Yesterday, Judge David Stockdale sentenced News Editor Greg Flannery and three other defendants to one day in jail. The defendants also received six months probation and were ordered to pay court costs and perform 20 hours of community service, Flannery writes on the CityBeat blog. The sentences were suspended pending appeal. The defendants were arrested last September when they conducted a sit-in at U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot's office to protest the Iraq War.
Judge David Stockdale denied a request to drag former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld before a Hamilton County court as a material witness in a trespassing case involving CityBeat news editor Greg Flannery, reports a local Fox affiliate. Flannery was one of seven anti-war protesters arrested after occupying the Cincinnati offices of congressman Steve Chabot, a supporter of the war in Iraq. A lawyer for the defendants admits that it was always unlikely that Rumsfeld would be forced to testify.
Cincinnati CityBeat News Editor Greg Flannery was one of seven people arrested for criminal trespassing on Sept. 27 when they protested the Iraq War by conducting a sit-in in U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot's Cincinnati office. Now he's asking the former Secretary of Defense to take the stand in his case. "I think testimony about the war that Rumsfeld can offer is essential to our defense, which is that we were breaking the law to stop a much more serious crime," Flannery tells the Cincinnati Post. The trial is set for Jan. 22.
Gregory Flannery says it took about 30 seconds for him to be arrested in a March 20 peace march in Cincinnati. "That's how long my feet were embedded on a Fifth Street crosswalk before a police officer ordered me to move. I declined, and he charged me with obstructing official business," he writes. Flannery says his five hours in the slammer were worth it, even though, "Handcuffs hurt the wrists and the shoulders. Jail is boring."
