Opinion ID: 2387736
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: it's up to you

Text: appearing in the boldest letters on the (presumably) nuclear mushroom. In smaller lettering on the left side of the sign, there appeared, perhaps ironically in retrospect, the following quotation from the Book of Revelation: The false prophet makes fire come down from heaven in the sight of men. On March 11, 1983, Thomas and his fellow-demonstrators were advised by representatives of the federal and District of Columbia governments that they would have to remove their demonstration paraphernalia. United States Park Police officials, who were accompanied by two attorneys from the Department of the Interior, advised the group that the applicable regulations forbade the placement of structures such as those used by the demonstrators on the White House sidewalk. Representatives of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) told Thomas that he could not leave the contraptions in front of the OEOB, or anywhere else on public property in the District, because they constituted living abodes. [3] Thomas was warned that he would be subject to arrest if he failed to remove the allegedly offending entities. Thomas initially remonstrated with the officials, challenging the legal basis for their actions. [4] He contended that the activities now being prohibited had been permitted for several months and that the signs were neither structures nor abodes. Admittedly frustrated and disappointed when he made no headway with his arguments, he indicated that something big was about to happen. In a way, it did. An hour or more after these discussions, Thomas set fire to Revelation from inside by pouring some kerosene on the floor and lighting it with a cigarette lighter. He then came out and began to address the law enforcement officials gathered outside. As he recalled on the stand, he told the group: I'm tired of this shit. You people are a bunch of hypocrites. You claim to be concerned with protecting freedom and individual rights and yet you are constantly harassing me, trying to prevent me from speaking my mind. He would have said more, but one of the officers noticed what had happened and stated Look, it's on fire. A second officer yelled Arson! Arson! Arrest him! Thomas related that he fell to the ground and went limp, in conformity with the teachings of Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Jesus. The officers squatted on his back and handcuffed him while he yelled Democracy is dead! Long live the police state! The fire continued to burn. The officers could not or did not do anything to stop it until fire fighters arrived. Color photographs which were admitted into evidence, each one of which is worth at least a thousand words, show the vividly orange, yellow and brown flames rising many feet into the air, initially forming a bizarre contrast to the multi-colored mushroom design on Revelation, which design was then just below the flames. Eventually, only the metal frame and the cinders remained, and the top of the marble column was peeling, cracked and badly discolored. [5] Explaining his actions on the witness stand, Thomas denied any malicious intent. He acknowledged that he had deliberately set Revelation aflame, but stated that he had expected the fire to last a short time and that only the sign would burn or be damaged. He related that he had some experience as a stone carver and that, based on his experience, he had been fairly certain that the column would not be damaged and was very surprised when the contrary occurred. Thomas admitted that he was frustrated when he set the fire, but denied being angry, stating that his act was a product of my logical reasoning. Thomas was cross-examined in some detail as to whether he had shown any concern about the consequences, to other persons and to property, of setting the fire. He acknowledged that he had not looked to determine if there were persons nearby, but explained that pedestrians usually walked forty feet away, and that they would, in any event, be able to observe the flames. With respect to the possibility of property damage, Thomas testified that he had affirmatively considered the question: I looked around and I thought, what will this fire damage, and I looked at the stone wall and I said, It's not going to damage the stone wall, and I looked at the metal fence, and I said, It's not going to damage the metal fence, and I said, Well, I can set it on fire without doing any damage to anything. He admitted that he knew that Revelation was next to the column and that he did not move it away before setting it on fire. He also acknowledged that it was reasonable to believe that, where an object is set on fire next to another object, the flames will at least touch the second object.