7 war protesters choose to have a day in court

Room 108 of the municipal courthouse offers a choice:

You can go there straight after pleading guilty to speeding, littering or other violations and pay your fine.

Or you can pay $25 to reserve a jury.

All seven protesters arrested during the St. Patrick’s Day parade chose the second option Tuesday, saying they intend to return for a day in court to vindicate themselves.

Originally charged with failure to disperse, the seven protesters learned during their arraignment Tuesday afternoon that the city attorney instead will charge them with “obstructing passage or assembly.”

“We didn’t stop anything. We weren’t a safety hazard,” one defendant, Elizabeth Fineron, said afterward. The 65-year-old was arrested after police dragged her from the March 17 parade.

The protesters say police used excessive force and that their freedom of speech rights were violated when parade organizers had them removed.

Parade organizers have said the protesters registered for the event under the name of a business one of them owns and that the parade bans promotion of “social issues.”

Tuesday, supporters stood outside the courthouse with the same bright green peacesymbol flags and signs they carried during the parade.

Inside, the seven waited as Municipal Court Judge Carol Carter handled other cases: a pregnant woman who pleaded not guilty to prostitution and a man who admitted to dropping a lit cigar on the ground. As he walked out of the courtroom, he held up two fingers in a V toward the protesters.

When Carter called the first defendant, city attorney Scott Patlin asked the judge to remove herself from the case.

“On this particular case, the court may have known someone in the matter,” he said.

Carter refused.

All are scheduled to return to court at 1:30 p.m. May 7.

Once the case is settled, Fineron said she hopes that protesters and police can meet to discuss it.

One defendant, Peter Sprunger-Froese, said he accepts the situation as a consequence of his efforts to live his life “in a quest for nonviolence.”

“If that means I need to resist legal attempts to protect the status quo, then I will,” he said. “Let the system do what it wants with me.”

Defendant William Durland said police have not given him a copy of their report, which has

already been released to the media. After filling out a form and paying $10 for the report, Durland said his money was returned, along with instructions that he get the report from the city attorney.

Police spokesman Lt. Rafael Cintron said police officials in charge of records said they weren’t aware of any situation in which a protester was refused a record, but he said the records are available to anyone who pays for them.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0285 or deedee.correll@gazette.com