enhanced_deficit
02-05-2014, 12:54 AM
Freedom march goes on.
Drone protesters found guilty of trespassing at Beale AFB
Published: Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 - 7:19 pm
Last Modified: Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 - 10:41 pm
A Sacramento federal judge Monday found four people who protested the Obama administration’s use of killer drones outside a gate at Beale Air Force Base last spring to be guilty of trespassing.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire sentenced the four to 90 days of unsupervised probation, which will end for each defendant after he or she completes 10 hours of community service.
..Prosecutors fought to keep the cases away from a jury. Defense attorneys are convinced that prosecution fears “juror nullification,” which occurs when jurors ignore the law because they disagree with it, or because they believe it should not be applied in the case before them.
While milling around April 30 outside the Wheatland gate in the southwest corner of the base, the four defendants stepped across a “demarcation line,” marked by white paint, that is within the outer boundary of the base but well short of the gate itself.
Master Sgt. Michael Hodgden, a security manager at Beale, testified the demonstrators were repeatedly warned not to cross the line, but the defendants ignored the warnings.
“We need to prosecute people who have guilty minds and convict people with guilty hearts,” not people who seek to express their disapproval of “criminal and immoral acts of their government,” defense lawyer Mark Reichel told Claire in his closing remarks. “Their purpose was lawful and heartfelt, and the government has no evidence to the contrary.”
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/03/6125513/drone-protesters-found-guilty.html
Drone protesters found guilty of trespassing at Beale AFB
Published: Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 - 7:19 pm
Last Modified: Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 - 10:41 pm
A Sacramento federal judge Monday found four people who protested the Obama administration’s use of killer drones outside a gate at Beale Air Force Base last spring to be guilty of trespassing.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire sentenced the four to 90 days of unsupervised probation, which will end for each defendant after he or she completes 10 hours of community service.
..Prosecutors fought to keep the cases away from a jury. Defense attorneys are convinced that prosecution fears “juror nullification,” which occurs when jurors ignore the law because they disagree with it, or because they believe it should not be applied in the case before them.
While milling around April 30 outside the Wheatland gate in the southwest corner of the base, the four defendants stepped across a “demarcation line,” marked by white paint, that is within the outer boundary of the base but well short of the gate itself.
Master Sgt. Michael Hodgden, a security manager at Beale, testified the demonstrators were repeatedly warned not to cross the line, but the defendants ignored the warnings.
“We need to prosecute people who have guilty minds and convict people with guilty hearts,” not people who seek to express their disapproval of “criminal and immoral acts of their government,” defense lawyer Mark Reichel told Claire in his closing remarks. “Their purpose was lawful and heartfelt, and the government has no evidence to the contrary.”
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/03/6125513/drone-protesters-found-guilty.html