Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Thursday, May 22, 2008
Morals postpone court decision: Protester accuses military of war crimes during trespassing case
A court trial that lasted nearly two hours Wednesday ended in a virtual no-decision, despite the defendant’s admission of guilt.
John Edward Heid, 53, defended himself on two counts of trespassing and one count of disorderly conduct. He is accused of sitting down and blocking the entrance to the U.S. Army Reserve recruiting station at 1215 Gilmore Ave. on Feb. 28 and March 26. On both days, he refused to move when police asked him to leave and was arrested three times, including twice within four hours on March 26.
Heid does not dispute his guilt, saying he acted on moral grounds and without criminal intent, which, by law, would clear his name. His argument was persuasive enough to force Judge Jeff Thompson to postpone the case for a week while he researches the defense.
The facts in the case weigh heavily against him, Heid admitted. Two Winona Police sergeants, one officer and two Army recruiters testified Heid had blocked the entrance and refused to leave.
The case seemed clear-cut for Assistant City Attorney Brian Glodosky, even after Thompson dismissed the disorderly conduct charge for lack of evidence. Glodosky issued a closing statement, saying Heid repeatedly disregarded the law, and by his own admissions, refused to remove himself from the recruiting station door.
“Mr. Heid is guilty of trespassing,” he said.
But behind the facts is a moral obligation, which Heid asked the judge to consider before ruling.
Heid said he did not act with criminal intent, but rather by a “claim of right,” which means he acted in good faith with permission by a statute, rule, regulation or other law. Citing international law — namely the results of the Nuremberg Trials and the Geneva Convention — Heid told the court he believed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are illegal and the military is committing war crimes against humanity, which he intended to stop by preventing the enlistment of new, potential criminals.
To help his case, Heid presented Thompson with a set of jury instructions drafted by Hennepin County Judge Jack Nordby in Dec. 2004, when Heid was on trial for a very similar incident and made the same arguments to a jury. Nordby explained the claim of right to the jury, which subsequently found Heid not guilty of trespassing.
Heid said an angry juror approached him afterward and said he was guilty of trespassing but that the stuck jury had acquitted him because he acted in good faith on the claim of right.
Thompson recessed Wednesday to consider the document and arguments. When he reconvened court about 20 minutes later, he said he would take the case under advisement for a week so he could do more research and consider Heid’s claim of right.
Heid complimented Thompson’s open-mindedness toward his argument, saying many judges might shrug it off with the question, “What does the war have to do with this community?”
“Judge Thompson is taking this matter very seriously,” Heid said.
No matter the outcome — Heid said he is convicted for trespassing “most of the time” — Heid was just glad to be “stirring the pot” and raising people’s awareness that the war is closer to home than many may think, he said.
Thompson said he would make his final decision by May 28.
Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
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