A judge ruled on Dec. 1 that local attorney Jennifer Foster, who has been affiliated with Occupy Asheville, in contempt of court when she cursed a magistrate.

While she was looking for information about protester arrests on the evening of Nov. 5, Foster’s behavior “tended to impair respect for the court’s authority,” Superior Court Judge James Downs said in his ruling. He added that her behavior was “done stubbornly and with purpose.”

The judge sentenced Foster to the two days she had already spent in jail after Magistrate Amanda Fisher ruled her in contempt. He also sentenced her to an additional 48 hours in jail and set the bond at $10,000 cash.

Foster, who represented herself, said at the Dec. 1 hearing on her appeal that Fisher had exceeded her authority. She contended that her cursing did not cause a distration and was done only as she was leaving the Buncombe County Magistrate’s Office.

“I was basically sent to jail because I said the F-word,” Foster told the judge. “This was a gross abuse of judicial authority.”

However, the judge side with Fisher, who said that after Foster asked for a list of protesters facing arrest on unserved warrants, she repeatedly shouted obscenities, despite being warned not to do so.

Fisher said that when she told Foster she was being held in contempt, the defendant left the office. However, Fisher had deputies bring her back.

Meanwhile, Occupy Asheville participants told the news media on Nov. 30 that the group is distancing itself from Foster — and that she no longer speaks for them.