Couple fined $18,000 for bulldozing Joshua trees to build home on their property

In the Peoples' Republic of Kalifornia, shoplifting is no longer prosecuted.  BLM rioters can burn and destroy without worrying about prosecution.  Instead, prosecutors are using their valuable taxpayer-paid time to prosecute the REALLY dangerous crimes:

In the Peoples' Republic of Kalifornia, a couple who owned a lot was getting ready to build their new home on it.  To do that they cleared some small (six feet or so) palm-like trees.

A neighbor called a "Department of Fish and Wildlife" tip line, and now the local DA has fined the couple $18,000.

Reason: Last September the state "Fish and Game Commission" granted the trees temporary endangered species status after environmentalists petitioned for its protection.  This temporary protection makes it illegal to damage or remove the tree without a permit while the commissions conducts a study to see if they qualify as endangered, so it has the same effect as if the trees were already on the "endangered species" list.  That status will continue until a final ruling is made, which is expected sometime in 2028.  

Of course if the Fish and Game Commission declines to permanently classify the trees as endangered species, the same environmentalists who pushed the commission to put the trees on that list can then appeal for another two decades or so.

According to the DA, the couple believed that small trees under a certain diameter could legally be removed.  But the DA dismissed that, saying “It doesn’t matter if it’s a foot tall or 20 feet tall, it’s under that protection,” so he filed 36 charges against the couple (one per tree).

Each charge carries a fine up to $4,100 and/or six months in jail.  But the prosecutor graciously decided to only fine them $500 per tree.  Very gracious, don't you agree?  And he graciously didn't send 'em to jail.

Your rulers are benevolent, are they not?

Source. 

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-06-28/couple-fined-18-000-for-destroying-joshua-trees