Man pleads not guilty in pie-throwing
Manning now charged with disorderly conduct for incident
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Matthew Manning, right, of Northfield speaks to supporters after he was arraigned in District Court in Barre on Thursday for hitting Gov. James Douglas with a pie in early July. Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Times Argus |
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By Thatcher Moats Times Argus Staff - Published: August 15, 2008
BARRE – The man who allegedly threw a pie in Governor James Douglas' face during a parade last month was arraigned Thursday for disorderly conduct, and a number of supporters attended, singing outside the courthouse before the proceeding began.
Matthew Manning, 22, of Northfield, pleaded not guilty to the charge that while dressed as Santa Claus, he threw a cream pie in Douglas' face as the Governor marched in the July 4 parade in Montpelier.
About 12 of Manning's friends and family members attended the proceeding at Vermont District Court in Barre.
Manning originally was cited by Montpelier police for two counts of simple assault and one count of disorderly conduct, but Washington County State's Attorney Tom Kelly did not file the assault charges.
The assault citations were for the alleged pie-throwing and for hitting Barre Mayor Thomas Lauzon, who told police that Manning elbowed him in the face after he grabbed Manning following the pie-throwing incident.
Kelly pointed to the simple assault statute as it is written and said based on his conversations with the governor's office, the mayor, witnesses, and police, the evidence did not support the assault charges.
Douglas would have had to have suffered an injury, or Manning would have had to have had the intention of putting "fear of imminent serious bod-ily injury" to be charged with simple assault, according to Vermont law.
"The bottom line is, the evidence doesn't support a simple assault charge," Kelly said.
Douglas' spokesman Jason Gibbs said the Governor is not upset that Manning wasn't being charged with simple assault.
"We defer to the prosecutor, and we have every confidence that he will take the best and most appropriate course," Gibbs said.
Kelly declined to comment further, because the charge is pending and the defendant has not been found guilty.
According to court records, Manning waived his Miranda rights after his arrest and told police he threw the pie because he disagreed with Douglas' policies. Manning said he feels Douglas' pro-business agenda is driving Manning out of the state, court records say, and that he thought Douglas was offering corporate welfare to Vermont Yankee.
Manning also told police he thought it would be funny to throw a pie in Douglas' face, court records say.
Manning's father, Scott Manning, was at the courthouse on Thursday.
"I'm proud of my son for standing up for his values," Scott Manning said.
Matthew is an eighth-generation Vermonter who grew up on Scragg Mountain in Northfield, Scott Manning said, adding that the family always has been politically minded and focused on public issues.
"Our family has always been at the heartbeat of what's going on," Scott Manning said.
He added that his son previously has been in only minor scrapes with the law, which resulted in two court diversions, though he declined to divulge what those offenses were.
Matthew Manning declined to comment. He was released on conditions.
Deorsha McDade was one of about 12 people who attended the proceeding to show support for Manning. The 35-year-old Montpelier resident said he has been friends with Manning for about four years.
McDade said Manning threw the pie mostly because his friend was upset Douglas vetoed a bill in the last legislative session that was designed to make sure Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, and its parent company Entergy, has enough money to decommission and clean up the plant if it was shut down.
The group outside the courthouse sang the melody of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" with lyrics that included: "Our governor gets, a pie in the eye/He better not cry, I'm telling you why … Santa Claus is protesting now. He sees you when you veto/He knows you make us pay/For cleaning up the nuclear plant/that's not good for goodness sake!"
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