Editor’s note: This story is by Jennifer Hersey Cleveland, a staff writer at the Caledonian Record, where it was first published on Dec. 6.
NEWPORT CITY — The state dismissed the unlawful trespass charge against Barton Chronicle publisher Chris Braithwaite Wednesday.
The charge was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the state could refile the charge if it so chooses. Deputy State’s Attorney Sarah Baker did not explain her reasoning in the dismissal filing with the court.
Braithwaite, 68, of West Glover, was arrested covering a protest of Green Mountain Power’s industrial wind project on Lowell Mountain in December. The six protesters arrested that day were convicted by a jury and are scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 11.
In the latest motion to dismiss, Braithwaite’s attorney Phil White wrote that the state would not be able to prove beyond a doubt that Braithwaite did not have permission from Green Mountain Power to be on the site to cover the protest, based on newly obtained internal documents.
Those documents are sealed under a protective order by the court, and Braithwaite wants them made public.
“I regret that the documents which would help to explain the state’s decision to dismiss my case remain under court seal. The Chronicle has asked the court to release these documents, and I hope that my colleagues in journalism will join me in an effort to make this information public,” Braithwaite wrote in a statement released Wednesday evening.
“On the day after my arraignment on a charge of unlawful trespass, I wrote that I believed my conduct on Lowell Mountain on December 5, 2011, satisfied the dictates of common sense and the ethics of journalism,” Braithwaite wrote. “What remained was the daunting task of demonstrating that it was also within the law. That task came to a successful conclusion today.”
“It is my hope that journalists who find themselves in a similar situation will bear this case in mind when they are ordered to leave the scene of important public event,” he continued. “And I hope that police officers will bear this case in mind, when they encounter journalists at the scene of significant public events who are just trying to do their job.”
White said, “I’m glad this case has been resolved and dismissed, and I think the state’s attorney’s office did the right thing.”
“A lot of people thought this was a simple trespassing case, but any time a journalist is arrested trying to cover the actions of government — arresting protesters on an important issue — it is a serious matter,” White said.
White said this case raised an important discussion and he hopes at some point the courts will strike a balance between property rights and the right of the press to cover important issues.
“I’d like to thank my attorney, Phil White, for the excellent job he did in my defense,” Braithwaite wrote.
