The volatile, 'unemployable' man who became a notorious police killer
By Ben Butler and Danny Tran

Before Dezi Freeman's death brought an end to a long manhunt, his friends say he was a troubled and divisive figure who was drawn to the anti-authority "sovereign citizen" movement.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-30/search-for-dezi-freeman-ends-death-police-porepunkah/105731958

#Shootings #Police #BenButler #DannyTran

The troubled 'sovereign citizen' who became a notorious police killer

Before Dezi Freeman's death brought an end to a long manhunt, his friends say he was a troubled and divisive figure who was drawn to the anti-authority "sovereign citizen" movement.

Invention 65 by Ben Butler, 2013 (ink on paper)
#alt4me #benbutler #drawing #contemporaryart #abstractart #art

On Juneteenth, we remember our production of Ben Butler by Richard Strand in 2017.

Butler had many flaws, but he did find a way around the Fugitive Slave Act.

Freeing an enemy's slaves occurred in other wars, Butler created the legal idea of doing so by designating them as contraband of war, which played a role in making emancipation an official war goal.

Today we celebrate the end of the darkest days of the Republic.

#BATtheatre #BurienTheater #Juneteenth #BenButler #TheaterTellsTheStory