Black Dove Support Network: A Breakdown On The RNC Arrestees

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

A Breakdown On The RNC Arrestees

This was taken from rnc08arrestees.wordpress.com

In addition to hundreds of misdemeanor charges, the 2008 RNC has resulted in felony charges against almost two dozen individuals- 13 not including the “RNC 8,” who are all being charged in the same case and have a support site here: http://RNC8.org. This is the breakdown of the other 13:

David Mahoney- who originally faced two charges and was then dropped to one- is now facing three counts of second degree assault, and three of making terroristic threats. His next court date is February 10, 9AM.. For more info on his case, go to: http://helpdavemahoney.blogspot.com

1 person plead guilty to criminal damage to property and was sentenced to three years probation on December 12. Upon successful completion of their sentence, the felony will be reduced to a gross misdemeanor.

1 person, Dustin Matchett-Morales of Santa Cruz, plead guilty to first degree damage to property and was sentenced to 60 days imprisonment on February 5th, and taken directly into custody at the Ramsey County Workhouse. With 4 days credit from his initial arrest and the guideline of serving 2/3 of one’s sentence in the workhouse, he is scheduled to be released after 36 days, on March 12 at 7AM. For more information, including an address to write to (do it!), visit his support site.

1 person- Matt DePalma- has taken a plea agreement in federal court, admitting to unlawful possession of destructive devices, a federal crime; he remains in custody and will probably be sentenced in early 2009. Matt DePalma’s Plea Agreement

2 people, Bradley Crowder and David McKay, remain in custody on federal charges. Bradley Crowder plead guilty on January 8. His plea agreement can be seen here. David McKay is scheduled to begin trial on January 26 in Courtroom 15E, U.S. Courthouse, 300 S Fourth St, MINNEAPOLIS. The 6 people previously subpoenaed to a related grand jury have all had their subpoenas withdrawn. For more info, see the Grand Jury page. Update: Crowder was charged on January 16 with an additional felony charge of aiding and abetting assault in the second degree.

2 other people, Christina Vana and Karen Meissner, were given the same charge as Crowder and turned themselves in to St Paul Police on January 18. They were released on bond later that day and are in need of a lot of funds. Visit their support site.

1 person is charged with fist degree damage to property and has a court date on February 10 at 1:30PM.

1 person with the same charge is on trial call.

1 person is charged with obstructing legal process and has court on January 30th at 1:15PM.

1 person is charged with aiding and abetting first degree damage to property and is on trial call now.

1 person is facing two separate cases for a total of six charges. The first includes conspiracy to commit first degree damage to property, aiding and abetting first degree damage to property, and riot in the third degree. The second includes aiding and abetting obstructing legal process, aiding and abetting fourth degree assault on a police officer - demonstrable bodily harm, and escape from custody. They are on trial call.

All court appearances are at the Ramsey County Courthouse at 315 W. Kellogg Blvd in St Paul.
It is a common law enforcement practice to create trumped up charges in the wake of a massive police action like what occurred at the 2008 RNC. The point is to distract from the real issues- e.g., lack of police accountability, and especially the institutionalized prioritization of corporate interests over human life and the lack of government accountability to the people- and to justify the use of taxpayer money ($50 million in federal security grants, this time) to crush popular dissent.

Individuals with felony charges are facing protracted and expensive legal battles, and the possibility of years in prison. In order to fight their charges and win, they need our support.
What You Can Do:

1. Donate to Christina and Karen’s legal fund:

2. Write Matt DePalma, still in custody, at:
Matt DePalma
Sherburne County Jail13880 Highway 1013880 Business Center DriveElk River, MN 55330-4601
For tips on writing prisoners, click here.For Sherburne County Jail writing guidelines, click here.

3. Seek out folks you know facing felonies and see what they need from you.

4. Spread the word about what really happened at the RNC; educate yourself and your community about resisting State repression (click here for a guide); counter State and corporate propaganda.

5. Watch this website for updates on arrestee support actions.
If you are facing RNC-related felonies and need info or support, or if you want to support those who are, email rnc08felonies@riseup.net.

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What is the Prison Industrial Complex?

What is the Prison Industrial Complex? The prison industrial complex (PIC) is a complicated system situated at the intersection of governmental and private interests that uses prisons as a solution to social, political, and economic problems. The PIC depends upon the oppressive systems of racism, classism, sexism, and homophobia. It includes human rights violations, the death penalty, industry and labor issues, policing, courts, media, community powerlessness, the imprisonment of political prisoners, and the elimination of dissent.How the PIC WorksTo fully describe the PIC, we have to look at the big picture of how it functions. For example, the prison construction boom can be linked to, among other factors, the huge increase in the number of people sentenced to prison terms with the onset of the war on drugs, the repression of radical movements by people of color for self-determination, and the anti-imperialist struggles of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The "war on drugs" and the national and local efforts to destroy radical political movements led to increasing police presence in communities of color and poor communities, higher arrest rates, and longer prison sentences.This boom is also fueled by dramatic and racist reporting about "crime," "delinquency," and "rebellion," creating a culture of fear in which it continues to be acceptable and desirable to many people to lock people (primarily people of color, youth, and poor people) in cages for longer and longer in the interest of "public safety." The way the many parts of the PIC interact is exactly what makes it so powerful and destructive. In order to fight this system, we have to see it for all that it is and recognize what drives and shapes it.Fighting the PICFighting the PIC means fighting the mainstream ideas of public safety and challenging the idea that police, prisons, and the court system make people who are not in power safer. At the same time, we must create alternative ideas of security based on the safety of the people most affected by the PIC.The United States currently imprisons around 2 million people. About 6.5 million people are presently under some form of supervision within the criminal justice system. Women represent the fastest rising prison population. Since 1980, the number of women imprisoned in the U.S. has risen by almost 400 percent. Racism continues to be a major factor in the United States, illustrated by policies and programs that sustain white supremacy. Racism, as it is used through criminal laws that target people of color, is essential to the PIC, not accidental.Prisons Are Not an Answer to CrimeThe wrongdoings we call crime do not exist in the same ways everywhere and are not "human nature". What is considered a crime is determined by the societies we live in. Because we have seen over and over again that locking more people in cages does not reduce crime, we must understand the power relationships that lead society to lock up only certain people. Since prisons do not stop problems like poverty, racism, or drug addiction, we cannot expect them to stop crime. We need to understand that we have no option but to fight and continue to fight until all of the different parts of the PIC that continue to put our survival in danger are eliminated.The Movement Against the PICThe movement against the PIC runs the risk of being shaped by easy victories or simplified struggles that do not recognize and fight the whole system. We must go beyond false separations, such as "non-violent" versus "violent" that place prisoners in opposition to each other. One important place to begin to fight the PIC is by pushing the movement to a more complete race, class, and gender analysis. We cannot allow ourselves to do short-term work that undermines our long-term vision and goals, or rely on the same systems of oppression and domination that sustain and drive the PIC to influence "mainstream" voters and decision makers. In order to do this work, we must continue to create spaces for people with different points of view to have honest discussions and disagreements about directions the movement against the PIC should take.What We Are ForSince we are so frequently asked what we are "for" rather than "against," the struggle against prisons, police, repression, punishment, and the criminalization of entire communities must display a clear vision that a world without the PIC is possible. One way to define and shape what we are for is through creating a culture of resistance, or a culture and society that fill all the different parts of our lives with alternatives to the culture of imprisonment. A new culture must nurture and sustain our struggle and provide space for political education, conversation and debate about what we are doing and what we need to do in the future.In order to figure out why people get locked up and under what circumstances, we need to look at what are sometimes called "root causes." This strategy requires looking at the competing priorities of the systems in which we live and understanding why they work well for some and horribly for others. The systems of race, class, gender, and sexuality, for instance, are commonly understood as privileging some people's needs and ideals over others. By exploring why and how those systems work for some and not for others, we can begin to develop a better understanding of how to include concrete steps in our work that deal with the negative effects of these systems on the people who are most often put in cages.To oppose the PIC, activists must work on both theoretical and practical levels. We cannot only engage in single-issue struggles, because all the issues intersect. How can we best create social change in an era of globalization? The voices of today's radical activists, particularly activists of color, must be at the front of the fight against the PIC. Those who are most affected by the system must be the ones planning its end.Organizing against the PIC is as much about building something as it is about fighting what is destroying our communities. Our organizing is also an ongoing effort to create alternatives, not only to imprisonment, but to the culture of punishment we've become so used to.

Black Dove Support Network

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

A Breakdown On The RNC Arrestees

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For more info:

What is the Prison Industrial Complex?

Who We Are

Giving us the Hollar