Stephen Pearcy (activist)

Stephen Pearcy (born March 4, 1960) is a probate, estate planning, income tax and business transactions attorney in Sacramento, California. In 1999 and 2000, during the dot-com bubble, Pearcy was a corporate attorney at Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP (now DLA Piper) in Palo Alto, and focused on venture capital financing and public offering transactions.^[1][2] Not previously known for being politically outspoken, Pearcy made national news in February 2005 after displaying a stuffed American soldier's uniform hung with a noose on his home with the words, “Your Tax Dollars at Work.”^[3][1] After someone tore down that display, he replaced it with a similar display with the words, “Bush Lied, I Died.” That display was also torn down. Both vandalisms occurred while TV news crews were present and were captured on film, but the Sacramento District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute the vandals.^[1][4] Pearcy eventually won a $5,000 judgment against one of the vandals, and he received and out-of-court settlement for $3,500 from another.^[1][5]

In August 2005, Pearcy made national news again when he exhibited a painting at the California Department of Justice in Sacramento showing a star-spangled map of the United States being flushed down a toilet. The painting included the words, "T'anks to Mr. Bush!" The art exhibit was controversial and generated a protest and counterprotest event that once again included supporters of the exhibition facing off with opponents of the exhibition.^[6][7][8]

Pearcy remained politically active until around 2007, just before Barack Obama was elected. He has written articles for the San Francisco Daily Journal, CounterPunch, the Smirking Chimp, the Sacramento News & Review and Dissident Voice.^{[9][10][11][12]}

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