Anarchy Princess Goes to Court

Anarchy Princess goes to court

Imagine being in court, facing the man who assaulted you, while his friends snicker and make faces.

That was what Brianne Chapman aka Anarchy Princess had to endure in her pursuit of justice.

She was assaulted live on national TV. On September 7, 2023, Chapman went to protest Peter Navarro, who was on trial at the US Court House for Contempt of Congress.

As Navarro began to speak to the assembled media, she slipped through the crowd to get behind him with a homemade sign that read: Bro, should’ve plead the Fifth. Peter 4 Prison.

When she did so, Chapman was assaulted by Steve Girard aka Jericho Steve (his YouTube streaming name), who was there to support Navarro. After she passed in front of him, he lifted his flag pole, with the American flag on it, and rammed it between her legs from behind.

For this, he was charged with one count of Misdemeanor Sexual Abuse.

Justice grinds slowly. After being arrested in November 2023, the trial was delayed as Girard strung things out by contemplating and rejecting a plea deal. A pro bono attorney was appointed for him but his lawyer had another case which added months to schedule.

The People vs Steven Girard

On August 7th the case finally came to trial. It was a bench trial, meaning that a judge would hear the evidence and make a verdict.

In the courtroom watching were close to a dozen Girard supporters from Freedom Corner, the weird pro-Trump J6 cult that waves flags outside the DC Jail.

Why were so many of them there? It’s an intimidation tactic. They do the same thing for the J6 trials, filling the courtroom to “keep the judges honest” as they say, while they scowl at witnesses and try to appear threatening.

Also present were several of Chapman’s friends.

I was watching on WebEx – you can do that in DC.

After their opening statements, the People began by showing two videos, which showed the incident.

The first, and most definitive, was filmed by one of the Freedom Corner chuds: Rebecca. She was there on September 7 to harass Chapman at the news conference and was following her around, cursing her in Chinese.

Ironically, this friend of Girard’s captured the best view of the assault. In it, you can see Girard look down at Chapman’s rear and then deliberately lift his flag pole between her legs.

Rebecca watched from the gallery as her video was run again and again, frozen and analyzed, the evidence that would convict Girard.

The next video was from CNN. It showed a head-on view. Navarro starts to speak and there’s a commotion in the background as Girard assaults Chapman and she yells, “That’s assault!”

Chapman then took the stand, recounting the shock and horror of being violated on national TV. This assault has made her reluctant to exercise her First Amendment rights, concerned for her physical safety and feeling that the courts and the police will not protect her.

The defense then put on their case. Unable to argue the evidence, Girard’s attorney tried to impeach Chapman’s credibility.

At first, he questioned her about her YouTube views by trying to say that she made money from being provocative. Chapman corrected him: she’s not monetized, meaning she doesn’t make money from YouTube.

She does make money, however, from supporters who Cash app and Venmo her, inspired by her stand against Trump tyranny.

After a break, this line of inquiry was abandoned. Instead, he showed YouTube videos of her protesting the chuds. Girard’s lawyer played a scene from outside the Supreme Court, where she was arguing with Freedom Corner supporters, one of whom elbowed her. In the video, she’s holding up a sign documenting the violent, Nazi past of Brian Jackson, a J6 rioter who was recently sentenced to three years in prison.

Girard and his supporters call Jackson a hero. They chant his name and the names of other J6ers every night at Freedom Corner. It’s a cult.

Bringing up a video from a Trump event in Philly, at which Anarchy Princess protested, the defense lawyer asked:

“Did you chant ‘Small penises for Trump?'”

“Yes, I have referred to the small penises of Trump supporters.”

Again and again he asked about this. Thank god I was on WebEx and not in court because I was howling.

His argument seemed to be that she’s obnoxious and deserved it – something Girard and the chuds have said many times.

Jericho Takes the Stand

And then, to my surprise, Steve Girard aka “Jericho Steve” took the stand.

He’s 61, but looks older, like many of the chuds do. He put on an act in court. No longer was he the spry, active man who waves a flag for hours at Freedom Corner. Instead, he pretended to be old and deaf, requiring court-provided headphones, though he seemed to hear just fine.

On the stand, he gave his version of events. That he was trying to get out of the way and accidentally shoved the flag between her legs. And that she was in “his” space.

This claim was rapidly demolished by the prosecution during cross as they played Rebecca’s video again (she had left the gallery by this point) showing that he made no attempt to get out of the way and deliberately assaulted her with a flag pole.

“You claim it was an accident,” one of the prosecutors asked. “If it was one, why didn’t you apologize?”

There was a long pause. He had no answer to this question.

We Have the Video

 And then the judge made her decision. But first she talked about John Marshall Park, where the assault occurred, and what a special place it is to her. The park is a block from the DC Court House.

“No one deserves to be assaulted for using their First Amendment rights,” she said, dismissing the defense lawyer’s arguments. Then she took apart Girard’s excuse, saying if you go to a protest, you should expect people to be in your space.

“This isn’t a he said/she said,” the judge said. “Because we have the video.” 

GUILTY

Steven Girard was found guilty of Misdemeanor Sexual Abuse on August 7, 2024.

Chapman then gave a victim impact statement which was heartbreaking to watch. It hurts to see a friend of yours in fear and forced to curtail her life due to threats. Many of the Freedom Corner chuds, who are responsible for those threats, flounced out of the court at this point.

The Sentence

Girard has no criminal history, so incarceration would not be appropriate at this point, the judge said. So she sentenced him to:

  • 180 days suspended
  • 18 months supervised probation; non-supervised after 6 months if community service is satisfactory and good behavior
  • 60 hrs community service in his home of Lancaster, PA
  • Protective Order so that he has to stay away from Chapman

As the victim, Chapman was asked if these terms were agreeable to her.

If he violates the terms of his probation, he’ll be sentenced to the DC Jail.

Girard is still the same smirking asshole, unaffected by the humiliation of a court trial and nearly losing his liberty. On the way out of the court, the WebEx was still on and I heard him say to the prosecution, “Touche.” He thinks this is some kind of a game.

And that night, he joined his buddies on Freedom Corner, outside the DC Jail in which he narrowly avoided being confined. Hearing aids gone, he was suddenly young again, waving a flag in support of violent January 6th insurrectionists. Cake was served. His friends called him a hero.

While the chuds may think it is a joke, being convicted of Misdemeanor Sexual Abuse is a serious matter, as Girard’s own lawyer said during court.

Justice was served, even if it took a long time to arrive.

One Final Note

Girard and the other chuds used to wave flags and hold “Free J6ers” signs outside the US Court House during the trials of J6 insurrectionists.

Counterprotesters drew chalk messages for them on the sidewalk. Chalktifa, they called it. Things like Trump 4 Prison, all J6ers are going to jail and pentagrams, just to screw with the chuds, who complained to the police that they had been libeled by chalk.

One day, I happened to be taking photos of the chalk when Girard approached me. This video demonstrates the kind of entitlement, arrogance and stupidity common to the chuds. An attitude that will most certainly lead him into more trouble in the near future.

Author: Joe Flood

Joe Flood is a writer, photographer and web person from Washington, DC. The author of several novels, Joe won the City Paper Fiction Competition in 2020. In his free time, he enjoys wandering about the city taking photos.

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