A comedian named Sacha Boren Cohen played a trick on former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin that could land him behind bars.
Cohen, who was shooting a new series for Showtime, pretended to be a disabled veteran to garner an interview with Palin.
LawandCrime.com reported on the incident:
According to Palin, the comedian posed as a wounded veteran in order to arrange an interview with the former Alaska governor. Palin said in a Facebook post that she traveled cross-country for the interview. After finding the conversation to be full of “sarcasm” and “disrespect,” Palin said she “finally had enough and literally, physically removed my mic and walked out.”
The extent of Cohen’s deception is unclear, as the show has yet to air, but depending on how he held himself out, he could be in trouble.
The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 makes it a crime to lie about being a recipient of military decorations or medals “with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit.” A stunt for highly lucrative television show could certainly count as a “tangible benefit.” A previous version of the Act from 2005 had much broader restriction against lying about past military service, but the Supreme Court said it violated the First Amendment in an opinion written by the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Sarah Palin responded to the incident on Facebook:
Those convicted of violating the Stolen Valor Act have incurred interesting, if not embarassing, punishments over time.
According to TaskandPurpose.com, a fake Medal of Honor receipient, who bought the medal at a military memoribilia show, was forced to write 174 apology letters.
Another violator who claimed to be a Marine, was forced to march with a sign in public for 50 hours.
The sign read on one side “I am a liar. I am not a Marine.” While the other side read “I have never served my country. I have dishonored veterans of all wars.”
We will soon learn if Cohen violated the Stolen Valor Act as his show “Who is America?” is set to air on Showtime on Sunday, July 15th.
AAN Staff
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