Occupy Pittsburgh protester arrested for failing to register as sex offender

An Occupy Pittsburgh protester has been arrested for failing to register as a sex offender, authorities said.

James Francis Hoff, a homeless man who referred to himself as "Blue Thunder" while blessing the protesters on Thanksgiving Day, was arrested on Dec. 31 after Pittsburgh police responded to a report about a man squatting in a home. The owner of the home declined to press charges, but investigators learned that Hoff had failed to register with Pennsylvania authorities as a registered sex offender.

Hoff, who was convicted of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse in 1999, will be formally arraigned for failing to register as a sex offender on March 6, according to Michael Manko, a spokesman for the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office.

Hoff, who remains jailed, waived his preliminary hearing on Jan. 18, Manko said.

Attempts to contact his court-appointed attorney were not immediately successful.

Jeff Cech, a spokesman for the Occupy Pittsburgh protesters, told KDKA that no one was aware of Hoff's criminal history.

“When it became aware, he left," Cech told the station.