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Military veteran called terrorist for taking photos

Elbert County man seeking millions for terrorist comment
POSTED:   10/12/2012 12:01:00 AM MDT
UPDATED:   10/12/2012 07:48:23 AM MDTBy Carlos Illescas
The Denver Post

Is being called a "terrorist" worth $2.4 million?

Elbert County resident Don Pippin and his attorney think so.

That is the amount Pippin is seeking in a lawsuit against three Elbert County commissioners and 10 John Does. The suit comes after Commissioner Kurt Schlegel called Pippin a "terrorist" and tried to ban him from the county building.

The amount Pippin is seeking was first reported by New-Plains.com.

"It's been a very emotional thing for him," said Pippin's attorney, Terry Wallace. "When that county judge said, 'You've been accused of being a terrorist — are you aware of that?' That's when it set in."

Pippin was photographing security cameras at the Elbert County administration building in April as part of an open-records request he was planning about the cost of the system.

An employee saw him and reported it to the commissioners.

After the commissioners met on the issue, Schlegel asked for and received a temporary court order barring Pippin from the building, saying the back of his hair stood up when he saw what he says was footage of Pippin "casing" the building for a possible attack.

At a follow-up hearing, a judge threw out the order and said Pippin wasn't a terrorist.

Pippin, a 55-year-old disabled military veteran, has been a thorn in the county's side with his constant open-records requests and felt Schlegel's bid for a protection order was retaliation against him for doing that.

Pippin said this week that he has been lying low and hasn't made any records requests.

"I've been in seclusion pretty much since it happened — no activities with the government," Pippin said. "There's a lot of fear factor. I'm careful about everything."

In federal court documents, Pippin's computation of damages includes $1 million for emotional distress, $500,000 for loss of enjoyment of life and $900,000 for impairment of future earning capacity.

Schlegel said he was not aware of the amount Pippin was seeking in the lawsuit.

"I still don't think this gentleman has a case, but it's his right to file suit," Schlegel said. "We were acting in the safety of the employees of the county."



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Pippin was photographing security cameras at the Elbert County administration building in April as part of an open-records request he was planning about the cost of the system.