Columbia nature activist argues for justification defense in trail protest charge
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The attorney for a Columbia woman charged with trespassing during a 2019 protest wants a jury to consider whether her actions were justified.
Ben Faber, the attorney for nature activist Sutu Forte, asked Judge Kim Shaw to reconsider her decision to bar the defense from making a claim of justification at trial. Faber said Forte's actions in 2019 were meant to stop the "imminent" threat of harm to the area around the Hinkson Creek in east Columbia when the city built a trail.
Boone County prosecutors charged Forte, whose name is Susan Fourcade, with a misdemeanor count of trespassing in December 2019 for staying in a tree on city land. Forte took to the tree in November of that year near Bluffdale Drive to stop the city from building a trail from that area to Rollins Street. She claimed construction would irreparably harm the natural area and asked the city to consider a trail that did not disturb the land. Forte came down from the tree after a week.
Faber made an offer of proof in court Friday to allow a jury to consider justification as a defense. Judge Kim Shaw did not immediately make a ruling after the two-hour hearing.
A trial is set for Feb. 24. Forte said she appreciated having a day in court to discuss the ongoing issues around city development and climate change.
"It was a gift from the universe to allow us to be heard, to be seen," Forte said. "And that's really whether they vote me guilty or not, I don't care. What I care about is that our story is being told and it's being heard."
Missouri law allows for such defense when someone's actions are "necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent public or private injury which is about to occur." The situation must also be so grave that "the desirability of avoiding the injury outweighs the desirability of avoiding the injury sought to be prevented by the statute defining the offense charged."
Faber called two forestry professors to talk about the impact the trail's construction has and could have on the area. Dr. Jason Hubbart, a former MU hydrologist, said the loss of trees in the floodplain around the Hinkson Creek can cause more severe and frequent flooding. Trees work as "sponges" in a floodplain, he said, and help hold more water during heavy rains.
Dr. Charles Nilon, an urban forestry professor at MU, said the area developed also served as a unique habitat for animals in the city. The area was suitable for roosting of Indiana bats, an endangered species. The city had to remove the trees in the winter as to not potentially harm any bats that might roost there in other parts of the year.
Faber said Forte's protest tried to prevent the harm to the land.
"The route that someone would take to prevent that harm, the question is, is it justified?" Faber said. "And that's a question for the community, for a jury."
Assistant Boone County prosecutor Lindsay Henderson said changes the trail development could have on the area would not be seen immediately. She said Forte could have protested the development in several other ways rather than staying on the city's land.
The city purchased the land through eminent domain in early 2019. The Columbia City Council voted for the $2.8 million project a year prior after years of debate. The Parks and Recreation Department and bicycle and pedestrian groups said the trail would encourage more people to ditch driving in exchange for taking the trail system. Advocates with the group It's Our Wild Nature, including Forte, urged the city to avoid paving a trail through the area to preserve forested land in the city.
