-Caveat Lector- > ****check out photos of cops in ski masks on****** www.havc.org > > The Escalation of Violence Against Political Activists > > > This week the Humboldt County pepper spray torture case went to the appeals > court (Monday) Then on Dec.10th (Wednesday) the Judi Bari/Earth First! > bombing case is back in Federal court (Oakland). These are important cases, > especially in light of the violent attacks on activists in Seattle last > week. Firstly the Humboldt pepper spray civil rights case was thrown out > of court by Federal Judge Vaughn Walker back in Oct.1998, this then gave > the police a green light to use pepper spray on non-violent protesters > engaged in civil disobedience. (California Police Standards & Training was > rewritten to include chemical agents as a method to break up > civil-disobedience). Because they could get away with it in California, > you can follow an escalation of use. After Humboldt they used some of the > same techniques on protesters at Minihaha MN, were a non-violent blockade > stalled the Freeway construction through a Native American sacred grove. > Police swabbed pepper spray on lock-down activists eyes and used C/S gas. > Then last week we saw an all out assault upon non-violent, anti-WTO > protesters in Seattle, with Pepperspray, C/S, rubber bullets and exploding > "Flash bangs". The so called "Anarchists" who broke the windows were not > the ones targeted with chemical weapons, it was the peaceful protestors en > masse who were the main targets of this urban warfare exercise. > > The Judi Bari/Earth First! vs. FBI & Oakland Police lawsuit, is a land-mark > case, this car-bombing of non-violent activists was used for misinformation > purposes against Earth First!/Redwood Summer organizers. To discredit Earth > First!, the media spread the lie that Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney were > carrying a bomb in the back seat of their car - and that they were > terrorists. The FBI made up this story without any evidence and in fact > had practised blowing up cars a month earlier at an infamous "bomb school" > where agents were supposedly trained how to respond to a car bombing. This > "bomb school" was held on Louisiana Pacific property outside Eureka, one of > the main companies being protested during Redwood Summer. (for more info > see press release) > FBI Cointelpro tactics have been used against many social justice, labor, > minority and environmental groups since the sixties. The continued > repression of political activism within the US is clearly unconstitutional. > If the media continues to ignore the facts and report only official > police/government lies, then democracy is in danger of being replaced by > plutocracy. Some would say it already has been. > > I am enclosing press releases from the Judi Bari/Earth First case and the > Humboldt Pepper spray hearing, plus anti-WTO protest links. > > www.havc.org > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ***************************************************************************** > *** > ******************************************************** > > > For anti-WTO media coverage, check out www. > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > ***************************************************************************** > *** > ********************************************************* > >"Dream Trial Team" To Be Introduced.... > > Judi Bari/Earth First! Bombing Case Back in Court on Friday > > Rally at Mayor Jerry Brown's Office Asks Oakland to Cooperate > > > >Contact: Redwood Summer Justice Project: Tanya Brannan, 707/887-0262; > >Darryl Cherney 707/923-4949; Alicia Littletree 707/462-9145; Marvin Stender > >415/877-0313; Erica Etelson 415/982-7714; www.monitor.net/~bari > > > >Bolstered by a recent, stunning appellate court victory, plaintiffs for the > >Judi Bari/Earth First! civil rights suit against the FBI and Oakland Police > >(OPD) will be back in U.S. District Court for a pivotal court hearing. > >Events are as follows: > > > >Friday, December 10th: Noon Rally/Press Conference, Oakland City Hall, > >14th & Broadway (followed by a 1 pm March to Federal Court); > >1:30 pm, Court Hearing, Federal Courthouse, 130l Clay St., Oakland > > > >The noon press conference and rally will introduce "The Dream Team" -- the > >newly constituted trial team that includes Marvin Stender, Tony Serra and > >Erica Etelson. Bill Goodman, Legal Director for the Center for > >Constitutional Rights, also joins as consulting attorney. Stender is a > >highly respected litigator, judicial arbitrator and a mentor in the > >National Lawyers Guild. Serra is legendary for his successful defenses in > >high-profile criminal cases, including Black Panther Huey Newton and Bear > >Lincoln. Etelson has served as staff attorney on Bari v. USA since 1997. > > > >The rally will also launch a petition calling for Mayor Jerry Brown and the > >Oakland City Council to end the city's attempts to delay the case. The > >petition also asks the mayor to launch an investigation into the 1990 car > >bomb assassination attempt that nearly killed Earth First! activists Judi > >Bari and Darryl Cherney, as well as into the misconduct by Oakland Police > >Dept. (OPD) in their original investigation of this still-unsolved crime. > > > >The rally will be followed by a 1 pm march to the federal court hearing > >where Judge Claudia Wilken will put the case back on her docket after a > >recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling rejected the OPD's claims of > >immunity from prosecution. (For a full text of the appellate court ruling, > >see www.ce9.uscourts.gov -- click on "opinions"-- then Bari v. Sims, Sept. > >24, 1999.) It is expected that on Friday, Wilken will set the case for > >trial. > > > >At the core of the appeals court ruling is evidence of Oakland's role in > >falsely arresting Bari and Cherney within hours of the blast, and in > >concocting two separate search warrant affidavits, both of which grossly > >misrepresented key facts about the bomb and about the nature of Earth > >First!'s political activities. The court ruled that the OPD had no right > >to rely on obviously false FBI information about the location of the bomb, > >stating: "[The OPD] had been at the scene and had personally observed the > >location of the hole caused by the explosion ... underneath the driver's > >seat." Also citing the OPD's failure to mention the death threats against > >Bari--clear indicators that she and Cherney were targets of a > >politically-motivated assassination attempt -- the three-judge panel ruled > >that Bari and Cherney, "have presented sufficient circumstantial evidence > >that [the OPD] intended to inhibit their First Amendment activities, and > >that they entered a conspiracy to further this goal." > > > >This COINTELPRO-style operation included providing inaccurate information > >to the media, monitoring Earth First! prior to the bombing and acting "in > >close cooperation with [FBI] 'conspirators'" to contribute misinformation > >during the process of obtaining warrants to search the activists' homes. > >The victory in the appellate court brings to an end a 1-1/2-year standstill > >and puts the case back on track to trial. > > > > > >Environmentally Sound Promotions > >"Music, Arts, and Media for the Earth" > >PO Box 2254 > >Redway, CA 95560 > > > >a non-profit corporation > >email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >fax: 707/923-4368 > >websites to check out: > >$50,000 Reward for info leading to incarceration of Charles Hurwitz: > >http://www.jailhurwitz.com/ > >On the bombing and attempted frame up by FBI of Judi Bari and Darryl > Cherney: > >http://www.monitor.net/~bari/ > > > *############################################################################ > ### > ############################ > > Headwaters Pepper Spray Lawsuit Update: > Appeal Hearing Date - Dec. 6th, 1999 in SF, CA > > Molly Burton (Headwaters Forest Defense), et al. > v. County of Humboldt, et al. > Monday, December 6, 1999, 1:30 PM , Courtroom 3 > Come early and gather on the street! > US Court of Appeals-Ninth Circuit > 95 Seventh Street > San Francisco, CA > > 1. Fall 1997 -- Humboldt County, CA law enforcement dragged Q-tips soaked in > pepper spray across the eyes of nonviolent Earth First! actvists engaged in > defense of Headwaters Forest. They videotaped themselves doing it. The tapes > made the global evening news and shocked the world. A civil rights lawsuit > was filed to stop this growing trend of pepper spray use on nonviolent > activists. > > 2. Fall 1998 -- The internationally-known suit came to trial in San > Fransisco, the jury hung, and a new trial was scheduled. Before this next > trial could occur, Federal Judge Vaughn Walker threw the case out of court, > siding with the law enforcment officers' actions and thus approving what > world outrage had called "torture." An appeal of this corrupt decision was > filed. > > 3. Winter 1999 -- Activists will be in court in San Fransisco, CA on Dec. > 6th > for this appeal's oral hearing. This is the last step in the appeals process, > > and a decision will follow. > > Please come and be counted! > (absence due to smashing capitalism in Seattle at the World Trade > Organization meetings, or related work, is understood and appreciated) > > We will show our opposition to police brutality and corporate domination. > > We will speak for all beings who are tortured and silenced, those who do not > make it on the corporate evening news. > > We will be a presence in the system to subvert it, while still holding our > own. > > Appeal Details: > > *We're last on a 4 item calender so actual > hearing may not happen until 4 pm or so, but be there at 1:30 to be sure. > > *Legal documents that have been filed: our appeal brief, law enforcement's > opposing brief, and our response to their opposition, plus an "Amicus" > supportive brief from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on our > behalf. > > *Our appeal asks for a reversal on Judge Walker's "directed verdict," which > found that the police were correct to pepper spray us, and threw our case > out > of court unilaterally (if a reversal on this directed verdict is granted, we > get another trial by jury). We are also seeking a reversal on the qualified > immunity that Judge Walker granted for the individual officers. > > *Arguments are 20 minutes per side in front of a three-judge panel. If two > out of three judges agree with us that a "reasonable" juror might possibly > find in our favor, we go back into federal court for another jury trial to > try to get the word out about the destruction of our planet and our quality > of life, and to stop pepper spray. > > More Information: > > *To obtain a video documentary by Headwaters Action Video Collective (HAVC), > "Fire in the Eyes," showing police footage and campaign background and > herstory, contact HAVC at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or by voicemail at1-145-820-1635 > > *To schedule an interview or a talk/presentation with a pepper spray > plaintiff or to send an hello, email us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > *To keep up on our case and the surrounding issues, get a petition against > pepper spray, and send support $, contact Trees Foundation at > [EMAIL PROTECTED], (707)-923-4377, POB 2202, Redway, CA 95560. > > ***************************************************************************** > *** > ******************************************************** > > www.havc.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] > DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. 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