Stats, Upcoming Events and Updates from CRASS on the RNC 1st Anniversary

We all need to remind our DFL leaders how they failed us and democracy.



http://twincities.indymedia.org/2009/aug/stats-upcoming-events-and-updates-crass-rnc-1st-anniversary

UPCOMING COURT DATES! PACK THE COURTS!

People are still fighting their way through the courts. Come on out and support them! All hearings are at the Ramsey County Courthouse, 15 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul unless otherwise noted. For more information, email RNCcourtwatch@gmail.com.

Tuesday, August 25, 1pm: Four people who were recently charged are being arraigned. Come out to support them! The four new defendants are Matthew Connell, Jason Falk, Elliot Hughes, and John Slavin. Elliot Hughes has a cause on Facebook named "Support Elliot Hughes," so join the cause if Facebook is your thing!

Monday, August 31: Christina Vana & Karen Meissner begin their trial on this day. Pack the courts to support them! Check out their support page for more info: http://helpmkethree.blogspot.com.

Monday, September 14: The eight Vets for Peace defendants are scheduled to start their trial on this day.

Thursday, September 17: Jesse James Forrey will be sentenced. But there's still a lot you can do to support him! Visit his support space (http://supportjessejames.wordpress.com/) for more information. You can write a letter to the judge in support of Jesse, sign a petition that will be delivered to the judge, donate to his defense fund, or host a benefit for him.

MONDAY, AUGUST 24: HELP SUPPORT POLITICAL PRISONERS

A new group is forming in the Twin Cities to help provide material, emotional, social, and political support to prisoners. Come join other people who want to help fight back against the prison-industrial complex by supporting the people in its clutches. And take this opportunity to send more letters to people serving time from arrests during the RNC!

Every 2nd & 4th Mondays, starting August 24th
6-8pm
Arise! Bookstore & Resource Center
2441 Lyndale Ave S, Mpls

For more information, email mplsprionsersupport@riseup.net or visit http://www.arisebookstore.org/letters-prisoners.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29: RE:ACTIVISM TWIN CITIES

Saturday, August 29
12:00 - 4:00pm
Black Dog Cafe: meet up to form teams
308 Prince Street (corner of 4th and Broadway), St. Paul

Come commemorate the one-year anniversary of the RNC by running around St. Paul, revisiting sites of big events during the RNC, and learning about the struggles that have taken place there in the past. Some of our comrades have done a great job of organizing this kick ass event, so come on out!

What is Re:Activism, you ask? Re:Activism is a game. And a scavenger hunt. And a history lesson. And an expression of solidarity across struggles. And street theater. And disruption.

Participants visit sites of local struggle and resistance, performing challenges at each to earn points. These could be historical re-enactments relevant to the site, interviews with passersby, or staged protests, among other possibilities.

The point is to draw parallels between struggles, to unearth moments of local radical history, and to theatrically subvert business-as-usual.

Oh, and to run around in the street.

Re:Activism is a big-urban-game that revisits locations of historic and present day protests to teach game participants and developers about activist events and related social causes. In order to progress through the game, the game-players learn about and raise awareness of protest events and movements by creating present day interventions and public interactions. Teams of game-players race to different challenge sites to complete challenges and use activist tactics to increase their score. Each challenge site is themed around a different protest or social cause and the challenges at each site help the players learn more about the theme. Re:Activism was originally designed and played in New York City to raise awareness of the historical strife of the lower east side, touching on events such as the Triangle Shirtwaist fires, the Stonewall Riots, Union Square anti-war protests, and many more.

For more information, visit http://reactivismtc.tumblr.com/ or email reactivismtwincities@gmail.com.

CIVIL LITIGATION IS UNDERWAY!

We're making progress on the civil suits from the mass arrests on Shepard Road on Sept. 1, 2008 and during the anti-war march on Sept. 4. But we need you to get involved! Several lawyers have stepped up to coordinate these suits, so get in touch with them as soon as you can!

Sept. 1 Mass Arrest: Shepard Road

The Law Office of David L. Shulman, with the assistance of Robert Kolstad and volunteers from CRASS, is investigating violations of civil rights that occurred on Shepard Road. If you are willing to discuss your experience at Shepard Road, please call us at David or Robert at 612-870-7410, or email Robert at bob@robertkolstad.com.

Sept. 4: Mass Arrest During & After the Anti-war March

If you were arrested at the mass arrest event that culminated on the Marion Street Bridge, contact Jordan Kushner at kushn002@umn.edu or (612) 288-0545.

Other Incidents:

If you were not arrested at one of these mass arrest situations and want to pursue civil action for how you were treated by police during the RNC, we can suggest 2 options:

* Find a lawyer who will handle your case. We have some names of lawyers who may be interested in handling your case. You can contact us at RNCcivillit@riseup.net.
* Fill out our intake form and send it to us. We will keep these forms in secure locations and we will make sure that lawyers are presented with your information to see if they are interested in your cases. Intake forms are available at http://www.rncaftermath.org/resources/civil-litigation-forms/


LATEST CASE STATS FROM OUR COURTWATCH GROUP

Our Courtwatch Working Group has been hard at work attending court appearances and keeping track of everything that happening to our comrades within the courthouses. Here's the latest from their meticulous notes and records:

Total Arrests:

818 people were arrested during the RNC protests in St. Paul. Many of these people were not protesters. They were journalists, medics, legal observers, bystanders, concert-goers, picnic-ers and people going to their cars. One was an RNC delegate.

16 people were arrested before the convention:

* 8 were Vets for Peace protesters who went under the fence at the Xcel Center.
* 8 were members of the RNC Welcoming Committee, now known as the RNC 8.



134 people were arrested in Minneapolis following the Rage Against the Machine Concert.

In addition, hundreds of citations were handed out. Citations are like traffic tickets.

Rage Against the Machine Arrests:

29 people had court dates. 27 of those cases are closed and 2 are unaccounted for. CRASS does not know of any Rage Against the Machine cases that are still pending.

Of the known cases that went to court:

* 7 didn't show up and were issued bench warrants. Nothing further is known about them.
* 2 took guilty pleas. These are individuals who didn't show up for arraignment. Bench warrants were issued for them. They were caught, spent the weekend in jail, took guilty pleas, and paid fines or did community service.
* 8 were C-WOPs (Continued Without a Plea). They paid a fine, but admitted no guilt. The record will disappear from their files within a year.
* 10 fought the charges and had their cases dismissed.

Everyone who fought their charges had their cases dismissed because there was no evidence against them. None. It was a mass arrest, plain and simple. Everyone who was called into court had a driver's license saying that they were from outside the Twin Cities. No one who was registered as a resident of Minneapolis or St. Paul was charged. This is bare-faced selective prosecution.

Ramsey County Cases:

* 743 names in the database: 609 were arrested in Ramsey County; 3 of them were transferred to Federal Custody.
* 180 closed cases in the database; 153 of them were in Ramsey County
* 10 Bench Warrants outstanding
* 37 Guilty pleas (Felonies and Misdemeanors together): 6 Felonies & 31 Misdemeanors
* 14 Continued for Dismissal (Misdemeanors only)
* 81 Dismissed by Prosecutor (before trial): 2 felonies and 79 Misdemeanors.
* 3 Acquitted by a Jury (Medics) (Misdemeanors)
* 2 Convicted by a Jury; Sentencing and Appeal pending (Felony)

Again, the vast majority of prosecutions are of people who live outside the Twin Cities. It is expensive and time consuming for them to return to St. Paul again and again to fight their charges. The prosecutors wear them down until poverty and exhaustion force them to take a plea deal. Most of the people who took plea deals were guilty of nothing whatever, they simply couldn't continue to fight the legal system. Most of the people who fought their charges won.

Federal Cases:

There were 3 federal cases. All three involved the construction of Molotov cocktails, FBI informants and probable entrapment. All three took guilty pleas, in one case under suspicious circumstances.

The three Federal defendants were:

* Matt DePalma
* David McKay
* Bradley Crowder

Bradley Crowder is now being held by Ramsey County at the LEC and is being charged by the Ramsey County Attorney with Felony Assault in the 2nd Degree -- dangerous weapon (the traffic sign mentioned above).

Bradley Crowder has been at the LEC since June 11th. He has not been seen or heard from by anyone in CRASS, nor by anyone that we know of, except his lawyer. He now has a private attorney, Robert Sicoli, rather than a public defender, so we suspect he is getting support from someone. He has a pre-trial hearing at 9 AM on July 31st at the Ramsey County Courthouse. Since he is in custody, no one will be permitted to talk to him except his lawyer and the judge. There is, however, the possibility of speaking with his lawyer.

Cases Still Pending:

* Keith Smith: juvenile misdemeanor; civil suit for brutality an absolute certainty. This case is being pursued solely to keep Keith's mother from filing suit.
* Vets for Peace: misdemeanor trespassing, political trial -- on their side. (The prosecutor would be perfectly happy to dismiss these conjoined cases.) Trial: Sept. 14
* Karen Meissner & Christina Vana - conjoined cases, felony charge of throwing a traffic sign over a bridge -- currently set to go to trial on August 31.
* Bradley Crowder - related to the Meissner & Vana cases, same sign - being handled separately. Pre-trial hearing was on July 31. Trial is in August.
* The RNC 8 -- 2 felony charges, each. Expected to go to trial in the fall.


New Charges:

The City of St. Paul has filed charges in four new cases. Some of these charges appear to be in response to notice of claims forms filed by the defendants against the City for police brutality. As such, they are probably completely bogus and an example of prosecutorial misconduct. The four will be arraigned on August 25th unless John Choi caves from shame first. The four defendants are:

* Elliot Hughes
* Jason Falk
* John Slavin
* Matthew Connell


DRAFT BOB FLETCHER FOR GOVERNOR IN 2010!

Yes, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher is the King of Corruption! As such, he is clearly the best candidate for governor in 2010, even if he doesn't know it. So we gotta let him know we love the way he oppresses people, looks the other way as officers under his command beat up people to steal from them, and creates a culture of oppression in St. Paul. Sign up at http://twitter.com/DraftFletcher stay up-to-date on the latest efforts to catapult Bobby into a position befitting his penchant for tyranny!

CRASS WORKING GROUP UPDATES

Civil Litigation: Civil suits are in the works! So far, lawyers have stepped up to represent people who were arrested at the mass arrest incidents on Shepard Road on Sept. 1 and during the anti-war march on Sept. 4. Email us at RNCcivillit@riseup.net to learn how to get involved. We're still collecting intake forms to get people connected to the work being done to file suit. You can find the form at http://www.rncaftermath.org/resources/civil-litigation-forms/. For more information, contact us at .

Court Solidarity/Media/Outreach/Pressure (Omnibus): We meet every other Wednesday at the Second Moon Coffee Shop in Minneapolis during the CRASS working meeting time. Email our listserv (rnccourtsolidarity@googlegroups.com) for more information.

Courtwatch: We need you in the courts! Email us at RNCcourtwatch@gmail.com to get involved. We're doing our work online for the most part, so email us to get involved!

Felony Support:
For more info about Felony Support, check out our little space on the web athttp://www.rncaftermath.org/arrestees/felony-info-and-support.


Fundraising: If you would like to get involved, let us know! Email rnc08fundraising@gmail.com if you want to hang out with us.

Hospitality: Helping arrestees survive their stay in the Twin Cities while fighting court charges. Offer housing or find some for yourself at www.nornc.org/stay
. Coming into town to fight your charges? Need help paying for your travel? Apply for funding through the Travel Fund at http://www.rncaftermath.org. So far, we've reimbursed more than $5,000 of travel expenses to and from the Twin Cities for people fighting their charges. We'd love to help you too! E-mail rnc08hospitality@riseup.net for more info.

The Spokescouncil: The spokescouncil is made up of the bottomliners from each of the working groups, and is also open to anyone who wants to be involved. We plan the agenda for the meetings, share information between the working groups, and formulate proposals to bring to the meetings.

The Zine Project: We meet every other Wednesday at the Second Moon Coffee Shop in Minneapolis during the CRASS working meeting time. Our current focus is releasing a short form of our zine for the 1-year anniversary of the RNC. Email us at crasszine@riseup.net or check out http://www.rncaftermath.org/get-involved/crass-zine-project
for more info. Also check out our snazzy Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=66014266468. You don't have to live in Minneapolis to be part of this project -- email us to get involved!

OTHER GROUPS AND THINGS

Coldsnap: Coldsnap is looking for people to get involved and help figure out where our work takes us from here. You should get involved! Email coldsnap@riseup.net to connect with us.

Dave Mahoney's Posse: Dave Mahoney was temporarily in the US and due to return to his home in England before the new year (2009). He was arrested by the FBI during the Republican National Convention in September 2008 and in the end was charged with 5 counts of aiding and abetting 2nd degree assault and 5 counts of terrorist threats, 10 felonies in total. Trapped in Minneapolis, Dave faced expensive legal costs and decades in prison. Dave, who remains determined and active within his community, ended up pleading guilty to a single count of 2nd degree assault.He still has a posse, so check 'em out and show some support: http://www.helpdavemahoney.blogspot.com/
And his mom is amazing: http://tc.indymedia.org/2009/may/open-letter-susan-gaertner-ramsay-county-attorney

Support Dustin: Dustin Matchett-Morales's felony sentencing was on Thursday, February 5. Judge Flynn gave him 60 days in the Ramsey County jail, 5 years of probation, a mandatory DNA sample, a requirement for full-time work or school after release, and restitution for the broken bank windows (the final amount is still to be determined). With credit for good behavior, he was released from jail and did not serve the full 60 days!!! We're so happy that he is free and once again part of our community. For more information about Dustin, visithttp://supportdustin.wordpress.com
or email supportdustin@riseup.net.

Support Jesse: Jesse James Forrey is a friend, a brother, a musician and artist, writer and student, teacher and dog lover. Jesse, 27, was arrested at the 2008 RNC protests in the Twin Cities last September. He was forced to remain in Minneapolis for nearly a year while awaiting trial. In August 2009, Jesse was convicted of criminal damage to property in the first degree, though he maintains his innocence. He is from California and courageously waits to return to his home and family. He will be sentenced on September 17. The maximum that Jesse is facing is five years in jail. http://supportjessejames.wordpress.com/

Help the Milwaukee Three: The MK3 (Christina Vana, Dave Mahoney, and Karen Meissner) set up a blog due to the similarity of their cases, but also because of their solid friendship. They hope that, like the RNC 8 and other friends and arrestees, their solidarity with one another can be an inspiration over the stories of police infiltration, informants and cooperation stemming from the RNC. The MK3 share affinity on many levels and enjoy working within their communities towards a life free of all forms of domination. For more information, check outhttp://helpmkethree.blogspot.com.



RNC 8: The RNC 8--Luce Guillen-Givins, Max Specktor, Nathanael Secor, Eryn Trimmer, Monica Bicking, Erik Oseland, Robert Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald--are facing two felony charges each. On April 9, Susan Gaertner's office dropped the two terrorism enhancements due to political pressure, but two counts od conspiracy still remain. To get up-to-date information, check out their website at http://RNC8.org and sign up for their announcement listserv.

Free the Texas Two: During the RNC, law enforcement conspired to repress people and free speech through brutality in the streets and entrapment and trumped up charges in court. Like many activists before them, the Texas2 fell victim to an FBI informant and provocateur. David McKay and Bradley Crowder of Austin have been held in a federal holding facility in Minnesota since September. For more information, visit http://www.freethetexas2.com


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HOW TO CONTACT US

http://www.rncaftermath.org

Write letters to the editors
Minneapolis's StarTribune: email: opinion@startribune.com (no attachments) or fax 612-673-4359.


St. Paul's Pioneer Press: email: letters@pioneerpress.com or fax 651-228-5564.