Posted on 04/21/2006 12:39:37 PM PDT by Jack Black
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A heckler from the Falun Gong spiritual movement who disrupted a White House appearance by Chinese President Hu Jintao was charged in federal court on Friday with harassing, intimidating or threatening a foreign official.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington said the misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to six months in jail.
The woman, who entered the White House grounds as a reporter, interrupted a formal arrival ceremony between Hu and President George W. Bush on Thursday and shouted: "President Hu, your days are numbered. President Bush, make him stop persecuting Falun Gong."
The embarrassing episode marred the South Lawn event and created a diplomatic stir. Bush personally apologized to Hu for the incident.
U.S. officials identified the woman as Wang Wenyi, 47, a reporter with The Epoch Times, an English-language publication strongly supportive of the meditation movement that is banned in China.
Spokesman Channing Phillips said she was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service and that the U.S. Attorney's office decided to proceed by filing the federal charge in court.
The law at issue bars harassing, intimidating or threatening a foreign official in the performance of their official duties.
When she was arrested, the heckler was charged with disorderly conduct. The spokesman said that charge, under local law, could be brought later.
Madame Wang Wenyi is a heroine for standing up to the murderous, organ harvesting regime!!
Harry Wu is, undoubtedly, most proud of her.
Her predecessor at Tienneman Square, may have been her
inspiration!
The episode lessens the Bush legacy...yet again. By charging this guy...it makes them look like fools. My guess is that a fed judge will look at the heckler for about 30 seconds and then smile as he says 24 hours in the local jail...and then suspends the punishment. And then the judge will turn to the cameras and say that freedom of speech outweighs this law by a ton.
I would say Bush is on a run...since Katrina...downhill. He is still a hundred times better than Kerry...but considering there are two years to go and how many screwups they've done recently...I don't see a great finish to this term.
Okay. You do have a point. It is true that many Leftists are sincere (as opposed to the cynical, self-serving ones) and of good will (as opposed to some of the others);
However, remember the Carters et al. smiling for family-photos with Fidel Castro; Madeleine Albright toasting Kim Jon-Il, apparently with expensive Champagne; the Leftists' support for the corrupt dictators who run the United Nations; the Leftists' defeat of South Viet Nam that paved the way for Pol Pot; et al., et al., et al!
It's hard to know how much of such as this results from merely not giving it enough thought, how much from making a mistake, how much from merely being misguided or confused or misinformed, how much from errors in judgment, how much from bad judgment, how much from stupidity, or how much from self-serving malevolence,
But there is a pattern.
The Left tends to be controlling and selective and arbitrary in its concepts of justice, and most Leftists, if they were honest, at least with themselves, would admit that they favor totalitarianism, if for no other reason than that they distrust "the people" and that totalitarianism is the only way to achieve their agenda (one of the basic fallacies of Marxism, which the Left embraces either covertly or overtly).
I have many friends and relatives who are Leftists. Most of them are misguided. Many of the Leftist leaders are self-serving.
When I accuse Leftists of being morons and sociopaths, I'm levitating right there on the indistinct borderline between hyperbole and laconism.
I'm not convinced she was threatening him personally, with bodily harm etc. I believe she meant his tenure, his regime, communist philosophy.....are numbered.
That said, it's unfortunate because she made good points and hit Hu right between the eyes (so to speak), which he isn't used to.
Hopefully, she'll have a good lawyer and will get off, have charges greatly reduced and do community service, etc.
How nice...freepers who think that the book should be thrown out her. Once more example of how America has lost its soul.
The woman is a HERO and should be treated as such. Once again this administration has blown it.
Just another day in the U.S.A.
The Bush Admin has a chance to quietly make sure these charges are dropped. If they don't, then sadly add me to those who have been a longstanding supporter of the President but who reluctantly conclude that his time in office will ultimately be judged as more a failure than success. He's done some great things, some very visionary actions for the country's defense, many great court appointments, and advocated many conservative solutions to issues facing the country. But all too often he hasn't actually pushed hard enough to actually implement, hasn't led and been virtually invisible, and been reactionary and too late on too many important issues. Way too many missed opportunities, for a variety of reasons. This case is kinda the tipping point for me.
President Bush - at times the vision of Reagan, but too often the effectiveness of Carter.
bttt
[Spokesman Channing Phillips said she was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service and that the U.S. Attorney's office decided to proceed by filing the federal charge in court.]
Meanwhile, a black feminist congresswoman who punched a police officer smiles and curses and walks away from and obvious felony.
Go figure. The Pubs are like the dems.
More power to her. He doesn't have our best interests at heart.
Were they charged with crimes? Insults are not a crime. Insulting politicians has a very long tradition in the USA. I believe in England insulting King George was a crime, which is why our founders created the first ammendment. To protect political speech. Given all the crap the first has been used to support, porno, outing our spys, delivering military secrets to the press I find it absurd that this basic citizen protest is being charged. I might agree that it was rude, and I would certainly not have done that. But again, rude remarks to politicians can not now be a crime.
Great argument, but the quote you were responding to wasn't mine.
Late BTTT
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