I've been asked by several people if I've got any news about the criminal case brought against the fellow that objected to my photojournalism efforts to bring transparency to the deviant orgy convention we know as the American Legislative Exchange Council's Washington summit. You'll recall that it's the must-attend event that brings corporate lobbyists together with conservative state lawmakers in a posh union-busting hotel. There, over the course of 72 uninhibited and depraved hours, the overweight and pasty-faced attendees gather behind closed doors. Inside, the corporate shills present their seeds of legislation to the eager and welcoming state legislators, who seem to delight in their own humiliation, so long as their campaign coffers remain overtopped. These legislators accept the corporate seed, incubate it,and if exposure doesn't abort the process, model legislation is bred and cloned to be introduced and passed across the many states.
So it's understandable - even acceptable - for everyone involved to be annoyed at the photojournalist creating a visual record of their attendance at the otherwise secretive conclave. But annoyance is one thing, violence quite another.
Violence gets you arrested. And, as I previously reported, that's what happened to this guy after he knocked me over a row of hedges:
Here's what's happened since then:
- I was able to pick up a police report the next day. It reveals that the perpetrator (on the right, above) was charged with Simple Assault in the First District of Washington DC
- The police report does not reveal the accused's name or any information that could be used to identify him (but my name, address and phone number are on the form, which is a public record accessible to anyone that asks for it)
- By law, neither the police nor the prosecutor's office are allowed to reveal the suspect's name until his case enters the court system
- The prosecutor's office expects the case to enter the court system sometime between 12/29 and 1/9
- Whether the case is tried or pled, the suspect will probably not be required to appear
- The prosecutor told me that by all appearances, it's a case that will be prosecuted. I hadn't considered the possibility that the US Attorney's office would decline to press charges, but I, of all people, should know that's possible.
So, in short, the wheels of justice grind slowly*. In the meantime, it sure would be great if we could identify Big Ugly (on the right, above).
*when they grind at all (Yes, I'm looking at you #Ferguson)