While the pandemic appears to be ebbing away, many citizens are still fighting for their rights. Some are still battling the consequences of going against federal or state mandates related to the virus.
This includes thousands who are out of work because they wouldn’t abide by a vaccine mandate, whether implemented by a private business or the Biden administration at a federal level.
Some are even still fighting to avoid jail time, in fact.
This includes a brave father in Rochester, New York, who was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing last year for refusing to wear a mask at his son’s baseball game.
He wasn’t hit with a small fine, either: he was facing real jail time, which stunned many parents who didn’t believe he’d done anything particularly egregious. And yet, this man was in handcuffs.
However, they picked the wrong guy to make an example of — the father, Chad Hummel, is an attorney, and he wasn’t about to let this slide.
He fought this in court and now, instead of getting jail time, he’s walking free. It’s a major victory for personal liberties, and lots of supporters are saying the judge made the right decision.
Via The Daily Wire:
A judge cleared a father from Rochester, New York, who was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing last spring for not wearing a mask at this son’s outdoor baseball game while he was social distancing.
Chad Hummel, an attorney, was facing up to 90 days in jail and professional licensing consequences; he was acquitted last week after a four-hour bench trial before Judge Joseph J. Valentino.
But this little saga isn’t over.
Hummel isn’t happy with being declared innocent and set free. He intends to sue the district over the incident, especially because they’d threatened to ban him from his son’s graduation ceremony.
And as far as Hummel and his supporters are concerned, the whole case was ludicrous from the start.
According to a statement made in court:
The Trespass charge arose from an incident where Hummel was standing alone in a field, hundreds of feet from anyone, maskless, when he was approached by security guard employed by the Irondequoit Chief of Police, Alan Laird‘s private security company in Town.
The plain–clothes guard ordered Hummel to leave his son‘s baseball game despite the Executive Order at the time that did not require outdoor masking.
There was even a sign on the Stadium entrance that stated masks were optional when 6 feet apart. Mr. Hummel stood his ground and the police arrived, handcuffed him and took him to jail.
So, it’s no surprise that Hummel was furious.
And just because the judge cleared him doesn’t mean everything is fine. Hummel said that if the district didn’t want a lawsuit, they needed to publicly apologize, and a few people to resign.
Unless that happens, though, the lawsuit will proceed. And it’s not about money for this “patriot dad”:
They can keep the money; I don’t want it. If they don’t want to resign and they don’t want to issue a public apology, then they’re going to make that decision for me.
They’ll give me no choice; I’ll have to bring a lawsuit against them. It’s that simple.
But as the district hasn’t seen fit to comply, and only moved to “criminalize him, damage his professional career and hurt his family,” this lawsuit is likely moving forward.
This is what happens when draconian measures run up against the Constitution and plain old common sense. Nobody seems to believe this man was endangering anyone and yet, he was arrested.
As far as our personal liberties are concerned, we have to applaud Mr. Hummel for standing up for his rights — a lesson every American should take to heart.
Key Takeaways:
- A father was arrested and charged with criminal trespass for not wearing a mask at his son’s outdoor baseball game.
- The judge just declared him innocent, but he intends to sue the District.
- If he doesn’t get a public apology and some resignations, he will move forward with the suit.
Source: The Daily Wire
