DETROIT, MI/WINDSOR, ON – Yesterday, after working from a Starbucks on the north side of Detroit all morning we met Paul Kersey, the director of labor policy study at the Midland, Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy, at 2PM. Our plan was simple: drive around Detroit in MARV, with Paul acting as tour guide, to document the harms to the community caused by massive government intervention.

Off we went. I was driving, Paul was sitting shotgun narrating and navigating, Ryan was filming and Jason was taking photos. After getting some good footage in/around downtown we decided to head out to see how a couple of neighborhoods were fairing. Unfortunately, thanks to construction and no signage, we soon found ourselves headed toward Ambassador Bridge to cross into Canada. Not the place we wanted to be.

Below is a run-down of what happened to us over the next four hours. Times are noted as accurate as possible, this is written in third-person to avoid confusion, and “the crew” refers to Pete, Jason, Ryan and Paul.

• 3:30pm – Before getting to the bridge itself the crew passed by a large parking lot where a number of semis were parked. The crew spotted a woman taking her break outside what appeared to be some sort of government building. Pete parked and Paul disembarked MARV and spoke to her, inquiring of a turn-around area.
• 3:35pm – Paul boarded MARV and noted that he was told that the crew would likely be able to turn around at the toll booth itself. Jason tweeted out “We’re in the no man’s land between Detroit and Windsor, Canada… on accident. Wrong turns suck.”
• 3:40pm – The crew proceeded to the toll booth and informed the attendant our situation (that we took a wrong turn and had no intention of going to Canada). The crew was told that they had to pay the fee, go across the bridge and then turn around. The crew explained that we had been told that a nearby gate could be opened so they could just turn around there but were told that that was not possible.
  
• 3:45pm – Pete drove across the bridge, handed over the IDs from the crew and started explaining their situation to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) crossing guard #13022. Pete was soon directed to pull ahead and was directed to park along the curb in the inspection area. Pete turned off the ignition and the crew filed out to the pavement. The two CBSA crossing guards that met the crew were soon joined by three others. And soon after, three more. As was the case for the CBSA crossing guards at the Vermont/Quebec checkpoint, rather than having a name plate on their uniforms they had a six-digit number. The seven numbers Pete was able to record included: 12947, 13006, 13146, 13196, 19759, 19848 and 19851.
• 4:50pm – For the next hour the crew sat on the curb as a number of CBSA crossing guards searched MARV. Almost immediately they found a few firearms holsters that Pete had on-board (not illegal). The crew was ordered to stand, turn around, interlace their fingers behind their backs and they were patted down. Pete was asked “Do you own any firearms at home?” to which Pete responded “There are no firearms in our vehicle.” On a somewhat funny side note – the pen Pete had randomly grabbed from MARV’s center console before exiting the vehicle was from Flex Your Rights, which noted “Don’t Sign Anything.”
  
• The crew explained that they had taken a wrong turn and had no intention of going to Canada (evident by the fact that only two of them had passports). The crew was told that this sort of thing happens all the time and that the fault lies on the American side (due to lack of signage, etc.). Jason tweeted out “Canadian border guards are tossing our motorhome again. I just cleaned it.”
• As his colleagues searched MARV, Pete spoke for a bit with #12947, who was watching over the crew, about firearms laws in Canada and about MHD. Jason questioned about the frequency that vehicle’s were searched and the crew was  told by #19851 that the CBSA crossing guards usually use a four person team to search RV’s so that for the current situation the four were present as were two others starting their shift and two K-9 officers. #19759 obviously felt #19851 was being too giving with the crew and commented “You’re just a wealth of information aren’t’ you?” The CBSA crossing guards then ran two dogs past the crew, one at a time, and in/around MARV – one to sniff out drugs/firearms and the second to sniff out large amounts of currency. The crew joked that they hoped the latter would hit. The crew was told if the dogs did not “initiate” then they would soon be on our way.
  
• 4:50pm – The crew was directed to go inside the Immigration waiting area, which was a cold, fishbowl-type room so that its occupants were visible to the CBSA crossing guards from counters on opposing sides as well as from the two surveillance cameras mounted in the ceiling. On the linoleum floor were positioned five rows of chairs typically found in airplane terminals.
• 5:15pm – The “Kersey party” (aka the crew) was called to approach one of the windows. Pete was asked to step forward and sign the same form that had been pushed in front of him 11 days earlier, which stated that he was withdrawing his application to enter Canada and after signing the document, would leave Canada immediately. Pete explained that he had not applied to enter Canada, that the crew had merely took a wrong turn and therefore it would be inaccurate for him to sign the document. Pete was told that a supervisor would be involved and that he could face penalties. Pete again stated that he would not sign the document (which he hadn’t signed when attempting to enter Quebec) and was ordered back to the waiting area. Off he went.
  
• 5:20pm – Ryan came back into the waiting room and through the open door Pete could hear the CBSA crossing guard yell in his direction “You think this is funny?!” Pete asked Ryan what happened and Ryan said that he had signed the document placed in front of him, only not with his name, but with one word in all caps: “RESIST!” Soon after Jason and Paul came back in, both having signed their documents. Faced with uncertainty about how they would handle Pete and Ryan the crew talked about our options. Pete told Jason that he and Paul could take MARV and drive back to Detroit to make the scheduled 7PM meetup on time. Jason asked the CBSA crossing guard if this was possible but his request was denied. Pete and Jason both commented that the CBSA crossing guard wanted to try to use those that had signed the document against those that hadn’t.
  
• 5:40pm – The Canadian crossing guards bluff was called and the crew was told that they could re-board our vehicle and head back to the States.
• 5:45pm – The crew headed west across the bridge toward Detroit. En route Pete called Kurt (who was hosting our meetup at his house), updated him on what had happened and told him the crew would call him once past the U.S. checkpoint and Jason and Ryan recorded a few thoughts about what happaned over the past couple of hours.
  
• 5:50pm – Pete pulled up to the window, expained to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP, part of Homeland Security) crossing guard that the crew had not even entered Canada but merely took a wrong turn, got stopped by the CBSA and hoped to return to Detroit without incident. Pete handed over the crews’ personal identification and the CBP crossing guard stated that Ryan was committing a federal offense for not having proof of citizenship (he had a drivers license from Alaska where he no longer claimed residency, having moved to Keene, New Hampshire). Ryan found his Social Security card and was told that that was not proof of citizenship but merely entitled him to collect social security beneifts later in life. Again, the crew noted that they hadn’t planned to be going through the checkpoint. Jason tweeted out “Now we are getting hassled by U.S. Border Guards in Detroit. #MHD“
• The U.S. crossing guard inquired what MHD was about. Upon hearing that we are shooting an almost real time documentary he asked the crew if they had any cameras recording him at that moment. Pete told him that yes, the camera on his phone sitting in the console was recording. Pete was ordered to turn it off. Jason tweeted out “U.S. Border Guard told @peteeyre to stop recording or his camera would be confiscated.”
  
• The CBP crossing guard closed the window to his booth, made a call and soon a Ford Explorer #M61015 marked with “Customs and Border Protection” and “Field Operator” graphics pulled up and parked immediately in front of MARV. Jason tweeted out “Reinforcements have been called. Homeland Security vehicle is now blocking MARV.”
• Out of the vehicle emerged two CBP crossing guards – Ballard, the driver, and Novak, sitting shotgun. Meanwhile, CBP crossing guard Nadeau, who was in the booth to the right of MARV checking the documents of drivers passing through in that lane, was bending down pearing through the passenger window into MARV’s interior. Recognizing that the crew was not going to be allowed to pass anytime soon Paul dialed one of his colleagues on his cell phone to let him know that he may arrive late to work the next day. Paul was ordered to hang up then the entire crew was directed to put all cameras and phones on the dash.
  
• 6:00pm – The crew was ordered to follow the Explorer around the building to a dock. Jason tweeted out “We will now be escorted into a new holding area. This time it’s the U.S. government.” There, with the assistance of Jason, Pete backed-up MARV between two semis whose loads were being removed and investigated, to one of 15 docks. The crew was directed up the ramp to a waiting room inside 2810 W. Fort Street (which also housed FDA inspection facilities).
• Ryan commented that “I really feel safe” and that the encounter “reminds me of 1984.” The room had six rows of four chairs each grouped around the perimeter of the room, cinder block walls and two mirrored windows, one of which had a slot at the bottom through which to communicate, though it was covered up with a board movable from the inside.
• 6:05pm – Well armed CBP crossing guards entered the waiting area and asked the crew to hand over any phones or recording devices and Jason and Paul handed over their mobile phones.
  
• 6:10pm – Pete was asked to step outside the room where he was questioned by a couple CBP crossing guards while two others stood behind them silently. Pete was asked how the four indivdiuals knew each other, their employers and funding and the location of any recording devices including cameras and microphones hidden in the RV (Pete was specifically asked if the crew had any “nanny cameras” on-board). Pete was told that footage of such border facilities could result in serious consequences as it fell under the realm of national security. Pete explained the purpose of MHD and our misguided turn that afternoon.
  
• Pete was further questioned about the aims of MHD and stated that “I can’t speak for the others since we’re all individuals but for me, I’m doing this as I believe people should be free to act so long as they don’t initiate force against someone else.” Pete expanded and touched on their use of education and persuasion to introduce these ideas to others and that he personally looks to natural law and morality to base his actions. Pete concluded that since the crew had not aggressed upon anyone that afternoon he thought they should be free to go. Pete was asked “Do you know where you are? Your Fourth Amendment rights do not apply here.” Pete responded, “I don’t believe someone’s rights are dependent on where they happen to be geographically. The fact that we’re at a border doesn’t change that. Someone born in North Korea has the same rights as someone born in the U.S” and was told “We’ll see about that.”
  
• 6:20pm – Pete was ordered to return to the waiting room. Jason asked if he could use the restroom and he was told to wait. Ryan noted that the crew had been coerced into unlocking the vehicle for searches with which they did not consent.
  
• 6:30pm – Jason walked to the window and again asked if he could use the restroom and a few minutes later was given instructions on where the facilities were (next door in the Broker Building). Paul and Ryan accompanied Jason and Pete was asked to go out to MARV with two CBP crossing guards.
• 6:35pm – The trio entered MARV and Pete was asked to show them footage/audio the crew had captured in/around the checkpoint. Pete showed them the 3min 30sec of film he had captured on his phone of his interaction with the CBP crossing guard at the checkpoint booth and a few minutes of footage captured on our main videocamera as we drove across the bridge. Pete was ordered to delete both. Other content on our recording devices was scanned and Pete was asked to delete the ~26min of audio recording he had recorded on his phone from the crew’s interaction with the CBSA crossing guards. Pete declined and the CBP crossing guards didn’t push it, noting that they didn’t have such authority.
• One of the CBP crossing guards – Novack – attempted to communicate to Pete why it is that they take such strict measures at the border – “To protect Americans” from terrorists. His parter in crime (no name obtained – so NNO for short) chimed in and asked “Did you know that 18 of the 19 9.11 terrorists had lived in the Detroit area?!” After taking a glance around MARV’s interior NNO then asked “So what are you guys about? You seem pretty leftist.” Pete told him “Actually we advocate for freedom on all issues at all times.” NNO pointed out one bumper sticker that equated the government as being a terrorist organization. Pete noted that he thought it was actions such as this and the actions the U.S. government takes abroad that creates blowback.
• Novack said while there may have been some harms caused by Bush and his relations with the Saudis what they were doing was needed and that they had the right to search our persons and vehicle. Again, Pete stressed his stance that just because we happened to be in a certain area our natural rights were not diminished. Novack stated that the crew was not afforded all the protections they normally have in the U.S. but that the crew still had the right to be treated as human beings and cited the potential harm to him and his colleagues and their families if footage we captured were distributed. Pete was then told that it was his actions and those of his colleagues that caused them to be singled out – that if the crew had approached the booth and stated that they were going “biking in Flint” they likely could have gotten through with no problems and that “It’s not a good idea to go around filming law enforcement” to which Pete again emphasized the almost real time documentary nature of MHD and the fact that the camera is merely a tool to help hold people accountable for their actions. After more back-and-forth along these lines Pete was allowed to walk back to the waiting area, after a quick pit-stop by the restroom.
  
• 7:00pm – The crew was told that they were free to go and given a document to hand to the CBP crossing guard in the booth on their way out. Jason tweeted out “#MHD 3 released from the custody of U.S. & Canadian crossing guards. @ryanmaddox89 is my hero.”
• 7:10pm – The crew was back in Detroit, rolling toward our meetup which Jason details more here.