Updated at 5:42 p.m.
Chittenden Superior Court Judge Kevin Griffin this week threw out a hate crime charge against Christopher Hayden, writing that harassing a public official is protected by the First Amendment.
Griffin dismissed a count of disturbing the peace by phone that stemmed from numerous racist messages Hayden sent to City Councilor Ali Dieng’s government email address.
The state has filed seven charges against Hayden since October, including hate crimes for his targeting of Dieng, Mayor Miro Weinberger and Police Chief Brandon del Pozo.
Hayden has a long history of erratic and racist behavior, as Seven Days reported this month. He defends his actions on free-speech grounds.
Griffin’s nuanced ruling concluded that some of Hayden’s emails to Dieng do appear to be illegal threats. But the state, Griffin noted, didn’t allege that Hayden had threatened Dieng. The Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s office focused only on the fact that his contacts were repetitive and harassing.
So Griffin considered instead whether the First Amendment allows an individual to harass public officials with repeated messages via their official, public channels.
His answer: “This Court finds that, as a matter of law, a person’s sending emails to an official’s public, official email account with the intent to harass the official is core political speech.”
One of Hayden’s emails to Dieng last October taunted the councilor on this point. “NEWS FLASH — you are a public figure,” Hayden wrote. “Cops can’t help ya. ha ha ha.”
State’s Attorney Sarah George said her office isn’t giving up on the charge. In an email to Seven Days, she wrote: “Based on the Court’s analysis, the State intends to re-file the charge against Mr. Hayden with language reflecting the Court’s belief that Mr. Hayden’s emails to Mr. Dieng met the legal definition of a true threat.”
While Griffin dismissed the case involving Dieng, he allowed an aggravated disorderly conduct charge to proceed. In that case, also prosecuted as a hate crime, the state said Hayden stomped around outside Weinberger’s office yelling for the “Jew” mayor to come out, causing staff to lock their doors or flee.
Griffin concluded that Hayden’s outburst was “tumultuous” and did not serve a clear expressive purpose. The behavior was in line with Hayden’s previous efforts to target Weinberger for his Jewish heritage, though Griffin suggested that Hayden’s emails to the mayor, like his to Dieng, could be defended as protected speech.
Hayden remained in prison in Swanton. Last week, he mailed a handwritten letter to the court requesting the removal of his latest court-appointed attorney, and said he plans to ask the court to reduce his bail.
He closed with, “God save the U.S. Constitution.”
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What’s Kevin Griffin’s phone number?
Is someone here really suggesting that a judge be harassed for making a difficult constitutional decision?
No, I was saying that this kind of harassment is definitely Wrong. Calling him would be ironic. I don’t harass people.
Bull
*What is Kevin Griffins phone number?*
Pardon me sir, but you do not seem to know your assumptions at all – they are Presumptions.
We need not have the same sense of humor, nor of irony..
Simply discuss the article in question on the page. Address the audience or the writer, if you like.
Some disliked Mr Messing’s post . OK, how about speculating on Judge Griffin’s ruling if the abuse had been directed towards another judge . Same ruling ?
I do appreciate that the judge was clearly suggesting the prosecutors incorrectly charged Hayden .