Minneapolis, MN – About 30 people assembled outside the Hennepin County Government Center here, August 1, to stand in solidarity with Occupy Homes’ Nick Espinosa and to demand all charges against community members involved in defending the Cruz family home be dropped. Nick Espinosa has been charged with riot in the third degree, along with other Occupy Homes activists. The charge is baseless.

Espinosa told the crowd that trumped-up charges against anti-foreclosure activists were an attempt at intimidation on the part of city officials. He also denounced the coordinated repression that is being directed against the Occupy movement.

Also speaking was Deb Konechne, who is active in the Occupy movement and the Welfare Rights Committee. She said that it was important to defeat the repression that was being aimed at the Occupy movement, all people engaged in civil disobedience, and the anti-war activists who were raided by the FBI.

After the gathering, people went upstairs to pack the courtroom for Nick Espinosa’s pre-trial hearing.

#MinneapolisMN #HousingStruggles #HomeForeclosures #InjusticeSystem #OccupyHomesMN #NickEspinosa