Obama ‘Hope’ Artist Has 14 Boston Charges Dropped

BOSTON — Prosecutors dropped 14 vandalism charges against the street artist who created the “Hope” poster of President Barack Obama, but they left open the possibility of pressing charges against him in 13 other cases.

In a court filing Tuesday, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said the government had reviewed the Boston police investigation and evidence supporting the 14 charges filed against Shepard Fairey in Roxbury District Court and found there wasn’t enough evidence.

“There is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant himself placed these stickers on property in Roxbury,” Conley wrote.

Fairey, of Los Angeles, pleaded not guilty to placing stickers on signposts and other public property in the city. The red, cream and light-blue “Hope” images show a determined-looking Obama gazing upward, with the caption “HOPE.”

Fairey’s Boston attorney, Jeffrey Wiesner, said he was encouraged by the prosecution’s decision to drop the charges. Wiesner has contended the images were easily accessible on the Internet and there was no proof his client posted them.

“These were widely available to everyone, and there is no evidence that Mr. Fairey put these up,” said Wiesner, who said he would press for dismissal of the pending cases.
Wiesner has said Fairey wasn’t even in town when prosecutors say some of the vandalism occurred.

Prosecutors left open 10 cases in the Central Division of Boston Municipal Court and three cases in Brighton District Court. Fairey’s next court appearance is scheduled for June 15.

Fairey, 39, was arrested by Boston police in February when he was in the city for an event kicking off his exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art. The arrest came three days after he failed to appear in court on a charge of placing a poster on a Boston electrical box in September 2000.

In February, Fairey sued The Associated Press over his artwork, titled “Obama Hope” and “Obama Progress,” arguing that he didn’t violate copyright law because he dramatically changed an April 2006 picture taken for the AP by Mannie Garcia. The artwork was a popular image during the presidential campaign and now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

The AP countersued Fairey over the Obama image, saying the uncredited, uncompensated use of an AP photo violates copyright laws.