Environmentalist sentenced for protest at Capitol building

Oil from the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has now hit all four state coastlines in the region and tar balls have come on shore in Texas. Work crews continue to collect waste and oil from the spill, including in Lake Ponchartrain near New Orleans.

While the largest environmental disaster in the U.S. continues, some are questioning why an environmental activist who hung up protest banners on Capitol Hill faced three years in jail- and BP hasn't been charged with any crimes.

The activist, Ted Glick, was arrested last September. At a superior court in Washington DC today, Glick got a sixty day suspended sentence. FSRN’s Jacob Fenston has more.

TRANSCRIPT:

“Green Jobs Now,” read one 50-foot banner. “Get to work,” read the other.

“We actually were addressing not  just the climate crisis but the employment crisis.”

Ted Glick, outside the courthouse this morning. He faced up to three years in jail, because of previous convictions for similar non-violent protests:

“I believe that non-violent civil disobedience is very legitimate, is very much within the American tradition. Henry Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, any number of people have undertaken this form of action.”

In May, a jury convicted Glick of demonstrating on Capitol grounds, and hanging a banner on Capitol grounds -- both misdemeanors.

“The standard is the tourist standard, so if the action is not louder than the actions of an ordinary tourist, sometimes you can win.”

Glick’s lawyer, Ann Wilcox:

“We argued sometimes you’ve got school groups in there, singing songs and doing cultural events, and they can be louder than some of the protesters that are there. And we don’t feel they should be arrested just because of the content of their message.”

During the sentencing, the prosecutor said Glick should go to jail, because he’d “failed to accept responsibility and show remorse for his actions.” The prosecutor asked for a 40 day sentence.

The judge said he’d received, and read, hundreds of letters in support of Glick. But he said he rejected the notion that Glick should get off because of the importance of his message.

A supporter in the packed audience sighed and whispered: “he’s going to jail.”

A few minutes later Glick was released, as dozens cheered.

“As far as whether I personally will put myself in a situation where there’s a high risk of arrest, I certainly will think very long and hard about that, given what’s happened to me here.”

Glick’s suspended sentence means he won’t spend any time in jail. Instead he faces a one-year probation, a $1000  fine, and 40 hours of community service.

Jacob Fenston, FSRN, Washington.

Photo: Protesters in front of U.S. Capitol building

Photo by: scott*eric