Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced that 28-year-old Robert Majure and 29-year-old Tristan Romine-Mann were sentenced to five days in jail after being convicted of harassment after they threw horse lubricant mixed with gold glitter on two Portland Police officers during a large demonstration in downtown.
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth R. Walker ordered Majure and Romine-Mann to self-report to the sheriff’s office. Once booked, both will remain in custody through the duration of their sentence.
Furthermore, Majure and Romine-Mann were sentenced to 18 months of bench probation and ordered to complete 32 hours of community service. Restitution to the City of Portland, for the damaged police uniforms, will be determined at a later date.
On June 5, 2019, a jury convicted both Majure and Romine-Mann of two counts of harassment, a Class B misdemeanor.
This investigation started on August 4, 2018 when a concerned community member approached Portland Police at a Patriot Prayer rally that was being held in Waterfront Park near the intersection of Southwest Natio Parkway and Southwest Columbia Street. The person told officers that counter-demonstrators had four (4) five-gallon buckets full of an unknown liquid with recreational water guns strapped to their backs.
“This started during a volatile and scary situation,” said Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Kate Williams, who prosecuted this case. "We had two violent groups that were ready and willing to hurt each other. The police were tasked with keeping everyone safe and promoting free speech."
The officers approached Majure and Romine-Mann and asked them to remove the lids to the buckets. At that point, the officers observed a slimy substance. When the officers asked Majure and Romine-Mann to dump out the buckets, both threw the liquid onto the officers.
It was later determined that the substance was horse lubricant mixed with glitter.
"Here, we have two individuals who came to the rally to cause problems,” DDA Williams said. "Instead of doing what they were told, they seized the moment and after terrible judgement, they launched the liquid at the police. For the officers, who had just been covered in a substance they didn't recognize, it was a violent and dangerous situation. It was terrifying for them because they did not know if the liquid was going to hurt them."
After throwing the liquid onto the officers, both Majure and Romine-Mann ran from police.
"They ran because they knew what they had just done was illegal,” DDA Williams said.
Both men were taken into custody shortly after the incident. While inside a patrol vehicle, both men attempted to fist bump, according to evidence presented at trial.
The jury acquitted both Majure and Romine-Mann of one count of disorderly conduct. Majure was also acquitted of one count of resisting arrest.
Source: Multnomah County District Attorney