PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — By her very own public admission, Jamila Levasseur of Waldo, Maine, confesses that she violated the law during an anti-Israel protest – by blocking traffic – and dismissed the potential of catastrophe by describing the blockage as a “minor inconvenience.”
The retired nurse composed these words for an op-ed that The Press Herald of Portland, Maine, recently published.
This “inconvenience” in Portland on May 21 follows a pattern of “inconvenience(s)” nationwide where anti-Israel activists have blocked the Brooklyn Bridge and a Los Angeles freeway, seized buildings and offices at Columbia University, attacked janitors and security guards, installed illegal encampments and harassed Jewish students, among other criminal offenses.
It took more than an hour, but Portland police arrested Levasseur and other activists for blocking traffic on Commercial Street. Suppose Levasseur contests the charges, or she confronts a judge who frowns upon a defendant who is cavalier about her acts.
The former seems unlikely, but the latter might enrage the judge. He might warn Levasseur that her attitude could influence his sentence: prison or fines and probation.
Would she trade her principles for a light sentence?
That kind of choice could alter anyone’s perspective. When they stand before a judge, serial killers morph into choir boys. Most defendants are on their best behavior during sentencing.
If she appears before a strict judge, how would Levasseur respond? Would she stand by her principles, or would she be remorseful?
She put it in writing that, to aid the Palestinians in Gaza, she did nothing seriously wrong. Her words were published on the opinion page of southern Maine’s largest daily newspaper.
She will violate journalistic ethics if she retracts her statement in return for a lighter sentence. It does not matter that she is not a professional journalist.
It is my wishful thinking that Levasseur, who says she is Jewish and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, appears before a judge who will tell her: “Ms. Levasseur, I have before me a plea agreement with the prosecutor in which you confess to blocking traffic on Commercial Street on May 21 to, as you write in the Press Herald, ‘support the people of Gaza.’
“It is not my place to agree or disagree with your statement that you ‘chose this location because our federal government works hand in glove with Israel to carry out the genocide in Gaza.’ You have every right to voice your opinion, and I encourage you to continue with this course of action.
“You are smiling. I am pleased if it means that you are feeling better about yourself when you express your opinions.
“This agreement provides for six months of probation and a $500 fine, which I am taking under consideration.
“I do note this passage from your article in the Press Herald: ‘We chose to disrupt traffic because the media generally does not pay attention unless there are arrests. We got attention. Drivers experienced minor inconvenience. I experienced far longer waits from road construction while driving home the next day.’
In a slightly harsh tone, the judge adds: “You do not comprehend the gravity of what you did. You kept traffic at bay for more than an hour before police compelled you to move.
“Is it an inconvenience to block a police car on its way to a crime scene? What about an ambulance or a fire truck? Perhaps a motorist waiting in traffic suddenly has a heart attack. Who can know what is happening in any single vehicle stuck in traffic?
“You are endangering the lives of your neighbors, your fellow citizens. People could have died because of you. Clearly, you would rather perform for the cameras than keep your fellow Mainers safe.
“What surprises me is that you served as a nurse. Did you put media attention ahead of your duties as a nurse?
“I am not obligated to abide by this plea agreement. I can send you to prison, and I will do just that so long as you retain this flippant attitude over a life-threatening offense. Now, do you still think this blockade was a mere inconvenience?”
If Levasseur faces such a choice, I will be anxious to learn the outcome.
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Bruce S. Ticker is a Philadelphia-based columnist.