A jury in northeastern Colorado has ruled that a pile of dog doo left in the entrance of the office of U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., was protected political speech, acquitting a critic of the congresswoman who admitted dumping the load.
According to a report in the Greeley Tribune, a Weld County jury found Kathy Ensz, a 64-year-old retired university professor, innocent of charges for depositing, the, well, deposit.
"Democrats are ALWAYS dumping figurative doodoo on Republicans. So, now a judge says the literal expression is legal? Hmmmmm… wonder if I could talk the local septic truck operator into dumping the contents on Pelosi's office doorstep," another participant in the comment forum said. "In the name of political free speech, of course…"
County prosecutor Ken Buck said it was a legitimate case.
"It's easy for someone who's not in office to say what the tolerance is for an elected official," he said. But he said his office would have pursued the case even if the victim wasn't a member of Congress.
"I think it would be worth prosecuting whether it's a member of the public or an elected official," he told the newspaper. "It's a criminally obnoxious thing to do."
Musgrave's chief of staff, Guy Short, said the congressional staff did not follow the case after it was reported. But he said perhaps Ensz could communicate in a "more dignified manner."
"In the future, if she has a comment for the congresswoman, she can write us a letter, and we'll treat her with the respect that she didn't treat the congresswoman with," he said.
The incident happened during Musgrave's re-election campaign in 2006. Ensz, vice chairwoman of the Colorado Senate District 13 Democratic Central Committee, admitted she left the envelope filled with her, ahem, "message" on May 31, 2006. It "wasn't in the office doors, it was in the foyer," she said.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=55874