statenislandadvance: Artist's lawyer calls stunt freedom of speech
A New York man has been charged with disorderly conduct after beheading an effigy of Lynn Stewart, the lawyer charged earlier this month with passing messages to Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. Two weeks ago another New York man was charged with disorderly conduct after delivering an anti-American speech near the ruins of the World Trade Center.
A small, confused gathering of onlookers watched at the intersection of Leonard Street and Broadway as [Scott LoBaido], 32, stood in the street and threw a handful of leaflets into the air, then shouted “Lynne Stewart is a [expletive] terrorist and anyone who supports her is responsible for September 11th!”LoBaido then threw a block of wood onto the pavement and placed the dummy head of a life-sized effigy of Ms. Stewart on top. With an ax— painted with red, white and blue stars and stripes—he chopped off the head and thick gobs of fake blood poured out.
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The police wanted to put more charges on him, but I said they couldn’t because of the free-speech issue,” said [Charles DeStefano, LoBaido’s attorney]. ”[LoBaido] gave me the ‘bloody’ ax as my fee.”