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Bellingham man not charged for naked bike ride
The only man to get a citation during the June 5 naked bike ride in Bellingham will not be charged with a crime, according to the man’s attorney.
Lawyer Larry Hildes said the prosecutor dropped all charges prior to his client Christopher Ian O’Dell’s arraignment date, after deciding O’Dell should never have been given a citation for indecent exposure.
O’Dell was the only person of about 280 bicyclists who participated in the annual ride to get cited by Bellingham Police, after someone called and said they were specifically offended by him, police said at the time.
Hildes said the body parts in question had been covered up at the time, and case law has held that nudity is not always considered obscenity if there’s a First Amendment component.
“Obviously, we think justice was done,” Hildes said.
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