[csusbpeace] Woman who refused to wear mask in Costa Mesa grocery store convicted of trespassing – Orange County Register

From: "raccoon" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> ("bigraccoon1")
To: "CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2021 06:29:33 -0700

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Woman who refused to wear mask in Costa Mesa grocery store convicted of
trespassing

October 20, 2021

Marianne Campbell Smith leaves the West Justice Center in Westminster with
her attorney, Frederick W. Fascenelli, during a lunch break in her trial for
an incident while refusing to wear a mask on Monday, Oct. 20, 2021. Smith was
charged with a pair of misdemeanors, including trespassing and obstructing a
business or customers, for refusing to leave a Mother’s Market near the
Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, CA, during an anti-mask protest on Aug. 15,
2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A maskless woman who refused to leave a Costa Mesa grocery store was
convicted of trespassing on Wednesday, after becoming the only person to go
on trial in Orange County for not following pandemic-driven face-covering
mandates <https://www.ocregister.com/tag/coronavirus/> at local businesses.

Marianne Campbell Smith is greeted by supporters as she leaves the West
Justice Center in Westminster, during a lunch break in her trial for an
incident while refusing to wear a mask on Monday, Oct. 20, 2021. Smith was
charged with a pair of misdemeanors, including trespassing and obstructing a
business or customers, for refusing to leave a Mother’s Market near the
Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, CA, during an anti-mask protest on Aug. 15,
2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

An Orange County Superior Court jury found Marianne Campbell Smith guilty of
a pair of misdemeanor charges
<https://www.ocregister.com/2021/10/19/woman-who-refused-to-wear-mask-in-costa-mesa-grocery-store-goes-on-trial/>
– trespassing and obstructing a business or customers – following her Aug.
15, 2020 arrest at the busy Mother’s Market near the Triangle Square during
an anti-mask protest.

Judge John Zitny immediately sentenced Smith to 40 hours of community service
and a year of informal probation. The judge also ordered her to pay a $200
fine and to stay away from the Costa Mesa Mother’s Market.

In a statement read in court prior to the sentencing, District Attorney Todd
Spitzer said the case was about protecting private property rights.

“The defendant wanted to make this about masks and freedom,” Spitzer said.
“This trial was about a private business and workers just trying to comply
with health orders. Instead she bullied her way around the store and yelled
at masked elderly shoppers that they were part of a government conspiracy.”

Smith, who described herself as a longtime nurse and mother of three, said
she has a medical condition that prevents her from wearing masks. Her
attorney added that she entered the store to get food and refreshments, not
to protest.

“Justice was not served, but I accept it,” Smith, 57, said outside the
courthouse following the verdict. “Because it was important to talk about
these issues today.”

A second woman arrested alongside Smith, Jennifer Marie Sterling, previously
accepted a plea deal in which she agreed to make a donation to a Covid relief
fund for nurses and admit to an infraction for refusing to leave the store
when ordered by a police officer upon an owner’s request. A third maskless
woman who entered the grocery store with Smith and Sterling apparently left
before officers arrived.

Police and prosecutors in Orange County have nearly exclusively focused on
education and outreach regarding mask mandates and other coronavirus
restrictions, largely avoiding arrests or criminal charges. The Smith and
Sterling case was the only reported arrest or charges of individuals, and
only one local business owner – a Costa Mesa bar operator – has faced
criminal counts for flouting Covid restrictions
<https://www.ocregister.com/2020/12/31/costa-mesa-bar-owner-is-1st-in-o-c-to-face-criminal-charge-for-flouting-covid-limits/>.

Assistant District Attorney Susan Price acknowledged to jurors that the
national debate over masks and Covid restrictions were collateral issues in
Smith’s trial. But the prosecutor repeatedly stressed that the heart of the
case actually focused on the rights of a private business to set their own
guidelines meant to protect workers and employees, and their power to ask
Smith to leave the store when she wouldn’t follow those rules.

“Grocery stores are not a public forum for debate. Grocery stores are not a
forum for protests,” Price said. “They have a right to say ‘we are not going
to make our employees feel unsafe.’”

Price accused Smith of intentionally disrupting the normal operations of the
market in order to make a political point. The prosecutor also referenced
testimony by a store employee that Smith had confronted other shoppers.

Smith’s attorney, Frederick Fascenelli, denied that Smith was disruptive, and
accused the store manager of trying to intimidate her by having a large
security guard follow her around the market.

“The only people making a scene were the employees,” Fascenelli said.

The defense attorney also questioned why Smith wasn’t charged with violating
mask requirements that had been added to the Costa Mesa municipal code.

“This thing is all political,” Fascenelli said. “They are trying to shoehorn
in these trespassing charges because they don’t want to touch the third rail
of politics that is a mask mandate.”

Numerous Costa Mesa officers – including a SWAT team – were on standby that
day due to a planned anti-mask protest at the corner of Newport Boulevard and
19th Street.

The store manager of the Costa Mesa Mother’s Market at the time, Eric Katz,
testified that he stepped in front of Smith and her two companions as they
entered the market without masks. The manager described the women pushing
past him, though he acknowledged they didn’t make physical contact.

The manager testified that Smith and the other two women ignored his repeated
requests to put on a face covering or leave the store. He added that he gave
the women the option of providing a list of groceries that employees could
bring out to them, or for using an online service such as Instacart.

While Smith and the other two women were in the store, a group of two dozen
or so protestors – including some brandishing flags reading “Trump 2020,”
“Keep America Great” and “Keep your politics off our faces” – gathered in
front of the entrance to Mother’s Market, leading employees to lock the main
door. Patrons inside the store were guided to back exits, according to
testimony.

Employees refused to ring Smith up when she tried to buy a bag of chips and
container of macaroni salad. Smith left $5 by the register and walked away.

Surveillance footage showed that Smith tried to leave the market right after
police officers walked into the store.

She and Sterling were stopped by police, handcuffed and brought out of the
market. An officer testified that the protestors outside the store yelled
“shame, shame, shame” at police, with at least one comparing them to Nazis.

The prosecutor said Smith, a resident of South Orange County, turned down a
pre-trial diversion offer that would have led to the charges being dismissed
if Smith completed 10 hours of community service.

Smith wore a clear plastic face shield during her three-day trial in a
Westminster courtroom. Face coverings are currently required for visitors and
employees at Orange County court facilities.

[csusbpeace] Woman who refused to wear mask in Costa Mesa grocery store convicted of trespassing – Orange County Register

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