‘Papers please’ for reporter at Texas capitol shooting investigation


www.infowars.com Like other reporters in the Austin-area, the Infowars team was immediately sent to the Texas Capitol building on news that a man, identified as Fausto Cardenas, had started shooting for no apparent reason. There wasn’t much else to discover once we got there. The suspect had apparently harmed no one and State Troopers were quietly combing over the South steps with their investigation. I had catalogued everything going on behind the roped-off area and wandered around the other side of the Capitol to film another grouping of troopers who were combing the grounds with a (presumab 3:59 PM(presumably bomb-sniffing) dog. When a trooper noticed me filming their quiet investigation, everything suddenly changed. Though the building itself was closed, the Capitol grounds remained open, and people were milling about freely. Only the area immediately surrounding the South steps was restricted by yellow tape. Yet this officer approached me sternly, pointing his finger and commanding that I ‘point the camera somewhere else’ and provide ID. I refused. For those who have forgotten, in the haze of post-9/11 paranoia, America is not a ‘papers please’ dictatorship or a corrupt banana republic, even if certain forces are might attempt to drag us in that direction. So why did this officer feel the need to rush up and demand I justify myself? Were I suspected of a crime as benign as speeding such action might have been warranted, but I had literally done nothing but look in