SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- A Santa Cruz County judge dismissed all charges against two people accused of trespassing and felony conspiracy in connection with the takeover of a vacant bank building last year.
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick cited thin and circumstantial evidence for his dismissal of the charges Monday morning against Bradley Stuart Allen and Alex Darocy, which elicited applause from some in the courtroom. The American Civil Liberties Union had filed a brief in support of the pair, which Allen's attorney said was rare for a case at this stage in the criminal proceedings.
Allen and Darocy were charged following a three-day occupation of the Wells Fargo-owned property on 75 River Street by an Occupy Santa Cruz splinter group last winter. Their attorneys argued they were acting as official photojournalists and did not have any role in encouraging the takeover. Their work documenting the protest, as well as other Occupy actions across the state, appeared extensively in the Indybay media websites.
"It is extremely chilling when the government says this reporting is aiding and abetting a crime," argued George Gigarjian, Darocy's attorney, in court.
The prosecution claimed the two were granted special access to the building, which in turn helped publicize the occupation. However, Judge Burdick noted it was difficult to establish any distinction between Allen and Darocy's work and other journalists' coverage, pointing specifically to a photograph taken from inside the building by a Santa Cruz Sentinel photographer.
"I'm pleased, of course, that Judge Burdick saw this as an important First Amendment case," said Allen's attorney, Ben Rice. "We have all kinds of media in the world today and Bradley's work with Indymedia is really important."
Outside the courtroom, Allen said he is eager to get back to covering stories often overlooked in mainstream media. "I'm glad that I still have the ability to cover events as a journalist," he said, a copy of the Constitution sticking out of his front pocket. "It was really chilling feeling like my reporting was going to be criminalized, feeling like journalism was going to be made into a crime."
Assistant District Attorney Rebekah Young said it was clear Judge Burdick gave careful consideration to all the evidence in the case, which she said was all she could ask for as a prosecutor.
11 people were charged in connection with the takeover of the vacant bank building. A judge has dismissed charges against six, though the District Attorney's Office plans on re-filing against two, Franklin Alcantara and Cameron Laurendeau.
Five more – Robert Norse, Becky Johnson, Brent Adams, Desiree Foster and Gabriella Ripley-Phipps – face preliminary hearings later this month.
