United States v. Esther Cassidy, John Schuchardt

Defendants were convicted of depredation of government property in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1361 when they threw or poured blood and ashes on the walls and ceiling of the Pentagon in the course of a demonstration against the design and possession of nuclear weapons. They appeal, contending that the district court erroneously limited their defense and that the district court prejudicially interfered with their trial. We affirm.

Defendants sought to justify the acts for which they were convicted on the ground that they constituted a necessary defense to illegal possession by the United States of…