We had a nightmare situation this past Sunday. We were driving by Reidsville Prison in Georgia and a little way past the gate, Helen pulled over to download some OnStar instructions. Just as Helen was starting off, a most obnoxious and threatening woman guard in a prison van with a lightbar on top drove up from behind and blocked us from going then came to the car and in an extremely confrontational voice asked what we were doing. Helen tried to explain we were headed to Beaufort and we were setting our navigation, but it was futile and we were blocked for about a half hour. She made a big deal of calling in our license plate and waiting for an answer. She asked if we had cameras. I said yes. She asked if I took any pictures going by. I said, well yes, I have taken pictures of things along the way every since we left Virginia. She said we broke the law, that "you can't take pictures of institutions!" She said also that we were in a "Restricted area" but there were no signs of any kind along the road and no signs prohibiting parking, even. This got worse and worse when another guard supervisor came out and blocked us behind as well, and that guard demanded my camera and incredibly, started punching buttons on my camera, deleting my pictures. The woman kept trying to provoke us and she looked like she would bludgeon us to death if we made the slightest protest. This was the most horrible encounter I have every had even counting wartime in Vietnam as we felt we were about to be tasered, shot, or beaten to death. After they deleted the pictures that they chose, the sergeant said we could go but we were still boxed in and Helen had to pull up and back up about a dozen times while the woman smirked and grinned at the other guard at her difficulty, then the woman, who had to have the last word, went even more extreme and said we could not proceed east and ordered Helen to turn around. Her supervisor acted scared to even countermand her, but I suppose finally figured that maybe that was not a really great idea and actually did overrule her, the first and only time. Being a public highway, making this kind of Nazi encounter from nothing but me taking a few pictures was utterly ridiculous, but that didn't faze these two sociopaths who apparently are given full rein to make up their own rules. Finally we got out with our skins and I am filing a violent protest with the state. Amazingly, we were not asked about guns or weapons, only cameras, as if cameras are the most feared things of all. I called the prison the next day and did get confirmation that they should not have questioned or removed our pictures and I am expecting written apologies, but until I get them I have a letter prepared to send to the governor of Georgia about his Orwellian nightmare. The most damaging encounter to a public image of any government operation that possibly could have been done was done in a short time by these two. We were treated like escapees, not members of an up to now supportive public. I cringe to think of what it must be like as a prisoner in that place.