American Citizen and Maine Resident Arrested for Trespassing Because He Voted on Election Day
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Romeo Salta:Today is 08/03/2025. Afternoon. We have with us Scott Fenstermaker, and John Keenan is our guest today for the podcast, and we have a very interesting topic to discuss. Apparently, mister Keenan was a victim of an arrest at the time that he went to vote, and so we wanna know all about that. Right, Scott?
Scott Fenstermaker:That's correct. And so I'm gonna ask him a few questions. But just to be clear, he he was arrested for trespassing because he went to go vote at his lawfully assigned voting place on election day back in February 2022. Good evening, mister Keenan. Thanks for being here.
John Keenan:Thank you, and thanks for having me.
Scott Fenstermaker:You're very welcome. We really appreciate your being willing to to be our guest on this podcast. So back in 2022, did there come a time when you got a no trespass notice from somebody?
John Keenan:Yes. In May 2020, twilight evening, just puttering around on my property. State police pulled in my driveway, exited the vehicle with a paper in his hand, and likewise proceeded to give me a trespass notice to the Sullivan Town Office, and that's where I do all my town business, and it's the only polling station within the town.
Scott Fenstermaker:I'm sorry. I I originally said that you got the trespass notice in 2022, but I guess it was back in 2020. Correct?
John Keenan:Yes.
Scott Fenstermaker:Alright. Very briefly, can you describe for the listening audience what a trespass notice is?
John Keenan:A it was explained to me that the trespass pass notice bans me from the address, my physical presence at that location and anyone could lodge a complaint if they caught me violating the notice.
Scott Fenstermaker:And what was that location that you were prohibited from going to according to the notice?
John Keenan:The notice was the address of the municipal building, which encompasses not only the town hall but the town office and the local RSU education center.
Scott Fenstermaker:The town office in the town hall, is that do you live in that town?
John Keenan:Yes. I have been a resident of that town since 2014, but I grew up in the town since the age of six.
Scott Fenstermaker:At the time that they issued the trespass notice to you, did you own property in that town?
John Keenan:Yes. I own property in that town. That way, I could participate in town business being a legal resident of the town.
Scott Fenstermaker:At some point after you received that trespass notice in May 2020, did you go to this Sullivan to the to the banned location, I'm gonna call it the banned location, to to vote at any point in time?
John Keenan:Yes. On Valentine's Day twenty twenty two, I entered the town office to vote, stood in line, gave my ballot to the clerk, and exited the building and wished everybody a good day and approximately took about ten minutes.
Scott Fenstermaker:When you voted there, did you engage with any interaction with the people in the building other than just to check-in and
John Keenan:Other than I was offered a slice of cake on the way out because it was Valentine's Day. Other than that, there was no other interaction with anybody.
Scott Fenstermaker:So you didn't have any disagreements with anybody, any arguments with anybody or
John Keenan:None at all.
Scott Fenstermaker:How long were you in the building at that time?
John Keenan:With waiting in line. It's a small rural town, so the wait time was less than ten minutes.
Scott Fenstermaker:So after you left and voted, did did anything happen to you with regard to your having voted that day?
John Keenan:Yes. Two weeks later, I got a call from an officer, the Maine State Police, and he said to me that he had a summons for my arrest for violating trespass notice on February 14. At that time, I really didn't want him showing up in the middle of the night because it was already late in the evening. So I made an arrangement with him to meet with him the next day at Troop J in Ellsworth, Maine, which is the Maine state police troop headquarters.
Scott Fenstermaker:And did you in fact meet with him?
John Keenan:Yes. I met with him and and he just proceeded to issue me a summons of arrest with a court appearance on it.
Scott Fenstermaker:Did the summons require you to come to court at some point?
John Keenan:Yes. It was April and that was the date of my arraignment. And so I went in after a lengthy search of how I could have disputed the charges and everything because there was no investigation, no nothing. He had already made up his mind when he exited his vehicle because he had the filled out notice prior to his arrival.
Scott Fenstermaker:And did you have your arraignment at some point in in 2022?
John Keenan:I had the arraignment in April 2022. It was messed up. They had the filing number, not even the court number to the case. They just had the investigation number to go by. So that's what they gave me for discovery.
John Keenan:And then I proceeded to defend myself as pro se.
Scott Fenstermaker:How long did your case last?
John Keenan:It lasted until 09/11/2024.
Scott Fenstermaker:And what was the charge that they had charged you with?
John Keenan:They charged me with violating a trespass notice, and they were asking for a week in incarceration.
Scott Fenstermaker:When you say that they charged you with violating trespass notice, was the crime that you were charged with trespassing?
John Keenan:Yes.
Scott Fenstermaker:What was the end result of your prosecution?
John Keenan:Struggling along throughout the delays, the postponements, their priority in taking cases and listening to cases. I was eventually had my trial on September 11, and the outcome was a not guilty verdict from the jury.
Scott Fenstermaker:Did you represent yourself at that trial?
John Keenan:Yes.
Scott Fenstermaker:And how many people were on that jury? There were 12. Romeo, do you have any questions for John?
Romeo Salta:Did you speak to any of the jurors after the trial?
John Keenan:No. I I thanked the jury and left the building as quickly as I could.
Romeo Salta:Do you recall how long the jury was out deliberating?
John Keenan:Two and a half hours.
Romeo Salta:That's pretty quick, wouldn't you say, Scott?
Scott Fenstermaker:I think so. That's a relatively quick acquittal.
John Keenan:They did come back with one or two questions from the jury, and we answered that in court. And then the jury came back, like I said, within two, two and a half hours.
Scott Fenstermaker:Anything else for Romeo?
Romeo Salta:Maybe you can answer this, Scott. As in Maine, are jury's normally 12 for all kinds of cases.
Scott Fenstermaker:Even misdemeanor cases are 12 person juries. So any do you have anything else you wanna say, mister Keenan? Or
John Keenan:No. That's basically it in a nutshell. Other than the delays that I encountered, it seemed like the district court didn't know how to handle this case, didn't know what to do going forward, And, basically, they were trying to keep me from being heard.
Scott Fenstermaker:Thank you. Romeo, do you have any other questions for mister Keenan? No. Thank you very much, John, for being with us tonight. This I think this is gonna be a a great podcast, and we appreciate your participation.
John Keenan:Thank you for having me. You're welcome.
Scott Fenstermaker:Have a good evening.
Romeo Salta:Thank you, John. Bye bye.
John Keenan:Thank you.
