At 3:30am on Saturday (during The Jungle event, which was a GREAT party!), the police visited us reporting a noise complaint. I met them at the gate and offered to gladly have the volume reduced, noting that we had checked the volume earlier and the music wasn’t reaching past the end of the property at that time.
The aggressive police officer in charge then began badgering me about special permits, though we are licensed to have the type of events we do at CoLab. She then asked to see our business license. I explained that I was happy to retrieve it for her and asked her to wait at the gate. She insisted on following me into the building, despite my protests that I did not consent to a search.
In the 30 seconds she was in the building, she appeared to become confused by participants dancing to the music and the UV lighting. Out of her element, she became irate and confrontational. I was then immediately arrested for, among other things, “Running an Adult Dance Hall without a Permit,” which is, of course, a ridiculous charge. They took me to jail and I was there until Monday afternoon because I had to wait for a bond from the judge on Monday morning.
Between the bond and the attorney’s fees to fight the spurious charges, we’ll be set back at least $4000.
If you enjoy what we do here at CoLab and would like to contribute to our legal defense fund, we’d appreciate it. Here’s a PayPal link where you can help.
And, please consider attending Full Immersion 1.0 this weekend! We’re still on for an excellent all-weekend event, and have opened up day passes on Saturday and Sunday for those who can’t stay the whole time. All tickets must be pre-purchased. There will be no gate sales.
Thanks for all the support our friends have provided in this stressful time!
- Troy
