‘Glitter-Bombing’ a Politician Could Get You Six Months in Jail

  • Share
  • Read Later
Craig Lassig / Reuters

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his wife Ann are "glitter bombed" for the first time as they make their way to the stage at a campaign stop in Eagan, Minnesota February 1, 2012

Nearly every single GOP presidential candidate has faced the ire of the glitter bomb — a handful of glitter thrown during a campaign event, usually by gay-rights activists who shout a message to go along with it. The candidates, more than once, have brushed off the sparkles and just moved on, maybe making a joke about it like Mitt Romney did when he called it victory “confetti” after being glittered in Minnesota.

But it appears there could be a deterrent to potential glitterers: up to six months of jail time and a $1,000 fine.

(PHOTOS: A Brief, Fabulous History of Political Glitter Bombs)

That’s what another Romney glitter-bomber, University of Colorado-Boulder student Peter Smith, faces if he’s convicted of charges of “creating a disturbance, throwing a missile and an unlawful act on school property,” Reuters reported.

The student, a gay-rights supporter, appeared to toss glitter at Romney after the candidate’s speech this week in Colorado. In a clip of the incident, the GOP frontrunner was shuttled by his security team away from the student to shake hands with other attendees.

Will Smith get jail time? Last year, when glittering began in earnest on the likes of then-candidates Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann, the New York Times asked a First Amendment lawyer about the legality of glitter-bombing.

“[I]t’s awfully unlikely that there would be a prosecution if it’s just a bit of glitter,” said lawyer Floyd Abrams in an email to the paper at the time. “But in theory, the more that’s dropped, the more likely is prosecution.”