[Peace-discuss] Breaking News: Journalist Charges Dropped

[Ricky Baldwin]

I'm afraid I don't think this is such a huge victory, though it is of course good news.  Police in cities like this, when they want to keep agitators out of the way until after a certain moment has passed (like this), know they can simply round them up and drop the charges later.  I've seen this tactic used for breaking up pickets, etc., and it's well-established - altho (again) of course it's better when they then actually do drop the charges rather than trying to make them stick, which they sometimes do.  I was at a protest once where an officer slammed a 90-lb girl onto the pavement - and managed to get a small scratch on his hand in doing so - and they charged the girl with attacking him!!!  It was purely to cover up the police brutality (the judge in the case, and I think most judges, will treat the mere suggestion of attacking a cop more seriously than trying to blow up the earth - and the cops know it).

Anyway, I'm not just being picky.  I think that the real victory would be something that took the cops down a notch - a new legal principle that would prevent this kind of thing, for example, a law against political arrests or making it easier to sue for false arrest, some kind of watchdog agency or movement to raise the cost of such fun and games...


Oh, and I moved this discussion from AWARE's "peace" event announcements list because it's not really what that list is for: "peace-discuss" is for news and discussion.  Thanks.
 Ricky Baldwin


"Only those who do nothing make no mistakes." - Peter Kropotkin



----- Original Message ----
From: Belden Fields <a-fields at uiuc.edu>
To: awaRE peace <peace at lists.chambana.net>; imc-print at lists.ucimc.org
Cc: SFcore <sf-core at yahoogroups.com>; "jmohraz at sbcglobal.net" <jmohraz at uiuc.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 7:39:17 PM
Subject: [Peace] Fwd: Breaking News: Journalist Charges Dropped





Begin forwarded message:

From: "Josh Silver, FreePress.net" <list at freepress.net>
Date: September 19, 2008 2:35:12 PM CDT
To: a-fields at uiuc.edu
Subject: Breaking News: Journalist Charges Dropped
Reply-To: "Josh Silver, FreePress.net" <list at freepress.net>
 
Dear Belden,
Charges dropped against journalists arrested in St. Paul.

Your action made all the difference. 
St. Paul City Hall announced today that they are dropping all charges against journalists arrested while covering the protests outside the Republican National Convention -- including Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!
Your action made all the difference.
You and more than 62,000 other people signed our open letter demanding that the charges be dropped. The day after the convention, we delivered your signatures in person to the mayor of St. Paul.
Today’s great news happened because together, we responded quickly and spoke out strongly. This is your victory.
But before you celebrate, I need you to do one thing. Please ask three friends to join the Free Press network, so that the next time we need to act, we will have an even greater number of allies to add to our collective voice. Our struggle for an open and democratic media system is so crucial right now. We need your help bringing more people to the cause.
Tell your friends to promote better media.
Our task now is to ensure that our press remains free to report on the events, issues and stories that matter to our country, our communities, and our democracy.
We'll stay vigilant -- I hope you’ll join us.
Onward,
Josh Silver
Executive Director
Free Press
www.freepress.net
P.S. Please click here or copy and paste the message below into an e-mail to tell your friends about this exciting victory with Free Press.

Dear Friend,


Earlier this month, I -- along with 60,000 other members of Free Press -- signed a letter calling on St. Paul City Hall to drop the charges against Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! and the other journalists who were arrested during the Republican National Convention.


Today, we found out that in response to public pressure, all of the charges were dropped!


I’m writing in hopes that you will join me and the growing media reform movement by becoming a Free Press "e-activist". It is free, and takes about 10 seconds:http://www.freepress.net/get_involved/e-activists


Free Press is a national, nonpartisan network of people like you and me who care about the future of our media. It is crucial that we increase our numbers in the fight for more hard hitting journalism, and independent media.


Please go to http://www.freepress.net/get_involved/e-activists

 

________________________________

 Tell your friends about this campaign at: http://secure.freepress.net/site/Ecard?ecard_id=1621
You (a-fields at uiuc.edu) are receiving this e-mail as an opt-in subscriber to Free Press' e-activist list. You can unsubscribe or manage your account at any time.
Note: Free Press is a national nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Free Press does not endorse or oppose any candidate for public office. 
 OUR OTHER CAMPAIGNS:    
Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Learn more at www.freepress.net  



      
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/peace-discuss/attachments/20080920/2812f768/attachment-0001.htm