911 protest on FOX NEWS- Geraldo Rivera

If you want to claim what he said was illegal, then you need to provide information about the law you think he broke.

Here is a start.. Slander..
False words, which damage another person's reputation or good character and are conveyed in a lasting manner, especially writing. See e.g. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964). See also defamation, slander.

Law link

Thus on national TV as a media reporter, he said thosands of people are into Restroom Gay sex... I think that is slander, on a grand scale..

Your move...

I am not a lawyer nor a law student. Law however for me is a bit of a hobby. I am not sure if Gerlado said anything that can be considered "illegal" however one MIGHT be able to make a an argument for slander, but it would be a bit of a stretch. For instance, and just off the top of my head now that I saw it for myself, this protest is pretty well documented in some circles. If someone were to make it known that he/she would be at this event, and they saw Geraldo's comments regarding "these people behind me know all about gay bathroom sex", and you can prove that someone associated his remarks with YOU and came to a conclusion based on those remarks that you were gay and it somehow caused you a level a distress. Then you MIGHT have a case.


In other words, as reprehensible as Geraldo's remarks are, I do not see much legal recourse. I am not even sure his remarks can compare to Imus's. He makes no mention of WHO the group is. In Imus's case, he was showing a clip of a basketball team and making remarks about THAT team and individuals on THAT team. In this case you do not even see a face of a protester.

Originally posted by zysin5
Thus on national TV as a media reporter, he said thosands of people are into Restroom Gay sex... I think that is slander, on a grand scale..

It says "a" person not a group of people.

That's like saying "New Yorkers are rude" and having 8 million people sue you for slander... that's not how it works.

Originally posted by djohnsto77

Originally posted by section8citizen

Private Property actually starts at the door.

No it doesn't it stops at the property line. The area Geraldo was in is a plaza that is part of the 1211 Avenue of the Americas building property.

So the sidewalk outside this plaza is considered what? Now keep in mind, the stage he is on is on the sidewalk and the protesters are in the street, there are people on the sidewalk, but I do not see anyone with a sign or anything to indicate they are more than spectators. The protesters are even standing next to a news van parked along the street. So where exactly is this private property?

Geraldo's "job" his entire adult life has been to create controversy in
order to increase a program/network's ratings. $$$ is the bottom line
and unfortunately, controversy sells. That is, it sells to some. I got
rid of my television in May 2004 because of all the empty hype and
commercialism. In hindsight, it's amazing how just a few hours in
front of that great time waster dimishes one's quality and quantity
of productive life.

The sidewalk is only a very narrow band around the property. Where they were was not the sidewalk, that building has a large plaza in front of it that is not the sidewalk, and the boundary is clearly market by little metal signs embedded into the perimeter. Of course you wouldn't be able to see those on TV.

reply to post by djohnsto77


Fair enough.. it was a shot tho.. And Im still working on the bugs.. Im by no way a law person.. lawful maybe, but sertinly no lawyer. so I was just trying to make due with my tools here at home...
Thanks for debating with me tonight! And we shall bunt heads agin very soon You win for now... Unless someone else wants to pick up where I left off...
But thanks 8 for your thoughts... That helps me understand a little better, and helps to make sure I dont come out sounding misinformed.. We live and learn..

reply to post by djohnsto77


I understand what you are saying, however the stage Geraldo is standing is located in the plaza. The sides of the stage are clearly marked off with barricades, and when you see the shot of the guest, no one is behind the set. When you see the face shots of Geraldo, the street is behind him. You can see the protesters in the street and Geraldo when addressing him looks behind him to the street. No one has crossed this "property line" but that still does not explain how you can clearly see the protesters in the street. So how is it trespassing if the street is public property?

After the fall of communism in Romania , the right to protest was one right we gained here. We remember the times before 1990 and nobody dares to stop demonstrations or they are immediately called "communists" and so on

reply to post by zysin5


The Sullivan case, as I read it, applies primarily to public officials who claim to have been defamed. As such, the burden of proof, vis-a-vis the damage wrought by the alleged statements, is much more stringent.

In other words, it is far, far easier for a newspaper (or a TV network representative) to slander a private citizen than a "public" figure.


As to the identification of individuals within a defamed group; since the "standard of defamation" is generally held to be lower for ostensibly "private" (ie/: not public officials) individuals. it may not be too difficult for anyone so derided to bring suit.

At any rate, I'm sure that Fox was not the only news service covering this event. And I'm also pretty sure that other "on-the-ground" coverage included video and/or photographic evidence which could be utilized as supportive documentation of a defamed individual's presence in the identified group.

reply to post by pai mei


AMEN!!!

Bottom line here is no one should be arrested. What we saw was a "Peaceful Assembly" which is your right as provided by the First Amendment. Why we are even discussing the legality of this protest is amazing to me in and of itself.

Well here's what someone who actually was there said:

Originally posted by StreetCorner Philosopher
I JUST GOT BACK. I was there and Alex Jones got himself arrested today when he grabbed the bullhorn and ambushed Geraldo's show. I could not believe how far Alex went. At one point he climbed a wall, grabbed onto a branch on a tree, grabbed his bullhorn and called Geraldo and the other anchors fake people who sold their souls ! What a job he did today, but he's in a cell right now, hopefully he has a good lawyer.

So while perhaps not all of the protesters had trespassed, at least this one did. He was the only one arrested so it is possible he was the only one who trespassed. It is difficult to tell from the video.

Anyway, it really wasn't a big deal. Geraldo will probably think twice about doing live shows in the plaza and AJ will probably just get a small fine.

And for the record, I don't like Geraldo either! But I do like FOX News in general.

Originally posted by Bhadhidar


At any rate, I'm sure that Fox was not the only news service covering this event. And I'm also pretty sure that other "on-the-ground" coverage included video and/or photographic evidence which could be utilized as supportive documentation of a defamed individual's presence in the identified group.

That is a very good point that I did not consider.

Originally posted by Bhadhidar
At any rate, I'm sure that Fox was not the only news service covering this event.

Was there an event?

From what I gather the only event was that these people came for the sole reason of disrupting and getting airtime on Geraldo's show.

[edit on 9/9/2007 by djohnsto77]

reply to post by djohnsto77


Alex was not the only one arrested. Infowars names two people from WeAreChange as well and I have seen a few postings on 911Houston (I think it is called) asking people to contact them if they think someone they know has been arrested or needs information about someone they think may have been arrested.

Originally posted by djohnsto77

Originally posted by Bhadhidar
At any rate, I'm sure that Fox was not the only news service covering this event.

Was there an event?

From what I gather the only event was that these people came for the sole reason of disrupting and getting airtime on Geraldo's show.

[edit on 9/9/2007 by djohnsto77]

I believe there is an event all weekend in NYC for 911 Truth with the big happenings on the 11th. That is the impression I have been under anyway.

Originally posted by section8citizen
I believe there is an event all weekend in NYC for 911 Truth with the big happenings on the 11th. That is the impression I have been under anyway.

Well I'm in Manhattan and I haven't seen any protesters yet.

I'm 100% sure the only reason they were at that area at that time was because Geraldo was doing his show live outside in the plaza.

So far I have found two events scheduled in the state of NY. One in Woodstock, the other was at Cooper Union at 7th street and 3rd ave. I do not know where that is in relation to Geraldo's set in the plaza, could you shed some light into this? The events is called 9/11 Truth: Ready For Mainstream Weekend and you can find the info archived on the 911truth site. Look under calender. It is worth mentioning that the event was scheduled for 1pm and it is clearly night time in the replay I saw.

I will keep digging and see if any other events are taking place and I will post my findings.

update: Events will be going on all weekend in NYC apparently leading up to the big event on the 11th. Expect more today (Sunday) as well. I would assume the protesters from tonight were probably left over from the earlier event. They have speakers and discussions and all types of things going on. It still though seems like a very long time to be in the area considering the start time of the event. However, it is still their right to be there and protest regardless.

[edit on 9/9/2007 by section8citizen]

[edit on 9/9/2007 by section8citizen]

Originally posted by section8citizen
So far I have found two events scheduled in the state of NY. One in Woodstock, the other was at Cooper Union at 7th street and 3rd ave.

Woodstock is a city about 100 miles north or so.

7th St and 3rd Ave are no where near the FOX News studios either. FOX is located at 1211 Avenue of the Americas (aka 6th Ave) between 47th and 48th Sts.

This wouldn't be the first time FOX was targeted. During the Republican Convention in 2004 an amazingly enlightened group of people held what they called a "shut up a thon" in front of FOX to try to force them to shut down.