Charges dropped against Newport man in viral shoreline access video. But fight continues.
The prosecution has dismissed the willful trespass case against Newport resident Cheyne Cousens, whose video confrontation with a Middletown property owner over shoreline access went viral on TikTok in July.
“I’m glad to have this case dismissed so we can move forward with our efforts to restore this public access point,” Cousens said in a statement to The Newport Daily News. “I’m fortunate to have had good legal representation so I wasn’t made an example of to discourage people from exercising their constitutional rights. Similar issues with beach access are taking place across the state and hopefully property owners who wish to prevent access will not be successful in using unjust arrest and prosecution to achieve their goals.”
Cousens was charged with willful trespass after attempting to access a beach in Middletown’s Easton’s Point neighborhood near Esplanade and allegedly crossed over someone’s property to access a set of stairs to the beach. Cousens said he had seen the Coastal Resource Management Council Shoreline Access sign near the property and tried to use that path to get to the water but discovered it was blocked by bushes, which is why he tried to use the stairs.
Middletown resident Randy Rauchle, who lives at the home across the street from the property, confronted Cousens and told him to leave his property, which resulted in an argument between the two and Rauchle eventually contacting the police.
Cousens recorded the interaction, which received over eight million views on TikTok. He turned himself in to Middletown Police after discovering they had a warrant out for his arrest on willful trespass charges. He pleaded not guilty to these charges at his arraignment in August.
Attorney Brian Cunha, who represented Cousens in this case, said the prosecutors agreed to dismiss the charges after a “heart-to-heart” with Cunha.
“It was an extremely weak case,” Cousens’ attorney Brian Cunha said.
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Other than having to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Cousens was willfully trespassing on the property, Cunha said the prosecution’s case was hindered because there was a question of whether Rauchle owned the property or those stairs to begin with, as well as whether the police had probable cause to arrest Cousens.
Since then, Cunha has reached out to Middletown to find a resolution for the blocked path to the beach at that CRMC-designated right-of-way.
“They have an obligation under their agreement with CRMC to provide access to that beach and they haven’t done that,” Cunha said.
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Cunha said he has not heard back from Middletown as of Thursday.
“The Rhode Island shoreline is meant to be public and available for everyone to enjoy, and I hope at the end of the day this case will have brought some attention to this issue,” Cousens said.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Charges dropped against Chayne Counsens in shoreline access dispute
