Protester found guilty, faces sentencing today

A state jury deliberated for less than two hours Thursday before finding the first of three (de)Occupy Hono­lulu protesters who are challenging their arrests guilty of obstructing government operations.

Madori Rumpungworn faces a maximum one-year jail term and $2,000 fine when Circuit Judge Patrick Border sentences her this morning.

Catherine C. Russell and Blade Michael Walsh are scheduled to stand trial for obstructing government operations later this month.

Rumpungworn testified that she remained in an area of Thomas Square that police had marked off with yellow tape on May 3, 2012, because a police officer told her she could. She also testified that she did not prevent city workers from enforcing the stored-property ordinance.

Prosecutor Ronson Ibarra and defense lawyer Erik Kvam played a videotape of Rumpungworn’s arrest for the jury. Another (de)Occupy protester recorded the videotape.

The recording shows Rumpungworn stepping in front of a city employee who was attempting to inventory tents and other items left on the Beretania Street sidewalk to post a notice to remove them. The videotape also shows Rumpungworn remaining in the taped-off area after telling the camera operator that she had been told to leave or she would be arrested.

Trish Morikawa, who was the city’s housing coordinator at the time of Rumpungworn’s arrest, testified that Rumpungworn had shown up at other locations where city crews went to enforce the ordinance that allows for the removal of private property stored in parks and other public property after the posting of a 24-hour notice on the stored items.

Rumpungworn, Russell, (de)Occupy Hono­lulu and others are challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance in federal court.

Russell and (de)Occupy Hono­lulu are also challenging an ordinance that does not require the city to post 24-hour notices on private property stored on sidewalks before seizing them.