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Underwear in Public Not Indecent, Court Says |
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| USA: August 31, 2004 | ||
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Wearing underwear and nothing else in public does not constitute indecency, a Massachusetts court declared as it tossed out charges against six animal rights protesters.
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Members of the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were arrested and charged with indecency and disturbing the peace after a chilly rally in March near Harvard University where they stripped to their skivvies and staged a nearly naked pillow fight to protest against fur. Six months and three court dates later, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, judge threw out the indecency charges against all six PETA members. All but one of the protesters - PETA Vice President Dan Mathews - were also cleared of disturbing the peace. Mathews was ordered to pay a $300 fine. Mathews told Reuters he was relieved that the indecent exposure charges were dismissed, noting that a conviction on such a charge would have forced him and the other demonstrators to register as sex offenders in Massachusetts.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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