Occupy Wall Street activist Cecily McMillan on Monday received a three-month prison sentence, followed by five years' probation and community service, for intentionally elbowing a New York police officer during a March 17, 2012, protest at Manhattan's Zuccotti Park.
The sentence handed down by Judge Ronald Zweibel, which includes credit for time served, is substantially less than what McMillan expected. When Mashable spoke with McMillan while she awaited her sentencing hearing from the Rikers Island jail, she was expecting two years in prison while facing a maximum of seven years.
Here is video of the reported incident:
When asked if it was all worth it, McMillan said, "I feel like your dignity is the only thing that is worth it. I think that the value is in the morals that you set up for yourself are the only things that can’t be taken away -– I think they’re the only thing that nobody can take away."
Some of McMillan's supporters crowded outside the courtroom, protesting on her behalf:
Many of McMillan's supporters petitioned Judge Zweibel to forgo a prison sentence altogether, but he insisted in Monday's hearing that she "must take responsibility for her conduct."
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McMillan's lawyers had argued that she was willingly leaving the park the day of the incident and elbowed the officer only after he grabbed her right breast from behind.
I wonder what #CecilyMcMillan's #myNYPD moment would be. #Justice4Cecily. @BilldeBlasio pic.twitter.com/iC1KXQ2RrU— Liuba GrechenShirley (@lgrechenshirley) May 6, 2014