“It would have been like throwing popcorn,” said Sweet Grass. “They hardly weigh anything, and can’t travel very far.”
For this gesture, Govinda is facing eight felony charges. None of the seedpods had made contact with an officer, but eight officers “felt assaulted.” Each of the eight wrote up a separate felony indictment for the same act, along with a misdemeanor charge for wearing a black bandanna around his head.
Officers refused to identify themselves on paper, choosing instead to sign each individual citation as “John Doe.” An officer has written across each indictment form the word “SERIOUS.”
“Where’s the evidence? Where’s the accuser? There’s something so rotten in Denmark in this,” Sweet Grass said.
The bail resulting from these eight felony charges has been set at $50,000 each. All told, that leaves the bail for Govinda – whose full name is Ahimsa Govinda Wind-Thunder – at a staggering $400,000. Eight separate charges for the same accusation.
Govinda's family believes he was targeted by police, because they made of point of letting him know they knew where he lived, and seemed to keep track of his activites. Police cars were also seen sitting in front of the family's home, and would follow Govinda seemingly waiting for him to make a wrong move so that they could issue him tickets, which they did repeatedly.
The family hopes that they'll have an opportunity in court to present their evidence, the seed pods, which they believe would lead to the charges being dropped. In the meantime, Govinda spends 23 hours of each day in solitary confinement, in maximum security at Oakland jail.
