Lucas Gerhard Files Appeal, Sues Prosecutor for Being Charged with Terrorism for Posting Rifle Pic on Snapchat
Shane Trejo
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Former Lake Superior State University student Lucas Gerhard, 20, is fighting back against the railroading that is taking place against him for posting a picture of his rifle on Snapchat last year.
Big League Politics has reported extensively on the Gerhard case from the revocation of his 1st and 2nd Amendment rights to his cruel and unusual detention to the beginning of his trial, which featured the prosecution playing a mass shooting video as an excuse to keep him confined.
Lucas’ father Mark told Big League Politics about recent positive developments in Gerhard’s case. Their lawyers are filing appeals while the case is waiting in limbo, with the courts using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to draw out the proceedings and bleed the Gerhard family dry.
They have filed a complaint to the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn the denial of the motion to dismiss the case by 50th Circuit Court Judge James P. Lambros in June. They have also filed a Writ of Mandamus against the prosecutor for violating Lucas’ free speech rights.
Gerhard’s lawyers are alleging prosecutorial overreach, claiming that Gerhard’s terror charge is illegal under 750.543z of the Michigan State Code, which states that “a prosecuting agency shall not prosecute any person or seize any property for conduct presumptively protected by the first amendment to the constitution of the United States in a manner that violates any constitutional provision.”
They wrote in the complaint that the entire court proceeding was flawed from the start and slanted against Gerhard’s core rights.
“The District Court was confused in thinking that First Amendment protections are for the jury to decide. That was in error right from the starting block,” they wrote, adding that “this case provides a perfect vehicle to require and apply the true threats standard and the correct protections of the First Amendment.”
“Prosecuting based on First Amendment speech is too important and too potentially chilling to wait on the good hopes of a Michigan jury by an improperly charging prosecutor,” they concluded in their appeal.
The Chippewa County Prosecuting Authority is now the defendant under the Writ of Mandamus filed by Gerhard’s lawyers. They allege that the prosecutor “did not provide a full and complete of SnapChat communications to the Court but instead altered the exhibit” in order to bias the proceedings against Gerhard.
They believe that the prosecutor should be held liable for damages to Gerhard because of the mess that has taken place due to their alleged violation of 750.543z. The Gerhard family is hoping to raise $50,000 to overcome the crippling costs of this fight for Lucas’ freedom, which has gone on for over a year now. Their GoFundMe can be accessed here.
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