Posted on 03/04/2011 11:07:16 AM PST by epithermal
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man who infiltrated a sale of federal energy leases in December 2008 to protest U.S. policies about climate change was found guilty by a jury Thursday of disrupting a government auction and faces up to 10 years in prison.
The defendant, Tim DeChristopher, 29, became a folk hero to some in the environmentalist movement for taking action against the leases, which provoked protests and demonstrations in the closing days of the administration of President George W. Bush because of the perceived risk to sensitive lands in southern Utah.
In his four-day trial in federal District Court in Salt Lake City, DeChristopher's lawyers said he was passionate but impulsive, and had no thought-out "plan" or "scheme" — words central to the language of the charges — to ruin the auction by buying nearly $1.8 million worth of oil and gas leases with no intent to pay.
"He really didn't know what he was doing," one of his lawyers, Ronald Yengich, said in closing arguments Thursday.
But the 12-member jury of eight men and four women, after deliberating for about five hours, apparently agreed with Assistant U.S. Attorney John Huber, who said in his closing argument that the "rule of law" was a boundary of civil society that passion and zeal for a cause could not justify crossing.
"He chose a patch of illegality and criminal conduct," Huber said.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
He probably doesn't pay any of his other bills, so why would he think he would be expected to actually pay this one?
“faces up to 10 years” but will probably be reimbursed for his trouble to the tune of 10Gs.
“He really didn’t know what he was doing,” How does that happen? What he should have said is “My client’s head was shoved so far up his arse he thought his actions as an enivonmental do-gooder would trump the law.” Guess not.
If he really doesn’t know what he’s doing, that sounds like a resume enhancer for employment with the DNC.
Tim DeChristopher guilty of two charges involved in disrupting a BLM land auction
10 years Federal ?
One would think that a federal auction would at least prescreen the bidders to ensure they have the ability to pay for what they bid on.
Hell, I've attended low level art auctions (most of the sales in the low to mid three figures) which did as much when people checked in to bid. You needed to show either a credit card with an available $1000 balance or a bank account with a $1000 deposit before they gave you a bid paddle.
Lookers were welcome to attend the auction as long as there were available seats. But if prequalified bidders came in, they were asked to vacate to make room.
I've also been to farm auctions with similar rules, but lower limits or color coded bid paddles based on the prequalified limit. If, for example, a yellow bid paddle indicates a $1000 prequalification and the bid goes over, the auctioner simply points to the person raising the paddle and says "sorry, we can't accept that bid."
It ain't rocket science.
It’d be nice for him to get 10 years but he won’t. Even so the sentence he does get will put a screeching halt to this scam for the enviro nazis.
Maybe his new roommate at the Federal Penitentiary can clear his thinking...
What a punk.
“He didn’t know what he was doing??” He bought almost 2 million dollars worth of leases!! No wonder so many lawyers are leftists. They’re completely shameless too!
Besides his jail time he should have to work for the rest of his life with a 1.6 million dollar lein against his credit.He should hav to remember how he ruined his life forever with his stupid antics.At 29 he was fully capabile of knowing what he was doing.
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