Woman cited for yard sale in court

A local activist is assembling a rally today to support a Rathdrum resident cited in April for holding a yard sale in violation of the coronavirus shutdown orders.

Christa Thompson was charged with violating Gov. Brad Little’s isolation orders April 17 by the Rathdrum Police Department for holding a yard sale in the early weeks of the COVID-19 shutdown, where police chief Tomi McLean said Thompson was repeatedly warned by officers to cease and desist from selling items on her family home.

Thompson is being arraigned today at the Kootenai County Courthouse.

Thompson told the Coeur d’Alene Press in April that, after she and her husband were told they could not hold a yard sale — as it violated Gov. Brad Little’s shutdown orders, which at the time only allowed essential businesses to remain open — police officers told her it was OK to sell items, so long as she wasn’t proactively advertising the event as a yard sale. A family relative had passed away, prompting their original plans for the yard sale. Thompson said Rathdrum Police told her she could continue to sort items on the front lawn and sell the items to passersby who inquired, but that holding a full-blown yard sale violated Little’s orders.

McLean disputed Thompsons’ claims, saying the Thompson family was warned repeatedly over the course of eight days to remove yard sale advertising — including a post on Craigslist and signage visible on Highway 41 — before finally being written a citation on April 17.

“The Rathdrum Police Department attempted to educate and warn prior to issuing a citation,” McLean said. “Rathdrum PD (had) also received several complaints from the public in regard to the yard sale. This was a large non-essential yard sale that filled the entire front yard and into the backyard, as well."

Thompson and her husband, parents of six children, both told The Press at the time the family could no longer afford to pay for storage, and that they were selling the items to help pay for groceries and other bills.

The Thompson misdemeanor citation was believed to be the first of its kind written to an Idaho resident since the pandemic began.

The citation sparked a public outcry and a flurry of support, including a pro bono legal team and shows of solidarity from both private citizens and public officials, including from members of the Rathdrum City Council.

The Kootenai County Courthouse on Government Way in Coeur d’Alene — where Thompson will be arraigned today — will be the site of today’s 9 a.m. rally. Casey Whalen, the local activist behind the North Idaho Exposed YouTube channel, is spearheading the event. In an interview with The Press, Whalen said he felt incumbent to stand up in support of Thompson.

“I feel like we have to stand up now,” Whalen said. “Things are just getting worse. For me, it comes down to: People don’t have the right to tell other people what to do.”

He added that, from his vantage point, Idahoans’ rights are more in jeopardy now than they were when Thompson was originally cited in April.

“So many people have become accustomed to the state of affairs,” Whalen said. “And they’re complying. We’re becoming used to this way of life, and it’s not right.”