Posted on 07/29/2009 12:56:22 PM PDT by tcrlaf
La Mesa man finds out when free speech is no longer protected, after he is convicted of making threats against a candidate for president.
SAN DIEGO, California - Walter Edward Bagdasarian walked out of federal court Tuesday morning the same way he walked in, wearing a stoic expression on his face and clutching the hand of his wife. But, when Bagdasarian came out of the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building he was a man guilty of threatening the man running for the country's top spot, now President Barack Obama.
"The government's position essentially was that the defendent intended to make a threat," said Assistant United States Attorney William Cole. "Again, the law does not turn on whether he intends to carry it out but whether he intends to make a threat."
Bagdasarian requested and was granted a bench trial, meaning no jury decided his fate. In finding him guilty U. S. District Judge Marilyn Huff found the two messages Bagdasarian posted on the internet October 22, 2008, were intended as a threat. The messages, one which read, "He will have a 50 cal in the head soon," were discovered after a retired air force officer saw them on a Yahoo finance website and called the secret service.
Another email included racial slurs and read, "Shoot the n--. Country f----- for another 4+ years, what n-- has done ANYTHING right???? Long Term???? Never in history, except s-mbos.
In defending his client, Defense Attorney Ezekial Cortez argued the postings were political speech and protected by the first amendment. He also told the judge his client was drunk when he went on the website.
"Defense counsel proffered the idea that he was drunk at the time but as we indicated in court there was very limited evidence to intoxication," said Cole.
Cortez objected to the introduction of other emails Bagdasarian sent to someone on November 4th, election day. One email included a YouTube video link showing a car being blown up after it was hit by a round from a weapon. Cole said the second emails were important because they also showed intent.
"All these days later he is still talking about the same subject matter," he said. Which in the government's mind undercuts the notion these statements were solely the result of drunkeness."
Phone calls to Bagdasarian's business and to the office of his attorney went unreturned.
Out on $100,000 bail, the 47-year-old will be sentenced in October. Each count he is convicted of carries a maximum of five years in prison. So what will he be sentenced to, if he spends any time in prison?
"Theoretical maximum is 10 years in prison," said Cole. "But again the government has not made a recommendation at this time and has no prediction at all as to what the sentence will be."
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