Charges tossed out against three Entrada protesters

A municipal judge dismissed charges Monday against three of eight demonstrators accused of trespassing in a public street while protesting a controversial re-enactment of Spanish conquistadors during the annual fiestas in September.

Municipal Judge Pro Tem Ann Yalman ruled the allegations in the criminal complaints filed by the Santa Fe Police Department against Chad Browneagle, Julian Rodriguez Jr. and Trenton Warden were too vague to move forward.

After the hearing, Assistant City Attorney Alfred Walker said he hasn’t decided whether to refile the charges.

“I certainly don’t want to say anything until I know the full extent of the judge’s reasoning,” he said. “When I get the [judge’s] orders, I’ll have a little more of a basis to think about it and figure out what to do.”

Charges against three other protesters also accused of criminal trespass are pending in Municipal Court. Police had filed felony charges against one of the organizers, Jennifer Marley, accusing her of striking two officers with signs, but prosecutors dismissed the charges in Magistrate Court. The district attorney has not yet decided whether to bring that case to a higher court.

Attorneys for the three protesters whose charges were dismissed without prejudice Monday believe the city has a losing case against each of their clients.

“It’s clear to the lawyers representing them that the arrests were based on the content of the speech,” said John Day, who is representing Warden. “No one else was arrested. No tourists were arrested. No Entrada partici-

pants were arrested. It was simply the people who were expressing a different political opinion who were arrested.”

Day said he and his colleagues argued the criminal complaints against their clients didn’t contain enough probable cause to proceed. For example, the complaint against Day’s client simply states that Warden “refused to leave a private venue after three requests by … law enforcement.”

“But it didn’t say where it was. It didn’t say what the event was. It didn’t say who told him,” he said. “Just a lot of vague information. Nothing was very clear.”

Nat Chakeres, Rodriguez’s attorney, said Yalman made the right decision.

“I think that the city decided to arrest these protesters, and then after the fact was scrambling with trying to figure out what they did wrong, what they could charge them with,” he said. “That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”

Both Chakeres and Day said Yalman was skeptical of the city’s prosecution and advised Walker to “think long and hard” before refiling charges.

“I think she made clear to them that even if they were to refile and fix the vagueness in the complaints that there would still serious First Amendment issues with these prosecutions,” Chakeres said. “I hope the city takes that to heart.”

Attorney Val Whitley, who represents Browneagle, said none of the protesters broke the law, adding they were within their rights to protest on the Santa Fe Plaza and surrounding streets, though the Santa Fe Fiesta Council had obtained a permit to hold events on the Plaza.

“There really should’ve been dialogue, and I think maybe there will be now,” he said. “But it shouldn’t have to take these young people getting arrested and thrown in jail.”