Man facing 13 year sentence for writing anti-bank messages in chalk on sidewalk

[cali]

4. more from Raw Story

<snip>

KFMB-TV reported on Tuesday that Jeff Olson has been charged with 13 counts of vandalism by City Attorney Jan Goldsmith for writing statements including “No thanks big banks” and “Shame on Bank of America” on the sidewalk outside a Bank of America location between February and August 2012.

If convicted, Olson could spend up to 13 years in jail and be forced to pay the bank $13,000 in restitution.

“Jan Goldsmith has received campaign contributions from Bank Americorp and Merrill Lynch,” Olson told XETV-TV. “I think this is mostly about Goldsmith for Mayor 2016.”

Olson described the writing as being “always on city sidewalks, washable chalk, never crude messages, never vulgar, clearly topical. But Judge Howard Shore struck down his attorney’s argument that the written protest fell in line with his right to free speech.

<snip>

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/26/california-man-could-face-a-decade-in-jail-for-chalking-no-thanks-big-banks/