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

[cali]

Jan Goldsmith's job as City Attorney is to represent the City of San Diego. In addition, it appears as if his office is also fully prepared to stand up for the little...rather, the big banks.

On Tuesday, the City Attorney's Office will make their case for prosecution of a 40-year-old man for writing anti-bank slogans in water soluble chalk on the sidewalk outside of three Bank of America branches in Mid-City.

This week, North Park resident Jeff Olson will appear in court to fight a charge of 13 counts of misdemeanor vandalism charges for writing protest slogans in chalk from February to August 2012. The charges could send Olson to jail for 13 years and put him on the hook for $13,000 in restitution to the City and to Bank of America.

Olson, a former staffer for a U.S. Senator from Washington, began to get involved in political activism around the time that Occupy Wall Street was in full swing. But for him, sleeping in a tent downtown or singing along to protest songs was not the right strategy.

<snip>

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/news-ticker/2013/jun/23/he-chalks-the-line-city-attorney-prosecutes-man-fo/

[liberal_at_heart]

1. the banks own us. We are no longer free to protest the banks or our government.

[villager]

2. "our government" is simply a division of those banks

n/t

[forestpath]

3. Government exists to protect the 1%.

[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/

[MindPilot]

16. I like this comment from the link

"I wish I lived in San Diego. I would take my kids to BofA so they could draw pictures of people getting evicted from their homes."

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Jan Goldsmith is an ass.

I can say that for sure. He is a prick, who also avoids local press unless it favors him. Oh and having stood against the tea party candidate for judge locally (with every body else legal) does not change that fact.

He's also veeeerrrryyyyy wealthy and could be seen to have issues with soluble chalk. (Let's just say this is not the first case). He also interpreted a particular ordinance to the point that people were encroaching by sitting down, or putting a cup of coffee on the ground.

If the Court has any sense it will chastise the DA and send him packing (like with the two encroachment cases he actually bothered filing, out of the hundreds arrested)


Oh and yes, he will run against Filner, and there is no love lost between the DAs office and the Mayor's office.

Context baby.

[MindPilot]

12. You are far too kind

Goldsmith is also responsible in no small part for initiating the federal crackdown on dispensaries.

And I believe it was one of Goldsmith's minions that the Mayor had forcibly removed from a meeting a few days ago.

[davidn3600]

6. The banks have all the power in America...dont piss them off.

[ZombieHorde]

7. So fucked up.

If he is convicted, would anyone here still view "our" justice system as good, just, beneficial, etc.?

[sabrina 1]

8. Land of the Free where War Criminals receive Medals Of Freedom, and Wall St. Criminals receive

trillions of dollars to cover their gambling debts, and those who point a tiny, powerless finger at them, go to jail for writing a message in chalk on the sidewalk.

Well, this should give pause to anyone who dares to speak unkindly about the criminals who run this country. Who needs Monarchies?

Are there no public stockades?

[One_Life_To_Give]

9. Better go after Bert forw inciting all this vandalism

Obviously he and his supporters, not to mention any names (ahem Mary) should be thrown in prison.

[winterpark]

10. Same thing happened here in Orlando. Buddy Dyer tried to prosecute a dude for

doing the same thing here and judge threw the case out and had harsh words for City of Orlando

[Skeeter Barnes]

11. Every citizen will respect our national religion, Capitalism.

Criticism of the Church (Chamber of Commerce) and it's members will result in prison time.

[avaistheone1]

20. Afraid so.

[WillyT]

13. K & R !!!

[MindPilot]

14. Oh, please, please, please let there be a jury summons in my mailbox when I get home today!

For those of you who think we are not in a police state because there are not tanks in the streets, THIS is what it looks like.

13 years for writing on the fucking sidewalk!? That's state-sponsored terrorism right there!

[SomethingFishy]

15. Ah so when that little girl who lives next door to me wants to play hopscotch

I can have her arrested when she draws on the street.

In the meantime we can yell and scream and get mad at the person who reported this story...

[MindPilot]

17. "In the meantime we can yell and scream and get mad at the person who reported this story"

They probably wear socks with flip-flops and have boxes in their garage.

And at some point may have taken someone else prescription drugs. Clearly they are not to be believed.

[KamaAina]

18. Because California's prisons aren't in the least overcrowded

and there's plenty of room for a repeat chalk offender.

Given our deplorable prison situation, no California judge in his/her right mind would sentence anyone to the maximum 1-year sentence, served consecutively, on nonviolent misdemeanor charges. Or at least let's hope not.

And can't Mayor Filner at least send this mook a sternly worded letter about waste of city resources or something?

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. Last I heard

The office of the DA and the Mayor's office are in not so talking terms.

[noiretextatique]

19. a waste of taxpayer money by a petty, vengeful creep

surely this jerk has more important issues to deal with.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Don't expect you to know this but Tosdal is also

Working this case

http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/13461

Since I have been covering it for the paper, Tom Tosdal is quite impresive in the courtroom.

Now you know where I will be in late 2014.

[MindPilot]

24. I DID know that.

Did YOU know that he is doing it pro bono?

Did you also know the article you linked to has nothing to do with the Jeff Olsen case except to briefly mention Tom Todsal?

I wouldn't expect you too, no.

[City Lights]

23. Another day, another outrage.

Amerika ain't what she used to be.