[B]URLINGTON — Two protesters were found guilty Tuesday of disorderly conduct for their role in a July demonstration against Trump administration family separation policies along the border.
The defendants were each fined $250 for their action in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Williston.
Michael McCleese, 60, of Worcester and Constance Lesold, 84, of Buffalo, New York, were found guilty by a jury of causing a public inconvenience or annoyance by blocking traffic, and doing so with a reckless disregard for the consequences of their behavior.
The jury deliberated less than an hour in reaching a verdict.
“I do not intend to appear this morning as an angry protester, but as a 60-year-old man who basically has a broken heart over what has been happening in this country,” McCleese said. “That’s why I went into the street last July.”
During the trial, the jury remained unaware of the full nature of the protest, only that it was in response to a government policy in front of a government building. However, both defendants raised objections to the withholding of the additional information.
“To separate the consequence of me being here and the intention of that day, for me, would be the same as me lying to this court and to this jury,” McCleese said in a comment that was later stricken from the record. “When I hear the screams of children being pulled from their parents arms from strangers, it’s something I can’t ignore.”
“I am very unhappy with the whole situation, because I feel that my First Amendment rights have been totally violated, all over the place,” Lesold said. “I’m particularly distressed that the jury has been reminded that they have First Amendment rights and they can go out and say whatever they please, but I can’t say what I want to say in the courtroom when I have sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
A February ruling also found that the protesters could not use a “necessity defense” in the case to argue that their actions were necessary to prevent a greater evil.
Instead, the defense argued that there was nothing disorderly about the protest, and that the protesters were intentional in their actions, not reckless. They argued that the vehicles on the road were only briefly inconvenienced, and that the intent of the protest was to draw attention to their cause, not to disrupt traffic.
“I would never have participated in a reckless demonstration,” Lesold said. “This demonstration was very carefully organized … everybody went along with the police instructions and filled out the forms, et cetera, et cetera. It was one of the most planned demonstrations I’ve ever seen.”
Lesold said the drivers did not appear angry or honk their horns. She said if anyone was inconvenienced, it was not the cars that had to run around, but the protesters for having to speak out about these issues and go through this legal process.
“The intent wasn’t to cause inconvenience, the intent was to cause people to look at it,” Lesold said. “A few people in Williston had to turn around their cars. I do not know of any other inconvenience. I did not get a chance to talk to them afterwards, they might have thanked me for doing it, they might not have said it was an inconvenience.”
The prosecution argued that the protesters had five separate opportunities during their interactions with the police to avoid citations, and they failed to comply with police orders on each of these occasions.
Between 75 and 125 people participated in the protest, and police estimated about 50 of those people were actually blocking the road. After being informed that those who stayed in the road would be arrested, just 11 protesters remained blocking traffic, all of whom were given citations. Some of the other arrested protesters opted not to take their cases to trial and are instead serving 25 hours of community service.
After the sentencing, McCleese said he would not be paying the fine, “out of conscience.” Both defendants also turned down an alternative of 25 hours community service because of moral objections.
“I think children should be taught from the beginning that community is the job of a citizen, and not something to be given as punishment,” Lesold said.
