TACOMA – Five Makah tribal members charged with illegally hunting and killing a gray whale Sept. 8 have been released without bail, after a federal hearing in which the courtroom was packed with their supporters,
All pleaded not guilty Friday at their arraignment in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.
A trial is scheduled for Nov. 27.
Assistant U.S. District Attorney James Osterle asked that only Theron Parker of the five be detained because of an outstanding warrant in Port Angeles for driving with his license suspended as of Sept. 8.
Judge J. Kelley Arnold denied Osterle’s request.
Arnold informed the five – Frankie Gonzales, Wayne Johnson, Andrew Noel, Parker and William Secor Sr. – of the three misdemeanor charges against each of them:
Each count carries a maximum fine of $100,000, a one-year prison term and a year of parole.
“Of course I’m not guilty,” Johnson, the group’s leader, told news reporters before the hearing.
“I have a treaty right.”
The men also face separate prosecution in Makah tribal court, where they could be sentenced up to a year in jail; pay up to a $5,000 fine; and have their treaty rights to fish suspended for up to three years.
