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No Charges Filed Against Aldrin
posted: 08:59 pm ET
22 September 2002
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Untitled DocumentBEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - No charges will be filed against Buzz Aldrin for allegedly punching a man who called him a liar and demanded that the former astronaut swear on the Bible that he'd been to the moon. Bart Sibrel, 37, claimed the 72-year-old Aldrin hit him in the face on Sept. 9 outside the Luxe Hotel in Beverly Hills after Sibrel called him "a coward, a liar and a thief." The Los Angeles County district attorney's office announced Friday it had declined to file a misdemeanor battery count. It was unlikely a jury would have convicted Aldrin, Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Ratinoff said. Aldrin "certainly welcomes" the decision, said his lawyer, Robert O'Brien."We hope that in the future Mr. Sibrel will refrain from harassing Dr. Aldrin and any other Apollo astronauts," he said. Sibrel called the decision unfair. "It's sad the people who are in charge of upholding the law are showing favoritism," he said. "Celebrities and citizens are not treated the same." Sibrel, of Nashville, Tenn., says he does not believe Aldrin or anyone else has walked on the moon. Sibrel said he was trying to confront Aldrin about his 1969 lunar mission when the former Apollo 11 astronaut swung at him. A 10-second clip from the videotaped incident showed Sibrel yelling at Aldrin from several feet away before Aldrin responded, "Will you get away from me!" and lunged at Sibrel with a right hook. A young woman tried to pull Aldrin away. O'Brien said Aldrin was defending himself and family members. "Buzz was physically blocked from leaving the hotel and was aggressively confronted by Mr. Sibrel, and he acted to defend himself," the attorney said. Sibrel has confronted Aldrin on two previous occasions and has produced an independent film asserting that the lunar landing was faked.
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