UPDATED 10:30 AM: The founder of Lakewood’s Tent City, Reverend Steven Brigham, was arrested today at Tent City, police tell TLS. Earlier today, police received a call from a woman who said her tent was being torn down for cooperating with a police investigation, sources tell TLS.
Police responded and arrested Steven Brigham in connection with the incident, police say.
Police say he was charged with vandalism and witness intimidation.
UPDATE 10:30 AM: Detective Captain Paul Daly tells TLS that prior to the incident with the tent, Police had been in Tent City investigating an incident, and had a conversation with the woman.
After police left, they received a call from the woman saying Brigham was cutting down her tent after she refused to follow his orders to leave Tent City.
“He didn’t want the police there”, Daly says.
When police arrived, they found Brigham still in the posession of scissors.
He was held at the County Jail on $11,500 bail, Daly said. TLS.
Doesnt make any sense. Just another low tactic by the township to try and shut down the encampment
How do you vandalize something that’s there illegally? So does that mean if I kick a piece of trash that’s been left in the woods I can be charged?
To numbers 1 and 2:
This is what it means: If you intimdate a witness you are a criminal and you get arrested.
Simple, no?
this zoo on public land is insane. Why dont they get fined for every infraction, ie lighting fires, dumping etc?
I hold they should make a tent city for people like me that are bored and need a nice chill
Communist/Socialist ringleaders that feed unlawfully off others will even stoop to harass the very people they’re “supposedly” trying to protect.. I guess Mr Brigham isn’t truly concerned with sheltering homeless people.. only those which play along and “cooperate” with his illegal agenda.
Witness intimidation/retaliation is a serious crime. But stealing and destroying a poor soul’s only shelter.. now that’s a crime against the human conscience itself!!
wasnt there a deal not to expand
I drive by there and they are already posting tents on the edge of cedarbidge. its obvious they have more occupants.
Yerach ben Yamo. Innocent until proven guilty. Using a fake name is also a crime- it is dishonest and misleading.
Number 7:
I said if you intimidate a witness you are a criminal. That’s a fact.
And by the way, big talker MR. ANONYMOUS.
when i tried getting my garbage bins from the public works dept, i had to get my C of O faxed in or else no cans, it took me a couple of days to get hold of it but the LPWD wouldn’t be understanding, interestingly when i drive by tent city there are garbeage bins lined up on cedarbridge as if it were a piece of commercial real estate there. I guess with a proper C of O from our very own inspections dept.
If my grass grows over 6 inches the SWAT team shows up with a Township Summons. If I leave my Garbage Cans in front of my house for more than 20 min after pickup, Public Works is hunting me down. However if I lived in tent city, I can smoke ‘grass’ & chuck my garbage onto Cedarbridge! Tent city here I come…
people get angry and make mistakes so get over it nobodies perfect
The woman was involved in an illegal activity. The minister asked her to leave and she refused, so he took her tent down
sounds like there’s more to this story. why would bingham react the way he did just because someone was cooperating in a police investigation? Is he afraid he will be implicated in some case?……hmmmmm
Lives in a tent and has a cell phone?????? Who pays her bills?
The original settlers in this country pitched tents in the middle of the forest, if I remember correctly.
To # 13,
You seem to conveniently forget that ALL the tent city squatters are doing something illegal, yet he doesn’t tear their tents down and harass them. It’s only when our law enforcement authorities remove the tents that Brigham makes sure to scream bloody murder..
And besides, please tell us who gave this Brigham ANY authority to enforce any rules on our publicly owned land??
If anything.. Brigham is a menace to society – because it’s only due to his anarchist opposition to authority that poor victims have literally lost their lives over there due to fires, etc..
Their blood is on HIS hands!!!
Yid- do you mean the original settlers? Maybe they pitched tents, but they paid taxes to their king. If you mean the native americans that’s a whole different story. BUT, these people are squatters on the town’s property.
If they were out in the open and not hidden by the woods I think people would have a different opinion. If they were building tents and squatting in a park in a neighborhood people would be screaming.
Besides that, some of the people in there are mentally ill, have drug/alcohol issues, are criminals, etc. Not all, but some. Allowing them to stay is not helping them or the town.
To be honest I can not wait until that place is shut down!!! Just think about exactly what kind of people live out here. Yes SOME have come on hard times, key word some. Take a look at what Mr. Reverend did he tore down someone’s tent because they are a witness against HIS little city.
To # 11… you can also have chickens too. for eggs. Eventually get a cow for milk.
This is what happens when people become dependent on others.
Dependency on others (government, advocates, etc) is the major factor that leads to the entitlement nightmare that enslaves the people and bankrupts government.
When people are not self sufficient, they become subservient to those that provide sustenance to them. This allows the provider to act as they wish to maintain control and ongoing power.
There are times in human discourse, where a good and decent person may become less than self sufficient, through no fault of there own. This is when government, advocates, and other charities must take on the temporary responsibility needed to assist the person in need.
Please take note! This is a TEMPORARY situation. Being poor is not a disease or a lifetime status. It is a temporary condition that must be avoided by all reasonable people.
It is about time this and other phony reverands are arrested for using their religion for anti-social causes.
These same kind of reverands are intimidating NY public schools on behalf of the homeless. These guys are part of a movement lower than the “Occupy” movement.
On the other hand, it is unjust for any town to give social services for housing to illegal mexicans while citizens are homeless.
Where is the outrage and compassion for the Lakewood taxpayers who pays and plays by all the rules? How come no one has been doing anything for us all this time! Why are there people who blatantly disregard all laws and feel they have a ‘right’ to do it?
This can be resolved very quickly with some guts from Township committee members, the police know exactly how to do it. Look how fast the Occupy wall street was over once there was a resolve from the ‘powers that be’.
If Miller can resolve this issue I will vote for him!
To justice is served “….On the other hand, it is unjust for any town to give social services for housing to illegal mexicans while citizens are homeless.” Are you serious?? FYI you must be a LEGAL RESIDENT or US CITIZEN to get help from any social services, beside WIC, stop blaming on “illegal Mexicans” for everything that goes wrong in this town. And by the way “is unjust to give social services to some peoples that have the money for private schools, 5br houses, expensive strollers and nice cars” THINK BEFORE YOU TYPE
they should close down the place
To Bill Hobday
How long is temporary??
These are mostly people who have attempted to go through federal aid programs and failed due to a drug or alcohol dependence. This woman was a drug addict, threatening violence against other residence and needed to leave. He had been planing to ask this resident to leave for several days and was not Prompted by the police presence.
Thank you once again to the scoop for delivering an unbiased account of the facts.
And send the mentally where? Please tell all the ederly parents who don’t know where their mentally ill loved ones shall go. Their’s is not a ” temporary” situation. You may all find yourselves homeless in the future, by an Act of God most likely, or maybe nuclear war. Why do you all think you are immune to the same situation? Your money won’t save you then. Steve Brigham has done more for the poor and oppressed than anyone, before he chose to live among them. They were dying in the snow back then, while the rest of you ignored their plight. That doesn’t make him an anarchist or socialist. Why does this story keep changing? I heard on the news it was he who was co-operating, not this woman. That means the real “criminals” set him up instead! (the false witnesses) Besides, God owns all the land! You are all just “tenant”s.
I also wanted to add to “justice” a Lakewood court ruled in favor of the encampment recently, what we are seeing now is the pathetic grasping of straws by the “powers that be”
… and where is Shelter for all those people.
Some used to sleep on Clifton Avenue on the street.
I am admittedly clueless to this on going situation- that said, isn’t there some kind of shelter available for these people, or do they prefer to live in tents? Also ,is it a matter of there not having the funds to set up some kind of organization to help these people, or do they not want help? It seems like a very heated subject.
To Steve Jr. (#27)
Are you advocating that if I see another person at the public park dealing in what I decide are drugs, that I have the lawful authority to destroy that person’s property??
I don’t know about you, but MY father taught me to call the POLICE in such a situation, and NOT take the law into my own hands. He also taught me that if I did decide to act like I AM the policeman.. that I should be prepared to be arrested and face jail time. And he also did his best to set a good example.
You see.. Your father has no rights whatsoever over his poor victim with respect to that land. He does not own it and he is no boss over it. He cannot make or enforce any rules. His words mean diddly”squat” on that property. He is still required to abide by all laws regardless if he approves of them or not.
In case it was not known to you, the sole authority over that land is Lakewood Township’s governing body – and that’s because Lakewood TAXPAYERS such as myself and others voted them into office to represent the Lakewood public.
(As an aside, I find it reprehensible that the perpetrator is not even a Lakewood taxpaying resident!!)
Additionally, I haven’t even heard any attempt at defending the vandalism and WITNESS INTIMIDATION charge yet??
It will do you good to get re-educated about the Democratic structure of our great nation. Unlike other regimes.. RULE OF LAW is at the top of this country’s list.