GLITTER BOMBING IS PROBALY ILLEGAL IN ARIZONA: CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS

The other day Mitt Romney was “glitter bombed” in Florida. Like a true politician, he told the audience that the glitter was thrown to celebrate his recent win on Tuesday.

As a criminal defense attorney, I am surprised that the protester hasn’t been arrested for his actions. The gentleman who throws the glitter has a general beef with Republican immigration policies. I generally agree with the glitter-thrower, but in Arizona, a touching with the intent to insult or provoke is a crime.

I suppose that you could make the argument that glitter is so light that it isn’t actually the same as touching a person. I disagree. You could make the same argument for throwing flour or sawdust. The net effect is that the substance is thrown to insult the person’s position or to provoke them in some way.

You could also make the argument that the person isn’t touching Romney because it is thrown. There is no physical skin to skin contact. But in Arizona, if you throw a rock at someone’s head, you can’t later argue that you shouldn’t be charged with assault because your skin didn’t touch the victim’s. I would like to meet the criminal defense attorneys who would make that argument before a Maricopa County jury.

So keep this in mind, glitter bomber, if you try your act in Arizona, you will probably be arrested and charged with a class one misdemeanor. If our old Senate President was still around, you would probably be sent to a secure facility where unspeakable thing s are done. So be careful.

Criminal defense attorney Nick Alcock.