Gulf War 1 Conscientious Objector arrested for Free Speech in Ohio Library
by Susan Galleymore
Gulf War 1 Conscientious Objector arrested for Free Speech in Ohio Library
On June 5, 2007 Tim Coil was found guilty
The Coils are appealing.
July Update |What happened? | Send a letter | Contact information | The Coils' Situation
Tim Coil was found guilty June 5, 2007. Read the judge's findings (pdf). In summary, Tim was banned from the Stow Monroe Falls Public Library for 2 years and ordered to pay a $100 fine and all court costs. Yvette Coil states, "To understand what the judges decision was based upon please read the attached file and kindly explain it to me. No, seriously, it makes no sense and apparently there is no such thing as justice in the Cuyahoga Falls Municipal court. Obviously we are appealing." Appeal date is set for July 27 (Friday) at 8:30 AM at the Cuyahoga Falls Municipal courthouse. All that can attend are encouraged to do so and we are very grateful for whatever you can do. Tim has spoken with every website, newspaper, radio and television source that has asked as well as some who he himself has approached. We have spoken with our representatives also. We are very open to any other ideas anyone has, please send them to Yvette Coil at coilptsd@gmail.com.
The Coils still welcome contributions toward Tim's defense. Find the address below and thank you!My husband, Tim, and I, Yvette Coil, went to the Stow Monroe Falls library in Stow, Ohio. An hour after we arrived two uniformed military recruiters arrived and proceed to recruit a young man.
I wrote messages on 3X5 note cards such as, "There is no honor in fighting for a lying President," and "Recruiters you are 'fighting' for my Freedom of Speech too." Then I put them on the outside the window of the room in which the recruiters were working.
One of the recruiters angrily removed my cards and asked me who had put them there. I told I had done it. He asked for my name. My husband asked him if he was trying to deny us our First Amendment rights. The recruiter became more angry and took our cards to the library director.
The director, Mr. Dotterer, came over and said that this is his library and we are not allowed to do that. We asked him if he was trying to keep us from exercising our First Amendement rights. He said again that this is his library and his rules. We reminded him that we are tax payers who pay his salary and who fund the library. He told us we could not put anything anywhere in the library where it would upset anyone. I asked if that also applied to library books. He didn't answer that but repeated his request that we not put up any more cards then he walked away.
Twenty minutes later Mr. Dotterer returned with the police. They questioned us about putting the cards in the window and I told them I had done so. When they asked for our IDs, we asked if we were being arrested. They told us we were not and we responded that we wouldn't give our ID's unless we were being arrested. Then they said they wanted our SSNs and we asked, again, if we were being arrested. They said we were not. When we asked if they were trying to prevent us from exercising our First Amendment rights, they did not answer.
When the police asked us to leave we did so. On our way out my husband said "Don't recruit in the library."
At that point, the police officers arrested my husband for Disorderly Conduct Misdemeanor 4, which carries a 30-day jail sentence and a fine. Tim is a Gulf War 1 veteran and a conscientious objector.who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Jail would compromise his mental health. Nevertheless, he is willing to go jail based on the principle that no one can deny a citizen, especially a law abiding veteran, his or her First Amendment rights.
We went to pre-trial on April 30, 2007. The prosecutor would not drop or reduce the charges. Our next court date of June 5, 2007.
Stow Monroe Falls Library Director, Mr. Dotterer
As library director you know that libraries around the country are tax-payer funded public institutions. You know that your salary is tax-payer funded too. You also know that libraries are havens for freedom of speech which is defended in the U.S.Constitution. Your calling the police on tax-paying patrons who were not violent, but peacefully expressing dissatisfaction with the military's ability to recruit in the library, was inappropriate. Police, as you know, are public servants whose job includes defending and protecting citizens and upholding our Constitution. When you called the police on the Coils you set in motion a series of events that violated the Coils' right to Freedom of Speech, led to the arrest of a law-abiding war veteran and citizen, and may land that war veteran and citizen in jail -- all at tax-payers' expense. The ensuing arrest and court case is a waste of taxpayers money. I urge you regain the integrity of the Stow Monroe Falls Library and resolve this case in a manner that drops all charges, fines, and court cost libility from Tim Coil.
Signed: ______________________________, "a __(fill in the blank -- husband, wife, spouse, mate, child, or friend) of a veteran"
Stow Monroe Falls Library Director, Mr. Dotterer
Stow, Ohio.
330-688-3295
ghostrider44224@yahoo.com
Library president of the board of trustees:
Mike Walsh
cmichaelwalsh@hotmail.com
Yvette Coil
coilptsd@gmail.com
We have to raise $5,000 to cover legal fees. Tim and I are on a fixed income. Tim is a Gulf War 1 vet and a conscientious objector. He receives a social security disability and is in the process of having his ratings evaluation for a PTSD diagnosis from the Veterans Admin. I am a full-time student at Kent State University studying Conflict Management with plans to open a non-profit organization for spouses and family members of veterans with PTSD.
Since Tim has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from Gulf War 1 as well as social anxieties and he might find it difficult to talk about our situation but I am always willing to talk. Please email me first at coilptsd@gmail.com and I'll give you our phone number. Our mailing address is:
Tim and Yvette Coil
PO Box 732
Hudson, OH 44236