Tim DeChristopher's official statement at his sentencing hearing (Bidder 70 trial)

So one of my friends brought this to my attention, i had not previously heard about this trial, nothing, not a thing about it. What it is, is an American Citizen, exercizing peaceful civil disobedience. Purposefully trying to derail an illegal sale of public land from the outgoing Bush administration to private oil and gas developers.

The Story

The land Parcels being Auctioned

Tims Official Statement

It is a lengthy statement he gave to the court, very concise and literate. Personally im thanking his mother for showing him through her actions that you dont have to just roll over and take an injustice. If you have the time to read up on this story, please do. Personally I do not know much about this case, i am still in the process of sorting through much of it. So any additional facts or insights into this case would be very much appreciated.

Some of my favorite parts of his statement are

When I first met Mr. Manross, the sentencing officer who prepared the pre-sentence report, he explained that it was essentially his job to “get to know me.” He said he had to get to know who I really was and why I did what I did in order to decide what kind of sentence was appropriate. I was struck by the fact that he was the first person in this courthouse to call me by my first name, or even really look me in the eye. I appreciate this opportunity to speak openly to you for the first time. I’m not here asking for your mercy, but I am here asking that you know me.

Get to know ME as a person, not what the prosecution has try to lead you to believe

Rather than the job of getting to know me, it seems Mr Huber prefers the job of fitting me into whatever extreme characterization is most politically expedient at the moment.

In nearly every paragraph, the government’s memorandum uses the words lie, lied, lying, liar. It makes me want to thank whatever clerk edited out the words “pants on fire.”

I didn’t let the jury know that the auction was later reversed because it was illegitimate in the first place. To this day I still think I should have had the right to do so, but disagreement with the law should not be confused with disrespect for the law.

My public statements about jury nullification were not the only political statements that Mr Huber thinks I should be punished for. As the government’s memorandum points out, I have also made public statements about the value of civil disobedience in bringing the rule of law closer to our shared sense of justice.

When a corrupted government is no longer willing to uphold the rule of law, I advocate that citizens step up to that responsibility.

This is really the heart of what this case is about. The rule of law is dependent upon a government that is willing to abide by the law. Disrespect for the rule of law begins when the government believes itself and its corporate sponsors to be above the law

Until our leaders take seriously their responsibility to pass on a healthy and just world to the next generation, I will continue this fight.

The authority of the government exists to the degree that the rule of law reflects the higher moral code of the citizens, and throughout American history, it has been civil disobedience that has bound them together.

I am here today because I have chosen to protect the people locked out of the system over the profits of the corporations running the system. I say this not because I want your mercy, but because I want you to join me.

I first heard about this in December and have been reading up on it, on and off. This guy is the perfect example of what we need in the States. Civil disobedience at its finest.

reply to post by RicketyCricket


He's facing ten years but I haven't found anything if he's been sentenced yet. For practicing peaceful protests and throwing a cog into the machine......

Great story OP! I had not heard of this case either. I will be researching this tonight. Interesting how MSM doesn't report on this???

I live in Moab, UT and this guy deserves every minute of prison time he gets.

reply to post by Elostone


This was not "an illegal auction". It was an auction for oil and gas exploration. It was open to anyone qualified, with experience in that industry.
What this guy did was produce fake evidence that he was qualified to perform exploration. He then proceeded to bid on several parcels that, even if he were qualified, could not afford. He bid up many parcels way over value.
This is akin to a person going to an auction at Christies exclusively for museums and bidding a billion dollars for a million dollar Picasso when he does not have 1000 dollars to his name.
I know several people who were at that very auction that were legitimate bidders. They are not GW Bush or anyone like that. They are hard working people trying to make a living like the rest of us.
As a result of this Eco terrorist, all bids and sales were cancelled. Many people that would have gone to work on those parcels were out of work as a result of this guys shenannigans.
Because of the way this fool went about things, no enviro group wanted anything to do with him or his case/defense.
I have no sympathy for him whatsoever .

reply to post by Elostone


Sir/ma'am can you please elaborate on why you feel he deserves his prison time? Do you work for BLM? or are you connected to the prosecution in anyway? Or do you feel that land grabs are ok regardless of the legalities of it? Please, one line post of he deserves it are counter productive. Please and thank-you :-)

I don't work for the BLM nor the prosecution and this was not a "land grab". I am simply someone from the area that is familiar with the case.
Where do you live and how did you hear about this?

reply to post by Elostone


Disregard last post. He was trying to protect land and the environment, I would not equate him throwing a monkey wrench into the works as him being an eco terrorist. He did not intend to strike fear or terror into anyone, he caused no physical harm on anyone. He didn't plants explosives, or anything terror related. A misrepresentation of ones self is not terrorism, flat out he was delaying the auction, furthermore the parcels of land he was bidding on were valued at 150$ or so. So no, eco terrorist does not apply here. Lobbyists, corporations,and their ilk destroying wild life and land, causing future generations to fear for their health, safety and environment are the real terrorists

reply to post by itbenickp


I am sorry you are mis informed, IMO
That land indeed was valued at $150. He overbid it by thousands.
We aren't talking lobbyists, etc that he harmed we are talking honest, hardworking folks like you and I.
He damaged the economy in this area. And in spite of what you think you may know about the wildlife/land here, what this person did was far, far worse.

reply to post by Elostone


I'm still doing some research on it, and most of what I have found so far hasn't much mentioned the economic impact, if you could throw some links my way I would appreciate it.