Retired Episcopal Bishop George E. Packard, who won both the Bronze and Silver Stars for his service in Vietnam, was convicted Monday of trespassing on Trinity Church property during an Occupy Wall Street protest last December.
Packard, dressed in purple vestments, was the first of hundreds of protesters to use a makeshift staircase to climb over an eight-foot fence into Duarte Square on Dec. 17, 2011.
The bishop and eight others were convicted and sentenced to four days of community service and a $200 fine.
Packard, who also served as a chaplain in the Iraq War, said he felt no ill will against Judge Matthew Sciarrino Jr., who presided over the bench trial.
He saved his ire for the church, which he said should have dropped the charges.
"Trinity Church has chose to hop back and forth between being the aggrieved and trespassed party on the one hand and the sympathetic ear and support for those who deserve a message of mercy and forgiveness on the other," he said.
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/bishop-vietnam-war-hero-convicted-trespassing-occupy-wall-st-protest-article-1.1098181#ixzz1yEYhvFkw
Also the Times-
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/nyregion/8-occupy-protesters-convicted-of-trespassing-on-trinity-church-property.html
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