Occupy Pittsburgh ‘Spokesman’ Arrested for Failing to Register as a Sex Offender
The Occupy movement keeps chugging along, despite the horrific stories that continue to emerge from its abyss. This week, new revelations about one of the so-called leaders of the Occupy Pittsburgh, James Francis Hoff, will send a chill down the spine of a great many. Hoff, who calls himself "Blue Thunder," is a registered sex offender who allegedly failed to register his status, as required under law. Earlier this week, he was arrested for a second time in less than a year for violating Megan's Law (the laws governing how sex offenders must report their information for public knowledge and safety). As CBS Pittsburgh reports, records show that Hoff was convicted in 1999 of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. While he was parading around the Occupy encampment in Pittsburgh, he apparently declined to register himself as a sex offender. Over the past few months, Hoff has claimed to be a Native American (he offered his "blessing" for the Occupy Pittsburgh movement on Thanksgiving) and he has labeled himself the local movement's spokesman. You can watch footage of his Thanksgiving ritual, below:
This past November, Occupy Pittsburgh promoted Hoff and his Thanksgiving blessing on the group's web site:
Occupy Pittsburgh member Jimmy Blue Thunder, a Delaware Indian known by most as Blue, will perform a ceremony called Kukna, meaning “First Mother, Mother Earth.” The Kukna is a way to pay respect to the earth and give an offering to it. Blue hopes that those who attend the event will “not only enjoy the drumming and singing, they’ll get an education.” A focus of the day is to explain the real history behind the Thanksgiving holiday.
The current spokesperson for the local movement, Jeff Cech, awkwardly laughed on camera when a reporter asked him if other Occupiers were aware of Hoff's criminal history (watch it here). Then, he denied the group's knowledge of it. "Obviously no one here had any idea of his past," he explained. "When it became aware, he left." According to sources, it was a homeless man who turned Hoff in after he saw a piece of his name on a piece of his mail and became concerned about his behavior. Police then came and arrested him. (H/T: CBS Pittsburgh)
