Prosecutors want second charge dropped against Clinton shoe thrower
Federal prosecutors Tuesday moved to dismiss a second misdemeanor against a Phoenix woman accused of throwing a shoe at Hillary Clinton during an April speech in Las Vegas.
Alison Michelle Ernst pleaded guilty last month to trespassing but continued to maintain her innocence on the second charge of violence against a person in a restricted building or grounds. She was to stand trial Oct. 29.
In court papers Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Newman said the impact of a conviction on the second charge would be minimal at Ernst’s sentencing. She faces up to six months in prison.
The government and the courts also would save resources by not going to trial, Newman said.
“The United States believes that the defendant’s full acceptance of responsibility for her actions, when coupled with the interests of justice, judicial efficiency and other economies, justify the dismissal,” Newman wrote.
Ernst, 36, was originally charged in a U.S. Secret Service complaint accusing her of hurling a black and orange Puma cleat at Clinton while the former U.S. secretary of state was addressing a metal recycling conference at Mandalay Bay. Ernst had slipped into a restricted area where Clinton was speaking.
The shoe missed Clinton, and she made light of the interruption during her speech.
Clinton is a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2016.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter: @JGermanRJ.
