Tag: joe draego

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Not guilty: A win for Veronica Fitzhugh

Updated Tuesday, October 24 at 3pm with a second story about court appearances on Monday, October 23.

 

Even months prior to August 12, the community was up to its figurative elbows in lawsuits stemming from the emergence of Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler into the local spotlight and the people who’ve made it their goal to publicly confront him.

At the end of last week and the beginning of this one, several familiar faces from the alt-right, as well as its rejectors, were in Charlottesville General District court to learn their fate from Judge Robert Downer.

Wearing a hot pink wig and carrying a Donald Trump mask as a purse, Black Lives Matter activist Veronica Fitzhugh was found not guilty October 20 of obstructing free passage at the summer’s Ku Klux Klan rally in Justice Park.

An arresting officer with the Charlottesville Police Department testified that Fitzhugh refused to leave a passageway police had secured to safely usher the KKK into the park for its permitted demonstration July 8.

The Klan was in town to protest the removal of the city’s General Robert E. Lee statue, and Fitzhugh and about 10 other counterprotesters locked arms in front of a gate into the park, delaying the white supremacist rally for about an hour, according to the CPD officer’s testimony.

When Fitzhugh was instructed to step away from the gate, she laid down in front of it and was carried out by four officers.

“No one was allowed in there except for the people authorized by the police, so this was not a public passageway,” argued her attorney, Jeff Fogel, who noted that the CPD officer’s body cam footage showed a cameraman was also standing in front of the gate that officers later corralled the Klan through. “I don’t know how they could claim Ms. Fitzhugh was obstructing the gate and that gentleman wasn’t.”

The following Monday, in the same courtroom, her attorney had several wins and losses—for additional clients and himself.

On June 1, Kessler’s own video evidence shows he and his buddy, Caleb Norris, approached Fogel outside Miller’s on the Downtown Mall. They were surrounded by members of activist group Showing Up for Racial Justice, as its members shouted “Nazi, go home” at the alleged alt-righters.

The video shows Kessler chastising Fogel for calling him a “crybaby” in April, and Norris can be heard calling the attorney a “communist piece of shit.” Fogel replies, “What did you say?” and is seen putting his hands toward Norris.

“Oh my God, this guy just assaulted my friend,” an elated Kessler says, and urges his friend to press charges against the lawyer who was running for commonwealth’s attorney at the time.

Back in the courtroom, Fogel, represented by his law partner Steve Rosenfield, said Norris leaned over at him and put his hands up to keep Norris from coming any closer. In the video, it was unclear whether Norris leaned into Fogel, but Downer cited Fogel’s unaggressive disposition when Kessler was lambasting him earlier in the clip, and said he couldn’t find Fogel guilty.

Fogel also represented Sara Tansey October 16, who was charged with destruction of property for snatching Kessler’s phone while he was live-streaming a February 11 Corey Stewart rally in Emancipation Park.

Joe Draego, best known for suing the city for being dragged out of a City Council meeting in June 2016 (after he called Muslims “monstrous maniacs” and lay down on the floor), testified that he took the phone out of Tansey’s hand and gave it back to Kessler.

While Tansey was found guilty for nabbing Kessler’s cell phone, Draego was also found guilty of assault and battery of Tansey when he took the phone back.

The judge waived Tansey’s $50 fine, and Draego was ordered to fork over $100.

Fitzhugh was also charged May 31 with assault and disorderly conduct stemming from an encounter with Kessler, in which she allegedly screamed in his face and told him to “fucking go home” as he was sitting at a table on the Downtown Mall.

The activist, known for her outlandish wardrobe, will go to trial for the assault and disorderly conduct charges November 20. What will she wear next?

Among the familiar faces in court this week was Veronica Fitzhugh, wearing a hot pink wig and carrying a purse that resembled Donald Trump’s head.

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Original story:

Wearing a hot pink wig and carrying the head of Donald Trump as a purse, activist Veronica Fitzhugh was found not guilty of obstructing free passage at the summer’s Ku Klux Klan rally in Justice Park.

An arresting officer with the Charlottesville Police Department testified in the city’s general district court October 20 that Fitzhugh refused to leave a passageway police had secured to safely usher the KKK into the park for their permitted demonstration July 8.

The Klan had dropped by to protest the tearing down of the city’s General Robert E. Lee statue, and Fitzhugh and about 10 other counterprotesters locked arms in front of a gate into the park, delaying the white supremacist rally for about an hour, according to the CPD officer’s testimony.

Police warned the crowd that they would be arrested if they did not clear the pathway for the North Carolina group called the Loyal White Knights, and as some counterprotesters began to disperse, Fitzhugh laid down in front of the gate, the officer said. He and three Virginia State Police troopers then carried her out of the vicinity, and she was charged with obstruction of free passage.

“No one was allowed in there except for the people authorized by the police, so this was not a public passageway,” argued her attorney, Jeff Fogel, who noted in the CPD officer’s body cam footage that a cameraman was also standing in front of the gate that officers later corralled the Klan through. “I don’t’ know how they could claim Ms. Fitzhugh was obstructing the gate and that gentleman wasn’t.”

Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman, who prosecuted the case, said she was arrested for “admirable reasons” and “she simply took it too far.”

Judge Robert Downer found her not guilty, and Fitzhugh and Fogel emerged from the courthouse to a crowd of about 30 supporters, who cheered and clapped and lined up to hug the activist who wore a hot pink, rhinestone handcuff necklace that matched her bodacious wig.

Fitzhugh was was also charged May 31 with assault and disorderly conduct stemming from an encounter with homegrown white nationalist Jason Kessler on the Downtown Mall, in which she allegedly screamed in his face for him to “fucking go home.” Her attorney was charged with assault after a confrontation with an associate of Kessler’s June 1.

The activist, known for her outlandish wardrobe, will go to trial for the assault and disorderly conduct charges November 20. What will she wear next?

Veronica Fitzhugh knows how to accessorize. Staff photo
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Draego rebukes Fogel for not recusing himself

Joe Draego chastises commonwealth's attorney candidate Jeff Fogel for not removing himself from a case because Fogel yelled at Jason Kessler, right, who filed charges against Fogel's client. Staff photo

Joe Draego was in court today for a charge that he assaulted Showing Up for Racial Justice activist Sara Tansey when he retrieved a phone she allegedly snatched from white-protest organizer Jason Kessler back in February. The hearing in court was pretty routine, but afterward, Draego accused Tansey’s lawyer—commonwealth’s attorney candidate Jeff Fogel—of not acting “in a principled manner” by representing Tansey and yet yelling last week at Miller’s at Kessler, who filed the complaint against Tansey.

Fogel should have recused himself after that, says Draego. “Jeff has called Jason a ‘crybaby.’ The fact he was [at Miller’s] hollering at Jason may have violated ethical standards.” Draego says his lawyer is reviewing the video to see if Fogel acted appropriately and if not, he will ask to have him removed from the case.

In the small world that is Charlottesville, Fogel represented Draego last year when Draego sued City Council for its public comment procedures after he was dragged out of council chambers for calling Muslims “monstrous maniacs.” Draego complimented Fogel for a brief he wrote in the case, and a federal judge ruled council’s rules were unconstitutional. Before the ruling, Fogel asked to be removed as Draego’s attorney.

The hearing today in Charlottesville General District Court was to continue the Draego/Tansey cases until a new special prosecutor can be found. Fluvanna Commonwealth’s Attorney Jeff Haislip had been assigned that task, but had to step aside after he talked to Tansey without her lawyer.

“The court did not advise him Ms. Tansey was represented by counsel,” said Fogel outside the courthouse.

That’s where Draego chastised Fogel for harassing Kessler while representing a party in the case.

Draego also admonished Fogel for not speaking out against SURJ’s in-your-face tactics, and pointed out that when Kessler associate Caleb Norris got in Fogel’s face last week at Miller’s, Fogel pushed him away, resulting in Fogel being charged with assault.

“Why doesn’t he come out and say no one should do that?” asks Draego.

Fogel, who was endorsed by SURJ,  says, “I have seen Kessler going around in that same fashion. I don’t tell my clients what to do.” He adds, “People in SURJ have stood up with principled action for African-American community members.”

Kessler also attended today’s hearing. He was involved in another confrontation with SURJ last night on the Downtown Mall. He says some of his friends were eating at Miller’s and “SURJ mobbed us again. They kept harassing them.” Kessler was banned from Miller’s after last week’s shout fest.

Draego says he will be at the upcoming Ku Klux Klan rally July 8 “to protest them coming here. I stand against racism.”

He suggested he and Fogel do a community response about the KKK coming to Charlottesville, but seemed unconvinced that would happen.

“We can all protest without violence,” says Draego. “That’s how it’s supposed to work.”

Draego and Tansey’s next court date is June 23.

 

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Kessler makes back-to-back court appearances

Joe Draego, who retrieved Jason Kessler's phone, declined to comment on his assault charge, but he was happy to discuss his plans for buying a farm. staff photo

Blogger and antifa resister Jason Kessler’s weekend was bookended by dates in the Charlottesville General District Court, one in which he claims he’s the victim, another in which he was sentenced for assault.

On Friday, May 5, a special prosecutor was named and a court date set to hear Kessler’s charge against Sara Tansey for grabbing his phone at a Corey Stewart rally February 11 in Lee Park. At that same event, Tansey alleges Joe Draego, the man who sued Charlottesville after he was dragged out of City Council for calling Muslims “monstrous maniacs,” assaulted her when he retrieved Kessler’s phone.

At an April 17 hearing, Kessler complained to the judge that Tansey should have been charged with felony larceny rather than destruction of property, a Class 3 misdemeanor, according to her attorney, Jeff Fogel. He also demanded a special prosecutor, but voiced dissatisfaction with Mike Doucette, the Lynchburg commonwealth’s attorney brought in as a special prosecutor for Kessler’s petition to remove Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy from office. Doucette determined in March Kessler did not have enough signatures and he declined to proceed with the petition.

Fluvanna Commonwealth’s Attorney Jeff Haislip will hear the Tansey and Draego cases June 8.

Kessler’s sentencing for slugging a man was originally scheduled for April 27, but was continued because he was out of town. According to his Twitter account, Kessler was in Berkeley “resisting terrorist Antifa threats” to Ann Coulter, whose visit to the university there was canceled.

He previously pleaded guilty April 6 to punching Jay Taylor while collecting petition signatures January 22. Kessler also filed assault charges against Taylor, but the prosecutor threw those out March 3 with prejudice because video surveillance footage did not support Kessler’s story.

In court Monday, Kessler was sentenced to a 30-day suspended jail sentence, 50 hours of community service and told to have no “violent contact” with Taylor.

After the hearing, Taylor said, “I don’t think jail is appropriate. I hold no ill will toward Mr. Kessler. We worked together. I considered him a friend. I wish he’d spend as much energy building our community up rather than tearing it down.”

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In brief: White deer mourned, Draego dropped and more

Courtesy Virginia Rieley

Deerly beloved

Deer memorial
Photo Erin O’Hare

One of two cherished white deer often spotted in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood was struck and killed by a car on Jefferson Park Avenue Extended around 3pm October 23. Deer-lovers, who have christened the creature names such as “Enchanted” and “Half & Half” on Facebook, created a sidewalk memorial to their friend in the 2400 block of JPA. A note reads, “RIP unicorn. Thank you for the magic.”

While more than 200 Facebook users have expressed their sentiments, Janice Kaltenbach may have said it best: “My heart is breaking!! She was so beautiful! And a reminder to us all that ‘different’ can be a good thing and valued.”

Locals sue to extend voter registration

October 17 was the last day to register to vote in Virginia—and the system crashed. Charlottesville residents Kathy and Michael Kern tried to register multiple times October 16 and 17, and on October 18 became plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit. A judge extended registration to October 21.

Free speech case flounders

Jeff Fogel, who was representing Joe Draego in his suit against Charlottesville after he was dragged out of a City Council meeting, filed a motion October 18 to be removed as Draego’s attorney because their relationship “has deteriorated to the point I can no longer effectively communicate with him,” Fogel said.

Charlottesville PoliceHomicide arrest

Pierre Gerard Augustine, 26, was arrested October 18 and charged in the November 21, 2015, slaying of Floyd Randolph Alston Jr., 31, during a home invasion and attempted robbery on South First Street.

Another hazing lawsuit

Aidan Howard, a former UVA first-year football player, filed suit October 14 against UVA President Teresa Sullivan, athletics director Craig Littlepage, coaches Marques Hagans and Famika Anae, and players Doni Dowling and David Eldridge, the Daily Progress reports. Howard was barely on the team a month before alleged bullying and a locker room fight resulted in an injury and his abrupt departure from the team.

gavin_grimm_june_11_ACLUInfluential teen

Gavin Grimm makes Time magazine’s 2016 list for his battle to use the boy’s bathroom at his Gloucester high school. Grimm’s case will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Friendship Court shooting

Ty Quane Pertell Gregory was arrested and charged with malicious wounding and two felony gun offenses in connection with an October 5 shooting of a man in the 400 block of Garrett Street.

Courts await final ruling

Court2 The renovation and expansion of the Albemarle County court system has been on the table for years, and just as a final decision was within reach, the Board of Supervisors called for revisiting the proposal—and adding four more.

Proposals

1. Downtown/Levy Opera House expansion: $39.7 million

The original proposal calls for renovating the opera house, demolishing existing structures and building a new three-story general district court with room for the county and city.

2. Relocate county and city general district courts to County Office Building: $37.7 million

Construct a three-story addition to the McIntire Road building. A partial relocation of government operations would be required. Minimal parking reconfiguration.

3. Relocate the county’s general district court to the County Office Building: $27 million

A three-story addition with little disruption to existing operations and no relocation of government staff.

4. Relocate county general district and circuit courts to County Office Building: $32.8 million

Requires parking expansion and partial displacement of existing operations.

5. Relocate county general district and circuit courts to new county site: $30.9 million

Construct a new 85,000-square-foot complex in the county with 350 parking spaces. Requires voter referendum to move county courts and seat.

Source: Albemarle County

Quote of the week

“Whoever is taking the [Clinton/Kaine] signs is leaving the Jane Dittmar signs.”
—Fluvanna resident Mark Crockett, whose Clinton sign lasted one day before it was swiped.

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Resident won’t take alleged constitutional rights violation lying down

Joe Draego feels he was prevented from exercising his free speech rights when City Council shut him down after he called Muslims “monstrous maniacs” and he was carried out of the June 20 council meeting. Now he's suing.

The man who lay down in front of the dais and was dragged out of a City Council meeting June 20 after calling Muslims “monstrous maniacs” has filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming his constitutional rights were violated.

Albemarle resident Joe Draego, 64, has been a regular at Charlottesville City Council meetings, voicing his concerns about Muslim immigrants. “Every time I’ve been there, I’ve said it’s not all Muslims,” says Draego.

At the June 20 meeting, during which councilors passed a gun control resolution after the Orlando nightclub slayings, Draego spoke again at the end of the meeting and said the Koran instructs Muslims to “kill the sodomites and those who allow themselves to be sodomized,” and described Muslims as “monstrous maniacs.” At that point, Mayor Mike Signer, who implemented new procedures for public comment at the beginning of the year, told Draego that those rules prohibit “group defamation.”

“I have a right to speak,” said Draego. “The Constitution gives me the right to speak.” He then lay on the floor and two police officers removed him.

Attorney Jeff Fogel, another regular at City Council meetings who objected to the new procedures, filed the lawsuit on behalf of Draego. “The suit maintains that there is no such thing as ‘group defamation,’ that the rule is unconstitutional since it allows for praise of a group but not negative comments,” Fogel says in a statement.

John Whitehead, founder of the local civil liberties organization, the Rutherford Institute, predicted the city would be sued. In a March 9 letter to City Council, he expressed concerns about the constitutionality of the new rules.

“What’s an improper comment?” asks Whitehead in an August 1 interview. “That the mayor has a big nose?” he says as an example, adding that he has no idea what size the mayor’s nose is, but that “improper comment” was not clearly defined.

Individuals can sue for defamation, he says, but not groups. The Founding Fathers called the British “tyrants,” says Whitehead, speech that also would be prohibited by City Council rules. “Today Jefferson and Patrick Henry would be thrown out of there,” he says.

In a statement, City Attorney Craig Brown says, “Courts have long recognized that local elected bodies have a significant interest in maintaining civility and orderliness during the public comment portions of a public meeting, and to that end the City Code requires the mayor to preserve the order and decorum of council’s meetings.

“Unfortunately, on June 20 Mr. Draego’s conduct was intimidating and disruptive to the evening’s proceedings and plainly violated City Council’s standards of order and decorum.”

For Draego, the lawsuit is a “small pushback” to maintain free speech. “I see my country disappearing before my eyes,” he says. “We ask questions and [city councilors] will not answer. We are marginalized.”

Draego wants elected officials to engage in conversation with citizens. And he says he’s “not a racist or bigot,” and those who consider his comments hate speech should be speaking out themselves against terrorist atrocities.

“I want City Council to tell the [International Rescue Committee] to not allow unattached Muslim males between 15 and 45,” says Draego. “And for every Muslim family, bring in a Christian family.”

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City Council adopts gun control resolution

Kristin Szakos, above, and Wes Bellamy wrote the resolution on gun control City Council passed June 20. File photo

Gun control debate dominated the June 20 Charlottesville City Council meeting as members of opposing sides of the issue cited the Second Amendment—“the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”—and the Declaration of Independence’s inalienable rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” that victims of gun violence had been denied.

In the wake of the Orlando massacre, the largest slaughter of Americans by a lone gunman, City Council passed 4-0 a resolution demanding state and federal legislators enact legislation to require comprehensive background checks and ban assault weapons. The resolution also asked the General Assembly to allow Charlottesville to pass its own weapons controls, requests previously made in 2013 and 2015.

Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy and City Councilor Kristin Szakos wrote the resolution, and after reading it, Szakos said there was strength in such measures across the country. She also said she was “appalled at the nerve of these people, the gun rights advocates, in the wake of these horrific events to claim they’re the ones feeling victimized.”

City Councilor Kathy Galvin, who was not present, sent a statement urging council to delay a vote on the resolution and expressing concern that protocol was not followed and that the resolution could be perceived as “frivolous.”

Szakos said she’d feel differently if Galvin had been sick, but because she chose to go to a conference in Italy, Szakos didn’t believe the business of the city should be delayed.

City Councilor Bob Fenwick said he had read well over 100 e-mails against the resolution, and noted that not one had an alternative to solving this problem, which he called “very disappointing.”

Mayor Mike Signer, who has joined the national coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, said he was a supporter of the Second Amendment, but every amendment in the Constitution requires sensible and constitutional limits. For example, the First Amendment does not allow one to yell “fire” in a crowded theater, and the 1934 National Firearms Act regulated machine guns. And Bellamy said, “We have a moral responsibility to stand up.”

A number of citizens at the meeting did not agree. One noted he had a concealed carry permit and was carrying a weapon. Others challenged the councilors to do their homework and get the gun lingo down.

And Joe Draego, who had earlier objected to Muslim refugees, said none of the councilors had the courage to mention the Orlando shooter was Muslim, a religion whose adherents he called “monstrous maniacs.” When Signer told him defamatory speech was not permitted, Draego lay down in front of the dais and had to be carried out.

Joe Draego is carried out of the June 20 council meeting.
Joe Draego is carried out of the June 20 council meeting.