WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A man facing a charge of resisting an officer without violence after distributing antisemitic propaganda in Atlantis appeared in court Friday morning seeking to have his case dismissed.
Nicholas Bysheim, 33, has filed a motion to dismiss the misdemeanor charge stemming from the Jan. 21 incident.
However, Palm Beach County Judge Marni Bryson first wanted to know whether he intended to hire an attorney or represent himself.
"I couldn't find an attorney that would take this case," Bysheim told her.
Bysheim hoped that he could act as his own attorney to have the charge tossed, but Bryson told him she would need to set a hearing to determine whether he's able to do so.
"How long would that take?" Bysheim asked.
"Probably 30 days," Bryson answered.
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"OK, that's fine," Bysheim said.
Bryson then set the hearing for March 27.
"In the interim, sir, you need to either, if you're going to hire an attorney, they need to file a notice of appearance, OK?" Bryson said. "And if not, then on the 27th, I'm going to go through a series of questions with you to determine whether or not I think that you're able to represent yourself. Do you understand?"
According to an Atlantis police report, Bysheim refused to provide his identification to an officer after he and an accomplice were seen "throwing garbage into people's yards."
Bysheim told the officer that they were "distributing First Amendment-protected information," but the officer warned that they were littering.
According to the report, Bysheim was then arrested after repeatedly refusing to identify himself and shouting obscenities at the officer.
In his three-page motion to dismiss, Bysheim concludes that he was protected by the First Amendment and was therefore under no legal obligation to comply with the officer's demands.
After court, Bysheim spoke with reporters, saying he intends to continue spreading his messages.
"Absolutely, I'm going to continue distributing literature in my nation," he told WPTV's Briana Nespral. "This is my nation."