A Occupy protester in the Pennsylvania town of Easton was arrested and faces attempted bank robbery charges for holding a sign saying “you’re being robbed” during an organized event at a bank.
Dave Gorczynski, 22, held another sign that said, “Give a man a gun, he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob a country,” reported the Express-Times newspaper. He was arrested and charged with attempted robbery, a felony, making terroristic threats, and disorderly conduct.
Mary Catherine Roper, a staff attorney with American Civil Liberties Union in Pennsylvania, told the newspaper that due to the circumstances of the case, the charges might be unwarranted.
“It seems inconceivable to me that holding up these two signs could constitute attempted bank robbery or terroristic threats,” she was quoted as saying and called the charges “overzealous,” though she did not think Gorczynski should have entered the bank.
Easton Police Chief Carl Scalzo said officers acted correctly: “I think our guys did what they had to do in this instance.”
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