This is so horrifying and despicable that I am, for once, literally at a loss for words. From the Huffington Post:
Jeff Olson, a 40-year-old man from San Diego, Calif., will face jail time for charges stemming from anti-big bank messages he scrawled in water-soluble chalk outside Bank of America branches last year.
The San Diego Reader reported Tuesday that a judge had decided to prohibit Olson’s attorney from “mentioning the First Amendment, free speech, free expression, public forum, expressive conduct, or political speech during the trial.”
With that ruling, Olson must now stand trial on 13 counts of vandalism, charges that together carry a potential 13-year jail sentence and fines of up to $13,000.
During one protest outside of a Bank of America branch, they drew the ire of Darell Freeman, vice president of Bank of America’s Global Corporate Security, who accused them of running a business with their demonstration.
The Reader reports that Freeman aggressively pressured city attorneys to bring charges against Olson until they announced that they would do so in April.
Full article here.
In Liberty,
Mike
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This is beyond absurd. If this actually does go to trial, I will suggest every person reading this blog get as many friends and family to pepper the municipality with emails or phone calls. If a judge in his right mind is suggesting no free speech, then he does not belong in his position. Utterly ridiculous.
Whatever. A judge or anyone else cannot prohibit Free Speech as there is no Law prohibiting Free Speech, nor is any body, political or not, allowed to create a law prohibiting Free Speech.
The Lawyer should simply bring up Free Speech and demand another judge. The citizens of that District should be raising hell that a judge in their district cares so little for their Rights.
Judge gave him grounds for a possible appeal, and perhaps an administrative action against the judge. Hope so, anyway
Funny how the manager of any other business in the county couldn’t the city attorney to do squat about vandalism of his property, but a middle level turd from Bank of America calls, they get the lead out and bring it strong. Just about the definition of crony capitalism and governmental capture. The government and all its departments, high and low, are merely the enforcement arm of the Banking Cabal, and the collections division of the bond market. It’s obvious at this point.
It is however a nice window on the beliefs, entitlement, and intellectual bankruptcy of the banker class. Someone should do his thinking for him and help him see beyond bonus: “Hey genius, if you can get the chalk guy charged and prosecuted with a few phone calls and tortured, self-important letters on bank letterhead, a bigger, more deeply pathological sociopath can do it to you and your kids. Get a clue.”
It’s coming. Get ready. Soon.
Will cost CA what 13years x $75k a year to jail him
Great trade.
Prison-industrial complex is an essential arm of the control grid, and one of the many species of parasite attached to the public treasury, as your arithmetic describes.
I think Mike posted an article about a judge who was getting cash kicked back for long sentences and guilty verdicts, by the prison company.
Outrage fatigue.
I heard a great story recently of a Rabbi who to spare his life was told to stand on one foot and recite the whole Torah. He went on one foot and said something to the effect of “Don’t do to others what you would not want done to you.” That’s all he said — the essential message of all religion — everything else is custom and commentary.
Plutocracy and oligarchy require such absurdities as prosecuting the chalk artist to survive.
Big cliche’ finish: No justice, no peace.
I agree with Hap that this prosecution is absurd; this would make a great story line for an update of The Trial.
One thing that was not clearly stated is that the alleged vandalism took place on a public sidewalk, not on any property owned by the bank. If Olson is found guilty, shall we throw kids playing with chalk in public in jail?
The BoA security guy harassed Olson on public property. Will the DA indict the BoA guy? I doubt it.