They Kept Me in a Holding Cell for a Day. I Had to Go on Hunger Strike to Be Treated Like a Human.

I am writing this from inside the Harrison County jail, and I want people to know exactly how I am being treated — because I have not been convicted of anything. I am presumed innocent, and I am being held over a Facebook post.

What is happening to me in here

They put me in a holding cell yesterday afternoon and left me there. No mat. No shower. Just a holding cell, hour after hour, into a second day.

By this afternoon I had had enough. The only thing a man in my position can do is refuse to be ignored — so I raised my voice, I demanded to be treated like a human being, and I went on a hunger strike. I told them I would not eat, I would not drink, and I would not take my medication until they did what they already said they would do and moved me out of that holding cell. It was around 5:20 in the afternoon before they finally moved me.

That is what it took. A man has to stop eating and drinking to get a mat and a shower in Harrison County.

The Justice of the Peace and my right to remain silent

The Justice of the Peace, John Oswalt, came to the jail and demanded that I speak with him.

I declined. Not because I have anything to hide — because I have a right not to be questioned without my attorney present, and I am exercising that right. That is not defiance. That is the Constitution. Every American has the right to remain silent and the right to counsel, and no official gets to pressure that out of you because you are sitting in a cell.

I will speak through my lawyer, in court, on the record. That is how this is supposed to work.

I believe they are trying to violate my rights, and they have already violated them. They violated my First Amendment — that is the entire reason I am sitting in here, over speech. That is unconstitutional, plain and simple. And it is exactly why we have to fight for our rights, because if they can do this to me over a Facebook post, they can do it to anyone.

Where things stand

My attorney is working to get me a bond hearing. Until that happens, I have to sit here and wait it out. I do not have another option but to be patient and let the process play out the right way.

But I am not going to be quiet about how I am being treated while I wait. Sunlight is the only protection a person in my position has. If they know people are watching, they treat you differently. So I am asking you to watch.

How you can stand with me

• Share this. The more people who know what is happening in here, the harder it is for it to keep happening.
• Support my family. I cannot earn anything from a cell, and Amanda is carrying everything alone with our baby on the way. Anything you can do keeps us afloat and keeps this fight going.

I am presumed innocent. I am being held over speech. And I am still standing.

— Ryan Nichols