Carl Levin pie throwers put in federal prison

[Bozita]

Source: Grand Rapids Press

Carl Levin pie throwers put in federal prison
Published: Tuesday, August 30, 2011, 3:28 PM Updated: Tuesday, August 30, 2011, 6:46 PM
By John Agar | The Grand Rapids Press


GRAND RAPIDS – Two war protesters accused of hitting U.S. Sen. Carl Levin in the face with a pie in Big Rapids were sentenced this afternoon to 30 days in federal custody.

Ahlam Mohsen, 24, a Michigan State University graduate, and Max Kantar, 23, a Ferris State University graduate, targeted Levin because of his role as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The two pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Levin was speaking at an Aug. 16, 2010, gathering at Pepper Cafe & Deli in Big Rapids when Kantar, who bought the pie the night before, read a statement before Mohsen hit Levin in the face with the pie. Kantar said he hoped it would serve as an “exclamation point” to his own speech, but has acknowledged any message was lost.

U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell said that Levin wasn't physically harmed, but Bell said he needed to show that attacks on elected officials meeting with constituents cannot be tolerated.


Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/08/carl_levin_pie_throwers_put_in.html

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Anybody know what the difference is between federal custody and federal prison?

[jpbollma]

1. ah yes,

throwing a pie gets you prison time, throwing bombs gets you contracts and senate seats. Welcome to the Police State.

[slackmaster]

2. Federal custody = You are in a hotel room or something similar and can't leave

Federal prison = You are in an actual prison.

[Xithras]

37. Not usually.

"Federal custody" is a vague term, but it doesn't usually mean hotels (though it can).

Being in federal custody merely means that the federal government has the authority to put you wherever they want. That may mean federal prison, ICE detention center, a local hotel with a guard outside, federally monitored house arrest, or even holding cells in your local state prison or county jail that are contracted for federal use.

Since the hotel thing is usually only done for parolees and federal court witnesses, I wouldn't bet on them being there.

Most likely, they're looking at house arrest. I don't see the feds wasting an actual prison cell on this kind of crime.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. While Cheney the war criminal goes on a book tour

[Fumesucker]

4. Thirty days of hard time for throwing a pie..

Huge bonuses for wrecking the world economy!!!

[Psephos]

11. Federal custody is not hard time...

...and presumably you don't think assaults on federal elected officials should go without criminal penalty.

I am with you about the economy part. :)

[Fumesucker]

12. I'm sure the official's ego was horribly wounded..

I'm surprised they didn't get the death penalty.. ;)

[Mojorabbit]

17. It was just a pie. Community service would have sufficed. nt

[slackmaster]

27. I'm bothered more by the waste of food than any other aspect of this story

They could at least have composted the pie debris.

[Psephos]

29. I agree with that.

But my point wasn't that the punishment should be severe, but rather, that it's appropriate that there be a law making it a crime to physically assault a federal official. Or anyone, for that matter.

I guess I have just revealed that I am not an absolute anarchist, after all, despite what my mother told everyone. :)

[hamsterjill]

40. +1

n/t

[madinmaryland]

5. Sounds a bit harsh at first glance, but if they had been freepers, who

knows what kinds of nasty chemicals they may have had in there.

Imagine the chatter here if it had been freepers that pulled this off! We would have been demanding life in prison for the douchebags.

SERIESLY!

[sabrina 1]

32. Freepers would never have been opposing any war.

Too bad it was Sen. Levin though as he is one of the good guys on most issues.

[pam4water]

6. Remember the good old days when saying, "Lets not make a federal case out of it." , would

calm people down. Why where they throwing at Levin his a reasonable guy?

[Ian David]

7. Dungeon Master!

[JJW]

8. They should have waterboarded him or started

and illegal war, or drone attack because I'm pretty sure those are clearly legal. Seeing how Bush, Cheney and the Neocon chickenhawks are not serving time.

And what did Wikileaks reveal the other day; McCain, Graham, and Lieberman were promising terrorist Gaddafi weapons?

A pie in the face compared to US soldiers dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for war profiteering and oil.

Perhaps we are lucky that the Judge didn't sentence them to a hanging on the White House West lawn.

And of course it is okay for one federal judge to choke another federal judge in Wisconsin.

[SoapBox]

9. And while police either gun down or beat to death innocents...

they are hidden away and protected from being punished.

Serve and Protect...but it only applies to themselves.

[mrmpa]

10. Okay so attacks on elected officials meeting with constitutents....

won't be tolerated. How about the attack on constituents by elected officials?????

[krkaufman]

13. Next time... rather than throwing a creme-filled pie...

... throw one filled with money. ('cause money is protected speech, right?)

[2banon]

14. Word!

:thumbsup:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

21. Be sure that it's coins and not paper!

[PBass]

15. Pie-throwing kind of stuff is counter-productive IMO

It makes you look unreasonable, and irresponsible... like somebody who can't express themselves intelligently, so they tip over the buffet table instead.

I feel the same way about the glitter-throwers.

By the way, a real pie is heavy and could theoretically injure somebody. On television, "pies" that are used this way are just whipped cream. And since I mentioned it, same goes for glitter-throwing... I'm just waiting for somebody to get a scratched cornea because of glitter.

[grantcart]

16. federal detention facility versus a federal prison

The different facilities can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._federal_prisons

Prisons are for medium and high security prisoners and would be used for felons serving atleast one year.

In most urban areas there are federal detention centers that are housed in buildings that look like modern office buildings but have no windows only narrow slits. Once you are familiar with the design you can pick them out of any city.

Detention facilities are used for people recently arrested, awaiting trial, needing access to the court system and people serving short sentences.

[No Elephants]

18. "show that attacks on elected officials meeting with constituents cannot be tolerated."

"He said the pie in the face was also disturbing because Kantar was given the opportunity to air his viewpoint at the meeting."

I agree with both sentiments from the judge (though I disagree with his implying Levin knew better than the two young war protesters because Leven may have done more reading.).

But community service would have had more of a point than 30 days in "federal custody," whatever that is. And maybe less expensive for taxpayers as well?

[trud]

19. glad to see this

Those idiots could cause eye damage and are very lucky, as are their victims, that this hasn't happened yet. I'd have given them six months.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LanternWaste]

22. And tickling someone with a feather can cause heart-attacks.

"Those idiots could cause eye damage..."

And tickling someone with a feather can cause heart-attacks. Whoopee Cushions can undoubtedly cause serious mental breakdowns. Snakes in a Can are the cause of countless stokes. :shrug:

We should consider ourselves very lucky... nay, blessed. Blessed indeed that we have not yet encountered a spate of tragic and untimely deaths at the hands of that nefarious and diabolical thing we call Slapstick.

And don't get me started on fake hammers made of Styrofoam-- why, Harpo's own memoirs, 'To Hell and Back- My Struggle with Fart Jokes' tell us of the hazards and accidents they may cause...

:shrug:

[slackmaster]

26. Assault is assault, no matter how small

Unwanted contact is unwanted, and in some cases criminal.

[U4ikLefty]

34. Your concern is noted.

[LanternWaste]

38. Precisely my point.

Precisely my point, and a very clever and concise way or stating it too... :shrug:

[nyy1998]

23. "So what are you in here for?" "I pied Senator Levin"

[Tesha]

24. "And they all moved away from [him] on the bench there..." (NT)

[fujiyama]

25. Aside from the fact that these pranks and stunts

are immature and accomplish absolutely nothing, I don't understand why they would go after Carl Levin of all politicians on the war issue. These idiots deserved the jail time they got.

[dipsydoodle]

28. Was it custody

because it was a custard pie ?

[PavePusher]

30. I'd like to know why some pigs are more equal than other pigs....

"Bell said he needed to show that attacks on elected officials meeting with constituents cannot be tolerated."

[sarcasmo]

31. I would bet federal custody is way better than federal prison.

[hedgehog]

33. The problem with throwing pies or glitter, etc, is that the other side has

a lot of people who think the only response is something bigger. We throw custard pies and glitter; sooner or later they will be throwing hot coffee or worse.

[Honeycombe8]

35. Good. Our political leaders shouldn't have to be assaulted, even by pies, in the

performance of their job duties.

At the least, the people we elect should expect to go about their doing their jobs w/o fear of being attacked physically. Even though a pie sounds silly, it is a physical assault. If you don't think so, go out in the street and throw pies at someone passing by. You'll be arrested for assault, unless the other person has a great sense of humor (and presumably likes that particular kind of pie).

It's not okay to do just anything and everything you want, because you disagree with something a political leader has done or not done. Or at least...if it's against the law, you should expect to be arrested, charged, and sentenced if found guilty. (which you will be, if you're stupid enough to do it on tape.)

[plumbob]

36. About as stupid a result as could be.

Cheney and other officials walk the streets with impunity as they have murdered and waterboarded thousands at the minimum.

Ryan proposes killing the old folks off.

I really don't give a fuck if officials get hit with a pie. I think they should feel fortunate that we don't sell licenses to hunt them down as part of a deficit reduction plan.

But yeah, there's time to worry about pies and glitter.

[blueclown]

39. Better off in jail than in this terrible job market.

That's how sad this has become. And it's a shame that these people will spend more time in jail than any investment bank executive...