FAYETTEVILLE — Abel Tomlinson, a former Green Party candidate for Congress, plans to represent himself in circuit court against charges that he sold a controlled substance and wants to use a freedom-of-religion defense.
“I have come to realize that only I can represent myself, and that no lawyer will be able to speak on my behalf and provide me with appropriate and sufficient defense,” Tomlinson said in a motion filed with the court.
Tomlinson also wants prosecutors barred from showing video of an incident in April in which Tomlinson climbed a tree in front of the Washington County courthouse and screamed a profanity-laced diatribe before officers pulled him down and arrested him.
Tomlinson faces two felony counts of delivery of a controlled substance, in this case psilocybin mushrooms. Police contend that Tomlinson sold the mushrooms to a confidential informant.
Trial is set for Oct. 7 in Washington County Circuit Court. No pretrial hearing date has been set for Tomlinson’s motions.
Tomlinson contends that he has a right to use hallucinogenic mushrooms in the practice of his religious beliefs. In a motion filed late Friday, Tomlinson cited legal precedents and argued that state and federal laws provide protection for certain established churches to use sacraments that would otherwise be illegal. Tomlinson also contends that the practices of his church do not threaten the public’s health and safety, so the state should have no interest in the issue.
Tomlinson contends that the mushrooms are a safe and positive sacramental religious experience with a positive moral impact.
Three days before climbing the tree, Tomlinson paid $45 to file articles of incorporation with the state to create the Psychedelic Pantheism Church. But Tomlinson contends that he has operated the church for several years and is a minister.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 09/30/2010