill Von Winkle, owner of a three-story building on Smith
Street in Fort Trumbull.
"She asked if I owned a building there and, if so, did I have an apartment
for rent," Von Winkle said. "I told her I did, and she said, 'I'll take it.'
And she did. I was insistent that she be interested in nonviolent solutions."
Von Winkle was one of the plaintiffs in the Kelo v. New London case that
went to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to stop the taking of private
property for redevelopment in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood. Although the
court ruled in favor of the city in June, some of the property owners,
including Von Winkle, remain adamant about not relinquishing their land,
buildings and houses.
Von Winkle said others from across the country have called and expressed
willingness to occupy his property in defiance of eminent domain.
"Some wanted to come to town and bring high-powered sniper rifles," he
said. "Obviously, I did not respond to them. But Lauren seemed to be
level-headed. She's absolutely a smart and nice person."
Canario, a member of the nonprofit Free State Project, wants to build a
community bulletin board in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood where people can
post concerns, Von Winkle said.
"A lot of people stop by on a daily basis to express support and see what's
going on," he said. "This would be her way of allowing that to happen where
everyone could see it."
Canario, 48, was charged Monday night with first-degree trespass, refusal
to be fingerprinted and interfering with police after refusing to leave a City
Hall stairwell after a city council meeting had been canceled. The council had
been scheduled to vote on a resolution declaring no confidence in the New
London Development Corp., which has been the city's agent in the eminent domain
project.
Canario's bail was originally set at $5,000.
Von Winkle hired New London attorney Renee Houle to represent Canario, but
he said Tuesday afternoon that Houle had withdrawn representation.
"(Canario) refused to be fingerprinted and then refused to speak to the
judge," Von Winkle said, "so he raised bail to $10,000. She doesn't want any
help."
Houle could not be reached for comment.
Canario's husband, Jim Johnson, who lives in Las Vegas and is also a member
of the Free State Project, plans to join his wife in New London. He said by
phone Tuesday that he and his wife expect to eventually move to New Hampshire.
He also said that he has been unable to contact his wife after her arrest and
that he read about the incident in an online story in The Day.
"I called the duty sergeant (Monday) night," Johnson said, "and they
wouldn't let me talk to her. But she believes absolutely in what she's doing."
According to Johnson and Von Winkle, one of the main tenets of the Free
State Project is to fight eminent domain. As described in the group's Web site
(www.freestateproject.org), they
are attempting to draw "20,000 libertarians" to move to New Hampshire and
"exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which
the maximum role of civil government is the protection of life, liberty, and
property."
The city council's plan to consider a vote of no-confidence in the NLDC had
been brought on by the NLDC sending eviction notices last week to several Fort
Trumbull property owners without informing state officials or the council of
that plan.
Monday's council meeting was canceled after an overflow crowd was remanded
to a stairwell and attempts to hold the meeting fell into chaos. In July, the
fire department found a City Hall fire escape in disrepair and then set the
crowd capacity for council chambers at 49 people until repairs were made.
Von Winkle said that Canario represents 6,700 people who will come to New
London to prevent through nonviolence the seizure of Fort Trumbull property by
the city.
"The (process servers) will have to get through all those people to get to
me. It will be nonviolent, but Canario is very serious about this issue. I
don't know, she'll burn the papers," Von Winkle said. "She represents the
strong feelings of a lot of people who will be here to stop the government from
seizing property. This woman is not afraid of the government."
Johnson, her husband, said, "Lauren knows the law. She took the civil fight
as far as she could (Monday), and she was arrested. Our idea is to go to town
meetings and speak, and you hope to persuade others. Which is why she was at
the meeting and what she was prevented from doing."
When asked about Von Winkle's assessment that 6,700 people will be in New
London if the government attempts to take the Fort Trumbull property, Johnson
said, "I don't know the exact number, but I would think there are a lot of
groups like ours that will be there."
About Canario's resistance to the arrest process, Von Winkle said, "Yeah,
I'm still trying to digest why she's staying in jail. She's got to come out at
some point. But I definitely thought she was capable of this sort of
commitment. She told me that she will absolutely be one of the people who
refuses to leave the property when they try to take it. She was adamant about
that."
� The Day Publishing Co., 2005
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Chapter 1, Section 107).
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