New York City, NY – On the evening of April 22, the North East chapter of the International League of People’s Struggle held a webinar titled “Rent Strike: What it is and how to do it.”

While for many, May 1 marks International Workers Day, it will also mark the beginning of the second month where a majority of Americans will have been out of work and unable to pay rent. In New York over 40 days have passed since all non-essential businesses have been closed, which have put thousands of New Yorkers out of work. On April 1, over a one-third of renters weren’t able to pay their rent, and those numbers are bound to be much higher on May 1.

The webinar was comprised of several speakers who did not just advocate for rent strikes for the sake of striking, but explained how to organize one successfully.

The presentation began with Justin La Mort, a supervising attorney for Mobilizing for Justice. He went into great detail regarding tenant laws in New York state, what rights tenants have, and what tools one needs to begin striking – legally.

La Mort was followed up by Michael Tan, a co-coordinator of ILPS-NE, who gave a presentation of Neoliberalism in the U.S. and how neoliberal policies directly affect the current crisis.

The end of the webinar included two case studies from organizers who successfully waged rent strikes: Alicia Boyd, a political organizer and founder of Movement to Protect the People, and Drae, a tenant leader in the Grand Putnam Tenants Association.

Towards the end, the webinar was infiltrated by over 15 landlords and housing brokers who attempted to disrupt and derail the presentation. Fortunately, the organizers were able to kick them out and the presenters were able to finish answering questions that aided the people of New York.

You can find the full presentation and webinar here: https://www.facebook.com/ILPSUnitedStates/videos/525614264982230/

#NewYorkNY #Healthcare #HousingStruggles #NationalLawyersGuild #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #RentStrike

On Nov. 10, the prominent 67-year-old Palestinian Chicago community leader was found guilty of an immigration violation for failing to disclose having been convicted of bombing charges by the Israeli military in occupied Palestine more than 40 years ago – her confession of which had been coerced through 45 days of brutal torture and rape during incarceration.

The court had gutted Odeh’s defense – represented by a team of NLG attorneys – when it prohibited testimony about her torture, rape and subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder from trial. Deeming Odeh a ‘flight risk,’ the court has denied her bond. The NLG urges the court to reconsider this decision so that Odeh may continue her award-winning community work in Chicago until sentencing.

Longtime NLG attorney Barbara Harvey, who filed the Nov. 20 motion on behalf of the Guild, stated: “The amicus brief brings together Palestinians and Jews, Christians and Arabs, lawyers and non-lawyers, from six major human rights groups in this country to express their sorrow and ask the Court to show compassion for a 67-year-old Palestinian American woman who has helped hundreds of Arab women immigrants assimilate into U.S. life and culture; 261 of these women also ask the Court to release Rasmea Odeh from prison pending sentencing.”

The NLG, Jewish Voice for Peace, Center for Constitutional Rights, Palestine Solidarity Legal Support, National Students for Justice in Palestine, and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee attached a joint letter to Judge Drain to the amicus papers, supporting Ms. Odeh’s request for reconsideration of bond. NLG President Azadeh Shahshahani said, “Rasmea Odeh belongs with her friends and community, especially the Arab-American women she has been supporting and serving for the past decade. Based on her deep bonds to Chicago and her exemplary character, she should be set free immediately.”

Odeh faces a sentence of up to ten years in prison and immediate deportation upon release, which could not only threaten her safety, but also deprive the Chicago community of her outstanding leadership and support.

#DetroitMI #NationalLawyersGuild #RasmeaOdeh #PoliticalRepression

Judge Donnelly’s order from today reads in part, “The City’s claim that citizen safety, park maintenance and park preservation constitute the substantial governmental interests that justifies closing the park seven hours nightly fails because the City routinely closes the park for fewer than seven hours nightly, making ad hoc exceptions to the Curfew for permitted groups.” The order continued, “Because it is undisputed that the City closes Grant Park longer than necessary to serve the government's interests, the Curfew is not narrowly tailored, in violation of the First Amendment. The Curfew also violates the Illinois Constitution which provides a more vigorous right to free assembly, embracing even non-expressive assemblies.”

“Judge Donnelly made the right decision by declaring the city's ordinance unconstitutional and by dismissing the remaining cases brought by the city against activists legitimately engaged in free speech,” said NLG attorney Sarah Gelsomino from the People's Law Office and one of the lawyers representing the charged activists. “Hopefully this sends a clear message to the city that they must better respect the First Amendment rights of protesters no matter what their message might be.”

Nearly a year ago, on Oct. 16 and 23, 2011, more than 300 Occupy Chicago activists were arrested for protesting in Grant Park and accused of violating the city's park curfew, which had been inconsistently imposed from 11:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. Most of the 300 protesters arrested have already accepted a deal with the city to resolve their cases for community service in lieu of a conviction. It's unclear whether these agreements will need to be revisited as a result of the ruling.

In his order, Judge Donnelly pointed out the city’s inconsistent enforcement by stating that, “While the City arrested everyone remaining in Grant Park during the Occupy Chicago rally, the City arrested no one at the Obama 2008 presidential election victory rally, even though the Obama rally was equally in violation of the Curfew. That violates Defendants’ right to equal protection because it treats similarly situated citizens differently.”

After supporting the rights of Occupy Chicago activists for months, the Chicago chapter of the NLG went on to provide legal support for the thousands who protested against the NATO summit in May.

#ChicagoIL #NationalLawyersGuild #OccupyChicago #InjusticeSystem

Protesters responded immediately to the police repression by mobilizing a large crowd in less than 24 hours. According to the National Lawyers Guild, police “disappeared” nine people for nearly a day – first in the Organized Crime Building and later a Chicago police station. Friends and family had no idea what was happening and Chicago police denied any knowledge. After two days, three people remained in jail facing serious terrorism charges, with bail set at $1.5 million.

Upon arriving at Daley Plaza, Zoe Sigman of Occupy Chicago thanked the crowd and then asked everyone to sit down in silence for ten minutes in solidarity with the nine people taken away by the police and the three charged with terrorism. When the solidarity silence ended, Zoe rose to speak from on top of a flower box and denounced the police raid. She described the busting down of the door of the apartment and the abuse of those living there. Sigman spoke about the need to stand against police repression and to continue to protest the war-makers of NATO in Chicago. She also called for people to not be fearful, but to mobilize even more people to come to Grant Park for the big anti-NATO protest against war and poverty on Sunday, May 20.

Stephanie Weiner with the Committee to Stop FBI Repression spoke next and denounced the 2010 FBI raids on 23 Midwest activists’ homes and the home of Carlos Montes a few months later. She said that solidarity with Zoe and the other activists abused and arrested can beat back this outrageous attack. Weiner said, “We are powerful, we can build a powerful movement to stop NATO and its wars, and we can beat back police and FBI repression if we stick together!”

Then a student from Utah and the Revolutionary Students Union spoke. Gregory Lucero was visited by the FBI at his home and they wanted to know about organizing a trip to protest NATO and war. Lucero said, “What do you say when the FBI or police come to your door?” The crowd shouted, “Nothing!” Then Lucero ended by saying it is important to speak out against FBI repression and war.

Finally, a speaker from Cleveland spoke about the recent arrest of three young homeless men who are part of the Occupy movement and how they were set up by the FBI. He asked for solidarity as they face serious charges in this latest FBI frame-up.

The march proceeded from Daley Plaza and eventually onto Michigan Avenue, with tourists and workers taking photographs and smiling as they went by. The streets of Chicago are alive with the sounds of protest, opposing repression at home and war abroad.

#ChicagoIL #NationalLawyersGuild #CarlosMontes #PoliceRaid #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #ChicagoNATOSummit #AntiWar23

National Lawyers Guild Condemns Preemptive Police Raids & Unlawful Searches on the Streets.

Early morning house raid in Bridgeport and harassment of activists indicates intolerance of free speech rights.

Chicago, IL – The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) condemns a preemptive police raid that took place at approximately 11:30pm Wednesday in the Bridgeport neighborhood, and instances of harassment on the street, in which Chicago police are unlawfully detaining, searching, and questioning NATO protesters. The Bridgeport raid was apparently conducted by the Organized Crime Division of the Chicago Police Department and resulted in as many as 8 arrests.

According to witnesses in Bridgeport, police broke down a door to access a 6-unit apartment building near 32nd & Morgan Streets without a search warrant. Police entered an apartment with guns drawn and tackled one of the tenants to the floor in his kitchen. Two tenants were handcuffed for more than 2 hours in their living room while police searched their apartment and a neighboring unit, repeatedly calling one of the tenants a “Commie faggot.” A search warrant produced 4 hours after police broke into the apartment was missing a judge's signature, according to witnesses. Among items seized by police in the Bridgeport raid were beer-making supplies and at least one cell phone.

“Preemptive raids like this are a hallmark of National Special Security Events,” said Sarah Gelsomino with the NLG and the People's Law Office. “The Chicago police and other law enforcement agencies should be aware that this behavior will not be tolerated and will result in real consequences for the city.”

In another incident, 3 plainclothes police officers unlawfully stopped, handcuffed, and searched a NATO protester on Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive at approximately 2pm today. According to the protester, he did not consent to a search and there was no probable cause to detain him. The police also photographed and questioned him about where he was from, how he got to Chicago, how long it took, what he was doing here, where he was staying, who he was with, and how long he was planning to say in Chicago. The protester refused to answer any questions and was eventually released.

The NLG has received reports that at least 20 people have been arrested so far this week, and two people are still in custody, not including the Bridgeport residents who are still unaccounted for. One of the protesters currently being detained, Danny Johnson of Los Angeles, has been accused of assaulting a police officer during an immigrant rights rally on Tuesday afternoon. However, multiple witnesses on the scene, including an NLG Legal Observer, recorded a version of events that contradict the accusations of police.

During the week of NATO demonstrations, the NLG is staffing a legal office and answering calls from activists on the streets and in jail. The NLG will also be dispatching scores of Legal Observers to record police misconduct and representing arrestees in the event the city pursues criminal prosecutions.

Contact: NLG Legal Worker Kris Hermes 510-681-6361 or NLG Attorney Sarah Gelsomino 773-520-8246

#ChicagoIL #NationalLawyersGuild #PoliceRaid #ChicagoNATOSummit

Jim Fennerty: On March 20, 2003 almost 800 anti-war protesters were arrested on Chicago Avenue in Chicago. Prior to the arrest between 10 and15,000 anti-war protesters who were protesting the start of the Iraq war were escorted by the Chicago Police as they marched from Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago over to Lake Shore Drive where they proceeded to walk north on Lake Shore Drive and then exited on Oak Street.

When the protesters exited on Oak Street they were met by a line of police at Michigan Avenue and were not allowed to cross Michigan Avenue or march down Michigan Avenue and return to Federal Plaza. After waiting over an hour the police told some marchers that they could go back the way they came. Others in the march, who could not hear the police, on their own started marching back to Inner Lake Shore Drive and eventually on to Chicago Avenue after being allowed by the police. The marchers again marched to Michigan Avenue where they were met by another police line preventing them from crossing Michigan Avenue or marching down Michigan Avenue and back to Federal Plaza.

On Chicago Avenue the protesters were surrounded by the Chicago Police and detained up to three hours. In the detained crowd, besides protesters, there were joggers, people who just got off the bus, workers who just got off of work and shoppers. The protesters were peaceful and some were chanting that they just wanted to go home. None of the people detained were ever given orders by the police to disperse or an opportunity to leave.

Eventually the police started to arrest people and to put them into police wagons or buses. Hundreds were taken to jail where many were charged with misdemeanors and had to attend court. Hundreds of people taken to jail were released, some spending 40 hours in jail because they could not be identified by a police officer that they were at Chicago and Michigan Avenues. Several hundred others were detained on the street up to three hours before being released.

The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild called for volunteers to represent everyone who was charged with a crime. After several appearances in court all the people who the Guild attorneys represented had their charges dismissed.

At the same time several of these same Guild attorneys filed a class action law suit challenging the unconstitutional arrest of the people who were arrested or detained on Chicago Avenue. After almost nine years of litigation where over 100 people were deposed, the City of Chicago decided to settle the class action on the eve of trial for $6.2 million.

Fight Back!: Why did the city settle?

Fennerty: Because they knew that they were going to lose big time at trial. Two years earlier a federal judge agreed with the city that the police were immune from suit because the law was not established in this federal district that before you could arrest non-violent protesters you had to give them an order to disperse and an opportunity to leave. Also the judge held that the protesters could be arrested because they were marching without a permit.

On appeal to the 7th Circuit the court reversed the district court judge and held that the law was that protesters could not be rounded up and arrested without giving them a notice to disperse, which all could hear, and an opportunity to leave. The court also held that since the protest was a spontaneous demonstration, they could march without a permit.

Also the police defended the case on their statements that the protesters were violent, destroyed property and were charging the police lines. Nothing could be further from the truth. The police videos showed peaceful demonstrators who, when they got to Chicago Avenue just wanted to go home.

Fight Back!: Does this impact on the plans for the May 19 march against the NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda and other protests during the NATO/G8 summits?

Fennerty: Already the City has stated that they have changed their procedures for mass arrests. Recently during the arrest of Occupy Chicago the police have given individual orders to disperse and opportunity to leave before making arrests. Will this mean that during the NATO/G8 protests the Chicago Police will follow the constitution remains to be seen.

Note: the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda (CANG8) won permits from the City of Chicago to rally in Daley Plaza and march to McCormick Place. While the Secret Service is threatening to revoke the permits in service of the National Special Security Event, CANG8 is determined to go forward with a family friendly, permitted march on May 19. CANG8 continues to demand that Mayor Emanuel stop vilifying protesters as violent; that Police Superintendent McCarthy stop threatening protesters with mass arrests and that the Obama administration and Homeland Security Director Napolitano, who is over Secret Service, respect the permits granted by the City of Chicago.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #NationalLawyersGuild #MayorRahmEmmanuel #rightToProtest #NATOG8Summit

“The FBI's new rules simply turn their current violations and wrongdoing into standard procedure,” said Tom Burke, a spokesperson for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, an organization that formed after over 80 FBI agents raided the homes of prominent anti-war, trade union and international solidarity activists in the Midwest in September 2010. “FBI agents and informers can now infiltrate and spy on political groups at will. Federal agents are unleashed to coax and provoke citizens to commit crimes, to set them up and entrap them. The U.S. government is step by step becoming more repressive and taking away the rights to free speech and association. It is all part of the decline of the U.S. empire.”

While the new FBI guidelines, known as the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide, have not yet been published, the New York Times reported some of the changes to the rules, including:

• FBI agents already have the legal powers to investigate people or organizations “proactively,” without any evidence that they are connected to criminal or terrorist activity – this lowest category of investigation is an “assessment.” With the new rules, FBI agents can search commercial and law enforcement databases for information on people and organizations without even opening an assessment.
• To help pressure people into assisting the government in investigations of others, FBI agents will be able to administer lie-detector tests and search people's trash without opening a “preliminary investigation,” which is a category of investigation that requires some evidence or basis for suspecting criminal activity.
• Currently surveillance teams can only be used once during an “assessment.” Under the new rules, FBI agents will be able to conduct surveillance repeatedly without having any factual basis for suspecting someone of wrongdoing.
• The FBI maintains a set of secretive rules regarding participation of FBI agents or informants in an organization. Under the new rules, FBI agents or informants will be able to participate up to five meetings of a group without having to abide by any of the special rules regarding participation.

“Instead of tightening the guidelines and closing the loopholes enabling abuse, FBI agents are due to receive new unwarranted surveillance powers,” Azadeh Shahshahani, the executive vice president of the National Lawyers Guild, told Fight Back!. “This is a worrisome development in light of the documented history of FBI abuse of power, including spying on activists engaged in legitimate First Amendment activity as well as frequent misuse of 'national security letters' as shown by the Inspector General’s findings.”

The relaxed rules for the FBI are likely to increase the surveillance and spying on constitutionally protected First Amendment activities. According to the Washington Post's 2010 “Top Secret America” investigative series:

The F.B.I. has opened thousands of such low-level investigations each month, and a vast majority has not generated information that justified opening more intensive investigations.

As of December, there were 161,948 suspicious activity files in the classified Guardian database, mostly leads from FBI headquarters and state field offices. Two years ago, the bureau set up an unclassified section of the database so state and local agencies could send in suspicious incident reports and review those submitted by their counterparts in other states. Some 890 state and local agencies have sent in 7197 reports so far.

The relaxed rules for the FBI come as the Senate is considering extending current FBI director Robert Mueller's term by another two years.

In a press release issued June 13 by the Institute for Public Accuracy, Shahid Buttar, executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, said “Over Director Mueller’s ten-year tenure, the FBI has repeatedly violated the rights of peaceful Americans, abused its powers, lied to Congress, and overlooked opportunities to better protect national security – yet the White House and Congress seem poised to support these failures by extending the director’s term. The executive branch is off the rails, and the legislature asleep at the switch.”

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression has also been organizing call-ins to Senators, urging them to vote against extending Mueller's term.

#UnitedStates #NationalLawyersGuild #TomBurke #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #AzadehShahshahani #ShahidButtar #BillOfRightsDefenseCommitteeBORDC

Asheville, NC – On April 2, about 80 people attended a workshop on the Sept. 24, 2010 FBI raids and grand jury repression of anti-war and solidarity activists at the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) southern regional conference here. In addition to NLG members from across the South, over two dozen community members from Asheville’s peace and justice movements came to learn about the case and to show their support for the targeted activists.

FBI raids on antiwar and solidarity activists

Tom Burke of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) was the first speaker. Burke gave an overview of the history of FRSO and that organization’s work in the mass movements to stop war, support immigrant rights and build the labor movement. Several of the 23 subpoenaed activists are members of the FRSO.

Burke explained that the government’s case against the activists will center around the law enforcement officer who spied on and infiltrated the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee and the FRSO. “This agent lied about everything. It was lie after lie,” Burke said. “The raids and subpoenas were based on who she interacted with the most.”

Burke also talked about the context around this case and why it was happening now. Pointing out that the U.S. is involved in a series of unpopular and draining wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, and that the economic crisis continues to cast millions of people into poverty, Burke explained that the repression against the activists occurs because “the powers that be are nervous and are worried about people who are organizing against them.”

FBI and the Muslim community

Azadeh Shahshahani from the ACLU of Georgia was the next speaker. Shahshahani, who used to work with the ACLU in North Carolina, talked about how NLG activists can support the Muslim community by offering ‘know your rights’ trainings and legal support. Shahshahani detailed how the FBI after 9/11 would approach Muslim men, based solely on their background, for ‘voluntary’ conversations. “The FBI might ask all sorts of inappropriate questions about their political and religious beliefs,” Shahshahani said, like, “Did you vote for Bush?”

Shahshahani’s advice for Muslims approached by the FBI? “Don’t talk to the FBI. Don’t sign anything. If you’re ever approached by the FBI make sure to call an attorney.” Shahshahani emphasized, “There is nothing you gain from a conversation with the FBI, you can only lose.” Shahshahani concluded by stressing that there is a huge need for attorneys and law students to put themselves out there and help people since “the FBI has obviously not subsided in targeting Muslim communities. It’s getting worse.”

Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project

Peter Gilbert, of the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights and a member of the NLG, concluded the panel by discussing the 2010 Supreme Court decision, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project.

“With the ruling in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, the state has found a new vehicle to go after progressive activists,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert explained the history of the ‘material support of terrorism’ statute, from 1996 under the Clinton administration to the present. In reviewing the history of the statute, Gilbert pointed out the unfairness and hypocrisy in how the law has been used against some people but not others.

For example, people who have supported charities in Palestine such as the Holy Land Foundation are locked up with decades-long prison sentences, but Chiquita Banana executives have not served a day in jail despite admitting to sending millions of dollars and thousands of weapons to the Colombian right-wing paramilitary organization, the AUC. Ironically, the current Attorney General Eric Holder was instrumental in helping Chiquita Banana avoid any serious penalties for their material support to a terrorist organization.

Gilbert concluded his talk by stressing that the legal community needs to mobilize to push back against the expansion of the material support laws. “This is the first wave of attempting to use this law to criminalize progressive organizing and speech,” Gilbert said. “We have an opportunity as a movement to push back against this.”

Pledge to resist FBI and grand jury repression

In the question and answer session that followed, many attendees expressed outrage and shock at the violation of civil liberties. The Pledge to Resist FBI and Grand Jury Repression (http://www.stopfbi.net/get-involved/pledge-of-resistance) was circulated and signed by all attendees, who also committed to help broaden the support and solidarity for the activists under attack.

#AshevilleNC #NationalLawyersGuild #September24FBIRaids

Erlinder was arrested and jailed for breaking the Rwandan genocide ideology law – which prohibits anyone from questioning the official Rwandan account of the killings in 1984. He had gone to Rwanda to defend Victoire Ingabire, an opposition candidate for president in the upcoming August election, who is also charged with genocide ideology denial. Erlinder is a past president of the National Lawyers Guild and is an outspoken critic of U.S. policy.

Peter Erlinder credited his release to the worldwide movement organized on his behalf which made governments do what they didn’t want to do. This was his first trip to Kigali, Rwanda since 1994 and although he saw great improvement in the way the city looks, Erlinder says there is another reality, though our government has led us to believe that Rwanda has become an open country. “I am privileged to have experienced and seen the other side of Rwanda,” Erlinder said. Despite the repression of the government, he thanked individual Rwandans, including guards who treated him well and brought him food while he was in jail.

#MinneapolisMN #Africa #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #NationalLawyersGuild #PeterErlinder #Rwanda

The city of Saint Paul issued a permit on May 14. The permit issued by the city makes it logistically impossible for a large anti-war march to take place. In addition, the permit issued by the city states the march must end before delegates arrive at the convention.

In a press conference before the hearing, Jess Sundin of Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War stated, “Tens of thousands of people from around the country are coming to Saint Paul to oppose the war on Iraq and to participate in the massive protest that will coincide with the opening day of the Republican National Convention. Mayor Coleman and the city of Saint Paul are blocking our attempts to place our demands of peace and justice on the Republicans. We need a workable permit and we need it now.”

Inside the court room, Coalition lawyers appeared before Judge Joan Erickson and pushed hard for a route that gives real exposure to the Xcel Center while the convention is taking place.

“The permit issued by the city is politically and logistically unacceptable,” says Coalition member Katrina Plotz. “We’re marching to deliver a message that the people of the United States reject this war. The First Amendment guarantees the right to demonstrate. Police have no right to clear us from the streets by 2:00 p.m. when the RNC will not have started yet. It’s also logistically impossible for tens of thousands to march down a narrow street on a short route and return to the capitol along the same street. Even Saint Paul Police Federation president Dave Titus called the city’s route ‘a recipe for disaster.’”

The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War is made up of more than 100 organizations from across the country, including the main anti-war coalitions. They began seeking permits for this demonstration days after the Republicans announced in 2006 they would hold their national convention in Minnesota. While the Coalition has a permit to assemble and rally at the State Capitol, the city of Saint Paul continues to withhold an adequate permit for a march on the Xcel Center, where the convention will be held.

Judge Erickson is expected to rule on the case early next week.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Labor #News #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNCAndStopTheWar #JessSundin #NationalLawyersGuild #FirstAmendment

Minneapolis MN – Attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union returned to federal court on the evening of June 9, on behalf of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. The Coalition is seeking a preliminary injunction requiring the city of Saint Paul to issue adequate permits for the Sept. 1 anti-war march.

Specifically, the attorneys filed an amended complaint, a motion for the preliminary injunction, and asked for an expedited hearing on the motion. The aim is to get a permit that will allow for a mass, anti-war march Sept. 1.

At a June 10 press conference held in front of the Federal Building downtown Minneapolis, Meredith Aby of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War stated, “We are suing the city of St. Paul to guarantee that the people of this country will have the time and space we need on Sept. 1 to protest against the anti-people, pro-war agenda of the Republican Party and their candidate John McCain. We are asking the District Court to get involved in our struggle for permits against the city of St. Paul because at every crossroad in the past two years the city has rolled out the red carpet for the Republicans while throwing up barriers for anti-war protesters.”

Aby also stated, “The most recent example of this is that last month the Saint Paul police issued the Coalition an alternative permit which has the support of the Saint Paul city council. The alternative permit is unworkable, but also, politically unacceptable. The alternative permit shows that Mayor Coleman wants the anti-war protest to be a local – as opposed to national – demonstration and wants protesters away from the Xcel Center before the delegates are even there. It is another effort on Mayor Coleman’s part to try to hurt our organizing efforts for a large, national anti-war demonstration at the RNC.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #InJusticeSystem #News #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #marchPermits #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNCAndStopTheWar #NationalLawyersGuild #suingTheCityOfStPaul

Tuscaloosa, AL – Applause and cheers erupted in the courtroom at the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse, May 2, when the judge threw out the charges against four anti-war protesters. “As I was waiting outside to give my testimony, I heard the roar of clapping from behind the door,” remembers Tom Keenan, a member of the Tuscaloosa chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). “A mass of people flooded out of the court room, saying ‘We won!’”

The protesters – Jason Hurd, member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and SDS members Alyse Deller, Christine Jackson and Jeremy Miller – were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after a mock raid in which protestors reenacted a typical U.S. military raid on Iraqi civilians common in Iraq under the U.S. occupation.

The Tuscaloosa County District Court judge threw out the case after hearing what he called “vague and unclear” testimony from the prosecution’s witnesses. The prosecution attempted to prove that the anti-war demonstration was ‘disruptive’ and constituted disorderly conduct.

However, it was clear to the protesters and their supporters that the university was attempting intimidate the activist organization and to silence political speech on campus. For example, one of the prosecution’s witnesses admitted that sororities were allowed to cheer, dance and otherwise cause commotion inside the Student Center without a permit, and yet the campus police were not called. This shows that what mattered was not that the mock-raid was ‘loud,’ but that it conveyed a message about the current situation in occupied Iraq that the university administration found unacceptable.

Since the arrests, the Tuscaloosa SDS chapter and lawyers from the Alabama chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and National Lawyers Guild worked to build a campaign to drop charges against the ‘Ferg Four,’ as the protesters became known, and to fight back against the repressive actions of the university.

David Gespass, a lawyer with the National Lawyers Guild who represented the Ferg Four pro bono, was excited by the acquittal, but frustrated by the attempts of the university to criminalize protest. “It is sad that we have reached a point in this country where exercising freedom of speech becomes a chargeable offense,” lamented Gespass, “and that a decision vindicating that basic freedom is seen as a victory and not the natural birthright of a free people.”

Before the trial, dozens of members of SDS and supporters picketed outside the courthouse, chanting, “Hey, hey, U of A! How many kids did you jail today?” and holding up signs demanding an end to the war in Iraq.

SDS members see the mock raid as part of the effort of students across the country to up the social costs of the war. In recent years, student protests have become increasingly militant, from blocking military shipments out of ports in Tacoma, to occupying the offices and lobbies of war profiteers in D.C. to going on hunger strikes for socially responsible investment at University of Florida.

“This acquittal sent an important message not only to U.A. officials but also to all who think they can silence protest,” said Joshua Weiss, a member of Tuscaloosa-SDS. “They can’t keep us from speaking out against the war.”

“We are very happy with the outcome of this trial and hope that this will encourage others to speak out against injustice without fear,” said Jenae Stainer of SDS-Tuscaloosa, one of the organizers of the campaign to drop the charges. “We are also so thankful for all of our allies in SDS and in the anti-war movement who have supported us since day one and helped make this victory possible.”

#TuscaloosaAL #AntiwarMovement #News #Iraq #IraqVeteransAgainstTheWar #NationalLawyersGuild #USMilitaryRaidOnIraqiCivilians #politicalSpeech

Minneapolis, MN – Standing in front of the Federal Building here, March 24, leaders of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War and their lawyers announced they are seeking a preliminary injunction requiring the City of Saint Paul to grant the permits for their September 1 anti-war march. The attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint in federal district court later that day.

Marie Braun of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War stated “Filing a complaint in Federal Court was not our first choice of action; however, we feel the city of St. Paul has left us little choice. For months, city officials promised that the permit process would continue to move forward – it has not. Instead, on March 1, the Coalition received an almost blank Conditional Alternative Permit in which the city neither granted nor denied our permit.”

Jess Sundin, also of the Coalition stated “City officials are not keeping their promises or upholding City ordinances, and that is what brings us here today. The only thing standing between the Republicans, and a massive anti-war protest on September 1st, is the ill will of the city of St. Paul, namely Mayor Chris Coleman and Assistant Police Chief Matt Bostrom.”

Sundin also announced “Following this press conference, we are issuing an Action Alert, asking that supporters from around the country call Mayor Coleman’s office and demand that he do the right thing now: issue a march permit that will take 50,000 anti-war protesters to Xcel Center on September 1st.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #News #Iraq #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNCAndStopTheWar #StPaulMayorChrisColeman #marchPermit #NationalLawyersGuild

“This was the city of Saint Paul’s showcase trial – the first RNC case to go to trial and one in which the city consolidated the trials of all seven defendants. Unfortunately for the city, however, it showcased how police had no basis for the vast majority of arrests made during the RNC,” said defense counsel Jordan Kusher, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild. “The judge in this case decided there wasn't even enough evidence to require the defendants to put on any evidence and allow the case to go to a jury,” he said. Kushner and Ken Tilsen, another volunteer attorney from the National Lawyers Guild, represented the seven defendants.

By granting the motion for a directed verdict, Ramsey County Judge Michael Fetsch decided that no reasonable jury could find the defendants guilty, even if all the testimony from police was accepted as true. The defendants did not have to present any defense and charges can not be re-filed in the future.

To date, over 40% of the arrests reviewed by the city attorney’s office have been dismissed without formal charges even being filed. This was the first case to proceed to trial in a case where the city attorney claimed there was sufficient evidence for a formal charge. Although the Saint Paul city attorney has for the past three months defended the arrests made during the RNC, this trial represents the first real test of the strength of that evidence. As demonstrators and their lawyers have contended, the dismissal of these charges is additional evidence that hundreds of people were arrested without cause during the RNC in a government crackdown on dissent.

Each defendant in this case served several days in jail before being released on bail. The out-of-state defendants, Samuel Maron, Kathryn Bonner Jackson, Molly Adelstein, Katherine Tolman, Andrew Wilson, Paul McCarrier and Timothy Clifford, all missed work or school obligations and incurred great expense as they had to come to Minnesota multiple times for court appearances.

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