06-09-2005, 09:47 AM
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#34 (permalink)
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Apocalypse Nerd
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Riots Predicted by Cops at trial
http://www.santamariatimes.com/artic...cal/news02.txt
Quote:
Fans get rowdy on trial's final day
By Erin Carlyle/Staff Writer
Boisterous Michael Jackson fans mixed with anti-war demonstrators outside the Santa Barbara County courts complex in Santa Maria Friday as the entertainer's child-molestation trial wrapped up.
A rowdy crowd of about 200 people chanted slogans proclaiming that Jackson is innocent as anti-war demonstrators chimed in that President George W. Bush is not.
At one point, Jackson fans and two women bearing a sign in support of child-abuse victims looked ready to grapple.
Santa Maria Police officers were out in force and the fans took verbal shots at Jackson prosecutors and the media. One woman told a photographer that she hates the media because they do not tell the truth about Jackson. At one point the crowd chanted "Scum, scum!" and it was unclear if they were referring to media or the police.
A woman with wavy orange hair in a clown suit carried a puppet of Jackson, while signs compared the "McCarthy Witch Hunt, 1953-1954" to "Sneddon's Witch Hunt, 1993-2005," and called the cases against Jackson "12 years of lynching."
"I think I lost my job," said Giovanna DiCiommo, 30, who came from Bergamo, Italy, to support Jackson. DiCiommo has been a fan for 22 years, and said supporting the entertainer, whose music and personality have helped her through problems in her life, was worth quitting her job.
Fan Antonio Arias, 30, of Madrid, Spain, said he came to support Jackson because he is certain the pop star is innocent, and that the accuser's family lacks credibility. Arias has visited the United States on four occasions, all of them related to Jackson.
At one point, fans verbally attacked Sofia Hollum, and Sunshine Lopez, 29, both of Santa Maria, who held up a sign reading "No more child victims."
"Do you know anything at all about this case?" yelled a Jackson fan with a New York accent.
"Why does he have pictures of naked boys?" Hollum responded, as other fans claimed Jackson was innocent.
"We're just pandering to the cameras," said war protester Lonnie Cunningham, 56, of San Luis Obispo. "Where (else) are we going to find all these cameras?"
"The corporate media wants to focus on personal stories but not political stories," said Leonard Carpenter, 57, of Arroyo Grande.
There were no arrests this week among those gathered outside the courthouse, said Chris Vaughan of the Santa Maria Police Department. Police did say megaphones are prohibited because they can be heard in the courtroom, and when police took a megaphone from one of the anti-war protesters, the group began chanting "Freedom of Speech."
"We're going to have no tolerance for any act of violence," Vaughan said.
He added that he does know what the fan response will be in the event of a guilty verdict, but his officers will be prepared.
"I hope that we do not have riots," Vaughan said. "But we are prepared if they are. I don't see any signs right now that indicate that riots could be pending."
Five people have been arrested and hundreds cited by police since the trial began, Vaughan said. The Sheriff's Department has not issued citations or arrested anyone, said Sgt Erik Raney
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I'm still looking for that guy or the puppet lady in this new picture. I bet if it gets too rowdy the puppet lady is gone. That other guy will probably start moshing.
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