PITTSBURGH —
The normally secretive grand jury process became a daylong parade Tuesday as the Cambria County transgendered couple, subpoenaed in regard to the University of Pittsburgh bomb threats, gave the system a jarring dose of openness.
Seamus Johnston and Katherine Anne McCloskey, made brief, and separate, appearances before a federal grand jury, demanded to see warrants, were threatened with contempt charges and took the unusual step of demanding to speak at length to the 16- to 23-person panel empowered to indict.
Seven hours after they arrived at the U.S. Courthouse, they said they reached an agreement that includes a hearing April 27 before U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.
Where most people slink in and out of a date with the grand jury, the two instead chose to send a message.
"When my friends are exonerated from being persons of interest, it will show transgender folks everywhere that they do not necessarily have to fear bias in the justice system," said Roy Johnston, who is Seamus' father.
Seamus Johnston, who was born a woman but now identifies as a man, is in a years-long dispute with Pitt over his use of locker rooms at its Johnstown campus. He has been expelled and criminally charged regarding repeated use of the men's locker room, and on Monday he filed a complaint with the City of Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations against the university.
The FBI and U.S. attorney's office subpoenaed Mr. Johnston and Ms. McCloskey, of Johnstown, Cambria County, to testify and provide handwriting samples and fingerprints. The couple appeared on time Tuesday and were ushered into the grand jury's suite.
Mr. Johnston said he was before the grand jury for around five minutes, and said he'd provide a handwriting sample and fingerprints if presented with a warrant and told the basis for the conclusion that he had evidence of a crime.
The prosecutor's questions, he said, "were designed just to make me look uncooperative."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Picking declined to comment.
Ms. McCloskey's session before the grand jury was around 15 minutes long. "I kept talking over the prosecutor and pointing at the various members of the grand jury and saying, 'Look, she wants to hear what I have to say,' " she said. "Why do you subpoena somebody if you don't want them to say anything? Especially if they want to say something?"
Nobody has a right to testify before a grand jury, attorneys who are not involved in the case said.
"The policy that the Department of Justice [has] is if a target or subject makes a reasonable request to testify before a grand jury, that request should be given favorable consideration," former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina Miller said. "But there's no legal duty on the part of the prosecutor to allow that to happen."
Ms. Picking eventually led two agents, the couple and five reporters first to U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone's suite, and then to the hallway outside of Judge Fischer's courtroom. While Mr. Johnston and Ms. McCloskey waited there, reporters got word of another bomb threat on campus.
Mr. Johnston said he sure couldn't be blamed for that one.
Judge Fischer eventually held separate hearings for Mr. Johnston and Ms. McCloskey.
Prosecutors with expertise in white-collar crime and national security passed in and out of the closed courtroom.
Mr. Johnston said that at his hearing, Ms. Picking filed a motion that could have led to contempt of court charges. Ms. McCloskey said they were allowed a hearing on their request to talk to the grand jury. Judge Fischer's courtroom deputy declined to comment, saying that the matter is sealed.
The couple then rushed off to do a live shoot for TV news before Judge Fischer convened another hearing at which, Ms. McCloskey said, the contempt motion was dropped.
Why did they defy all conventional wisdom and turn the clandestine grand jury process inside out?
"It was Katie Anne's strategy," Mr. Johnston said, "and it was to let the press see us as innocent, as we are, before the prosecution gets a chance to paint us as guilty."
Local News
Related Photos
-
In this Monday, April 16, 2012 photo, Seamus Johnston, left, and Katherine Anne McCloskey, the transgender couple that was called before a grand jury looking into a string of bomb threats at the University of Pittsburgh, are interviewed in Pittsburgh. The couple on Tuesday told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette they want to testify and will provide handwriting samples, fingerprints and other materials only if they are served with a warrant. (AP Photo/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Bob Donaldson) Associated Press
Discussion
Local couple appears before Pitt bomb threat grand jury
- Local News
-
-
Tornado vets balance preparedness, practicality
Few things in nature are less predictable than a tornado. They can form quickly. They strike weirdly, leveling one building while leaving its neighbor untouched.
-
Salisbury proved it can happen here
It was an event that many residents of Salisbury, Somerset County, would have laughed off prior to it spinning through the small northeastern town and shaking it to its foundations. A Category F3 tornado touched down on May 31, 1998, carving out 10 miles of homes, businesses and livelihoods.
-
When the storm hits
Tornado survivors and seasoned observers suggest people do two simple things to prepare for tornadoes: Know where to take shelter, and move quickly when the time comes.
-
9 Dems vie for 4 council spots
Democratic Party voters will have a crowded field of Johnstown City Council candidates to choose from on Tuesday.
With four seats open, nine individuals entered the race. The top four vote-getters will advance to this fall’s general election. Also, two Democrats originally joined the race for mayor, but the death of Anthony Gergely has left Frank Janakovic as the only remaining candidate. -
Primary turnout likely will be low
The weatherman is promising warm temperatures and rain-free skies on Tuesday, the day of the primary election in Pennsylvania. But the good forecast may be overshadowed by a lack of voter interest in what is shaping up to be a mundane election.
-
Mudslinging hits the small time
It’s not just for presidents, governors and legislators anymore.
The time-honored American tradition of the smear job has hit close to home – specifically, the council race in Meyersdale Borough and the supervisor race in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County. -
A Johnstown icon passes on
Carmel C. Coco of Johnstown, who was known for his skill at repairing shoes as well as his love for music, died peacefully at home on Saturday at age 95.
-
Rendezvous attracts diverse crowd
A few grandparents watched their little loved ones inspect the beautiful nature – grass, rocks, trees and bugs – at Greenhouse Park on Saturday. Some young men and women strolled throughout the grounds with cold beers in their hands on a sun-splashed spring day. Other campers sat around fires, playing guitars, telling stories and sharing laughs.
-
IN BRIEF | Solomon stabbing under investigation
A stabbing occurred at the Solomon Homes housing project in Johnstown on Saturday.
-
BILL EGGERT | ‘Gatsby’ still great nearly 90 years after debut
A new movie just released based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great American novel “The Great Gatsby” is here.
The Baz Luhrmann film is the fourth major theatrical movie based on the classic novel. - More Local News Headlines
-
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
