Convictions Upheld In Forest Incident

Fri., Jan. 28, 2000

A U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld the convictions and sentenc- ing of nine people convicted of illegally obstructing logging operations.

Moscow residents Zachery Griefen, 29, Michael Bowersox, 36, Rachael Warms, 32, and Sean Gale, 29, along with Forrest Gray, 22, of Clintwood, Va., were convicted of violating an order that closed a 300-foot strip of land in the CoveMallard area in July 1996.

They appealed the convictions, saying the closure order violated their right to free speech, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, according to a press release by the U.S. attorney’s office.

Four others, Gregory Mack, 30, of Fort Washington, Md., Gordon Gatewood, 27, of Boise, Marcus Baker, 24, of Yonkers, N.Y., and Kristin Gustafson, 30, of Boise, were convicted of maintaining an unauthorized structure in a national forest and interfering with a Forest Service road.

Their appeals also were denied by the appeals court.

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