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Prosecutors have charged Olympia mixed-martial-arts champion and avowed anarchist Jeff Monson with first-degree malicious mischief based on photographs published in a December edition of ESPN The Magazine that showed him spray-painting an anarchist symbol on the state Capitol, court papers state.
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A warrant for Monson’s arrest was filed today in Thurston County Superior Court. Monson, 37, is charged with first-degree malicious mischief, a Class B felony carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

The graffiti cost $19,000 to clean up, court papers state.

Police have sought the people responsible for spray-painting graffiti on columns on the north side of the Capitol on Nov. 26. The graffiti included anarchy symbols, a peace symbol and phrases such as “no war” and “no poverty.”

According to court papers, a State Patrol and an Olympia police detective recognized Monson as the source of the graffiti on surveillance footage captured by a camera at the Capitol, but the break in the case occurred after ESPN The Magazine published an article on Monson and his political views Dec. 29.

A photograph of Monson leaving graffiti on the Capitol was included with the article, court papers state.

“In full the caption above the picture reads: ‘On a recent night in Olympia, Monson suddenly pulled out a spray can and tagged the state capitol (sic),’” court papers state. “The term ‘tagged’ seems somewhat puerile in light of the fact that the State Buildings and Grounds expended $19,013.50 (labor and materials) to eradicate the damage.”

http://www.theolympian.com/topstories/story/726666.html

They had the picture in ESPN the magazine?

Former UFC heavyweight contender and professed anarchist Jeff Monson is now a wanted man in Washington state, but he doesn’t regret the spray-painted message he left on the state Capitol building denouncing the war in Iraq.

The Olympia native has been charged with first-degree malicious mischief, a felony carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, according to The Olympian, which reported the story first on Wednesday.

A warrant for Monson’s arrest was issued on Wednesday after the state spent $19,000 to remove the graffiti, said The Olympian.

Monson, 37, told http://www.Sherdog.com on Thursday that he’d spray-painted the peace sign, the anarchy symbol, and the phrases “No war” and “No poverty” on multiple columns of the building on Nov. 26.

Monson, who is currently out of state on personal business, said he will convene with his lawyer on Thursday to coordinate turning himself into authorities. Monson expects to be released on his own recognizance. He said he plans to fight the charge and will not serve any jail time.

Monson said he’d planned the protest with “anarchist friends” on Nov. 26, but proceeded alone when they didn’t arrive. An ESPN photographer and writer, who were profiling the outspoken political proponent, documented the act, which appeared in a snapshot accompanying the article in the Dec. 29 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

At the time, Monson admits he wasn’t thinking of what repercussions his actions might cause.

“After [the picture] was taken I did,” said Monson. “We didn’t plan on taking it during the photo shoot or anything like that. That [ESPN] guy was with me for two straight days, and it just kind of happened."

Monson -- who said he’s attended protests, been tear gassed, detained and arrested for his beliefs in the past -- was initially disappointed by the lack of media coverage his act had drawn.

“It sounded like a bunch of kids vandalized it,” he said of the abbreviated stories written about the incident.

Monson believes the issues should resonate with adults though.

“I feel totally justified in what I did,” Monson told Sherdog. com.
“I just wanted people to know that there’s an illegal war going on right now and we’re four years and running. People are dying. There’s 800,000 Iraqis dead and we don’t seem to realize it."

Monson contends that the money used to fund the war could be better used stateside to tackle poverty.

“When we talk about the economic problems we have in this country right now and we’re spending over a billion dollars a week on this war? Wow. There you go,” he said.

A world grappling champion many times over and a member of the formidable American Top Team, Monson (27-8) bested former UFC champion Ricco Rodriguez by unanimous decision on Dec. 13 at a Mixed Fighting Alliance event in Miami. He had vied unsuccessfully for the heavyweight title against Tim Sylvia at UFC 65 in November 2006.

Monson -- who dons anarchy-inspired tattoos on his chest, back and leg -- isn’t worried that the added attention will hinder his fighting career, which could include a bout in World Victory Road’s next “Sengoku” installment this March in Japan.

“I think it will help,” said Monson. “It might hurt sponsorship, but when you have a show, you have someone that is well known. I think you have to do something really bad, like molest a kid or something really, really terrible for them not to want you. I believe in what I did. I would do it again."

Olympia mixed-martial arts champion and avowed anarchist Jeff Monson is in the Davie County Jail in North Carolina, a jail official said Monday, on suspicion of an assault charge unrelated to his arrest warrant in Olympia for allegedly spray-painting the Capitol.

A Davie County, North Carolina corrections officer said Monday that Monson was in jail Monday on suspicion of "assault on a female and injury to real property."

Monson, 37, has an active warrant for his arrest in Olympia on suspicion of first-degree malicious mischief for allegedly spray-painting an anarchist symbol and other messages on the State Capitol.

Monson could not be reached by phone Monday.

Stephanie Trapani, 30, of Advance, North Carolina, said Monson is in jail for trashing her home and grabbing her after an argument Saturday. Trapani says she had a romantic relationship with Monson, but they got in an argument after found out he had romantic relationships with other women. She said she found out information about his other girlfriends on his cell phone and she then threw the cell phone out the window of her car while she was driving to pick him up at the gym. When he found out his cell phone was gone when they returned to Trapani's home, he got angry. "He went ballistic," she said.

At Trapani's home, Monson packed up his belongings, Trapani said. But when she told him she had thrown his cell phone out the window of her car, he grabbed her laptop and started "hitting the columns" of her home. She said Monson was enraged, and put a hole in the wall and flipped over a grandfather clock.

"He's being charged with domestic violence and damage to property because he destroyed my house," Trapani said. "He started just bashing holes in the walls and the columns."

Trapani said her neighbor called police and Monson was placed under arrest around 8 p.m.

Trapani said she met Monson Sept. 27 at a fight in North Carolina. She said she is a spokesmodel for a fightwear company that Monson endorses.

Trapani said her romantic relationship with Monson is over. "I'm done," she said.

It was unclear Monday how Monson's new criminal charge will affect his ability to surrender to authorities in Washington.

Monson, an Olympia native and Timberline High School graduate who was on the wrestling team at Oregon State University, left a job as a mental-health counselor to pursue mixed-martial arts fighting.

In December, 2004, he won the Cagewarriors Fighting Championship heavyweight title in Sheffield, England by defeating Tengiz Tedoradze with a submission hold in the first found. On Dec. 13, 2008, he won a match against Rocco Rodriguez in the Mixed Fighting Alliance, “There Will Be Blood” event in Miami. Monson's fighting nickname is "The Snowman."

Last week, Monson took responsibility for leaving graffiti at the State Capitol in Olympia on Nov. 26 to protest the Iraq War and economic injustice. Thurston County prosecutors charged Monson with first-degree malicious mischief for the graffiti after ESPN The Magazine published photos of Monson spraying graffiti on the Capitol on that date.

After learning of the arrest warrant last week, Monson said in a phone interview that, "Every great movement in the United States, from civil rights, women's rights, the labor movement, has been the result of people standing up and breaking the law, refusing to stand at the back of the bus, refusing to stand aside when the government asks you to get off their property. And now, these people are seen as pioneers. But at the time, they were criminals, literally criminals. I’m not here to advocate myself; at some point you have to stand up."


http://www.theolympian.com/topstories/story/731879.html


WOW

Monson is really on roll lately