Paul Jacob was presented Saturday with the “Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award” by the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Paul was honored by CPAC for his commitment to citizen-led reform and his recent fight to uphold initiative rights in Oklahoma, where he had been indicted for helping citizens gather signatures for a state spending cap measure.

In his acceptance speech, Paul said:

I’m honored that CPAC would recognize our battle. This prosecution was intended to silence me and block citizen led reform through fear and intimidation. All Americans have the fundamental right to enact change in their government and this right must be protected at all cost. I accept this award for millions of average Americans who ensure the government is accountable to them.

Jacob ended his acceptance speech stating, “You can have my petition rights when you pry them from my cold, dead hands.”

In the years where the award is merited, CPAC, the nation’s largest gathering of conservative leaders and political activists, presents the “Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award” to an individual who has stood for principle even when doing so puts them at risk physically, politically, or economically.

Jacob was also a featured speaker on a CPAC panel entitled, “Taking Action Through Citizen-Led Reform Panel: Conservative victories from citizen-led campaigns.” His group, Citizens In Charge Foundation, hosted an event on Saturday on citizen-led reform entitled “Love Taking Charge?: The Common Sense Tool for Kickin’ * One State At A Time.”