RNC protester's conviction overturned

A judge has overturned the conviction of a man convicted of public assembly without a permit during the Republican National Convention.

Ramsey County District Judge Edward Wilson has granted a motion for a new trial for Sean Patrick McCoy of Missoula, Mont.

But St. Paul City Attorney John Choi says the city will not retry the case.

McCoy, 33, was convicted in March of public assembly without a permit, a petty misdemeanor, and ordered to pay a $50 fine. The jury acquitted him of fleeing police, and the judge threw out charges of unlawful assembly and obstructing traffic.

McCoy argued that he was working as a medic during a Sept. 1 protest.

In overturning the conviction, the judge ruled that one of the jury instructions was incomplete.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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