Yesterday Twitter erupted with news that Jane Hamsher and David House had been “detained” at Quantico Marine Base when trying to visit Bradley Manning. Of course the Twitters and Internets quickly erupted with conspiracy theories of why they were being detained. According to Quantico, they were actually never detained, but they did have their car towed:
Quantico spokesman Col. Thomas V. Johnson says the car was towed after the pair could not provide proof of insurance and guards found the vehicle’s license plates had expired. He says both weren’t detained.
Anyone who has ever visited a military base before, as these two reportedly have, knows that things like vehicle registration and insurance are checked. Driving on expired plates and/or without insurance is illegal in all 50 states, including military bases. If Jane and Dave would have been pulled over by civilian police, then they would have been towed, detained and given a court date. It sounds like they got off easy on this one.