Woman accused in Artifacts assault pleads not guilty

ATHENS, Ohio — A woman accused of assaulting a demonstrator at a protest in uptown Athens last month has pleaded not guilty in Athens County Municipal Court, although she has acknowledged kicking the demonstrator to law enforcement.

Gabriella Wolman, 35, of Athens, faces a first-degree misdemeanor assault charge from a confrontation with Clay Lewis, 20, during a Jan. 21 demonstration outside Artifacts Gallery, 2 W. State St. Lewis and others were protesting the owner’s public stance against transgender people.

Wolman’s attorney, Jeffrey Finley, entered the plea on Jan. 27, along with a demand for a trial by jury.

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Lewis said in January that Wolman and her husband “were banging on windows, attempting to intimidate [protesters], and overall creating a negative environment.”

Lewis said, “Suck my dick” at the couple after they left Artifacts Gallery. At that point, Lewis says, Wolman kicked him. Wolman told the sheriff’s office that those were the only incidents that had occurred, and that after Lewis “made a rude remark to her, she kicked him in the shin.”

Lewis said he did not intend to incite violence.

Artifacts owner Amy Mangano told the Independent hours after the incident that she knew nothing about it.

“I never heard anything like that,” Mangano said. “All I heard was, the police came in and said there was a masked man who may have assaulted someone and if I knew anything about it, and, I actually didn’t know anything about it.”

Mangano has since voiced support for Wolman on Twitter, as have other Twitter users. One post encouraged advocates for women’s “sex-based rights” to contact the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office about Wolman’s case. 

The Athens County Prosecutor’s Office said in an email Tuesday that it had received two emails in support of Mangano, though only one mentioned Wolman’s case. 

One email was addressed to “District Attorney Keller Blackburn.” The prosecutor’s office advised the writer that because Wolman’s case is before Athens Municipal Court, they should voice their concerns to the Athens City Prosecutor.

According to Athens County Sheriff’s Office records, Wolman filed a harassment complaint against Lewis on Jan. 23 based on two incidents. 

Lewis confirmed to ACSO Deputy Stefan Hornbeck that he made a Facebook post about Wolman “to aid the Athens City Police Department with identifying her or where she may be.” 

Lewis also confirmed he called her past employer, stating that she should be fired. Lewis told Hornbeck that ”he had no other intentions of contacting Gabriella otherwise.” 

Wolman told the deputy that “she wanted the incident[s] documented in a report, because she believes it could escalate.” Hornbeck informed Wolman that Lewis had not committed any criminal offense. No further action was taken.

Wolman’s case is set for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 15. If convicted, she faces up to 180 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000.

Additional reporting by Sam Stecklow.