On the morning of September 12th, the jury returned a verdict in the free speech trial of the century, where Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny
On the morning of September 12th, the jury returned a verdict in the free speech trial of the century, where Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel faced bogus charges of working as Russian agents.
The 12 person jury concluded a not guilty verdict on count number two, “failure to register as a foreign agent,” in other words, working as agents of Russia. This was the big charge that carried an up to ten year prison sentence. The jury contained no black jurors, but to their credit, they saw clearly that African people have agency and sovereignty over their actions.
The government presented 14 witnesses, 12 of them FBI agents, while the defense needed to present no witnesses to prove that the government’s accusation of being Russian agents was fabricated.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on count number one, “conspiring against the U.S. government.” This charge carries a maximum of five years.
The not guilty verdict on the primary charges was a devastating blow to the prosecution whose main objective was to convict on the Russian agent charge. With their lack of evidence and exposed lies, they were unable to convince the jury that Russia was behind the 60 year legacy of anti-colonial struggle led by Chairman Omali Yeshitela. The lawyers are preparing to appeal to ensure all of the baseless accusations are defeated and no prison time is served.
