Marshall Ledbetter
Marshall Ledbetter (born June 10, 1969 , † July 14, 2003 ) was an American psychedelic enthusiast and activist who preferred unconventional methods of protest.
At around 4:00 am on June 14, 1991, Florida State University student Ledbetter broke into the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee , barricaded himself, and called the police from a Senator's office . Talking to her, he asked that society should wake up and people should stop being each other's robotic clones. He asked for a 20- inch vegetarian pizza from Gumby's pizzeria, 666 donuts , a case of Japanese lager and a CNN news team. Marshall Ledbetter also asked the police to put the following people on the phone for him: Timothy Leary , Lemmy Kilmister , Jello Biafra and Ice Cube .
Police feared the building may have been occupied by several armed terrorists who have taken hostages. Ledbetter's action led to the largest police presence in Florida history . The building and its surroundings were closed, snipers were posted on the roofs all around and the traffic of SWAT units was blocked. After several hours of excitement, the State Capitol was finally stormed at around 12:45 p.m. by a SWAT team who found Ledbetter sitting under a table in underwear and completely unarmed. In his hands he had a cigar and a telephone. He was eventually arrested for trespassing.
On July 14, 2003, Marshall Ledbetter committed suicide.
Influence on pop culture
Jello Biafra, one of the four people with whom Ledbetter wished to speak on June 14, 1991, and his band Lard produced a song in 2000 with the title Ballad of Marshall Ledbetter , the text of which related to the events and Biafra's impressions of the action, reproduced.
Jello Biafra's comment on Marshall Ledbetter: “He was tired of the injustice of the world and decided to do something about it in an unconventional way. I've been a fan of creative crime for a long time. The best part is that it was expressive, a work of art and nobody was hurt in the process. "
literature
- Daniel M. Harrison: Making Sense of Marshall Ledbetter: The Dark Side of Political Protest. University Press of Florida, Gainesville 2014, ISBN 978-0-8130-6016-3 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ledbetter, Marshall |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American psychedelic enthusiast and activist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 10, 1969 |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 14, 2003 |