Man Faces A Year In Prison After Taking Over A Chase Bank With A Gang Of Toad People

Actor/climate change activist "Reverend" Billy Talen is facing a year in prison after he and eight members of the Church of Earthalujah sauntered into the lobby of a Chase bank dressed as Central American golden toads.

The species is extinct as a result of climate change, and Talen was there to protest JP Morgan Chase's role in financing fossil-fuel intensive projects, the Guardian's John Vidal reports.

Both Talen and his choir director were arrested after the June demonstration and charged with riot, trespass, unlawful assembly, and disorderly conduct.

Apparently, people at the bank (or at least the manager) thought it was being robbed by the gang of toads, and "at least one customer or employee started crying."

"Our whole thing was 15 minutes long. And for 15 minutes [they] want to put us in jail for a year?" Talen told the Guardian. "I've served three days in the Los Angeles prison in 2006, other than that - my 75 arrests were usually just overnight. It's surprising."

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Read the full report at the Guardian »