#drop j20

Now that the J20 trials have begun, it is up to us to support these folks.

For more info on the case check out:                                           

Nine Things to Know About the J20 Court Cases

Follow @defendj20 for consistent updates from court, and please share this fundraiser:

Drop J20 Charges

The J20 Case: What You Need to Know

On January 20, 2017 (J20), President Donald Trump was inaugurated with all of the typical fanfare and political opposition that we have come to expect on Inauguration Day. In a stark contrast to previous years and even other contemporary protests, the Trump administration has chosen to aggressively pursue and prosecute over 200 people for these protests,, signaling a new era of political repression.

MASS ARRESTS

Designated a National Special Security Event, as presidential inaugurations have been since the turn of the century, the state response to political protest that day was under the command of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and overseen by the FBI and US Secret Service. It was estimated that as much as $200 million was spent on security, including the purchase of massive amounts of weaponry and ammunition.

That morning, among many other political actions opposing the new adminstration taking place in DC, hundreds of protesters gathered in Logan Circle for an anti-capitalist and anti-fascist march. Within a half hour, a few windows of corporate storefronts were broken and, instead of making individualized arrests, police moved in to “kettle” – indiscriminately surround and detain – anyone in the streets at the time.

Those trapped in the MPD kettle included protesters, journalists, medics, and bystanders. MPD arrested 234 people, charging them all with felony riot. A later, superseding indictment from the US Attorney’s Office charged the more than 200 defendants with eight felonies each, including rioting, incitement to riot, conspiracy to riot, four counts of destruction of property, and assault on a police officer. These charges are levied against all of the defendants, even though, as Natasha Lennard wrote in an April 2017 article for Esquire, “[N]o one—neither the police nor the government—suggests that that most or even many of the arrestees directly engaged in property destruction or violence.”

If convicted, each J20 defendant faces more than 70 years in federal prison. Notably, neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr. who killed antifa activist Heather Heyer in August in Charlottesville is facing less prison time than each J20 defendant.

At no time in the past 20 years have so many people been charged with this many felonies. This represents a troubling departure from historic prosecutions where property damage or “black bloc” activity is involved. The state is using extremely harsh legal measures to signal a new level of intolerance to protest and may represent a new norm for political repression in the US.

POLICE MISCONDUCT

In addition to these unusual and serious felony charges, the J20 event stands out as an egregious example of police misconduct. For example, when the police want to break up a political protest, law enforcement is typically required to make a “dispersal order” which allows folks to leave the area before being arrested. However, on J20, before any dispersal order was given, dozens of people were subjected to a violent attack when police indiscriminately deployed chemical and projectile weapons, including Stinger Grenades, which blast rubber pellets and chemical agents over a 50-foot radius. After the mass detention of the group, many were made to wait for hours without food, water, or toilets before being transported to the local jail.

The police misconduct on J20 was egregious enough that the Mayor’s Office of Police Complaints (OPC) issued a report that criticized the MPD for violating its own Standard Operating Procedures for Handling First Amendment Assemblies as well as misuse of chemical agents, failure to provide proper dispersal orders, and making questionable arrests. As a follow-up to this report, the OPC began an independent investigation in October into MPD misconduct on Inauguration Day. More than 10 years ago DC Police Chief Peter Newsham and the MPD were sued for conducting an unconstitutional mass arrest of political activists.

In March, after refusing to turn over communication and documentation related to the police response on J20, Newsham and the MPD were sued by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, claiming that police “are standing in willful disobedience of their lawful obligations to disclose information” even where such information disclosures is mandated by law.

Seeking to push back against widespread police misconduct, the DC chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in June against the District of Columbia, the MPD and Newsham himself, accusing the police of committing several human rights violations including the use of sexual assault against arrested protestors as a punitive measure.

INVASIVE INVESTIGATION TACTICS

The J20 cases are unprecedented not only for the number of people charged with felonies and for the quantity of felony charges levied against each defendant, but also for the extremely invasive investigation tactics of the prosecution.

In August, the Department of Justice issued a warrant seeking private information on as many as 1.3 million visitors to DisruptJ20.org, the website used as a clearinghouse of information in advance of the Inauguration Day protests. Judge Robert Morin ruled that the web-hosting company DreamHost did not have to comply with the government’s request for IP addresses and other private data, but the judge ruled that DreamHost must turn over website communications to prosecutors in an effort to search for incriminating evidence against organizers of the protests.

CURRENT STATUS OF THE DEFENDANTS

Most of the J20 defendants have chosen to work together collectively on their legal defense and have agreed to ‘points of unity’ which include not cooperating with the state or testifying against any of their co-defendants. Approximately twenty defendants have taken non-cooperating, no-jail plea bargains, but many have refused and the vast majority has decided to take their cases to trial.

One defendant—Dane Powell—who took a plea in April for rioting and assault on a police officer was sentenced in July to 36 months in prison but was required to serve only four months. Powell has remained resolute while incarcerated and is clear about his politics and the reasons why he was out on the streets that day.

Defendants and their supporters established the website DefendJ20Resistance.org to build public support and have also mounted political campaigns to drop the chargesand garner support for an independent police investigation.

In September, Judge Lynn Leibovitz, a former federal prosecutor, denied a motion to dismiss the charges against J20 defendants, paving the way for the first trials on November 15 and December 11, 2017, with additional trials to be held through the fall of 2018.

Also in September, the government dropped its demand that Facebook not tell its users about search warrants it issued for the accounts of three political organizers allegedly involved in planning for #DisruptJ20. The three organizers are fighting the warrants in court.

Update: On November 1, Judge Leibovitz issued an order reducing the ‘riot’ and ‘conspiracy to riot’ charges from felonies to misdemeanors. Each defendant is still charged with at least six felonies and two misdemeanors and faces as much as 60 years in prison.

MORE INFORMATION

The defendants’ support website: http://defendj20resistance.org/

Recent and notable media:

The Prosecution of Inauguration-Day Protesters Is a Threat to Dissent, Oct 20, 2017, The Nation https://www.thenation.com/article/the-prosecution-of-inauguration-day-protesters-is-a-threat-to-dissent/

How the Government Is Turning Protesters Into Felons, April 12, 2017, Esquire http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a54391/how-the-government-is-turning-protesters-into-felons/

Know Your Rights: We limit our resistance to fascism by relying on liberal conceptions of human rights, June 18, 2017, The New Inquiry https://thenewinquiry.com/know-your-rights/

The Whimper of Democracy, May 31, 2017, The Baffler https://thebaffler.com/the-poverty-of-theory/whimper-of-democracy-alvarez

Ithaca, NY: Graffiti in Solidarity with J20 Defendants

350 Miles Against State Repression

On September 27, a collective of DC-based riders will kick off a 350-mile bike ride as a fundraiser for groups on the front line of state repression. Will you give them a good send off by donating?

The bike ride will begin at 12th and L Streets NW in Washington, DC, the site of the police kettle of anti-capitalist protesters on January 20, 2016. From there, they will ride for five days–350 miles–to Pittsburgh, PA, a longtime hub of radical organizing. In this time of increased state repression, our comrades–be they J20 defendants, anti-fascist organizers, or BLM activists–need support now more than ever. This may sound like a lofty goal physically–but we think the goal of raising $10,000 shouldn’t be!

Can you donate $20, $50, or $100 to fight state repression? Every dollar you donate will go directly to organizations on the front lines, and it will also lift the spirits of our pedaling pals! Donate today.

100% of the money raised as part of this ride will go to organizations working to fight immediate threats to our freedom. Riders are subsidizing all of the overhead cost to show solidarity and ensure the most resources go directly to those that need them. For more information, visit their website.

The goal is to raise $10,000 – will you help them reach it?

Thank you, Resist This

Call in Campaign to #DROPJ20: Janurary 10th – 11th

On 12/21/17 a jury returned a not-guilty verdict for the first six defendants in the J20 case. Forty-two charges acquitted: twelve felonies, thirty misdemeanors. This is a huge victory! But the fight isn’t over yet as 188 people still face decades in prison. Now is the time to keep the pressure on the District of Columbia US Attorney’s Office. We know these charges are spurious, and now there’s legal precedent. We are asking that everyone call the US Attorney’s office from 9am-5pm on 1/10/18 and 1/11/18 and tell them to DROP THE CHARGES against the remaining defendants!

Now is the time to keep up the pressure! The US Attorney’s office can decide to drop the charges at any time; let’s make sure they can’t get any other work done until they do! We’re asking people to call the desks of:

Jennifer Kerkhoff – The Lead Prosectuor on the case, Deputy Chief of the Felony Major Crimes Trial Section (202) 252-7380

US Attorney for DC Jessie Liu – The person in charge of the US Attorney’s office, a Trump appointee and member of his “transition team.”

John Gidez – The Chief of the Felony Major Crimes Trial Section, Kerkhoff’s direct colleague (202) 252-6752

Lisa Greene – The Deputy Chief of the Superior Court Division, Kerkhoff’s direct supervisor (202) 252-7485

Richard Tischner – The Chief of the Superior Court Division, Kerkhoff’s direct supervisor (202) 252-7274

Please sign-up for a time to call in at https://USAttorneyLiu.org. We’re asking people to call until they get through; let them know what you think of these charges. Line is busy? Great! Try again! No answer? Leave a message and try again! If you don’t like their answer, consider trying them again and making it more clear! Because there are five numbers, feel free to sign up for more than one time.

Background:

On Jan 20th, hundreds of inauguration protesters were mass-arrested, held in inhumane conditions, and are now facing at least 8 felony charges each. Their cell phones were confiscated and searched, their homes were raided, and their social media data was seized.

Prosecutors in these cases have demanded vast troves of website data involving millions of unrelated people, sought gag orders forcing Facebook to silently hand over data without notifying users or allowing for legal due process, and ‘cracked’ over 100 defendant cell phones to extract terabytes of personal data.

At the same time, they requested a rare ‘protective’ order to keep defendants from sharing police body camera footage – shielding the police from public accountability, and complicating efforts to prepare a defense.

Prosecutors have even balked at their basic, legal duty to disclose individualized evidence – citing the workload of so many cases. The irony of that complaint, given the disruption caused in over 200 people’s lives by their choice to bring these charges, appears lost on both the prosecution and the court. We know the US Legal system is a sham; this is just another instance of the constant exception that is the rule.

Throughout these cases, prosecutors have engaged in vindictive, intrusive, and excessive behavior – from detectives misleading the Grand Jury to offers of ‘wired’ pleas designed to coerce easy ‘wins’ for the prosecutor by pitting defendants against family and friends.

But who ‘wins’ when prosecutors abuse their power and disrupt lives?

If we let these cases continue uncontested, we empower one of the world’s biggest school-yard bullies – the modern American prosecutor – to set aside even the meager protection offered by everyone’s favorite 10 Amendments.

We make the next abuse easier; the next target more vulnerable. The US Attorney’s Office has near-complete prosecutorial discretion to drop these charges! It’s up to you to demand that it does!

Script:

For maximum impact: Make it personal. Why are you upset? Let them respond. Make it a conversation. Ask them what they plan to do in response to public comment. End with a clear call to action. If you can’t think of anything to say, no worries! Here’s a sample script to get you started:

Hi! My name is ______.

I am calling to demand that you drop ALL pending charges against the Inauguration protesters.

I was horrified to learn that over 200 people were improperly arrested, mistreated, and threatened with excessive felony charges.

In light of the first trial’s outcome–where the judge threw out one charge for complete lack of evidence, and the jury handed down NOT-GUILTY verdicts for the rest–I ask that your office drop the remaining charges.

Over the last year, you have pushed every limit – making these prosecutions as disruptive as possible, and the investigations surrounding this case as intrusive as possible.

You have used over-inflated charges to coerce plea deals, and gag orders to protect the police from public accountability.

Prosecutors have the choice of when or how to bring charges. Your office has abused that power to punish, repress, and intimidate.

Drop the charges. NOW.

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