03/23/2006
TRENTON -- Edward Robert Forchion, the "Weedman," had a chance to wiggle off the hook of law enforcement yesterday and go back to his new home in California a free man.

But he refused. And now he??s still in the clutches of the law.

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Facing charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct as the result of a May 11, 2005, disagreement with State Trooper Robert Rasinski at the main entrance to the New Jersey State House, Forchion was all set to go to trial yesterday before Trenton Municipal Judge Lawson R. McElroy.

Forchion said his lawyer, Lee Wearing, was offered a deal prior to the trial??s start.

Assistant Municipal Prosecutor Bertha L. Scott offered to drop the state charges, if Weedman would plead guilty to a violation of the city nuisance ordinance, and pay a small fine.

Then Forchion could take his tractor-trailer and go back home to California, to which he??d moved recently to start a new (and legal) marijuana-intense life.

"I told them no," said Forchion. "I told them I hadn??t done anything wrong, and that I wanted to go to trial."

So to trial they went.

The contentions are fairly simple: Last summer, the Weedman was a candidate for governor, and he said he??d show up at the State House, resplendent in his duds -- "I Love My Country," his shirt yesterday said, "But I Fear My Government" -- and distribute his press releases along press row.

But that day, Forchion testified, he was stopped by Rasinski at the main entrance off West State Street, and told he needed an appointment to get into the State House. Which had never happened before.

Rasinski testified he??d advised the defendant that "the public was not allowed to roam freely around the State House, that he??d have to make an appointment ... and he became very boisterous, and demanded to be allowed in, that this was a violation of his rights.

"He tried to bypass me; I told him to stop. He said, ??You??re going to have to arrest me,?? and became loud and disruptive. He said, ??I don??t need an appointment with anyone; I??m allowed to go up there -- it??s my right!??"

After Weedman was in handcuffs, Rasinski said, "he lunged toward me, striking me in my left shoulder, and I had to get assistance from another trooper to take him into custody."

Forchion testified it was "ridiculous" that he would lunge at the armed trooper while in handcuffs, and denied that.

He said he??s been pamphleting press row for 10 years, and he??d been allowed up there 30 times without interference or harassment.

He charged Rasinski "told me to get on the ground, and I told him ??No.?? He attempted to do a leg sweep, kicking through to knock me off my feet, but he just kicked me. I stepped back. He couldn??t knock me down, because he wasn??t big enough. This was just a way to humiliate me and abuse his power.

"After he kicked me, I did start yelling," Forchion testified. "He grabbed my neck and hair. Another trooper ran up and kicked me good in the groin, and I went down -- and they pulled me back up!

"Three or four other officers hurried over, and said, ??What??d you do, Weedman??? and I said, ??He flipped out, lost his mind over my shirt!?? "

And so it went, until at 3 p.m., Judge McElroy made a continuation of the trial until mid-May.

Weedman??s witness list contains the names of two state troopers and a woman clerk at the State House entrance, along with two reporters, including The Trentonian??s Charles Webster.

Meanwhile, on March 28, Forchion goes to court in Mount Holly on charges of refusing to pay child support.


Yea.... a lot of good you're doing for the fight against prohibition by refusing to cooperate...or support your child