Charges Dropped Against Woman Who Wrote Chalk Message Outside Rep. Buck's Office
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (CBS4) – Charges have been dropped against a woman who wrote a political message outside Rep. Ken Buck's office in June. Buck is a Republican who represents Colorado on Capitol Hill.
According to Shauna Johnson's legal representation, Mark Silverstein of the ACLU, the district attorney handling her case dismissed the criminal tampering charges, claiming justice would be found through dropping the charges.
"We are pleased with the decision of the prosecution to dismiss the 'criminal tampering' charge against Shauna Johnson, and we agree that it is a just result," Silverstein said in a statement to CBS4.
Johnson told CBS4 she used chalk to write a message to her representative outside his Castle Rock office. The message she wrote on the cement asked Buck to stop supporting the separation of children from their parents at the border.
Shortly after writing the message on the cement, Douglas County Sheriff's deputies issued her a citation.
"Dissent is patriotic, and especially now, we cannot allow government to intimidate or silence those who speak out against injustice," Silverstein said.
"While my family is elated that, with the help of our superheroes at ACLU of Colorado, I won't be prosecuted, there are still thousands of babies, toddlers, and young children who haven't seen their moms and dads for weeks," Johnson said in a statement.
Silverstein told CBS4's Dillon Thomas they did not plan to pursue the case any further in court, and would simply accept the dismissed charges as a fair resolution. Silverstein never said his client had the right to write the message with chalk on the private property. However, he did believe his client was originally cited as a result of the message she wrote.
Dillon Thomas is a reporter at CBS4 and a Colorado native. He believes everyone has a story, and would love to share yours! You can find more of his stories by following him on Twitter, @DillonMThomas.