Hanging of posters constitutes harassment, verbal threats may not, says Brooklyn judge
Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Michael Gerstein ruled that an artist’s hanging of posters accusing a fellow artist of child molestation is enough to constitute aggravated harassment while verbal threats may not.
The case began when a group of artists including Harry Stuckey and Christopher Brodeur began the process of renting a collective artists’ space in a Williamsburg loft. Brodeur located the loft and raised the initial payment of $12,000. However, the landlord was not satisfied with Brodeur’s financial status, forcing Brodeur to seek Stuckey’s assistance. Stuckey took the lease for the loft in his company’s name.
Brodeur and Stuckey’s relationship soon soured. and Brodeur, according to court documents, “did repeatedly verbally threaten to kill [Stuckey], ruin [his] business and [his] life… and place[d] a poster on [Stuckey’s] front door that contained [Stuckey’s] name, a hand-drawn picture of [Stuckey] and false accusations about [Stuckey] being a thief, a drug dealer and a child molester.”
Brodeur was found guilty of attempted aggravated harassment, a Class B misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of three months in jail. During the non-jury trial, Brodeur argued that his actions were protected under the United States Constitution’s protection of the freedom of speech.