Occupy Orlando Members Found Not Guilty of Trespassing

Occupy Orlando sent me this press release.

Not guilty verdict casts serious doubt on 39 outstanding Occupy Orlando trespass cases
City urged to respect judgement of Orlando residents and save tax payers money

February 4, 2012 - ORLANDO, FL - With Friday’s jury verdict of not guilty in Florida’s first Occupy trial for trespassing, the attorney representing defendant Megan Vermeer has called on the city to drop the charges in the 39 remaining tresspass cases.

Defense attorney Shayan Elahi says the verdict of not guilty by Orlando residents proves that Occupy Orlando was not tresspassing at Senator Beth Johnson Park. “To procede with more trials after this not guilty verdict would waste the court’s time and tax payer dollars at a time when neither has the resources to spare.”

“All Occupy Orlando arrests were for trespass,” says Elahi. Expecting different outcomes from the remaining 39 cases with the same operative facts “cannot be justified as good faith prosecution,” he said.

A jury found Megan Vermeer, 20, not guilty of trespassing. Vermeer was found guilty of the city ordinance.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is not a fan of protests. Dyer ordered Orlando police to arrest members of Food Not Bombs for feeding the homeless in public parks. The Orange County Democratic Executive Committee passed a resolution asking Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and the City Council to stop arresting members of Food Not Bombs. Count on Dyer taking every member of Occupy Orlando to court for trespassing. These jury trials are going to get expensive for taxpayers.

WFTV has a video story on the Vermeer verdict.