A woman is standing trial on disorderly conduct charges for laughing during U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' confirmation hearing.
The trial for Desiree Fairooz, a 61-year-old protester with the group Code Pink, got underway yesterday in D.C. Superior Court after Fairooz declined to accept a plea bargain from prosecutors, who moved forward with the case.
Fairooz laughed after Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who was introducing Sessions, said the then-junior senator from Alabama's history of "treating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well-documented," according to the Huffington Post. Video shot by a Huffington Post reporter, who said the laugh was not loud enough to be considered disruptive, is being used as evidence in the case.
Prosecutors contend that Fairooz's laugh constituted an attempt to "impede, disrupt, and disturb the orderly conduct" of Sessions' confirmation hearing, the Huffington Post reported.
Code Pink is supporting Fairooz and two other protesters charged with disorderly conduct. The protest group disseminated a statement from Fairooz on Monday.
"I felt it was my responsibility as a citizen to dissent at the confirmation hearing of Senator Jeff Sessions, a man who professes anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT policies, who has voted against several civil rights measures and who jokes about the white supremacist terrorist group the Ku Klux Klan," Fairooz said.
Gwsmith220 on May 3rd, 2017 at 02:57 UTC »
Isn't this the kind of shit we make fun of North Korea for??
Sun-Anvil on May 2nd, 2017 at 23:55 UTC »
Well then what about the asshat that yelled "You Lie" during a speech from Pres Obama in Congress (or Senate)?
EDIT - It was Joe Wilson during State of the Union
flxtr on May 2nd, 2017 at 21:29 UTC »
She should be allowed to force the Senate to prove that the statement made was factual and not a joke.
Then should contend that it wasn't a real hearing that she could be held in contempt of, because Jeff Sessions is not on trial for perjury from the same hearing.