Trial Begins In Tea Party Blackmail Case
Tea party leader’s blackmail trial begins in Oklahoma County District Court
by Nolan Clay
Update: A jury of eight women and four men was chosen Monday for Sooner Tea Party leader Al Gerhart’s blackmail trial.
Jury selection began Monday in the unusual blackmail trial of Sooner Tea Party leader Al Gerhart.
The case is unusual because Gerhart, a carpenter, admits he sent a threatening email to a state senator last year in an effort to get legislation passed.
At issue is whether what he did is illegal. He claims that what he did is constitutionally protected free speech and that it is comparable to the political pressuring that goes on all the time at the Oklahoma Capitol.
The trial in Oklahoma County District Court is expected to last three or four days.
Gerhart’s attorneys have subpoenaed some state legislators to be defense witnesses.