HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The chief deputy attorney general said he did not intend to threaten or hurt the Guam Bar president or board of governors when he said he “wanted to smash the faces of the powers that be.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the Guam Bar Association held a press conference where it was alleged Chief Deputy Attorney General Joseph Guthrie assaulted Guam Bar Association President Jacqueline Terlaje and made threats to “bash the heads” of the Bar’s board of governors.
As a result, Terlaje filed a complaint with the Guam Police Department against Guthrie. On Wednesday, GPD spokesperson Officer Berlyn Savella confirmed the case is open and was referred to the Criminal Investigation Section.
Following the press conference, Guthrie emailed The Guam Daily Post a response to the allegations, explaining the incident stemmed from Guthrie believing he had purposely not been notified of an election for the Guam Bar Association.
Response
The incident involving Guthrie and Terlaje occurred after a scheduled hearing at the Civil Service Commission on Tuesday morning, which ultimately did not go forward due to a lack of quorum. The hearing was for a former administrative supervisor at the Office of the Attorney General, Vivian Nisperos, who was appealing her reported termination from the office.
Guam Bar Vice President John Morrison explained in the press conference the conversation started off as professional before Guthrie allegedly made a threat.
“At one point as they interacted, attorney Guthrie made what we view as a threat toward attorney Terlaje. He said that, based on recent bylaw changes, that he felt that he ‘wanted to bash the heads in, bash the faces in of the powers that be,'” Morrison said, confirming the “powers that be” meant the Bar’s board of governors.
In Guthrie’s response, he explained he was discussing with Terlaje a lawsuit concerning an amendment to the Bar’s bylaws which strips voting rights from “temporary members,” which Guthrie objected to.
According to Post files, the Guam Bar announced in a press release an election was held in July where members voted on various proposed amendments, which led some members to attempt to overrule the results.
One of the most notable amendments was to determine whether temporary active members and nonresidents should be able to serve as board members or vote in elections.
Currently, the case is before the Supreme Court of Guam, who has placed a stay on the proceeding, which means the amended bylaws will not be in effect until the court completes a review of the arguments.
Guthrie said he told Terlaje he objected to the amendment and that he had not received notice of the election.
“Ms. Terlaje then speculated on the reason that I had not received notice of the election, intimating that others had not received notice of the election as well. Her words were technical gobbledygook, and I formed the distinct impression that she was trying to bulls*** me,” Guthrie wrote in his email.
Guthrie said he “realized he had deliberately not been notified of this election by the cabal that runs the Guam Bar, and I uttered the words comprising of the ‘assault’ of which I am accused.”
Guthrie further gave the Post his exact words.
“This makes me feel that I want to smash the faces of the powers-that-be at the Guam Bar,” Guthrie says he said at the time, confirming to Terlaje he meant the GBA board.
“She then asked if I felt that I wanted to smash her face? I answered ‘yes’ and immediately followed with the words, ‘I am not threatening you,'” Guthrie said.
In the press conference, Morrison said after the alleged threat, Terlaje tried to distance herself from Guthrie as he “tried repeatedly to put his hands on her, despite being told not to.”
Guthrie, however, said, he did not try to touch Terlaje “nor did I back her up.”
“Significantly, I was only accused to have ‘tried to touch’ at the press conference that occurred yesterday. Apparently, only later someone erroneously thought that ‘touching’ is a necessary element of criminal assault so ‘touching’ was added to the criminal complaint,” said Guthrie.
Guthrie concluded his email by saying, “Fortunately, all this occurred in a scrum of people, so I have plenty of witnesses to back me up.”
In the press conference, GBA member-at-large Joaquin “Jay” Arriola Jr. said there were at least six witnesses present, including Deputy Attorney General Graham Botha getting between Terlaje and Guthrie during the incident and Botha urging Guthrie not to “say those things about the board.”
‘No intention to resign’
The Guam Bar’s leadership condemned Guthrie’s alleged actions and several times emphasized that “criminal conduct is unethical conduct.”
While it remains unknown at this time how the complaint filed with police will pan out, it could require the hiring of an independent counsel by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero to review the issue. The Bar called for either Guthrie to resign from his position as chief deputy attorney general or be terminated from his position.
Guthrie, when asked about potentially resigning or being terminated, responded that he has “no intention to resign, nor have I been removed from chief deputy.”
“I trust everyone at the (Attorney General’s Office) understands that when I told Ms. Terlaje that I felt that I wanted to smash the faces of the powers-that-be at the Guam Bar, I was referring to the intensity of the anger I felt at being so disrespected by the powers-that-be, and was not announcing an intention to actually smash anyone,” Guthrie told the Post Wednesday.
Arriola
In addition to emailing the Post his response to the allegations, Guthrie posted comments with similar statements on The Guam Daily Post’s website.
Arriola, who had seen the comments, told the Post Guthrie’s reply is “very troubling” and “concerning.”
“In refusing to accept responsibility, first of all, in refusing to apologize for making improper statements, just inappropriate language, … there’s a bigger problem. There’s a much bigger problem,” Arriola said. “His statement is disturbing … that the number two attorney general, chief law enforcement officers, has such as a cavalier, outdated attitude on his conduct.”
Although Arriola, a criminal defense attorney, will wait to see how the issue plays out in court or with the Bar’s ethics committee, he points out that Guthrie admitted to attempting to assault her.
“Attempting to assault is another crime. It’s just as good as when you swing and you miss. That’s attempted assault, and that’s what he did. That’s what he admits he did. He makes light of it, and so I’m very concerned,” said Arriola, who added the people of Guam should demand more from the AG’s office.
As far as Guthrie saying the alleged assault resulted from him being disrespected because he was not notified of the Guam Bar election, Arriola said Guthrie was “deflecting.”
“Get to the real issue. You want to smash the faces of the board of governors because we’re a ‘cabal,’ … another inappropriate phrase,” Arriola said, adding everyone in the Guam Bar was given notice of the election.
A flag and seal for the Office of the Attorney General of Guam is seen at the ITC building in Tamuning Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Joseph Guthrie
