Activist Tim DeChristopher to be Released From Jail

Written by Mat McDermott

Tim DeChristopher, jailed for the past 18 months for disrupting federal oil and gas exploration auctions, has been released from prison. The remaining six months of his sentence to be served at a halfway house in Salt Lake City, the Deseret News reports.

On its Facebook page, Peaceful Uprising, the activist group DeChristopher founded, has said:

Obviously his friends, his family, his community is excited to have him back here in a halfway home, but we are going to respect whatever time he needs. We will honor that he is still serving time until April 2013.

DeChristopher will be transferred from Herlong Federal Prison in California to the halfway house on October 24. Once there, reports say he will be employed at a Unitarian Church under a work-release program.

If you’re not up to speed on Tim’s saga, here’s the nutshell version:

In 2008 DeChristopher entered a federal oil and gas exploration lease auction. Assuming he was an industry bidder he was authorized to bid on leases. He won several, for which he, at the time, had no money to pay for—before anyone figured out that he was an activist. Afterwards he raised the money to pay for the leases, but the US government refused to accept payment. Eventually the whole auction was declared invalid, but DeChristopher was charged with misrepresenting himself at the auction. At trial the jury was not allowed to consider that the auction itself was invalidated or that the government refused to accept payment for the parcels won. Tim was convicted, appealed, and was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

This post was originally published by TreeHugger.

Prison Officials Isolate Enviro-Activist Tim DeChristopher

Activist Tim DeChristopher Convicted of Two Felonies

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Carrie-Anne B.

8:56AM PDT on Oct 15, 2012

thanks for sharing :)

October 15
send a green star

Deborah F.

10:40AM PDT on Oct 10, 2012

Thanks.

October 10
send a green star

Elsie H.

2:12AM PDT on Oct 10, 2012

Thats how it is - the good guys are locked away....................

Spirit S.

12:35AM PDT on Oct 10, 2012

Thank you for keeping us updated

John B.

9:09PM PDT on Oct 9, 2012

Thanks For providing the update. Tim should be awarded a medal for his actions.

October 9
send a green star

Liliana G.

7:03PM PDT on Oct 9, 2012

Tim deserves the respect from all people but the convenience of jailing people to protect BIG MONEY is out of hand in USA. It's just like eating pie. Jails in themselves are a big industry so BIG MONEY's win is twofold. In jail, FEDERAL jail, people are submitted to all kind of indignities through repeated and needless body searches. I know because I spent four days in a federal jail in Puerto Rico for trespassing the Navy's shooting range in Vieques as part of a massive civil disobediende campaign. It was finally closed down in 2003. Again, my respects for Tim.

joan w.

6:45PM PDT on Oct 9, 2012

Great news, about time !! He did,'t deserve this !

Charles P.

5:29PM PDT on Oct 9, 2012

And, MONEYR wins again. Our own stinkin government screws us over and over, even with B.O. in the WH. WTF?

Winn A.

5:01PM PDT on Oct 9, 2012

Thanks

Tom R.

3:44PM PDT on Oct 9, 2012

Tim is a hero.