Gerritsen Convicted in Jamming Case

A US District Court jury has found Jack Gerritsen of Bell, California,
guilty on six counts that included transmitting without a license and
willful and malicious interference with radio transmissions. Gerritsen, 69,
who briefly held the amateur call sign KG6IRO, will face sentencing March 6,
according to the office of Debra W. Yang, US Attorney for the Central
District of California. He could receive up to 15 years in federal prison.

"The Federal Communication Commission investigated illegal radio
transmissions linked to Gerritsen for four years," said a statement from
Yang's office. "According to court documents filed in this case, the FCC
investigation revealed that Gerritsen transmitted his prerecorded messages,
as well as real-time harassment and profanity, for hours at a time, often
making it impossible for licensed radio operators to use the public
frequencies." A federal grand jury indicted Gerritsen last spring.

Turning down the offer of a public defender, Gerritsen served as his own
attorney. The government's case, presented by Assistant US Attorney Lamar
Baker, went to the jury December 8, and the jury deliberated for less than
an hour before returning its verdict December 9. US District Court Judge R.
Gary Klausner revoked Gerritsen's bond, and the defendant was taken into
custody following the verdict.

Gerritsen was found guilty of interfering with a Military Affiliate Radio
System (MARS) communication last March and interfering with American Red
Cross communications last January--both misdemeanors--and with interfering
with US Coast Guard communications in October 2004, a felony. He also faced
three misdemeanor counts of transmitting without a license. Recordings of
radio transmissions attributed to Gerritsen were played for the jury.

Those familiar with this week's court proceedings said Gerritsen tended to
focus on freedom of speech issues and sometimes confused those on the stand.
Among those testifying at length on behalf of the government was FCC Senior
Agent Steven Pierce, who discussed his use of mobile direction-finding
equipment and techniques used to track the source of transmissions.

Just days before the trial began, the FCC affirmed a total of $42,000 in
additional fines it had levied on Gerritsen, releasing two $21,000
Forfeiture Orders (NOFs). In affirming the fines, the FCC rebuffed every
argument Gerritsen had offered in responding to each Notice of Apparent
Liability, including his insistent "freedom of speech" claim.

"His unlicensed operation on amateur frequencies is not protected by the US
Constitution as it is well established that the right to free speech does
not include the right to use radio facilities without a license," the FCC
said in a footnote in one of the NOFs. The federal court jury in California
apparently agreed.

In late November, Klausner denied Gerritsen's motion to dismiss the three
unlicensed transmitting counts, turning away Gerritsen's argument that the
FCC could not set aside his Amateur Radio license without a hearing.
Klausner declared that the effect of the FCC's 2001 set aside of KG6IRO "was
to treat the application as if it had never been granted." Since Gerritsen
never held an Amateur Radio license, he never had the right to a hearing,
the judge reasoned.

Last March, the FCC upheld a $10,000 fine against Gerritsen for interfering
with Amateur Radio communications. The government has yet to collect.

FBI agents, accompanied by FCC staff, arrested Gerritsen without incident
last May and seized his radio equipment. Released on $250,000 bond while
awaiting trial, Gerritsen remained in home detention, barred from possessing
any radio equipment.

Gerritsen's history of radio-related legal problems go back to 2000 when he
was convicted for intercepting, obstructing and/or interfering with
California Highway Patrol radio communications. In November 2001, the FCC's
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau issued, then quickly rescinded,
Gerritsen's Technician license, KG6IRO, because of his earlier conviction.
While transmitting on various Los Angeles-area repeaters, Gerritsen
continued to identify as KG6IRO, however.

Radio amateurs on the West Coast complained for months about the slow pace
of enforcement action in the Gerritsen case. Los Angeles-area repeater
owners had taken to shutting down their machines to avoid the nearly
constant barrage of malicious interference and lengthy political tirades
attributed to Gerritsen.

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