FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 5, 2010

Contact: Melissa Hill (RNC 8 Defense Committee), 612.886.4565, press@rnc8.org; Attorney: Larry Leventhal, 612.333.5747

Three Ramsey County Sheriff’s Deputies Take the Stand in Full Day of RNC 8 Probable Cause Hearing

Paid Police Informants to Testify on Wednesday; Lunchtime photo Op to Feature Former RNC Welcoming Committee Member Posing with Oversized $5,000 Check Representing Settlement Against Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher

ST. Paul, Minn. – In the second day of a “Florence hearing” in Ramsey County District Court to determine whether the felony conspiracy charges against the RNC 8 defendants will be dismissed for lack of probable cause, a Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department inspector admitted that the police infiltration and surveillance of the RNC Welcoming Committee was launched after law enforcement officials watched a satirical “YouTube” video.

Regarding the obviously tongue-in-cheek “We’re Getting Ready” web video, Inspector Tony Samec, under questioning by attorney Larry Leventhal, said, “I believe that may have been the basis for our investigation.”

On Wednesday, paid police informants, whose reports substantially form the basis of the allegations in the criminal complaint against the RNC 8, are expected to take the stand.

Samec was followed on the witness stand by Dale Sommerhause, commander of the Special Investigations Unit of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department, which initiated the spying on RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist/anti-authoritarian group that helped organize protests against the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Like Samec, Sommerhause attempted to pick a few ambiguous comments from emails and informant reports to paint the defendants as a violent threat to public safety. Commander Richard Clark also testified on Monday afternoon.

The witnesses repeatedly said that they could not recall specifics of reports from the police informants and an undercover sheriff’s deputy. The Ramsey County sheriff amassed a huge trove of documents (including 49,000 emails) from pre-RNC surveillance and seized computers. Also, common household materials, which were confiscated in SWAT team raids on three South Minneapolis homes prior to the RNC, were characterized as “weapons.” A bicycle inner tube, for example, became a slingshot for firing projectiles at police, in the imagination of Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who staged a press conference immediately after the Aug. 30, 2008 SWAT raids to justify his outrageous abuse of police authority.

“The witnesses so far are clearly grasping at straws to justify the search warrants they obtained against the RNC 8, just as the prosecutors are straining the public’s credulity by continuing this ridiculous prosecution,” said Jude Ortiz of the RNC 8 Defense Committee. “The hearings this week reveal a disturbing travesty of justice, which has dragged on now for 20 months.”

During the lunchtime break today, Betsy Raasch-Gilman, a former member of the RNC Welcoming Committee, will pose for a picture with her attorney, Ted Dooley, and an oversize $5,000 check symbolizing the settlement she received from Ramsey County to resolve her lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Bob Fletcher.

The settlement is another indication of the severity of the misconduct and disregard for civil liberties by Fletcher, his deputies, the St. Paul police and federal law enforcement authorities. The RNC 8 case is about the criminalization of dissent. Also, Raasch-Gilman is expected to testify for the defense today.

The hearings today will begin at 9 a.m. in Room 1080 of the Ramsey County Courthouse. RNC 8 supporters will pack the courtroom again today, as they have over the last two days. Copies of the motions that will be heard during the hearings are located at:

http://rnc8.org/info/

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Tags: Bob Fletcher, Court hearings, ramsey county sheriff's office, RNC 8, RNC Welcoming Committee, RNC8