Sunday Fun – Let There Be Light

We’ve all enjoyed the Bribe & Emoluments Light Show that artist Robin Bell projected onto the Trump Hotel in Washington, DC this past week.  But in case you missed it, a quick review

While it's great to know where to send the Bribes – the Bigger Question we have is: Where do we send all the upcoming subpoenas?

And Mr. Bell's own Tweet of it as a video:

Projections of #EmolumentsWelcome at Trump Hotel in Washington, DC 5-15-17 #resist pic.twitter.com/8gkucztYOm

— robin bell (@bellvisuals) May 16, 2017

This is not the first time Artist Bell has entertained the public with a creative political light show message for the masses.  In fact Bell is so dedicated that he has designed a specially-equipped van from which he projects his light shows, after creating them with Photoshop and his projection-mapping software.

And so happens there actually was a more recent one involving Attorney General Sessions – “Sessions Must Go” – at DOJ)

 

NOTE:  You have to click on the little movie projector icon, and then click to run the video below]

#SessionsMustGo projecting now at the DOJ. #fireSessions #WeNeedToSeeTheMemo ? https://t.co/pEuQBmvE0N

— robin bell (@bellvisuals) May 19, 2017

The Bribe-Emoluments light show at the Trump Hotel lasted just about 10 minutes before security personnel from the hotel asked him to quit.  And when he didn’t, they physically moved to stand in front of the projection, blocking it.  But I was wondering if Bell’s provocative and creative light shows are legal.  Could he be charged with criminal trespassing?

You may remember it was just a week ago that reporter Dan Heyman was arrest for “willful disruption of government processes.”  Heyman tried to ask Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price a question about how the GOP AHCA would impact victims of domestic violence.  The criminal complaint accused him of a misdemeanor — “willful disruption of governmental processes” — and said he was “aggressively breaching the secret service agents.”

So there is clearly a legitimate concern by the media if Trump thugs trying to shut down the press’ First Amendment rights. 

Fortunately for Mr. Bell to the question of criminal trespassing charges, the answer is “Probably not.”

Looking into it, there actually is case law addressing this issue: Int'l Union of Painters & Allied Trades Dist. Council 15 Local 159 v. Great Wash Park, LLC.

The court ruled that while the union had no First Amendment right or labor law right to project a message onto an employer’s wall, it also held that the projection itself is not against the law.

Trespassing cases generally revolve around if there were “invasion of land through a physical, tangible object” – or torts “when intangible matter, such as particles emanating from a manufacturing plant, cause actual and/or substantial damage to the [property].”

But virtually all “light trespass” cases involved ambient light “leaking or diffusing” onto private property – like from construction lighting or drive-in movie theater.

But a projected light show is designed to send a specific message, so it could not be considered “ambient”.  But the court ruled that unless a light show lasted an excessively long time, or happened to shine into the room of a paying guest – it would not meet the criteria of criminal trespassing.

However, it would most likely reach the standards for a tort of nuisance. 

But Mr. Bell proudly has announced that other light shows will continue to follow.

Seems appropriate to end with a message from our own creative Light Brigade last winter in Madison, WI: