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Man who refused to show ID at Albuquerque airport acquitted
After an hour of deliberation Friday evening, a Bernalillo County, New Mexico jury found Phil Mocek not guilty of all four charges he faced after refusing to show his ID and using a video recorder at a TSA checkpoint in 2009. If you're keeping score at home, that's Mocek: 1, TSA: 0.
According to Edward Hasbrouck of the Identity Project, Mocek did not testify, and the defense rested on Friday without calling any witnesses or presenting any evidence. Hasbrouck attended the trial; he writes:
"The jury found that even without rebuttal, the TSA and Albuquerque police had failed to satisfy their burden of proving any of the four charges: concealing his identity, refusing to obey a lawful order (it was never entirely clear whether this was supposed to have been an order to turn off his camera, an order to leave the airport despite having a valid ticket, or an order to show ID, none of which would have been lawful orders), trespassing, and disorderly conduct."