Six Iraq war protesters were found not guilty on Wednesday of criminal trespassing for refusing to leave Senator Susan Collins' federal office last year.

A 12-person in a jury in a Penobscot Superior Court in Bangor deliberated for about two hours before finding the group not guilty.

Had they been found guilty the defendants could have been sentenced to six months in prison or fined $1,000.

The group went to meet with Collins to protest the Iraq war and encourage her not to vote for an Iraq war spending bill. The protesters wanted to talk with Collins, who one of the defendants said was not in the office that day. When the office closed, the building manager called the police.

Collins' district director testified at the request of one of the defendants and each defendant testified for themselves. The arresting officers testified against for the prosecution.

One interesting wrinkle in the case is that the Senate approved a measure late Monday authorizing the Senate to pay for Collins' legal fees.

This is from the Congressional Record on Wednesday: [The] Senate agreed to S. Res. 539, to authorize testimony and legal representation in State of Maine v. Douglas Rawlings, Jonathan Kreps, James Freeman, Henry Braun, Robert Shetterly, and Dudley Hendrick.

The trial was not short on politics. Senate candidate Tom Ledue, a Democrat, and Laurie Dobson, an independent, held a rally for them on Monday at the Bangor Public Library. Ralph Nader issued a statement in support of the group whose advocates are calling "The Bangor Six."

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