First Amendment auditors George “Rogue Nation” Metz and Joshua “This is a Public Service” Gray were found guilty of ignoring official signage and filming in a restricted area of a Social Security building on Friday.
Both men were sentenced to six months’ probation and a $3,000.00 fine for essentially multiple counts of filming in restricted areas of Social Security Administration buildings in 2002 and 2023 after ignoring signage and being told by guards they were in areas they could not record.
The charges stem from incidents on November 16, 2022, and January 26 and January 30, 2023, with both men being charged on November 28, 2023.
They were charged after the so called “Cordova doctrine” went into effect as YouTuber Christopher “Denver Metro Audits” Cordova made case law with his guilty verdict for filming in a restricted area of a Social Security building earlier that year.
According to Attorney Patrick J. D’Arcy’s analysis of the case, lawyers for the defense attempted to public and non-public forums. Stating that there wasn’t a clear boundary between “public areas” and areas where recording was restricted. This arguement was countered by long established case law indicating that a Social Security Administration building is typically classified as a non-public forum.
The prosecution brought up Metz purposely lifting his camera to see over a barrier into a restricted area where Social Security cards are created in order to access the private area.
There were also questions over photography vs. videography, with the defense claiming that the signage stated that photography was prohibited, while videography was not mentioned on the signage.
Ultimately, while the prosecution had asked for 30-days of jail time for the offenses, the Judge in the case disagreed with the assessment and sentenced the men to probation with a fine. It is unclear if the verdict, or the related verdict in the Cordova case, will deter auditors from recording in Social Security Administration buildings in the future.
John Filax and a large group of auditors were on hand for the trial including Lana from the J-Town Press and Rights Crispy. They protested the verdict after the hearing in an extended video posted to Filax’s channel.
The men have indicated that they will appeal the verdict and sentencing within the 14-day appeals window. The assembled group of auditors promised a swift victory and overturning of the Judge’s decision on appeal.
