Brickbats: May 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Michael Cassidy was charged with criminal mischief after destroying a Baphomet altar erected by the Satanic Temple of Iowa in the state capitol in 2023. Since Cassidy "destroyed the property because of the victim's religion," they tacked on a hate crime enhancement, increasing the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $10,245 in fines.
For three years, the Bond family requested permission to remove two trees on their property that they thought looked dangerous. But the Portland, Oregon, Urban Forestry Commission denied their requests, saying it would "significantly affect neighborhood character." Then during a storm, one of those trees fell onto the Bonds' home, forcing them out. A city arborist advised the family that they will have to apply for a permit to remove the remains of the tree and pay to have a tree planted to replace it. They were also advised to remove the second tree from their property and apply for a retroactive permit, but if that permit is denied, they could be fined for removing the tree.
Christina Lea Gilchrist is a Canadian sex worker who offers a 25 percent discount to customers in the military. Although her sex work is legal, the military claims that her ads—which depict Gilchrist in uniform—are illegal. As a result, she says Canadian military police threatened to press charges against her and warned soldiers not to use her services.
Former Miami-Dade School Board Vice Chair Lubby Navarro faces charges of fraud and grand theft. Prosecutors say she used her school system credit cards to make $100,000 in illegal purchases, including two fake pregnancy bellies that she used to try to convince her ex-boyfriend she was pregnant with his child.
Video showed reporter David Menzies approaching Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland with a microphone and walking alongside her on a public sidewalk, asking questions about government policy. Menzies seemingly bumped into a police officer who stepped into his path; that officer then shoved Menzies against a wall and told him he was under arrest for assault. Ontario police later dropped the charges, saying "no credible security threat existed."
A jury convicted former House of Representatives of Puerto Rico member María Milagros "Tata" Charbonier of conspiracy, bribery, and money laundering, among other charges. While in office, Charbonier increased her assistant's biweekly pay from $800 to between $2,100 and $2,900. But the assistant kicked back between $1,000 and $1,500 of each paycheck to Charbonier, her husband, and their son.
Atlanta developer Jeff Raw had a water meter installed on a vacant lot he owned. Over the next five months, he received bills totaling nearly $30,000. A city inspector verified there were no water lines or leaks on the site and the utility sent Raw an email admitting there was a leak in its part of the system, but officials still insisted he pay those bills.
Before taking her oath of Canadian citizenship, Maria Kartasheva learned she had been tried in absentia in Russia, her home country, and found guilty of "public dissemination of deliberately false information" for social media posts she made while living in Canada opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Canada has a similar law, and those charged with an offense that would be a crime in Canada may be denied citizenship. After several media outlets picked up her story, the government agreed to let Kartasheva become a citizen after all.