In a scene that could have come from one of his novels, the Canadian author Peter Watts has been arrested by US border guards and faces charges of assaulting a federal officer. Watts and his companion both deny that Watts assaulted anyone, but ‘assaulting an officer’ is the kind of charge that’s very easy to make and very difficult to fight. In such situations, even touching an officer can be labeled ‘assault’ and once the charge has been made, law enforcement agencies will usually do everything they can to ensure a conviction.
Watts is, in my view, one of the better SF writers writing today, and one who has yet to have the recognition that he deserves. While that doesn’t have any bearing on the question of whether he’s innocent or guilty of the charge, it does mean that my sympathies are with him and that I hope he wins his case.
Update: Peter Watts has posted his account of the incident.
