The RNC 8’s next court appearance, a motion hearing, has been set for January 26 at 1pm.

At that appearance, the judge will hear motions from the prosecution and defense, including a protective order requested by the prosecution which would prohibit the defense lawyers from releasing discovery to anyone including the eight co-defendants themselves, and possibly limiting the RNC 8 and their lawyers from sharing information about the case.  There is a possibility that after the 26th, engagement with the media from the eight and their lawyers (as well as from the prosecution) could be prevented or severely limited.

A possible timeline discussed at the hearing speculated that discovery should be turned over and read by the end of March, and the trial itself may start by September - but quite possibly even later.  It appears that at this point, the prosecution would prefer a show trial to an expedient process.

Given the reality that the RNC 8 will likely be limiting their interaction with the media soon, it will be even more important to provide strong support locally and nationwide. Organize events in your communities, and leverage your energy into the dual goals of freeing the RNC 8 from the legal system’s chains and using the community built around their case to strengthen our movement!

It’s clear that recent events and this week’s call-in days to Susan Gaertner (we got reports of jammed phone lines and a harried office) made the state feel threatened.  On Wednesday, a larger than usual presence of Ramsey County Sheriff’s Deputies were present at court and tried to intimidate supporters in the hallway.  But we have a support structure that they don’t!  Let’s continue the strong court solidarity for the RNC 8 and other RNC-related cases, and keep our pressure campaign on high.  Watch soon for information on activities surrounding the next RNC 8 court appearance on January 26.

coverage in the Minnesota Independent: Judge to RNC 8: See You Next Year

Tags: Ramsey County, ramsey county attorney, ramsey county sheriff, RNC 8, RNC Eight, Susan Gaertner, susan gaertner for governor