Ahlam Mohsen, an MSU anthropology senior, pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting a federal official Friday — charges stemming from an incident where she threw a pie at U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., last summer.
Mohsen submitted the plea to the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan after an additional charge of assaulting a member of Congress was dropped.
The charge of assaulting a federal official is a misdemeanor while the charge of assaulting a member of Congress is a felony.
The incident occurred during the Aug. 16, 2010, meeting with the Mecosta County Democratic Party. Mohsen threw the pie as a form of protest against the U.S. involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Allison Folmar, Mohsen’s attorney, said her client does not deserve a year in prison — the maximum penalty related to the charge.
“The accusation was that she assaulted the Senator as though it (was) malicious or intended some harm,” Folmar said. “She intended no harm whatsoever.”
Folmar said Mohsen took the time to remove the top layer of crust from the pie before throwing it in order to prevent any physical harm to Levin.
Pie throwing has a history of being used to make a political statement, but Mohsen won’t be repeating the action anytime in the future, Folmar said.
“She does not want to do anything to ruin her future or her life or her family’s life,” Folmar said. “She realizes that she’s made an error in judgement.”
Max Kantar, a 23-year-old resident of Big Rapids, Mich., participated with Mohsen in the pie throwing. Folmar said Kantar also has entered a guilty plea.
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