CONTACTAbout UsCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
A cattle farmer who acknowledged spreading manure along the route of a gay pride parade in Arkansas pleaded innocent to a misdemeanor harassment charge Monday after saying he was exercising a constitutional right. Separately, two radio station employees who prosecutors say gave gay pornography to a 16-year-old boy along the parade route pleaded innocent in Faulkner County circuit court to felony charges of distributing obscene material. "I don't feel as though I've done anything wrong," Christine Brown, a former employee at Little Rock radio station KABZ-FM, said after her arraignment. She called the legal process "very overwhelming." Wesley Bono, 35, of Greenbrier, faces trial September 16 in Conway district court on accusations of dumping 6,000 pounds of manure in front of a gay couple's home June 27 and spreading it along two city streets. Bono told television station KATV before his court appearance that he was exercising his free speech rights when he spread the manure. "Under the First Amendment a man is allowed to protest. That's what I was doing," Bono said. "I didn't do it as a hate crime or any crime at all." Conway officials have not said how much it cost them to clean up the mess. In the obscenity case, Brown and Phillip Beard are accused of handing out obscene material in a case that drew attention because a boy received an X-rated DVD. The boy has said Beard, dressed only in a skimpy black swimsuit during the parade, gave him the video. Prosecutor H.G. Foster said he doubted Brown or Beard would do time. "This is an important case, but it's mostly important as a societal statement," Foster said. "There are very few who would disagree that when it comes to distribution of explicit materials, generally as a society, we think that's unacceptable." Arkansas has a separate charge for distribution of explicit material to minors, but Foster said it was more appropriate to charge the pair under the state's general obscenity statute. Penalties for both offenses are the same: fines of up to $2,000 and a maximum of five years in prison. The radio station canceled Brown and Beard's show and later said the pair no longer worked there. After pleading innocent, Brown and Beard were scheduled for a pretrial hearing September 17 and a trial the week of October 5 before circuit judge Charles E. Clawson Jr. Beard did not comment beyond entering a plea.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
31 Period Films of Lesbians and Bi Women in Love That Will Take You Back
December 09 2024 1:00 PM
18 of the most batsh*t things N.C. Republican governor candidate Mark Robinson has said
October 30 2024 11:06 AM
True
After 20 years, and after tonight, Obama will no longer be the Democrats' top star
August 20 2024 12:28 PM
Trump ally Laura Loomer goes after Lindsey Graham: ‘We all know you’re gay’
September 13 2024 2:28 PM
Melania Trump cashed six-figure check to speak to gay Republicans at Mar-a-Lago
August 16 2024 5:57 PM
Latest Stories
5 key takeaways from President Joe Biden's farewell speech
January 15 2025 9:29 PM
Karine Jean-Pierre gives emotional final White House Press Briefing
January 15 2025 5:29 PM
Meta is now a fake news free-for-all after company shuts down anti-misinformation technology
January 15 2025 2:03 PM
​Reclaiming the Mosaic: Dr. Tyler TerMeer on the weight of intersectional leadership
January 15 2025 6:34 PM
Pam Bondi promises to 'respect the law' on marriage equality in Senate confirmation hearing
January 15 2025 5:02 PM