She continued to ask the officers why she was being arrested ( charges were criminal mischief and making graffiti)... the answer is self evident Ms. Elthaway, it is called Vandalism and it is a crime in the state of New York.
Vandalism is the the willful destruction or defacing of property. In New York State, it is considered criminal mischief and classified according to degree. Graffiti is also specifically addressed in a similar fashion. The New York State criminal justice system does not assign sentences to classes of crimes but rather ranges that are applied based on the criminal history of the offender. In addition to the state laws, New York City also prohibits graffiti and other defacement of property.
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The complaints from liberals about the ads and the excuse they use to support Elthaway and her ilk, seems to stem from the reference to Jihad as "savage."
Jihad: a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty
The ad is not calling Islam savage, it is calling Jihad, a "holy war", perpetuated by a segment of believers that participate in that war, savage.
The posters were put up in the city by the anti-Muslim American Freedom Defense Initiative, led by Pam Geller. They were approved by a US court, which ruled that they were "political" statements and protected by the first amendment, which guarantees free speech.
Geller makes a point about the reaction from Liberals, who are encouraging and deliberately inciting others to vandalize the ads, and the complete silence from those same people about previously posted anti-Israel ads.
The vandalism against over half of our ads validates the message. Hundreds and hundreds of anti-Israel posters ran all over the country. Not one was defaced. One anti-jihad poster goes up, and it's criminally defaced within an hour, while its creator faces defamation, smears and libel. Mona Eltahawy, a Muslim writer who was herself assaulted in Egypt by people she called "beasts" took a can of spray paint to our ad and assaulted a pro-freedom blogger, Pamela Hall, who tried to stop her. This is a physical manifestation of the way the entire conversation, or lack thereof, always goes: anyone who speaks about jihad and sharia is attacked, defamed, destroyed -- just like these ads. This is exactly what’s happening in the media regarding jihad coverage in general. Anti-American, anti-Israel, pro-sharia hate is all over the airwaves, but anyone who dares to speak the truth about Islam and jihad in the media is immediately smeared and defamed. You can't have this conversation in the media, any more than I can present these pro-Israel ads, and receive any semblance of fair treatment.
Pamela Hall writes the Vigilant Squirrel Brigade blog and has been documenting the reactions to the anti-Jihad savage ads since their debut.
Mona Elthaway spent the night in jail, where criminals that vandalize property, belong.