A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.

6 November 2015

Human rights group demands that David Lenio be convicted of a felony

Remember David Lenio? The young man from Michigan who moved to Kalispell, made some ill-advised Tweets, and found himself jailed in Flathead County on charges of malicious intimidation and criminal defamation? In September, District Judge Heidi Ulbricht dismissed the criminal defamation charge on constitutional grounds, but let stand the malicious intimidation charge.

Lenio, back in Michigan with his family, told me earlier this fall that he was doing well and working 50 hours a week while waiting for his legal ordeal to end. That end may be approaching. According to the Flathead Beacon, Lenio’s attorney, Brent Getty, filed a motion to postpone Lenio’s trial, which was scheduled to begin Monday:

“The Defense requests a continuance to allow time to finalize the potential resolution of this matter,” Getty wrote. “Discussions are ongoing and the matter may be able to be resolved, without the need for a trial, as early as next week.”

In other words, Getty’s trying to make a deal, probably one in which Lenio pleads guilty to a misdemeanor or two, receives a suspended sentence, and agrees to return to Michigan.

That possibility has local human rights advocates in an uproar. This afternoon I received a media advisory from a woman named Ina Albert, that reads:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 6, 2015

CONTACT: Rabbi Francine Green Roston, rabbifgr@rostongroup.com 973-787-7846

Human Rights Advocates Call Press Conference on David Lenio Plea Deal Negotiations

Kalispell, MT -- Flathead Valley community leaders are speaking against hate and promoting love, justice, and peace in response to media reports that County Attorney Ed Corrigan is negotiating to resolve the case of David Joseph Lenio before trial.

WHO: Love Lives Here in the Flathead Valley, in partnership with the Glacier Jewish Community-B’nai Shalom, encourages the community to convene at 9:00 a.m. at the Flathead County Courthouse to witness the proceedings in State v. David Joseph Lenio.

WHAT: Press conference

WHEN: Monday, November 9, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. or immediately following the public hearing in State v. David Joseph Lenio, if there is a hearing.

WHERE: Flathead County Courthouse steps, located at 920 S. Main St., Kalispell

WHY: We are uncertain about what will occur in court on Monday. However, we want to make our voices heard. We demand that County Attorney Ed Corrigan seek nothing less than a conviction on the felony count of intimidation for Lenio’s threats to kill grade school children, rabbis, and Jews. This is the only solution that will permanently deny Lenio legal access to guns and guarantee him the mental healthcare he apparently needs so that he will not be a danger to himself or others — here in Montana or anywhere in our country.

A press conference will immediately follow the public hearing, if there is a hearing. If there is no hearing at 9:30 a.m., then we will move to the front steps of the courthouse to make our statements to the media. Love Lives Here and Glacier Jewish Community has invited their members as well as local Christian clergy and school administration to express their views, which is an important part of the process of seeking equal justice under law, with no preferential treatment for Lenio.

Community leaders will remind the court that the Flathead Valley school systems, Jewish community, and the two local rabbis felt threatened by Lenio’s threats to kill children, Jews and rabbis. Security increased to protect our families at community expense. We will speak up for the community and continue to promote vigilance against hate speech and hate crimes.

In this case, the watchwords “If you see something, say something!” were successful and a threatened tragedy was averted. The gathering on Monday will promote this message and stand up for love and respect of our neighbors.

The 973 area code is for northern New Jersey. Why is a rabbi in New Jersey the contact person for a press conference in Kalispell, Montana?

Love Lives Here, and the Glacier Jewish Community-B’nai Shalom, say they oppose “preferential treatment” for Lenio. By “preferential” I think they mean a plea bargain in which Lenio pleads guilty to a misdemeanor. Their definition of justice is a conviction on a felony, nothing less, and they’re lobbying the Flathead County Attorney not to cut a deal. They want the guy in the slammer, then in the loony bin, then banned for life from even thinking about firearms. They might even want to deny him the right to post on the internet.

I have doubts the state could get a conviction at a trial. Lenio made some ill-advised Tweets, but the ones with which I’m familiar are much less specific than the people he frightened believe, and can legitimately be interpreted as nothing more than awkward pleas for help. Cutting a deal on a lesser charge is a way for the county attorney to save face.

It would be a tragedy were the outcome of Lenio’s predicament to be influenced by public pressure brought to bear on the Flathead County Attorney. Lenio’s right to a fair trial is a right all of us share with him. Our criminal justice system becomes a sham if the fate of the accused depends not on law and evidence presented in a fair trial but on how loudly and successfully special interest groups lobby for an outcome to their liking. Love Lives Here, and the Glacier Jewish Community-B’nai Shalom, are not engaging in vigilante action, at least not yet, but they’re certainly not showing much confidence in or respect for our courts. Nor are they demonstrating much of a commitment to freedom of speech. No good can come of that approach.