Free Republic

Five members of the “Rainbow Family” — a loose-knit band of hippies that preaches love, tolerance and peace and is best known for its large gatherings every July — were arrested Tuesday night by Boulder County sheriff’s deputies after a violent brawl broke out at the group’s campsite near Ward. at a fight had broken out among a group of a dozen people camping out in the area of Ruby Gulch, located on state Forest Service property ... When deputies arrived, witnesses reported that one man, a Nederland resident aged 34 or 35, was hit in the back of the...

The Rainbow Gathering and the U.S. Forest Service continue to trade charges over the festival that is expected to draw 10,000 people to a Northern New Mexico forest by Independence Day. More than 200 people so far have had to travel 240 miles round-trip from the site in the Santa Fe National Forest near Cuba, N.M., to Albuquerque to see U.S. Chief Magistrate Lorenzo Garcia ... Forest Service spokeswoman Denise Ottaviano said only six of the arrests have been for felonies — assault on a federal officer, theft of government property, damage to government property and conspiracy. Seized drugs, she...

Marijuana and psychedelic drugs abound ...Around 3,500 people were already camping out in the Skookum Meadows area -- and organizers said the number would likely triple the population of Skamania Co. Skamania County Sheriff Dave Brown said his department has used the past two weeks to prepare for the influx of as many as 20,000 visitors. “We're obviously a small county and our resources are limited. We have a small jail that's two-thirds full right now and we could fill that up over the next week,” Brown said. “Yeah, I'm concerned about that and I'm concerned the taxpayers in this...

Police Charge Campers With Trespassing, Illegal Camping. Seven people have been arrested after they were found sleeping on the roof of the Boulder Public Library. The Rainbow Family is also known as the Rainbow Family of Living Light...