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Three Columbus Day parade protesters found guilty

By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 22, 2008 at 11:06 a.m.
Updated January 22, 2008 at 9:14 p.m.

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The first three of more than 80 protesters to be tried for blocking a Columbus Day parade in October were found guilty in Denver District Court on Tuesday.

Sentenced to fines were University of Colorado political science professor Glenn Morris; the Rev. Julie Todd, a Methodist minister; and Koreena Montoya, of Denver.

An appeal is possible, said David Lane, one of five defense attorneys on the case.

The protesters delayed the parade by more than one hour when they sat down on 15th Street and poured theatrical blood in the street.

Lane asked the four-woman, five-man jury to consider that the protesters had no other way to make known their point that celebrating Columbus is offensive to Indians, who see the explorer as someone who caused the near extermination of their people.

Lane told the jurors that the delay of the Columbus Day parade was insignificant compared with the suffering of Indians since Columbus landed.

Assistant City Attorney Melissa Drazen-Smith argued that the protesters had a right to express their opinions — and in fact had held their own parade and rally.

But they crossed the legal line when they attempted to block Columbus supporters from exercising their First Amendment rights, Drazen-Smith said.

Jury Foreman Terry Smith, a retired Ford executive, said that the panel based the decision only on whether the evidence showed the defendants committed the acts with which they were charged — not the message the protesters were trying to convey.

The protesters were charged with variations of blocking a street, interfering with a lawful assembly and resisting arrest. Each was convicted on at least one count.

Morris, who has participated in several of the protests against the annual Columbus Day parade in recent years, was given a $200 fine, plus $41 of fees.

Morris also must pay $323.53, the cost of cleaning up the theatrical blood.

The cost is so high because police called in a hazardous materials unit to do the cleaning before the parade was allowed to proceed.

Todd was fined $100, with $50 suspended, and Montoya must pay $200.

Drazen-Smith had asked Jordan to impose a one-year suspended jail term on Morris. She said a tough stance against illegal protests will help deter trouble during the Democratic National Convention in August, when protesters are expected to descend on Denver.

Morris said at his sentencing that the protest was “an act of conscience.”

“Our country is taken. Our people are destroyed, and we are the criminals. There’s no justice in that,” he said.

Comments

  • January 22, 2008

    11:26 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    bxwatso writes:

    So, they were just waiting for a bus. They just happened to be at the scene of a protest they go to every year, but they weren't participating. They were just waiting for a bus on a weekend morning, far away from their homes and work. I suspect they should have looked for a bus somewhere else because the road was blocked by protesters with whom these two had no affiliation.

    Also, I was there, and the police went out of their way to not use strong arm tactics. The district commander herself was supervising the arrests and each arrestee was given several opportunities to stand up and walk away.

    Regardless of motives, completely unreasonable testimony like this is disappointing. This is an obvious attempt to give the jury an excuse to acquit based on their feelings rather than the facts.

  • January 22, 2008

    12:10 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Oh_Wise_One writes:

    A typical tactic of the radical left is "Free speech for me, but none for thee'. Notice I didn't say liberal or Democrat(ic), the radical left is hijacking that side of the country.

  • January 22, 2008

    12:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Darwin writes:

    Oh_Wise_One you nailed it.

  • January 22, 2008

    1:02 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    mexcellent writes:

    Native Americans such as Glenn Morris are so correct....how can you even argue against them? If your land was stolen and your ancestor's necks were slit, you must acquit.

  • January 22, 2008

    1:44 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Spencer writes:

    We need to find a different date/person for the Italians to celebrate their heritage. how about Frank Sinatra's birthday?

  • January 22, 2008

    1:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    rickg19611 writes:

    So Spencer's solution is to do whatever the fanatics demand. That's a sure path to anarchy as the fanatics learn that the weak will obey them.

  • January 22, 2008

    2:02 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Devil_Dog writes:

    Way to stand up for your convictions Todd and Montoya. I guess it really wasn't that important after all.

  • January 22, 2008

    3:03 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    timeandagain writes:

    Great point, Devil_Dog! Todd and Montoya are so firmly situated in their beliefs that they crater at the first hint of trouble. Their "i was waiting at the bus stop" excuse only serves to diminish their stupid little cause even further!

  • January 22, 2008

    5:04 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Newenergycommie writes:

    Thanks Spencer but us dumb Italians can pick who every we want to celebrate our heritage. We don't need for you to "find a different date/person" for us. Thanks also for showing the true liberal nature. "We know what is best for you because we are smarter". Columbus was on a mission funded by Spain. Mexicans are desendants of the Spanards. Why do we allow Cinco de Mayo? Didn't their ancestors enable Columbus?

  • January 22, 2008

    7:36 p.m.

    Les6155 writes:

    (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

  • January 22, 2008

    10:14 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    clyde writes:

    I see the Rocky, in it's struggle to support the radical left, has deleted any reference to the "waiting for a bus" excuses. Nice revision guys. I suppose it DID kind of sound pretty stupid as a defense.

    By the way, Columbus didn't discover America. He didn't even land here.

  • January 22, 2008

    11:23 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    wow writes:

    If you believe in something strongly enough to come out in public about it in the first place, you should be happy to pay the piper for it when he comes around, and wear your stripes with pride. How can they stand themselves? Shame on those little weasles.
    I'm Italian, and I love Sinatra! Columbus couldn't carry a tune, or read a map, so I think Spencer made a good suggestion. Where's my martini?

  • January 23, 2008

    9:17 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    American100 writes:

    Seeing as how their "culture" is in such dishevel, it seems like these folks could expend their energy doing something more positive. Native Americans who are still clinging to their culture are living in poverty, with out of this world drug and crime problems on their reservations.

    It's dismal to say the least.

    With Morris as a leader, they are doomed.

    I do think that if they had better leaders the American Indian could improve all conditions for themselves and recoup a once proud culture

  • January 26, 2008

    8:18 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jmk218 writes:

    Columbus Day is am embarrassment to our government and to our nation. We have two federally recognized holidays which are named after individuals. One is Martin Luther King Jr. day and the other is Columbus Day. MLK was a brilliant man who gave his life for his beliefs and has made our country much better. Columbus landed in the Caribbean and enslaved, tortured and murdered thousands of indigenous peoples. Now where is the similarity? Why would we celebrate this type of person? Columbus landed in the Caribbean merely by accident. A large part of the problem of this holiday, is that many people are not aware of the real Columbus history. This information is in your local libraries, its not a secret and its not fabricated. Even the government has done a study on the life of CC.

    This is to American100 ~ yes many Native people are clinging to their culture and should be. You seem to mix culture with the problems on the reservations and the two are exclusive. You also do not see the many positive issues happening on reservations by people working very hard to realize our self-determination. Dismal? I think not. You haven't seen the new businesses emerging on reservations, more and more indigenous people graduating from college, becoming attorneys, judges and scientists. Have you seen the drop of crime and the higher scores on our childrens' standardized exams? Your limited information gives you a less than educated ability to make such a generalized comment about reservations. I would suggest taking some Indian Studies courses at your nearest university along with some ethnic/minority group relation courses. This is not meant as an insult, it is merely a suggestion to assist you in understanding the history of many Native nations and the correlation to the problems found on reservations today. You will also notice that in the history of indigenous people, no matter how many times we've been pushed down, we pick ourselves up and move forward.