Valley Streamer’s charges may be dropped

The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office will offer Valley Stream Stephen Figurasmith a chance to defer a decision on his case on Friday, Brendan Brosh, a spokesman for the Nassau County District Attorney's Office said. Figurasmith's attorney, Ron Kuby, further said that the DA's office may dismiss all charges against him for “placing a false bomb or hazardous substance” at the Nassau County Legislature on June 14.

The charges grew out of a protest by Prison Abolitionists of Nassau Inciting Change, during which Figurasmith dressed up as Moses and attempted to deliver 100 bottles of water containing red food dye to the Nassau County Legislature. The move was meant to symbolize the first plague in the Old Testament Book of Exodus, which ultimately compelled the pharaoh to release the Jewish people.

“Drawing on the long faith-based tradition of human rights activism, we invoked the classic story of Moses and Pharaoh in order to call for an end to slave labor inside of the Nassau County jail and the replacement of the derelict jail oversight committee called the Board of Visitors,” Figurasmith said in a statement.

According to Kuby, each bottle was labeled as “safe and nontoxic,” with ingredients listed as water and red food coloring. Kuby further said that Figurasmith and his co-defendant Suzanne Myron, of Woodbury, who was dressed as Aaron, were not allowed into the Legislature, but were directed to wait with their bottles on the front steps. After hours of standing and complying with the orders, Kuby said, Nassau County police arrested the pair.

Figurasmith’s lawyers said they were satisfied with the DA’s offer to resolve the case without criminal sanctions. They would not discuss Figurasmith’s future protests, but stated that he would continue to advocate for the “human rights of incarcerated people.”