Mueller and co-defendant Pete Eyre were acquitted of wiretapping charges by a Greenfield District Court jury a year ago.
Adam "Ademo" Mueller, who was acquitted a year ago in Greenfield for illegally recording officials at the Franklin County House of Correction, was found guilty in Manchester, N.H. on three counts of illegal wiretapping public officials.A New Hampshire blogger who last year was acquitted in Greenfield District Court of charges that he illegally filmed inside the Franklin County Jail was found guilty on Monday in Manchester, N.H. on charges that he recorded conversations with three public officials without their permission.
Adam “Ademo” Mueller, a founding member of a police accountability blog called CopBlock.org, was found guilty in Hillsborough County Superior Court to three counts of illegal wiretapping, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
He was charged with illegally recording phone conversations with a Manchester police captain, and the principal and a secretary of Manchester High School without their consent.
Mueller called them for comments about a video of a student being arrested and handcuffed at the high school that was posted on the CopBlock website. Portions of the telephone calls were also posted on the website. He maintained that he told each person they were being recorded, but they maintained they were not.
Mueller, who represented himself at his trial, argued that the wiretapping law should not apply to recording public officials.
"I know I didn't cause them any harm — physical or otherwise," Mueller told jurors, stressing he called them while they were at their public jobs.
He was given a sentence of one to three years with all but 90 days suspended on one of the illegal wiretapping counts. For the other two counts, he received suspended sentences of one to three years but is required to attend counseling and stay out of trouble.
Mueller, who also goes by the name “Ademo Freeman,” was in custody before his trial started, nearing the end of a 60-day sentence for resisting arrest after chalking messages on the Manchester Police Department building 14 months ago.
Asked by Hillsborough Superior Court Judge Kenneth Brown if he wanted to be delay sentencing, Mueller replied, “I’m already in jail. We might as well get it over with.“
He also told the judge he had no regrets about what he did, and that locking him up would not deter him from being an activist.
"I don't think jails were built for people who make phone calls or chalk buildings," he said.
The jury deliberated for about 50 minutes before returning with the guilty verdict.
A large group of supporters were on hand outside the Greenfield District Courthouse for the July 19, 2011illegal wiretapping trial of Pete Eyre and Adam Mueller. Eyre and Mueller, founders of the police watchdog organization CopBlock.org, were acquitted. On July 19, 2011, Mueller and co-defendant Pete Eyre were acquitted by a Greenfield District Court jury on similar charges of illegal wiretapping stemming from an unrelated incident in Greenfield.
They were charged with using a video camera the previous July to record officials at the Franklin County House of Correction, where they had gone to bail out a friend.
Eyre and Mueller testified that when they went first went to the jail to inquire about bail, they were told they could film the process. When they returned a short-time later with the bail money
and began filming, they were told it was not permitted on jail property.
They refused and when police arrived and demanded they shut off the camera, they refused again and were arrested.
Jail officials were unable to show any written policies precluding filming at the facility. Nor were there any posted signs explicitly prohibiting the use of recording devices at the jail.
In the Greenfield trial, it took the jury about 2 hours to reach the verdict of not guilty.
Materials from the Associated Press were used in this report.