"Dancing with the Stars" Protesters Charged

ABC/Eric McCandless
(LOS ANGELES) — Sam Sotoodeh and Barzeen Soroudi, the two men who were arrested after rushing the stage to protest Olympian Ryan Lochte during a live performance of Dancing with the Stars, have been charged. 

According to documents obtained by ABC Radio, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office filed criminal complaints against Sotoodeh, 59, and Soroudi, 25, charging each man with leaving a spectator area and entering a stage and interfering with a performance — both Los Angeles Municipal Code violations. 

The maximum each could face if convicted is six months in jail and a one thousand dollar fine. 

The pair, who screamed “Liar” and tore open their shirts to reveal the name Lochte with a slash through it, told ABC News after their arrests that their intention was not to hurt Lochte. They said they just believed he embarrassed Americans by exaggerating a story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro during the Summer Olympics.

The protesters’ arraignment is set for October 4.

 

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