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Negroponte Protestors Head to Court

St. Johnsbury, Vermont - September 5, 2007

The jury selection Wednesday was for the upcoming disorderly conduct trial for 64-year-old Boots Wardinski.

It all started a year ago when top Bush administrator John Negroponte was the guest speaker before 1,000 people at the graduation ceremony for his son's class at St. Johnsbury academy.

War protestors Wardinski and his friend Michael Conley had obtained tickets to attend. They briefly disrupted the speech because they feel Negroponte played a key part in lying about weapons of mass destruction.

They were arrested, but they say they were only exercising free speech.

"My intent was not to keep him from speaking. It was to speak out and exert my own first amendment rights and to offer people a chance to leave," says Wardinski.

Prosecutors told the jury Wardinski had every right to protest, but only outside the auditorium, not inside.

Thirty-eight potential jurors were questioned before a jury of twelve women and two men was finally selected. Wardinski's lawyer David Sleigh asked all of them if they support the BUsh- Cheney policies in Iraq. He wanted to insure that no jurors might be biased because of Wardinski's anti-Bush views. Only 3 admitted support for the war. They were removed. On the other side, two jurors were removed because they acknowledged very strong feelings against the war.

Boots Wardinski is no stranger to public protests and publicity. He has run for office several times, most recently for Secretary of State and Attorney General. And he has been arrested at a number of civil disobedience protests. Records indicate the charges have always been dropped, until now.

The other defendant in this case, Michael Conley, has appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court to get the charges against him dismissed outright.

Brian Joyce - WCAX News