Arrested for refusing to wear a mask. The charge was trespassing, but it was really about a woman’s refusal to wear a mask while shopping in the Port Townsend Food Co-op. With the end of the statewide masking mandate approaching, we’ve been asked, “What happened to that woman who was arrested in the Co-op last year?”
On April 5, 2021, Rachelle Merle was engaged in shopping in the Co-op, where she is a member and co-owner, and was told by management to put on a mask or leave. She went about her business without a mask. The Co-op called in Port Townsend police who arrested, handcuffed and charged her with trespassing. See, “The Arrest of Rachelle Merle: The Food Co-op on Trial.”
Merle was also “trespassed” from the Co-op for one year, meaning the Co-op revoked this member’s rights to shop in the store and threatened to have her arrested again if she stepped inside the store during the next twelve months. I have written previously how this violated Merle’s rights as a co-owner.
Behind the scenes, the Co-op told the County Prosecutor’s Office it did not want to press the charges or see the case go to trial. See my prior articles on this turn of events.
Merle never did go to trial. The charges against her were dismissed December 23, 2021. You didn’t read about this in The Leader, which never even covered the arrest, though thousands of people came to Port Townsend Free Press to read and comment about it on our site or social media.
The dismissal is “with prejudice,” meaning charges cannot be refiled without violating Merle’s right against double jeopardy — a citizen’s right, basically, not to have to defend the same charges more than once. The charges were dismissed as part of a plea bargain.
As Jefferson County Prosecutor James Kennedy explained in his statement to the Free Press (reproduced verbatim, below), “Ms. Merle entered into a Continuation for Dismissal (or CFD) with the Prosecutor’s Office. It is essentially a diversion. The way it works is that if the defendant abides by certain conditions and stays out of trouble for a certain length of time the Prosecutor’s Office will move to dismiss the case once the time period has elapsed.”
He added, “The time period for this diversion was 6 months…and the defendant fully complied with it.” Merle, a mother of three, had no prior criminal record whatsoever. Her choices that day contained no element of criminal intent whatsoever.
Merle made no secret of her reasons for incurring and accepting the arrest. She is opposed to the mask mandate and strongly believed it was a violation of individual rights and not justified by the best medical science. She has repeatedly in social media posts warned against creeping totalitarianism wrapped in the COVID mandates from the governor and Jefferson County Public Health Officer.
Merle raised thousands of dollars to hire criminal defense attorney Calebjon Vandenbos, who has taken on several of these types of cases. He provided the following comments to Port Townsend Free Press:
Vandenbos:
Rachelle asked me to send some thoughts along to you about her case and its significance. In my opinion legal cases don’t have much of a chance of being important at this point. Right now, the debate is with hearts and minds, a cultural and value disagreement, not legal.
That being said, this case is an example of what makes this cultural conflict particularly difficult. Private and public forces can suppress dissent without ideological or legal accountability and this case was a good example. The formal criminal trespass case against Ms. Merle was pretty straightforward — the store told her to leave and she didn’t. There wasn’t much to fight there from a purely ‘legal’ perspective. That’s why the case resolved the way it did.
But the real reason Ms. Merle was arrested was because of her dissent. Regardless of if the science is agreed, the ‘right’ response to COVID 19 depends on a person’s values and beliefs. But the coop and the government are able to side-step these issues: the store points to the dubious mask mandate, and the government points to the store’s decision to expel. A confrontation over the real issues — discrimination based on ideology and the legality of the mandates — is avoided. It’s a problem, and there is no apparent solution at this point.
Here are our questions to the County Prosecutor and his full response (it has always been my practice to publish verbatim responses to written questions):
PTFP: Do you have any comment on the case against Rachelle Burt Merle, involving the charge of trespassing for being inside the PT Food Co-op without a mask and refusing to leave? Also, why were the charges dismissed and under what terms?
Prosecuting Attorney Kennedy: Ms. Merle entered into a Continuation for Dismissal (or CFD) with the Prosecutor’s Office. It is essentially a diversion. The way it works is that if the defendant abides by certain conditions and stays out of trouble for a certain length of time the Prosecutor’s Office will move to dismiss the case once the time period has elapsed. If the defendant fails to abide by the conditions then the prosecution can move to revoke the agreement. If the court agrees, the court will then review the discovery to determine if the crime alleged was in fact committed.
These types of diversions are not uncommon when we are working with cases where the offense is relatively minor and the defendant does not have significant criminal history.
In this case, the defendant had zero criminal history that we are aware of, additionally there were some other facts and circumstances that were unique to the case (e.g. the victim being a co-op, which the defendant is a member) that led us to believe that a diversion was the proper way to adjudicate the case. The time period for this diversion was 6 months (this can vary from case to case) and the defendant fully complied with it. Consistent with our agreement we dismissed the case.
So I think I answered your second question without answering your first. To answer your first – The prosecution and the defendant came to a resolution that would allow the defendant to avoid having a criminal conviction by way of a diversion agreement. The defendant fully complied with the agreement so the prosecution, in fulfillment of its end of the bargain, moved to dismissed the case.
You mentioned this in your email, but I think it is important to reiterate, what was charged was Criminal Trespassing, not a violation of any public health order. The issue of masking is what lead to the charged offense, but was not the offense itself.
Jim Scarantino was the editor and founder of Port Townsend Free Press. He is happy in his new role as just a contributor writing on topics of concern to him. He spent the first 25 years of his professional life as a trial attorney, then launched an online investigative news website that broke several national stories. He is also the author of three crime novels. He resides in Jefferson County. See our “About” page for more information.
Ran a small experiment yesterday. Went to the UPS Store, Henry’s Hardware, & QFC with no mask. No one asked me to leave. No one made a comment. No one looked at me funny.
https://c19science.info/COVID-19_Masks.pdf
It is widely known that masks don’t work. I have close to 200 such studies. So, the mandates are null and void from the get-go. Imagine a different misguided mandate– wearing a tin foil hat to shield from 5G cellphones, or a tampon in the rectum to contain fecal Covid. Would you wear one? What if Allison Berry said to? Governor Inslee?
See my point? If it is provable BS, then EVERYONE should ignore it. Masks fall into this category. It’s correct that they didn’t prosecute her.
slow clap
Boycott the Co-op until the current board is fired and a non-authoritative board is installed. Going back to the Co-op now will just allow the same to happen when another “variant” is manufactured or Digital ID’s are issued. This isn’t a true Cooperative. It is a virtue signaling, capitalistic grocery store who only listens to their most affluent patrons.
I routinely shop for groceries in Jefferson County without a mask. Not going to name the store. The employees have been as kind and helpful as always. There is no indication they even notice. Yesterday I received a UPS package containing items I used to buy at the co-op. Saved a few dollars and the stress of dealing with crazies.
The mask mandate was a knee jerk reaction. Basically, the government felt it needed to do something to appease those who were freaked out. They did something similar, but more drastic, when Japanese Americans were interned in WWII. This is why we have a Constitution with rights guaranteed and spelled out. Of course, there will always be people and governments that will try and override our constitutional rights. They typically end up backing off. What is a lasting impression here is the political response by some. That will be dealt with come election time.
I was also censored by the PT Co-Op last year. I had written a message on my mask that elicited a 95% response that was positive, either a “right on” or a smile and a thumbs-up.
While shopping at the Co-Op a couple of store employees approached me and said that someone had complained about my mask message and that I should not wear it in the Co-Op because that person was offended. Not wanting to make a scene I turned my mask inside out, finished my shopping and left. I have not shopped there since and have no plan to. I have been a member at the Co-Op for many years,,, no more!
In the 60’s I lived in Berkeley Ca. and got involved with the Free Speech movement, and now here I am in my Senior years in Port Townsend being censored by the Co-Op. Is this what the new “progressive left” is about?
Louis, this is Jim Scarantino. What were the offending words on your mask?
Jim, it was my salutation to those who are, in my opinion, responsible for creating the virus that has affected all of our lives.
I think a boycott of the co-op was a great idea! Chimacum Farm Stand has WAYYY better veggies . So many of my friends boycotted over this. I was done with the co-op years ago! They ARE NOT NICE.
This is a little off topic… but the Food Coop received a generous sum of money from the Government/us (PPP LOAN) to the tune of $808,000.00
4-27-2020. The loan was forgiven on 2-25-21! Didn’t remember that they needed so much help. They have been open the whole time and busy as ever…. hmmm. Go here to see other businesses PPP loans. pppdetective.com.
I agree that the Farm Stand has better Veggies than the co-op. As I’m a veteran on a limited budget, I get a voucher for food or heat for 10 months a year if I qualify and I wish the Farmstand or QFC would honor them and carry more options including like over the counter medicine at the Farm Stand as I live in Chimacum and the farthest I would have to travel would be about 5 miles. I run into a lot of Vets at QFC and I think they’re missing more vets who have the option of the Co-Op or Safeway against two QFC stores.
Something just occurred to me. Why is it if you’re a “Homeless” individual and are caught stealing (usually alcohol) you are trespassed from the store and then set free? If you refuse to wear a mask, you’re arrested? Something’s wrong with this picture.