THE MORNING NEWS, ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, Octobr 23, 1997

Rainbow Family members found guilty

By KAREN CARPENEDO
Staff writer

A federal judge in Erie on Wednesday found two defendants in violation of a regulation requiring a permit to assemble in national forests.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Trucilla, who prosecuted the case, U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter issued her verdict about 6:15 pm Wednesday after a two-day trial

The judge found William Baxter, 49, of Hedgesville, W.Va., and Joseph MacCrimmon, 49, of Arcata, Calit, in violation of a regulation requiring groups of 75 people or more who gather in national forests to obtain a noncommercial group use: permit.

Defendant Baxter and Judge; Baxter are not related

Judge Baxter ordered the two: men to pay fines of $50 each, Trucilla la said

The defendants were cited for assembling without a permit in Allegheny National Forest during a weeklong Rainbow Family gathering in August and September 1996.

Both defendants denied that the Rainbow Family is an organization, .so they are not "members."

Trucilla said the judge's decision is more far-reaching than the amount the fine might imply.

"The object was to get a judgment, supported by the facts, that would uphold the regulation, to ensure its enforcement," he said today.

Stephen Misko MacCrimmon's attorney, said today that his client was disappointed with the verdict.

The regulations restrict basic conconstitutional rights, Misko said.

"They're restricting our right to go on public lands and express religious views, and assemble," he said, "That's the threat."

And the Rainbow Family is not a defined group, he said People who don't know each other typically just show up at gatherings.

"Rainbow is more of a concept rather than a tangible item," he I said

The defendants were cited for assembling without a permit in Allegheny National during a weeklong Rainbow Family gathering in August and September 1996.

Both defendants denied that the Rainbow Family is an organization, so they are not "members."

Trucilla said the judge's decision is more far-reaching than the amount the fine might imply.

"The object was to get a judgement, supported by the facts, that would uphold the regulation, to ensure its enforcement," he said today.

Stephen Misko, MacCrimmon's attorney, said today that his client was disappointed with the verdict.

The regulations restrict basic constitutional rights, Misko said

"They're restricting our right to go on public lands and express religious views, and assemble," he said "That's the threat."

And the Rainbow Family is not a defined group, he said People who don't know each other typically just show up at gatherings.

"Rainbow is more of a concept rather than a tangible item," he said.

Misko said the two defendants planned to meet today with Baxter's attorney, Khadija Diggs, to discuss the possibility of an appeal

Under direct examination by Trucilla Wednesday, Steve Burd, a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer assigned to the Allegheny Naffonal Forest, testified that forest service officials, at the time Rainbow Family participants apparently were starting to gather at the forest, found information about the gathering on a Rainbow Family Web page on the Internet The Web page referred people to Bill Baxter for specific information on the site