01-16-2004, 04:48 PM
Weirdo Supporters
Michael Jackson Arrives at Calif. Court
By LINDA DEUTSCH
AP Special Correspondent
Wilson tells Simpson that some buses full of Michael Jackson supporters have left Los Angeles for Santa Maria where the music star is being arraigned on child molestation charges. (Audio)
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) -- Michael Jackson arrived at court Friday for arraignment on child molestation charges amid a crush of chanting supporters and a throng of news media.
Fans pushed in toward an arriving caravan of vehicles from which Jackson emerged, under an umbrella, shortly after the scheduled 8:30 a.m. arraignment time.
The proceeding was held at the small Santa Barbara County courthouse in Santa Maria because it is the closest court to Jackson's Neverland Ranch, the Central California estate where the crimes allegedly occurred.
Jackson's father, Joe, mother, Katherine, and brother Jermaine also were present.
Busloads of fans traveled from Los Angeles and Las Vegas on a "Caravan of Love" to show their support.
"There's strength in numbers," said supporter Amber McCrary, 26, who boarded a bus in a suburban Los Angeles Kmart parking lot with her two children, ages 4 and 2. About 100 people spanning three generations prayed before the two charter buses departed about 4:30 a.m.
In Santa Maria early Friday, several hundred people gathered outside the courthouse in a raucous show of support for Jackson. Some chanted and sang songs including the Jackson Five's "I'll Be There," while others hoisted banners and signs that read "Stay Strong Michael" and "100% Innocent. We Believe In Michael Jackson. Leave Him Alone."
Jackson, who has maintained he is innocent, was charged last month with seven counts of performing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14 and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent, reportedly wine. He was freed on $3 million bail.
The alleged victim was a cancer patient the pop star had befriended. The boy appeared in the same TV documentary in which Jackson defended letting children sleep in his bed as "sweet" and non-sexual.
With news crews from around the globe arrayed among more than 18 trucks, mini TV studios and satellite dishes, the scene outside the courthouse Friday was reminiscent of the O.J. Simpson murder trial which became a blueprint for the celebrity trial.
Although small compared to Simpson's "dream team," Jackson's defense team on Friday was to include an additional member, New York attorney Benjamin Brafman. Brafman, a principal of the firm that won acquittal for Sean "P. Diddy" Combs on bribery and weapons charges in 2001, would act as "co-lead counsel" and was to appear alongside Jackson attorney Mark Geragos.
Nearly 10 years after the Simpson trial brought a media horde to the Los Angeles courts, many of the same players trekked 150 miles northwest to an area better known for its vineyards and strawberry fields than its criminal cases.
Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark stood outside the courthouse Thursday reporting for "Entertainment Tonight." Clark, who never prosecuted another case after losing the nation's most famous murder trial, admitted it was strange to be on the other side of the media attention.
"It's a bizarre world," she said. "It's like everything is turned upside down. I now get to see what the press went through in Simpson. I feel your pain."
Another former law enforcement figure is working on TV. Jim Thomas, the former Santa Barbara County sheriff who attempted to bring molestation charges against Jackson 10 years ago, signed on as a commentator for NBC.
In Los Angeles on Friday morning, six TV news camera crews shot footage of the Jackson supporters boarding buses before their expected three-hour journey to Santa Maria.
Sitting in a front seat of one bus was a woman dressed as Charlie Chaplin.
"I'm Michael's favorite character," said Audrey Ruttan, 28, of suburban Van Nuys. "He loves Charlie Chaplin, and I'm here to support him and he's innocent."
In Santa Maria, the hundreds of Jackson supporters included 28-year-old Melanie Dowland, who said she traveled from London for the event.
"I campaign for everything I believe in," Dowland said. "And I believe in Michael. He stands for so much - all the goodness in the world and innocence."
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Michael Jackson Arrives at Calif. Court
By LINDA DEUTSCH
AP Special Correspondent
Wilson tells Simpson that some buses full of Michael Jackson supporters have left Los Angeles for Santa Maria where the music star is being arraigned on child molestation charges. (Audio)
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) -- Michael Jackson arrived at court Friday for arraignment on child molestation charges amid a crush of chanting supporters and a throng of news media.
Fans pushed in toward an arriving caravan of vehicles from which Jackson emerged, under an umbrella, shortly after the scheduled 8:30 a.m. arraignment time.
The proceeding was held at the small Santa Barbara County courthouse in Santa Maria because it is the closest court to Jackson's Neverland Ranch, the Central California estate where the crimes allegedly occurred.
Jackson's father, Joe, mother, Katherine, and brother Jermaine also were present.
Busloads of fans traveled from Los Angeles and Las Vegas on a "Caravan of Love" to show their support.
"There's strength in numbers," said supporter Amber McCrary, 26, who boarded a bus in a suburban Los Angeles Kmart parking lot with her two children, ages 4 and 2. About 100 people spanning three generations prayed before the two charter buses departed about 4:30 a.m.
In Santa Maria early Friday, several hundred people gathered outside the courthouse in a raucous show of support for Jackson. Some chanted and sang songs including the Jackson Five's "I'll Be There," while others hoisted banners and signs that read "Stay Strong Michael" and "100% Innocent. We Believe In Michael Jackson. Leave Him Alone."
Jackson, who has maintained he is innocent, was charged last month with seven counts of performing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14 and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent, reportedly wine. He was freed on $3 million bail.
The alleged victim was a cancer patient the pop star had befriended. The boy appeared in the same TV documentary in which Jackson defended letting children sleep in his bed as "sweet" and non-sexual.
With news crews from around the globe arrayed among more than 18 trucks, mini TV studios and satellite dishes, the scene outside the courthouse Friday was reminiscent of the O.J. Simpson murder trial which became a blueprint for the celebrity trial.
Although small compared to Simpson's "dream team," Jackson's defense team on Friday was to include an additional member, New York attorney Benjamin Brafman. Brafman, a principal of the firm that won acquittal for Sean "P. Diddy" Combs on bribery and weapons charges in 2001, would act as "co-lead counsel" and was to appear alongside Jackson attorney Mark Geragos.
Nearly 10 years after the Simpson trial brought a media horde to the Los Angeles courts, many of the same players trekked 150 miles northwest to an area better known for its vineyards and strawberry fields than its criminal cases.
Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark stood outside the courthouse Thursday reporting for "Entertainment Tonight." Clark, who never prosecuted another case after losing the nation's most famous murder trial, admitted it was strange to be on the other side of the media attention.
"It's a bizarre world," she said. "It's like everything is turned upside down. I now get to see what the press went through in Simpson. I feel your pain."
Another former law enforcement figure is working on TV. Jim Thomas, the former Santa Barbara County sheriff who attempted to bring molestation charges against Jackson 10 years ago, signed on as a commentator for NBC.
In Los Angeles on Friday morning, six TV news camera crews shot footage of the Jackson supporters boarding buses before their expected three-hour journey to Santa Maria.
Sitting in a front seat of one bus was a woman dressed as Charlie Chaplin.
"I'm Michael's favorite character," said Audrey Ruttan, 28, of suburban Van Nuys. "He loves Charlie Chaplin, and I'm here to support him and he's innocent."
In Santa Maria, the hundreds of Jackson supporters included 28-year-old Melanie Dowland, who said she traveled from London for the event.
"I campaign for everything I believe in," Dowland said. "And I believe in Michael. He stands for so much - all the goodness in the world and innocence."
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