FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—MEDIA ADVISORY

May 12, 2010

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

RNC 8 Conspiracy Charges Hinge on Probable Cause Hearing Expected to Finish This Week

State’s Lack of Evidence Points to Baseless, Politically Motivated Charges that Should Be Dropped

St. Paul — Beginning on Thursday, May 13, the RNC 8 will return to court
to finish the probable cause hearing that began last week. Ramsey County
Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Dugger and FBI informant, Andrew Darst, who
infiltrated the RNC Welcoming Committee in the lead-up to the 2008
Republican National Convention, are expected to testify during the
hearings on Thursday and Friday. This additional informant testimony
follows Deputy Marilyn Hedstrom, who infiltrated the Welcoming Committee
as “Norma Jean Johnson” and testified last Wednesday. Hedstrom
consistently failed to point to any evidence from her year-long undercover
investigation to substantiate the charges of conspiracy to riot and
conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property. The only criminal
activity Hedstrom could point to was a banner drop in which she drove
Dugger and Andrew Darst, another paid informant, to the drop site.
Hedstrom, Dugger and Darst were the only people involved in the drop.

What: Evidentiary hearings in the RNC 8 trial

When: May 13th & 14th, 9am-4pm each day
Where: Ramsey County Courthouse, Room 131-B, 15 W. Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul

Supporters will fill the courtroom to demonstrate the high level of
community support for the eight local activists who are facing politically
motivated charges as a result of their political organizing. The hearings
beginning this week follow three days in court last week, which marked the
first time the eight defendants have been in court since their last
pre-trial hearing on February 2. Judge Teresa Warner expects the probable
cause hearing to finish up this week and for the other pre-trial motions
to be argued. A make-up hearing day due to the cancellation last Thursday
has yet to be set. Copies of the motions that will be heard during the May
hearings are located at www.rnc8.org/info. <http://www.rnc8.org/info>

Background on the RNC 8 case:

The RNC 8 were preemptively arrested in a series of raids by heavily armed
SWAT teams on the weekend before the Republican National Convention
convened in St. Paul, Sept. 1-4, 2008. The criminal complaints are based
on the allegations of “CRIs” (confidential reliable informants) and an
undercover Ramsey County Sheriff’s deputy, who infiltrated the RNC
Welcoming Committee and conducted surveillance on the political activists
more than nine months before the Republicans met in St. Paul. The RNC 8’s
case continues to highlight the problematic prosecution of dissent by the
State. In the interim, on April 8, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner
dismissed “terrorism” counts against the RNC 8. The eight defendants still
face felony charges of conspiracy to commit riot in the 2nd degree and
conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property in the 1st degree. The
continued prosecution of the RNC 8 represents the government’s attempt to
criminalize dissent and scapegoat a group of dedicated political
organizers for an over-the-top security regime that turned St. Paul into a
police state for the week of the Republican convention.

The RNC 8 may be available for media interviews and all inquiries and
requests can be sent to the contact information above. For more
information, visit http://www.RNC8.org.

Tags: andrew darst, Chris Dugger, Court hearings, Marilyn Hedstrom, RNC 8, RNC Welcoming Committee, RNC8