Toomey Town Hall Ejectee Faces No Criminal Charges

On August 31, Senator Pat Toomey conducted a televised town hall at the PBS studios in Bethlehem. I covered this event for The Bethlehem Press. I was there when Simon Radecki, one of the 54 participants, got yanked when he asked Senator Toomey whether he had heard the news that Tommey's daughter Brigid had just been kidnapped. Radecki was trying to make a point about immigration, but his question was idiotic.

No sooner had the words left his mouth that the long arm of the law reached out and grabbed him. That's the last I saw of Simon Radecki. Numerous news sources, including The Morning Call, indicated that Radecki would be charged with disorderly conduct and disrupting a public meeting. Some more sloppy news sources reported that Radecki had been arrested.

It was "one of the scariest things that I have ever been a part of,” said PBS CEO Tim Fallon.

Tim obviously doesn't get around much.

There's more to life than Big Bird.

After reporting on the criminal charges, more newspapers began to question whether Radecki's free speech rights had been violated. This started in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with the ACLU offering to represent Radecki. Some law professor melodramatically bellowed, "[T]here's no such thing as a wrong question.”

Of course there is. "Would you like me to rip your tongue out and shove it down your throat?" is certainly a wrong question.

I'd send that professor to summer school.

Morning Call columnist Bill White took things to the next level. He wrote that Radecki had been "charged with disorderly conduct and disrupting a public meeting." He concluded his blog entry by saying that "[t]he charges should be dropped."

Let's be clear here. No one was arrested following Radecki's question. No one has been charged. There are no charges to drop.

There probably would be charges, but as it happens, the officer who collared Radecki went on vacation.

All news accounts that imply otherwise are flat out wrong,

What's more, DA John Morganelli got wind of this matter, and has asked that all details be forwarded to him for review.

Morganelli is a free speech purist, an unusual trait in a district attorney. In 2004, he dismissed trespassing charges filed against peace activists who were distributing anti-war flyers on a public sidewalk outside the Palmer post office. Three years later, he dismissed criminal charges filed against a Washington Township man who was flying the American flag in an upside down position. In 2012, he refused to prosecute a troll over online comments about a judge. That year, he also dismissed attempted robbery charges against "Nature Dave," a bank protester who held a sign inside a bank, warning customers they were being robbed. He did allow one terroristic threat charge to stand. Just last year, he dismissed littering charges against Trump supporter Tricia Mezacappa when she plastered West Easton with Trump signs on election eve.

Given Morganelli's track record, it's highly unlikely that he will authorize a prosecution here.

The best way to assure that people that people you agree with are heard is to ensure that those you disagree with are heard, too.