Forum Post: Occupier charged with terroristic felony for protesting in front of bank
Posted 11 years ago on Aug. 9, 2012, 7:06 p.m. EST by darrenlobo
(204)
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A protester belonging to an Occupy Wall Street group in rural Pennsylvania is being charged with felony attempted bank robbery and a terrorism-related charge for holding signs up during a demonstration at a local Wells Fargo branch.
David C. Gorczynski, 22, was charged on Tuesday with attempted bank robbery and terroristic threatening, both felonies, as well as one misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. Police detained him after he walked into an Easton, PA Wells Fargo branch with a sign that read “You’re being robbed” and another that said “Give a man a gun, he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob a country.”
Although his reasons for protesting there are obviously valid, walking into a bank with a sign saying "You are being robbed" is STUPID and plays right into the anti-OWS rhetoric.
Well I would like to see the security camera footage for that one.
Was he stupid? YES.
Was he trying to rob the Bank? NO.
Was he an idiot? Possibly.
The protest slogans are well known - you are being robbed ( fees and interest charged ) give a man a gun he can rob a bank give a man a bank and he can rob a country ( economic meltdown ).
Lets look at the camera coverage and watch for any intent. The arrest was bogus.
From Care2 : bogus arrest update.
"Give a man a gun, he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, he can rob a country," read one of David Gorczynski's sign at an Occupy Wells Fargo demonstration in Easton, PA last week. Another of his signs said, "You're Being Robbed." You may not agree with these signs, but do you think that Gorczynski was using them to actually rob the bank? »
Personally, I don't know any robbers whose strategy is to stand silently outside the door of an establishment in a throng of other protesters. Perhaps the teller who pushed the panic button when she saw Gorczynski was caught off-guard. But when the cops showed up, they still arrested him for attempted robbery and terrorist threats.
The police chief defended his decision to arrest Gorczynski by saying, “We can’t allow the perceived idea of protesting to be a defense to criminality.” But what crimes did Gorczynski commit?
Although the charge of attempted robbery has been dropped, Gorczynski is still facing felony terrorist threat charges. We can't let protesting become a crime.
Tell Northampton County DA to drop these charges against Gorczynski! »
Kathleen ThePetitionSite
Northampton DA: Clever Protest Signs Aren't A Crime Take action now. Take Action!
Take action link: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AGYEb/zMOQ/B18Bb
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haha... I can't believe it; you mean they actually misunderstood his "you are being robbed"?
"you are being robbed". Not much to misundestand. Seems quite to the point.
Nutty people...
This is a fuckin outrage....
Which occupy was he with?
I hesitate to ask. Ummm but what is your outrage?