Minnesota Prosecutor Petitioned by Thousands to End Persecution
by Coleen Rowley
HuffPost
What do 17,000 members of the Duluth Central Labor Body; the "Minnesota 8" sixty-year olds whose Vietnam draft resistance experiences were commissioned into a 2008 "Peace Crimes" play; over 3000 people from all over the world (many of whom not only signed an on-line petition but also wrote small essays about the need to protect Constitutional rights and freedom in their comments); and nine "Americans Who Tell the Truth"--painted as part of an educational art project all have in common? All strongly support the right to dissent and specifically the eight young organizers of RNC protest actions who were pre-emptively arrested before the Republican National Convention and then later charged under Minnesota's version of the Patriot Act with "incitement to riot in furtherance of terrorism". While there was a common conclusion communicated via yesterday's petition delivery to Ramsey County Prosecutor Susan Gaertner, a variety of reasons and perspectives were brought forward on why dissent needs to be protected and why pre-emptive arrests and prosecuting these young people as "terrorists" is wrong.
(Continued here.)
for more info about the RNC 8, go to www.RNC8.org, or check out a short video about events last weekend for dropping the bogus conspiracy/terrorism charges, in the face of more ridiculous police conduct:
ReplyDeletehttp://twincities.indymedia.org/2009/mar/video-rnc-8-supporters-mobilize-police-continue-intimidation