Defense attorneys had argued that the six DNC demonstrators should be found not guilty because they had no way of knowing that the parkland they entered had been restricted due to the convention, and because the city had announced that nonviolent protesters would receive only civil citations. The defense attorneys noted that 157 other protesters received citations, including four who climbed the same fence the previous day. The use of the bolt cutter is irrelevant, they said, because no one was charged with using the tool.