« Warning labels. | Main | Times bombshell story »

November 01, 2006

Lawyer arrested...

In the annals of moonbattery, this one is rather special.

Thomas J. Connolly, of Scarborough, a prominent defense attorney and 1998 Democratic candidate for governor was charged with criminal threatening this morning after an incident beside Interstate 295.

He's also the guy who released information in 2000 about
President George W. Bush's drunken driving conviction 48 hours before the vote, but that has little relevance.

South Portland police were notified around 9 a.m. that a man wearing a rubber Osama bin Laden mask was standing on top of a berm along the highway carrying a sign that said “I Love Tabor,”

"There was a First Amendment this morning when I woke up. I don't know how it evaporated with the dawn," he said.

Well, that's not so bad, the man has a right to protest and free speech is protected - though the relevance of Bin Laden to the Taxpayer's Bill of rights is questionable.

... and waving what appeared to be an assault rifle.

Four South Portland officers and two state troopers converged on the man. They drew their guns when he did not respond to their demand that he drop his weapon.

Police said instead he walked toward them dropping plastic hand grenades.

Wave an assault rifle on an interstate and chances are good people will call the police, because they might just assume its real. The nice police men will ask you to drop the weapon, because they will also assume the gun is real and that you are insane.

Mr Connolly should probably read the local statutes and then check amendments XI and X again. The State even has a handy webpage, with this gem:

Title 17-A: MAINE CRIMINAL CODE
  Part 2: SUBSTANTIVE OFFENSES
    Chapter 9: OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON
      
§209. Criminal threatening
	
     1. A person is guilty of criminal threatening if he intentionally or knowingly places another person in fear of imminent bodily injury. [1975, c. 499, § 1 (new).]
	
     2. Criminal threatening is a Class D crime. [1975, c. 499, § 1 (new).]

"I didn't expect to be arrested," he said.

What did you expect? Suicide by cop?

"Obviously I touched a post-9/11 nerve."

Right. That's it. It was the rubber mask. That was the mistake. Obviously if you'd dressed up as a clown and waved an AK-47, that would have been fine.

Scrawled illegibly by Meathe at November 1, 2006 09:54 AM

Comments