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LA 'Hope' Artist Spared Prison Time For Contempt Conviction

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A Los Angeles-based street artist credited with creating the iconic Obama "Hope" poster will not serve any prison time on federal contempt charges.

Shepard Fairey, 42, was ordered on Friday to serve two years probation, complete 300 hours of community service, and pay a $25,000 fine for a misdemeanor contempt conviction.

Fairey pleaded guilty in February to destroying electronic records and fabricating documents in a legal dispute with the Associated Press over the original source of the 2008 image.

Judge Frank Maas rejected a request from the Department of Justice for prison time during the sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in New York.

Fairey was ordered to report to community service in Los Angeles with 72 hours of the ruling.

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