Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mildred Escobedo reduced the felony charge against Adam Friedman at a preliminary hearing on Aug. 1. The 37-year-old Friedman is the son of Beverly Hills City Councilmember Lester Friedman. The younger Friedman now faces two misdemeanor counts stemming from his alleged creation of a fake Instagram account in the name of Councilmember Sharona Nazarian in April.
Friedman’s lawyer argued that the Instagram account amounted to nothing more than political satire. Nonetheless, after hearing testimony from law enforcement and Nazarian herself, Escobedo found that the account had been created with the intent to harm Nazarian’s campaign. She ruled that probable cause existed to hold Adam Friedman over for trial on the misdemeanors. The probable cause standard is significantly lower than that needed for an actual conviction, however.
