Jan. 6 defendant spent $275 to fight $15 parking ticket — taking it to the Supreme Court: report

A Massachusetts man arrested last week for allegedly assaulting police officers on Jan. 6 was a familiar name for one local newspaper.

Vincent J. Gillespie, 60, was arrested for allegedly seizing a police shield and using it as a battering ram.

"The Athol man arrested Friday on charges of assault on law enforcement for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the United States Capitol is the same man who, in 2005, made headlines when he went to Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court after receiving a $15 parking ticket," The Republicanreported.

"His next move for appeal was to go to Superior Court, which required more than $250 in filing fees. Those fees were nonrefundable, regardless of a win or not. In court, Gillespie argued that the filing fee it took to get his case before a judge was not constitutional. He got his $15 back, but not the $275 it took to get there."

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Trump's debunked conspiracy theories about election fraud were reportedly not Gillespie's first encounter with fringe delusions.

The newspaper reported, "In a profile on Gillespie in 2012, The Republican’s Fred Contrada wrote that Gillespie, who was living in Greenfield at the time, had earned an engineering degree and living off his inheritance. 'He has interesting theories about the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and about the world’s hidden power structure,' Contrada wrote. 'He will be glad to share them with you if you ask.'"

Read the full report.