Convicted for Doing Nothing Wrong, Sentenced for No Reason, Yet Still Joyful with No Regrets (Part Two)

After my trip to Texas, I returned to court for sentencing.

Anything could have happened. I had invited friends to attend with me just in case they wanted to remand me into custody right then and there. My attorney assured me that the prosecutor was not interested in any jail time for me.

Of course, it was the judge's decision what would happen. She could do whatever she wanted.

I was convicted of two counts of 148(a)1, resisting arrest--even though I had not resisted arrest. Or you could call it "Failure to follow the lawful order of a police officer," when the order was not lawful to begin with.

The first count? I was to write an essay following a visit to the Museum of Tolerance. I was to write apology letters to the city council in Huntington Park and the two police officers.

For the second count. "364 days in jail ... suspended."

Hearing that number really shocked me. Really? This judge--actually, a commissioner, meaning that she is not elected--was going to hold over my head the threat of jail time?! Wow.

Indeed, she wanted to throw the book at me, and reminder, this was for sitting in a city council meeting.

After the sentencing hearing, my attorney did not think much of my filing for an appeal. "There was not judicial or jury misconduct, but you are welcome to file an appeal."

Of course I was! That was taken care of one month later, about one day before the deadline would elapse.

I have to say that the three friends whom I had brought with me, one of whom would take care of my possessions in the event that I was remanded into custody--were really not that helpful. The suspended sentence awakened a great deal of fear and trepidation. One of them kept repeating "Oh, Arthur, you better be careful! You better watch out!"

What kind of  support was that? It was bad enough to be wrongfully convicted, and unjustly sentenced. Then I had three people with me who were about as useful, as helpful as Job's friends. What was the point?

This ordeal in some cases would turn out to be quite a challenging ordeal. I really could not look to others for help, and by "others", I mean flesh and blood. That's just the long and short if. What comfort could these people have really given me, anyway? I was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced, with all these conditions hanging over me.

And yet all of it was unfair. Then again, I have been saying that life is not fair, and for me, life does not have to be fair. Grace is not fair, unmerited favor is exactly that--unmerited, therefore it has nothing to do with fairness.

We all went out to eat afterwards. One of the three friends kept saying over and over "What are you going to do, Arthur? This is so unfair?"

Just what I needed, someone pointing out to me how unfair this whole mess was, and at the same time putting on me the pressure of trying to figure out what to do about all of it. I had done everything that I could do. I had fought against this lawlessness, both in the city council chambers and the chambers of the court. Nothing came of either venue.

It was really sad having people who were supposed to support me ... not really support me. I guess they were really shell-shocked with everything that was happening to me. They ended up leaving after we ate, but I stayed around just to take care of some work.

Then things got interesting that day.

This was October 30, 2018. I was sentenced that day in Downey Court. Afterwards, I went to a local restaurant on Firestone just to grab a bite and then read and write, At the time, I was still wearing and carrying around with me my Make California Great Again cap. Why should I stop living my life just because I have been unjustly convicted of a crime that was not a crime?

After my three friends left, a group of ten high school students walked into the restaurant. Most of them were black and Hispanic, but one of them was Asian. One of them came over to me to ask for money. I told him that I don't hand out money, and that's just the way it is. Then another one of them noticed my MCGA hat. "You voted for Donald Trump?" he asked me. Yes, I did!

He was taken aback, and walked away. Then three other of them came around the table, with the rest of the following: "Why do you have a problem with black people? Why do you have a problem with them?"

It was really weird, and the only thing that was troubling me at the time was to be put on the spot to defend my vote for President Trump. I was not worried about my safety at all. Some of the kids sat in the booth next to mine to hear me. 

Waiting in line to make an order, another guy, an older Hispanic gentleman saw what was going on, and he said to the small crowd of kids "Alright, guys, give him some space."

I then explained to all of them that I not only didn't have a problem with black people, but some of my black friends even voted for Trump! That really surprised some of them. Then one of the young ladies asked me: "Why did you vote for Donald Trump?"

I am so glad they asked! I went down the list of reasons why I supported the President, and why I am glad that he was elected. I talked about the economic growth, the job growth for Americans of all demographics. I mentioned his pro-life record--the best of any President, I might add!

After that extended explanation, four of the kids shook my hand! And that was that.

Grace superabounds, in spite of everything that I had faced that day. But it got better!

The older Hispanic guy told me that he got worried that those ten high schools were going to hurt me. "I grew up in South LA, so I have seen bad things happen before." He then  told me that he had voted for Donald Trump, as well. He was also an immigrant, having come legally from Mexico when he was six years old! COOL!

Another guy, the boyfriend of the local manager, then came up to me and the other guy. He also shared that he was ready to step in and help me out just in case things got out of hand and the kids were going to jump me or something. That whole time I never feared for my safety, but it was good to learn afterwards that there were people there ready to help me out.

That was the same day that I was sentenced for no reason, and even then I had a reason to be joyful.

Convicted for Doing Nothing Wrong, Sentenced for No Reason, Yet Still Joyful with No Regrets

(The use of this cartoon will make sense very soon)

So, on October 25. 2018, I was found guilty in a court of law for ... sitting in a city council meeting.

The prosecutor lied to the jury.

The judge suppressed evidence.

Of the eleven witnesses I had lined up to testify, only two were permitted to testify. What gives?

The jury had no idea what was going on. They just went along with the basic principle that if a cop tells you to do something, you just have to do it. Really? What if he wanted to take my money. Am I then obliged to turn over the cash?

I was found guilty ... of sitting in a city council meeting. Officially, I was convicted of two counts of California Penal Code section 148a1, "resisting arrest" or "failure to follow the lawful order of a police officer."

I contend to this day that the order for me to be removed from the Huntington Park City Council chamber was an unlawful order. I was called out of order for no reason, and then someone in the audience blurted out, lied to the city council elected officials, and they in turn went along with the lie just to have me removed.

I refused to leave. They had no right.

What's done is done.

I left the court house that Thursday afternoon, puzzled that this had happened. "How could I be found guilty for sitting in a city council meeting?"

A number of my friends from We the People Rising joined me at the court hearing. They witnessed three bailiffs stand in the courtroom when the verdict was announced, and then I stood up to hear the verdict.

"On count One ... Guilty!"

"On count Two ... Guilty!"

I was just shocked, puzzled, but no tears, no screaming or yelling. The court officers were preparing for the worst, but the worst did not happen--at least in my emotions.

I left the court room, since sentencing was postponed until Tuesday, the next week. My attorney took the heat so that I could go to a work event in Texas over the weekend. I was not going to stop living my life just because someone declared me guilty on the most flimsy of premises.

That evening, I went out to eat with the friends who had come with me. I didn't really let anything hit me yet. Just like when you find out that someone close to you has died, the full pain of this loss does not hit you right away. You don't realize what the loss is going to look like until the memories start rolling in, and then the realization that the person with whom you shared those memories is now gone forever.

That night, I went home. I went home, and I was just overwhelmed with grief as soon as I entered my home.

I cried for an hour that night. I could not believed that this was happening to me.

How could this happen to me? How could this be allowed to happen? Lord Jesus, I had prayed for your favor, I asked for your grace to get me out of this, to ensure an acquittal, to stand up to the abuses of the corrupt city council, the police, the system.

And yet ... this?! WHY?

I had never cried so hard. It hurt my lungs, I was in such grief. With all of this cascading over me, I called the first I could think of ... my employer Brian Camenker. He had been through this whole trial with me. I have never had so great an employer as Brian, and a better career than working for MassResistance.

He was with me as I cried out in pain. It was such a devastating loss. He shared with me similar challenges, pains, losses that he had faced in his life. He also talked about the overcoming spirit that he and his own father had demonstrated many times over.

Brian shared with me part of an elegant quote from President Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Yes, I had been in the arena. I had welcomed victories, and I was not bracing a defeat. 

The anxiety I felt was great, too. Had I been mistaken this whole time? Did I miss God? Did I get this all wrong or something?

I was panicking somewhat at this point, too. Was I all alone in this world? Since God did not rescue me from a guilty verdict, was He someone whom I could not trust for anything now? Those doubts were the most crushing, and were certainly the deepest reasons for my despair.

I ended up calling two other people, friends of mine who had joined me at the courthouse that afternoon, and ate dinner with me that evening. One of them said "It will be OK, buddy." Another one admitted to me his own run-in with the law, and how the event brought him to his knees to ask Jesus Christ to be His Savior.

Quite a powerful, yet quiet admission that this man had made to me. I realized that I had to come to God directly with this. I had to not run from Him, or act as if He was not there for me. I needed to rest and recognize "There is a reason for this."

I went to my event in Texas. It was so hard not to focus on "The Sentencing!"

But then I began to return to the gift of righteousness which we receive (and keep receiving!) because of Christ Jesus (Romans 5:17).

No matter what is happening, no matter whether I understand what God is doing, or not doing, I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). At no time could I doubt or wonder whether God was for me. Truth be told, however, I could not understand what was going on.

That recognition of my righteousness in Him--apart from works, from feelings, from circumstances--began to ease my heart and soul.

The sentencing was going to be interesting, that was for certain. More to come.

New Mexico GOP: Fight for Tough-on-Crime Legislation in Santa Fe

*** ACTION ALERT --- WE NEED YOUR HELP***   You heard our ACTION call last week, and thanks to pressure from Republicans, our House Republicans were able to pass 4 of their 6 billsOUT OF COMMITTEE! We need your help to do it again. TOMORROW, more critical public safety bills will be heard in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee Tuesday, Jan 30th at 1:30PM in Room 309   Join Republicans from across the state at the Roundhouse to support very important legislation that will make our communities safer and keep criminals behind bars.     Please help us tell our elected officials that we want SOLUTIONS and ACTION NOW. Our New Mexico "crime epidemic" is out of control, and it must be seriously addressed. All interested persons are encouraged to come to Santa Fe and provide public testimony, in person. If you are unable to attend the committee hearing in person, please contact the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee Members and share your feedback via email  ➡️  https://nmlegis.gov/Committee/Standing_Committee?CommitteeCode=HCPAC   Bills to be heard TOMORROW HB 33: EXTEND TIME LIMITS FOR PROSECUTION (Introduced by Reps. Rehm, Maestas) HB 54: INCREASE DWI PENALTIES (Introduced by Rep. Lewis) HB 71: DWI SUSPECT BLOOD TESTING (Introduced by Maestas Barnes) HB 91: ALTERATION OF SENTENCE FOR CERTAIN CRIMES(Introduced by Reps Nibert, Montoya, and Rehm) * HB 100: CHILD ABUSE PENALTIES, "Baby Briana's Law," with Emergency Clause (Introduced by Rep. Maestas Barnes) HB 112: INCREASE 2ND DEGREE MURDER PENALTIES (Introduced by Reps. Youngblood, & Maestas) HB 115: 2ND DEGREE MURDER TIME LIMIT (Introduced by Reps Youngblood & Rep. Maestas Thank you, Ryan Cangiolosi Chairman | RPNM