National Indian Law Library, Boulder, Colorado
Bob Knowlton, the Grand Junction, Colorado artifacts dealer who was indicted in August for selling illegal antiquities to a government informant, entered his plea in federal court in Denver today. He pleaded not guilty, which may seem unexceptional but which I found rather interesting in light of recent events. The fact that Jeanne and Jericca Redd ended up with extremely light sentences after pleading guilty and forfeiting their artifact collections made me wonder if they were being used as an example to inspire other targets of the investigation to plead guilty and cooperate with the government, but if that was the intention it doesn’t seem to have worked on Knowlton. Knowlton may even have concluded from the light sentences the Redds got that even if he’s convicted he’s not likely to get a very harsh sentence, since the charges against him are much less serious. I guess we’ll see if that turns out to be the case. One important difference is that Knowlton was indicted in Colorado rather than Utah, so he’s not going to be facing the judge, Clark Waddoups, who issued the Redds their sentences. Colorado’s a very different place from Utah in a lot of ways, and the federal judges and juries there may not be as sympathetic to artifact collectors. In any case, it’ll be interesting to see where this case goes from here.
Obama for President Signs, Colorado Springs, Colorado
