Six people arrested in August outside a raucous town hall meeting in south St. Louis County have been charged with misdemeanor ordinance violations. The six, including a Post-Dispatch reporter, had attended a demonstration outside an Aug. 6 forum called by U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, at Bernard Middle School in Mehlville to discuss health care reform.
The charges were filed Tuesday by the St. Louis County counselor's office, which prosecutes misdemeanor ordinance violations in unincorporated areas. All are to appear in court Jan. 21. The maximum penalty upon conviction would be one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Some bloggers have been writing for months about the lag between the arrests at the politically-charged event and the filing of charges.
County Counselor Patricia Redington insisted it had nothing to do with politics, influence or pressure from any official. "These charges are like the 90,000 other charges we file each year," she said.
Post-Dispatch reporter Jake Wagman, 30, of University City, was charged with interfering with a police officer. The charges allege that he failed to obey repeated commands "to leave the site of an ongoing disturbance."
Elston McCowan, 47, of St. Louis, and Perry Molens, 50, of De Soto, each were charged with assaulting a person and interfering with police. They are accused of scuffling with and injuring Kenneth Gladney in a clash of opinions over the Democrats' universal health care proposals.
Javonne Spitz, 51, of O'Fallon, Mo., and Brian Matthews, 34, of Glendale, also were charged with interfering with an officer. Cheryl Johner, 55, of Arnold, was charged with assaulting a person and destruction of property for allegedly pushing another woman and breaking her cell phone.
Ordinance violation charges are usually filed within four to six weeks of an incident, Reddington said, but this case involved interviews with dozens of witnesses and review of many videos posted on the Internet.
Post-Dispatch Editor Arnie Robbins issued a statement Wednesday that said, "Jake was covering a newsworthy incident. He was not in the way or interfering with the police. His press credentials were fully displayed. The charge is unfounded and will be challenged in court."
Reached about his own case, Molens said, "These charges are ridiculous." He added, "All I was doing was coming to the help of a friend. I don't know what evidence they're basing this on."
Molens said McCowan, who could not be reached for comment, was defending himself and he was defending McCowan. "I'll plead not guilty," Molens said. "I didn't do anything."
Said Spitz, another defendant, "I'm surprised. ... And right before Thanksgiving, real nice."
Gladney, 39, of St. Louis, who police said had been assaulted, said a call from a reporter Wednesday was the first he had heard of the charges. "I'm shocked it took this long," he said.
He said he believes the crime against him should be prosecuted as a felony. "I'm mad as I-don't-know-what about this," Gladney said. "It seems like average people can't get justice."
