The guy isn’t even a U.S. citizen! He was also an advertiser on RidleyReport.com and, last I heard, he ran Bitcoin.com. Who knows more? What can we do to help Roger? Any sense of how we would go about writing him?
My suspicion is that currently it may be easier to raise concerns with Madrid than with D.C., I plan to call this week:
" ## Embassy of Spain in the United States
](Embassy of Spain in the United States)
2375 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W… Washington DC 20037. +1 (202) 452-0100. emb.washington@maec.es ."
Sent to the embassy:
"Lo siento; no hablo bien espanol. This is a request from New Hampshire from a resident of New Hampshire. I ask your government to release my friend Roger Ver, who you arrested on victimless crime charges in Spain itself. Presumably you were under pressure from the authoritarian U.S. government. It is a government which does not represent the people of New Hampshire and certainly should not have authority over you to make you enforce U.S. tax law inside your beautiful country. Roger was an asset everywhere he went…now you are condemning him to be tortured at the hands of a cruel and prosperity-killing regime. It’s apparently already happened to him once.
Details:
Yours with best wishes,
Dave Ridley
RidleyReport .com
Winchester, New Hampshire "
(I had to add a space to RidleyReport URL to keep this crappy web forum software from reformatting it into an image)
https://www.rogerver.com/ has details on his claims that he was tortured in prison.
Sent to Bitcoin.com, the company Roger founded "How do I write to Roger Ver in jail? Besides emailing me the info, could you please post this information on Bitcoin.com and ramp up your coverage of his situation? Roger’s arrest for allegedly doing the right thing…is an outrage and is the elephant in the room. I’ve emailed the Spanish embassy and called Free Talk Live to talk about this… but I need to do more. We all do. Dave Ridley, RidleyReport.com "
Called the embassy but they do not take calls, not even voice mails… and have referred all inquiries to the email addie above.
An quick internet search still reveals no information on how to write roger or help him.
Someone should probably write an article for Free Keene at some point with relevant information on how to reach out to Roger Ver. While I wouldn’t jump through the hoops that I would for Ian & the Crypto6 I feel he’s a good part of the story of crypto and the free state. We should make some effort to help / promote his situation and use it as an example of why our approach of gathering in New Hampshire is a better approach than fleeing the US long term. That is escaping the US is hard and they won’t leave you alone anyway. Might as well organize in one region and make it all that much harder for them to attack us.
Sent to: news@blockchain.news, contact@newsbtc.com, Editorial@coinpedia.org, Contact@GlobalCryptoPress.com, Executive.Editor@nbcuni.com, contact@crypto-news.net, news-corrections@seekingalpha.com, content@theblockcrypto.com, tips@forbes.com,
contact@thecryptoupdates.com, hello@cryptopanic.com, contact@cryptocoin.news, news@coindesk.com, danielnelson@coindesk.com
I think you did an article on the arrest of Roger Ver… do you have any idea how to write him in jail or where he is being held?
Thanks…
Dave Ridley
I will probably call free talk live about him a few times… that has a much bigger audience. Have called about him twice thus far, second time with updates. I did post something to FreeKeene.com.
Meanwhile, from https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/1cl6gbm/us_supreme_court_refuses_to_protect/
" # US Supreme Court refuses to protect Attorney-Client privilege in case regarding Roger Ver
Although Roger wasn’t listed by name, I don’t know many other early Bitcoin promoters that renounced their citizenship in 2014. Reading the indictment against Roger, I was shocked at how often they were quoting emails between him and his attorneys.
Basically, the government subpoenaed Roger’s Ver’s lawyers. The law firm tried to not give them everything, and apparently they tried to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismissed his law firm’s “writ of certiorari” and refused to hear the case.
Here’s the case file: Docket for 21-1397
HT: u/FieserKiller for posting the Reuters article in the comments here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/1ciesqp/research_thread_on_roger_ver_indictment/ "
Wow- that was fast. Yea, how can they subpoena a lawyer like that? That seems to violate all the fundamental rules. The system is so f’d up.
Emails redacted in this post.
From: Dave Ridley
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2024 5:37:29 PM
To: McEvoy, Ciaran (USACAC) (Dept. of Justice)
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Msg. for Ciaran McEvoy
"With regard to your news release at: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/early-bitcoin-investor-known-bitcoin-jesus-indicted-allegedly-committing-tax-fraud-and
What is Roger Ver’s current physical status? Is he still incarcerated? If so where (in Spain?) is Roger Ver being held? At which facility? Who is his lawyer? What if anything is being done to ensure that he is - and remains - safe? I could not get answers to these questions with a quick internet search.
Thanks!
Dave Ridley
RidleyReport.com"
From: McEvoy, Ciaran (USACAC) <@usdoj.gov>Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2024 9:40 PMTo: Dave Ridley <>Subject: Re: Msg. for Ciaran McEvoy
"I’ve asked our prosecutor. If Ver chooses to fight extradition from Spain, he’ll be there for a while, years possibly.
I’ll let you know if and when I hear anything."
I’ve received an email from Bitcoin.com and an apology from them for their slow response. They have contact with him. I’ve sent them this:
'Thanks guys! The main message I have for Roger is:
" How do we write you directly Roger without having to bug Mickey every time? What are some things the free staters can do to help you…or that you don’t want us to do? Do you have any messages for the public? I have had lots of trouble figuring out where - even if - you are being held and how we go about contacting you, until Mickey and Jason helped! Have contacted Spanish embassy to complain and request your release, and updated Free Talk Live on the air about you a couple times. Media coverage is widening to acceptable levels now along with public scrutiny of the arrest. I’d say you’re getting about 2x as much publicity as Ian Freeman had at this point in the crisis.
Also have contacted the Feds’ PR person on this…who was kind enough to write me back and inquire about if and where Madrid is holding you. Meanwhile, I’m assuming you’re in jail and adding some text below to hopefully help keep you entertained. If you really didn’t pay all the taxes D.C. wanted…then thank you for limiting your funding of their torture chambers … which in a sense we have both endured.
Dave Ridley
NHexit.com "
A media article eventually appeared, claiming that Roger was released on bail.