Sun 'N Fun Accused Of Trespassing
A criminal complaint
was filed with the Winter Haven (FL) PD, on Friday, after a
representative of the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In trespassed onto ANN office
property, defacing the office and harassing those inside -- despite
specific orders to vacate the premises and depart the area.
ANN had learned over a week earlier that Sun 'n Fun's efforts to
bar ANN Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell from the Fly-In continue.
Campbell has been highly critical of safety and ethical issues
surrounding the event -- even though in 2004, Sun n' Fun allowed
Campbell to walk in during the Fly-In, escorted by several
reporters and TV photographers. After a half hour of deliberations
involving several SnF senior staffers via the Press Check-In booth,
Campbell was turned down for a Press Pass but was told he could buy
a ticket... which he did.
When questioned later about the apparent change in attitude, SnF
officials said letting Campbell in had been a mistake.
ANN Legal Counsel Phillip Kuhn received a letter from SnF's
attorney more than a week ago. Kuhn termed this letter "even more
shrill than usual," saying Sun 'n Fun executives again demanded
that Campbell not come to the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In (formerly known as
the Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In before the growing rift between these
orgnizations resulted in changes that included EAA's name being
deleted). If he did show up (even at the FAA Building
controlled by the Federal Government... on Federal property), the
letter said, Campbell would be arrested and charged with
trespassing.
In the Friday incident, a Sun 'n Fun representative came on to
ANN property without notice or permission. After being told to
depart (and that the police were being called), he proceeded to
tape copies of Sun 'n Fun's letter over every single
office door (shown below) with clear packing tape. In one
case, the tape adhered so tightly that it had to be removed from
the outside after it was determined that the door could not be
opened without significant damage.
In each case, removing the paperwork did cause damage to the
paint. After talking it over with counsel, Campbell filed a
criminal complaint with the Winter Haven Police Department. The
Editor-in-Chief said ANN will demand the full prosecution of all
those involved.
Campbell is currently in litigation with SnF over issues
related its continuing ban against Campbell during the
event. The lawsuit has continued for approximately two years,
primarily due to delaying tactics in use by SnF. "They're doing
everything they can to avoid substantive discovery... even to the
point of trying to limit my access to documents shown to our
attorney... we're not quite sure how they can justify such a
request, as one would assume that a client has the right to inspect
every document seen by their lawyer, but our counsel is ready to
fight this kind of tactic at every turn," noted Campbell. Tired of
waiting for results, Campbell says he's approved a far more
comprehensive and aggressive series of legal actions, expected to
be filed within days.