A RENOWNED ACTIVIST HIT THE HEADLINES FOR VERY DIFFERENT REASONS THAN HIS PROTESTS
The man in the feathered headdress banged loudly on a deerskin drum as crowds cheered him on. Redwolf Pope was a familiar face at certain protests in the US. In 2017, he protested outside the White House alongside thousands of Native Americans, condemning an oil-pipeline development. He even appeared on Fox News and recorded influential talks about the oil-pipeline protests. Pope, who divided his time between apartments in Seattle and Sante Fe, often spoke about his Native American heritage. He said he belonged to the ancient Western Shoshone tribe, originating in California’s Death Valley region.
By many tribes across America, he was considered a respected spokesperson for Native American rights, as well as being a talented filmmaker.
But in July 2018, Redwolf Pope, then 41, made headlines for a different reason. He was arrested in Phoenix and accused of filming himself sexually assaulting women who appeared to be drugged. Someone staying at Pope’s Seattle apartment had reported him to police after finding a hidden camera. A warrant was put out for his arrest and both his homes were searched. Police found cameras in the bathrooms and bedrooms: shockingly, they also discovered a ‘staggering number’ of explicit video recordings and photos concealed in an encrypted file on his iPad.
INITIAL HEARING
Pope denied the charges in an initial court hearing, insisting that the videos and pictures showed him having consensual sex with former girlfriends. He vowed text messages, witness statements and other evidence would prove his innocence. He claimed that he had set up the recording devices in his homes because roommates had stolen from him. During a trial at Santa Fe County Court in September 2020, Redwolf Pope, then 44, denied three charges of rape, voyeurism and kidnapping.
Prosecutors told the court that the defendant had taken photos and video of himself sexually assaulting a woman in a Santa Fe hotel room, while she appeared unconscious. The woman testified in court, explaining the days and hours leading up to the incident.
She told jurors she was in town for business. At the time, she thought of Pope as a friendly face and accepted his offer of an extra hotel room that he’d already booked at a local hote
