VERNON — An animal rights activist accused of harassing two hunters in a Facebook post will face a municipal trial in April, the New Jersey Herald reported.
Hunters Michael Bush and Nickey Pisco filed citizen complaints in October against Susan Kehoe of Vernon after Vernon police declined to press charges against her.
Bush and Nickey says they received death threats after Kehoe allegedly posted on Facebook four months ago that she “believed” that one of them killed a local bear.
Kehoe appeared Tuesday before Municipal Court Judge James Devine, who rejected a motion from her attorney, Daniel Perez, to dismiss the case. During that hearing, Municipal Prosecutor Alicia Ferrante failed to provide any evidence that the alleged Facebook post exists, Perez said.
Perez also argued that if the post did exist, it would fall under the First Amendment and be protected speech, according to the Herald’s report. Ferrante countered that Kehoe’s post was made maliciously and with an intention to cause annoyance and alarm, the report said.
Perez was Kehoe’s attorney during a 2012 municipal court trial, also in Vernon Township, in which she was acquitted on a charge of intentionally feeding bears. In 2010, Kehoe was sentenced to one year probation and fined $1,250 after she interfered with state wildlife biologists who were trying to tranquilize a bear.
The 2016 hunt was held during 12 days in October and December and a record 636 bears were killed.
Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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