Funferal

Radio Free Battleboro shut down in FCC raid

The big news in alternative radio circles today (already reported by both DIYMedia and MediaGeek) is the raid by the FCC on Radio Free Battleboro. As reported in a press release that I believe originates with Radio Free Battleboro

At 6:58 this morning, June 22, 2005, armed with a warrant issued by a Burlington magistrate, United States Marshals entered the studios of radio free brattleboro and seized its broadcasting equipment. The seizure of equipment and shutdown of rfb’s local broadcasts under authority of a warrant issued in Burlington comes while an action is still pending before Judge J. Garvan Murtha in the federal court in Brattleboro.

As phlegm reports it’s unusual for the FCC to do an end-run around judicial processes. I can’t imagine that the original judge dealing with the case will be too pleased, and that may provide a useful avenue for RFB in fighting this action.