Ted Glick Facing Jail for Climate Protest. By Beth Parker, WTTG, May 25, 2010, [Video, 2:21 min]. "It's a crime all captured on video tape. But it's probably not what you'd expect. No violence. Nobody got hurt. No property was damaged. Even so, one man could go to jail because of it. Now, his friends and colleagues are lobbying to keep him a free man. Ted Glick was way up on the balcony inside the Hart Senate Office Building last September. He was unfurling two banners. He was hoping to make lawmakers feel the heat of global warming... Glick is the policy director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. There was nothing violent about what the group did. 'I believe in non-violence. I believe we can have a better world if we take that idea seriously and apply it,' said Glick. But the protestors got the attention of U.S. Capitol Police. Glick and one other protestor were arrested. For her, it was a first offense. But Glick had prior misdemeanor convictions for two similar incidents. This time, his 'unlawful conduct' includes displaying a banner in a federal building and disorderly conduct. He was convicted earlier this month and awaits sentencing.
"The U.S. Attorney's Office has sent a memo to the judge saying they'll be asking for 'increased penalties' because of Glick's prior misdemeanors. His lawyer says that could mean up to three years in jail. One of Ted Glick's earlier convictions was for unfurling a banner at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The U.S. Attorney's Office says they don't comment on specific cases, but a spokesman says they aggressively pursue repeat offenders. Supporters of Glick have sent at least 100 letters to Judge Frederick Weisberg. Some say sending Glick to jail seems particularly unreasonable right now - while oil still spills into the Gulf of Mexico. 'Does anybody really believe that the BP executives are gonna be indicted and taken to court and prosecuted and put into jail for what they've done,' say Glick. Glick will be sentenced in July." Ted Glick is a cofounder of CCC.
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