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Sooner Tea Party leader found guilty of blackmailing Oklahoma state senator

Oldgamer

Oldgamer

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Jurors in Oklahoma chose no prison time for Sooner Tea Party leader Al Gerhart and only a $1,000 fine.

Sooner Tea Party leader Al Gerhart was found guilty Wednesday night of blackmailing a state senator.

Gerhart, an Oklahoma City carpenter, did not get any prison time. Jurors decided a $1,000 fine should be the only punishment for the felony offense.

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“The jury held him accountable,” prosecutor Scott Rowland said afterward. “They obviously worked very hard to make the punishment fit the crime. I think they got it right. ... I suspect the jury believes this will be an appropriate deterrent to him and others.”

Gerhart was convicted of blackmail for sending Sen. Cliff Branan an email last year demanding passage of a bill in a Senate committee.

Gerhart also was found guilty of violating the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act for using a computer to accomplish the blackmail. Jurors chose no fine and no prison time on the second felony offense.

Gerhart, 55, faced up to 10 years in prison and $15,000 in fines on the two felonies. He turned down a plea deal before trial that would have given him unsupervised probation for a year and no felony convictions.

A dejected Gerhart said the verdicts against him “just chills free speech.”

“Who is going to want to risk holding a politician accountable at this point?” he said. “I lost a thousand dollars. I became a felon. I lost my voting rights. I lost my gun rights. I’m probably getting off easy compared to the rest of society, though.”

He said he will appeal.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated almost eight hours Wednesday at the Oklahoma County Courthouse.

“This is crazy,” defense attorney Kevin Adams told jurors in closing arguments Wednesday morning. “This is what we do in America. We have the right to free speech.”

The attorney told jurors the case has lots of implications for every citizen’s rights.

Rowland, the first assistant district attorney, countered that freedom of speech does not protect blackmail.

“He tried to hijack the political process. He tried to cheat,” the prosecutor said in his closing arguments. “It corrupts the process. That’s why this case is important.”

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Wow, only a 1k fine eh? LOL So much for the sooners teaparty..

Looks like their website got hacked also. Link to their hacked site
 
Nevermind, I see it hidden in there

For other people stupid like me who miss it on the first read since it's just crammed by the video:
Gerhart was convicted of blackmail for sending Sen. Cliff Branan an email last year demanding passage of a bill in a Senate committee.
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He sent an email to a state senator? Did it threaten to release compromising photos of the senator or something? Where's the details on that?
 
Have any of you been reading about Mark Fisher and his demand for 1 million dollars from the GOP candidate to go away, and drop his lawsuit concerning the run off? Here is a video on it if you feel up to watching it Video Link

Apparently now they are going back and forth and pointing finger at each other. LOL
 
Yeah, article needs more details. It looks like it was written by a frickin retard.
 
Will the general public find out what exactly the letter said? I find it hard to believe that he was tried and found guilty just for "demanding passage of a bill in a Senate committee"...
 
Zaap said:
He sent an email to a state senator? Did it threaten to release compromising photos of the senator or something? Where's the details on that?
Click to expand...

He threatened the senator's family and other comments that were way over the line
 
Dumbass turned down a plea deal and ended up losing voting and gun rights. Certainly had the intelligence of a tea partier...
 
"Branan, Get that bill heard or I will make sure you regret not doing it. I will make you the laughing stock of the Senate if I don't hear that this bill will be heard and passed. We will dig into your past, yoru [sic] family, your associates and once we start on you there will be no end to it. This is a promise."
Click to expand...

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index....enator_blackmail_oklahoma_jury_to_decide.html

Important for understanding the law involved:

Oklahoma law says blackmail can include written communication that threatens to bring to light information about someone that would expose the target to ridicule or contempt.
Click to expand...
 
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Thanks Moments, The guy got less than he deserves. Emailing a rep to voice you concerns or support of a bill is one thing, which is not what he did. He threatened, so that's where the charges came from.
 
I don't see that as blackmail. Blackmail usually has something you already have against the other person. Saying you would investigate his history is not blackmail.
 
Based on what was quoted from the email I have to ask, how the hell did this even merit a criminal charge let alone make it all the way to trial?

Bloody absurd.
 
Bitek said:
He threatened the senator's family and other comments that were way over the line
Click to expand...

This is "way over the line" to the point that it warranted a criminal charge and trial?

"“Branan, Get that bill heard or I will make sure you regret not doing it. I will make you the laughing stock of the Senate if I don’t hear that this bill will be heard and passed. We will dig into your past, yoru family, your associates and once we start on you there will be no end to it. This is a promise.”"
 
Zaap said:
Not doubting this, but is there a transcript of the email anywhere?
Click to expand...

This is the quoted email in the article

“Branan, Get that bill heard or I will make sure you regret not doing it. I will make you the laughing stock of the Senate if I don’t hear that this bill will be heard and passed. We will dig into your past, yoru family, your associates and once we start on you there will be no end to it. This is a promise.”
 
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