AUBURN – A Lewiston-Auburn College professor arrested last March for taking part in an anti-war protest agreed Thursday to do 50 hours of community service instead of taking his case to trial.
Barry Rodrigue, a Franco-American studies professor at the college, was one of 17 people arrested on March 21 when about 200 people gathered on Longley Bridge to protest the war with Iraq. Rodrigue was charged with obstructing a public way for allegedly refusing to get up from a sit-down demonstration on the bridge.
He was the only protester who requested a jury trial at Androscoggin County Superior Court.
One of the protesters pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge in District Court and paid a small fine. Charges against the other 15 were dismissed after they agreed to donate $50 each to the Good Shepherd Food Bank.
Rodrigue was given the same offer.
He declined.
“It was a matter of honor, a matter of commitment to something I believe in,” he said.
Rodrigue’s trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday. But, during a last-minute conference with the judge, Deputy District Attorney Craig Turner agreed to dismiss the charge if Rodrigue agreed to volunteer at the local food bank for 50 hours.
This time, the professor accepted the offer.
“I believe in hands-on work and changing the world for the better,” he said. “I don’t believe money can buy everything.”
Rodrigue said he headed to the Longley Bridge on the evening of March 21, as soon as he heard that the United States had started bombing Iraq. He had no idea that so many other people would be there.
He didn’t carry any signs. He protested by sitting down in the roadway, as long lines of traffic backed up on both sides of the bridge. Police responded after receiving complaints from motorists and pedestrians inconvenienced by the gathering.
Rodrigue knew that by requesting a jury trial he was taking a chance of facing a larger fine and having a criminal record. For him, it was worth the risk.
“Doing the right thing is more important,” he said. “I believe in encouraging people to speak up and say what they think.”
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