Authorities stated that they always treated this case as a graffiti case

Jul 3, 2013 09:05 GMT  ·  By

An activist writing down messages in chalk in front of three Bank of America offices has been acquitted in a vandalism case.

"No thanks, big banks" and "Shame on Bank of America," Jeffrey David Olson wrote on the sidewalk near the San Diego banks.

40-year-old Olson gave a statement, explaining that he couldn't believe it when he was slapped with 13 misdemeanor vandalism charges.

"It's shocking, it's really shocking. [...] I never thought in a million years that using washable sidewalk chalk on a city sidewalk could be considered vandalism. That was unfathomable to me," he said.

According to 10 News, the San Diego City Attorney's Office explains that the case was simply a public defacement case. It went to trial when the defendant said no to wiping out the messages.

"That unit is charged with, among other things, working closely with SDPD's Graffiti Strike Force. Our prosecutors never treated this case as anything more than a graffiti case.

"As with most graffiti cases, Mr. Olson was offered reduction to an infraction after completing volunteer work service cleaning up graffiti. His refusal of that offer resulted in the trial and his successful defense," the prosecution states.

Mayor Bob Filner dubbed the accusation an "enormous waste of public resources" and suggested that the case should be dismissed.

"I realized that, there was basically a criminal racket operating on my block, and I didn't find that acceptable," Olson explained his actions once the trial was over.

His attorney Tom Tosdal argued that Olson did not have a malicious purpose, which is an essential condition when dubbing a defacing act a form of vandalism. His chalk messages were a form of protest.

"His purpose was not malicious. His purpose was to inform," Tosdal elaborated on his defense strategy.