FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2010

Contact: Melissa Hill (RNC 8 Defense Committee), 612.886.4565, press@rnc8.org

RNC 8 DEFENDANT ERIK OSELAND ACCEPTS GROSS MISDEMEANOR PLEA DEAL
Remaining Defendants Will Fight Politically Motivated Charges in a Joint Trial Beginning October 25

SAINT PAUL, MINN. – At a hearing earlier today in Ramsey County District Court, RNC 8 defendant Erik Oseland accepted a plea agreement to one count of gross misdemeanor 3rd degree conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property. Oseland’s plea agreement severs him from the joint trial, scheduled to begin on October 25, but does not compel him to testify against his co-defendants. The remaining seven defendants are continuing their preparations for what they expect to be a long and grueling trial.

“While we respect Erik’s personal decision, it is his alone and is not indicative of our joint defense strategy,” said Eryn Trimmer of the RNC 8. “Additionally, we feel it is not indicative of Erik’s actual guilt or innocence. The criminal ‘justice’ system is designed to overwhelm and wear down defendants to force them to take plea agreements so the government can justify its repression of the people, not to ensure we have a just and free society.”

All eight defendants were pre-emptively arrested prior to the 2008 Republican National Convention and were originally facing felony terrorism charges under the MN PATRIOT Act. In early 2009, the state dropped the terrorism charges, leaving each defendant facing felony conspiracy to riot and conspiracy to commit property damage charges. The RNC 8 have waited over two years for their case to be heard, sifted through mounds of evidence from the state and successfully raised over $100,000 for their defense. Each of these obstacles are indicative of the ways the courts systematically prevent defendants from exercising the rights supposedly guaranteed to them under the Constitution.

The remaining defendants have re-affirmed their dedication to holding strong in the face of state repression aimed at punishing them for their political views and activity. Said co-defendant Monica Bicking, “There will be no more pleas. The seven of us co-defendants remaining are fully committed to the position we’ve held all along: seeing this politically motivated case through a political trial in court.”

Oseland was sentenced to 91 days in the Ramsey County Workhouse beginning on Wednesday, October 20 at 9 a.m. He will receive credit for the time he served while in custody during the RNC. He will also pay a fine of $100 before he reports to the Workhouse. The plea agreement also specified that Oseland is severing his case from those of his seven co-defendants, including by waiving his right to outstanding motions that are being reviewed by Judge Teresa Warner, such as the probable cause motion to dismiss the charges. Finally, Oseland will not be compelled to testify in any RNC-related case in the future, including those of his co-defendants.

The next pretrial hearing for the seven co-defendants is September 10 at the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul. More information will be available at http://RNC8.org.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 27 2010

Zombies to Donate Thousands to RNC 8 and Scott DeMuth
Portion of Minneapolis Police Settlement to Go to Anarchists Facing Trial

Minneapolis, MN–The RNC 8 and Scott DeMuth, Twin Cities anarchist organizers facing trial this fall on politically motivated conspiracy charges, are receiving donations to their legal defense funds from an unlikely source–zombies who settled a lawsuit with the City of Minneapolis late last week.

The seven “zombie” street theatre performers split a $165,000 settlement with their lawyer stemming from police misconduct during their false arrests in 2006 [see http://tinyurl.com/strib-zombies]. Members of the Zombie 7 have pledged at least $4,000 of their settlement to the legal defense of the RNC 8 and Scott DeMuth, another Minneapolis activist facing a politically-motivated conspiracy trial this fall.

“The Zombie 7 were not slapped with criminal charges after being absurdly arrested for ’simulating weapons of mass destruction,’” said Raphi Rechitsky, one of the Zombie 7. “But countless others are prosecuted for their artistic and political expression, views, and associations, much like the RNC 8 and Scott DeMuth. They face not only jail time and exhausting legal proceedings, but also costly legal defense. My fellow zombies and I have come to understand that with a flip of a coin, we could have been the ones to face criminal charges on outrageous accusations of ‘violence.’”

Rechistky announced the donation in a video viewable at Youtube, Vimeo and Blip.TV.

He continued, “I see this money as not just compensation for my ordeal, but also money for people battling back against the punitive criminal justice system.”

Because the zombies’ 2006 protest satirized “mindless consumerism,” local and national media have speculated upon how the settlement money will be spent. The donation back into movement defense shows the zombies are still (un)deadly serious about challenging consumerism.

Earlier this year, the RNC 8 received at least one other large donation thanks to local law enforcement misconduct. Long-time St. Paul activist Betsy Raasch-Gilman settled a lawsuit against Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher this spring. Raasch-Gilman had sued Fletcher for intrusion into her privacy as a result of police surveilling her before and during the 2008 Republican National Convention. Raasch-Gilman donated the proceeds of her $5,000 settlement, after legal costs, to the RNC 8 defense fund.

Melissa Hill of the RNC 8 Defense Committee commented, “It’s ironic that the Twin Cities police departments, which ratcheted up unwarranted fear of anarchists before and after the RNC, are now indirectly contributing thousands of dollars to these same anarchists’ criminal defense through civil settlements.”

“We’ve long suspected this,” Hill said, “but police in the Twin Cities truly seem to have lost their braaaaaiiiinnnnss.”

For more information on the RNC 8 case, visit http://rnc8.org. For more information on Scott DeMuth’s case, visit http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com

Join the RNC 8 Defense Committee and the Women’s Prison Book Project for an event with DIANA BLOCK, social justice/feminist activist, prison abolitionist, and author of Arm the Spirit - A Woman’s Journey Underground and Back.

**When: Saturday, September 11th, 7:00 pm
**What: Diana will speak about the intersections between political
prisoner support and other areas of resistance to the prison-industrial
complex, with a focus on women and transgender prisoners. Her talk will be followed by a Q&A. A $5-20 donation is suggested, and all funds raised will be split betweenthe RNC 8 Defense Committee and the Women’s Prison Book Project.
**Where: TC Friends Meeting House, 1725 Grand Ave in St. Paul (please keep in mind that the Friends meeting House is a scent-free environment)

Diana Block has been a social justice/feminist activist for forty years.
She was a founder of San Francisco Women Against Rape and of the
anti-imperialist group Prairie Fire Organizing Committee in the seventies.
She spent thirteen years underground in connection with her solidarity
activities with the Puerto Rican independence and Black liberation
movements, including two years living in Minneapolis. After returning to public life in 1995, she was a founding member of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, the Jericho Movement and the San Francisco 8 Defense Committee and continues to be active in prison abolitionist work focused on women and transgender prisoners. In 2009 she published her memoir, Arm the Spirit - A Woman’s Journey Underground and Back. She lives in San
Francisco with her partner, Claude Marks, and has two children.

Info on the RNC 8: WWW.RNC8.ORG
Info on the Women’s Prison Book Project: WWW.WPBP.ORG

*While in town, Diana will also be doing the following events:

Sat, 9/11, 2:00 pm: Twin Cities Anarchist Book Fair
Diana will read excerpts from her book and reflect on her experiences,
followed by a Q&A. The event will be at the Powderhorn Park Recreation
Center, 34th St & 15th Ave S in Minneapolis. For more info, visit:
tcanarchist.wordpress.com

Sun, 9/12: Diana will also be reading from her memoir at True Colors
Bookstore at 3pm on Sunday, September 12th. True Colors is located at 4755
Chicago Ave. S. in Minneapolis. For more info, visit:
www.truecolorsbookstore.com.

Diana Block Events September 2010

The local television show Our World in Depth recently featured this video of the RNC 8 Defense Committee’s town hall meeting of July 2010.  The program included Carrie Feldman on her recent resistance to a federal grand jury, Dr. David Pellow on his recent experiences struggling for academic freedom, Dr. Neala Schleuning on anarchism, and attorney Jordan Kushner on the RNC 8 case.

Plus, don’t miss the new *satirical* play written by Betsy Raasch-Gilman, “We’re Gonna Getcha, or: the Progress of a Police Investigation.”  (Any resemblance to an actual police investigation is purely… well, you’ll see.)

Our World in Depth airs in St. Paul on SPNN channel 15, Minneapolis on MTN channel 17, and worldwide online at http://ourworldindepth.org.

The Conspiracy Tour is in its last week on the road! After going around a ton of the country, the Tour is working its way up the West Coast and will be heading back to the Midwest this weekend.  The welcome home event in Minneapolis is on Thursday, August 26.

Location: PPNA Building, 821 East 35th St.
Time: 6pm

(Download the flyer–pdf)

You can also check out the audio of the tour’s grand jury resistance training in Pittsburgh, recorded by Rustbelt Radio:

Grand Jury Resistance Training

It is with great disappointment that we share the news that our co-defendant, Erik Oseland, has decided to take a plea agreement as early as Monday, August 23rd. He has informed us that he will plead guilty to one count of gross misdemeanor conspiracy to commit riot, which is riot “without a dangerous weapon,” a charge which bears a maximum 1-year sentence. We will send out the exact date and time of the hearing as soon as we know it, for those who wish to attend.

Erik has told us that this is a non-cooperating plea agreement, and we want to make absolutely clear that *we ARE NOT treating Erik as a cooperator*, and *we ARE NOT asking people to withdraw their support from him.* We do fear that any plea agreement offered by the State has the potential to hurt the rest of us, but we are reserving further comment on the matter until the hearing has taken place and we’ve been able to review the final resolution of Erik’s case.

Erik’s decision to take a plea, while a break from the rest of us and our beliefs about the case, is not a break with the approach he has long held towards our defense strategy. We know that plea agreements are often used as a “divide and conquer” tactic by the State, and it is important to us that everyone take care to prevent this turn of events from becoming divisive and furthering the State’s strategy of undermining resistance movements.

The court system is a government tool that uses coercion and manipulation in its attempts to control all of us. It has nothing to do with truth or justice. The 7 of us remaining believe there are times when it is prudent to stand your ground and fight even if the terms of struggle are not ideal. We are fully committed to fighting this all the way through trial, as we always have been. We are grateful for the support of all of you.

In Solidarity,
Luce Guillen-Givins, Max Specktor, Nathanael Secor, Eryn Trimmer, Monica Bicking, Robert Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald.

—–
 
July 20th: Dinner = Good. Jail = Bad.
 
Join us for a free meal prepared by the RNC 8 and friends, Tuesday, July 20th. This is a great opportunity to stop on by to enjoy tasty free food and continue to show your support over the summer as we prepare for a trial in the fall.
As always, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options will be available.
When: Tuesday, July 20th
Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Where: 3104 16th Ave S. (Walker Church basement)
 —–
 
July 23: Potluck in the Park for the National Day of Solidarity for Scott DeMuth

The National Day of Solidarity for Scott is only days away! If you’re in Minneapolis, join us for food, fun, and good company! And don’t miss the official Conspiracy Tour kickoff event! Be among the first to join the Conspiracy!

Featuring:
- “Conspiracy: the Musical,” a puppet show extravaganza
- Music by our friend Heidi Barton Stink (http://www.myspace.com/bartonstink)
- Pre-Tour Discussion and Potluck

* When: Friday, July 23rd, 5-7:30pm for food and games
* Where: Powderhorn Park (near the stage), Minneapolis

If you’re able, please bring a dish to share. We’ll make sure to have some vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options available, but bring what you need with some to spare if you can. Donations are appreciated for Scott’s legal defense fund.

Not in Minneapolis? There’s still time to arrange a solidarity event for Scott in your town! Grab some friends, do something fun, spread the word about Scott’s case, and contribute to creating a strong culture of resistance and solidarity across the nation!
 
——
The Conspiracy Tour hits the road in just one week! It’s been alleged that the Tour will include a musical puppet show, a scintillating presentation on the charges the activists are facing, and various (some would say nefarious) ways you can join the Conspiracy to support targets of state repression. In addition to the usual perks of joining a conspiracy, co-conspirators will be learning ways to strengthen and protect their communities from future incidences of state repression. You know, just in case.

Folks going on the Tour have been busy getting ready to cross the continent to raise support and solidarity for the RNC 8 and Scott DeMuth (an activist from Minneapolis who’s facing conspiracy charges under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act). Don’t believe it? Check out the evidence for yourself!

“We’re Getting Ready for Tour” promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB5LjnUD7oA

Check out the Tour schedule below and the website (http://conspiracytour.wordpress.com) for up-to-date info:
 
July 25: Winona, MN
Location: 578 E. 4th St, next to Chong’s Noodle House in the old St. Vincent thrift store
Time: 6pm potluck, 7pm presentation
July 26: Madison, WI
Location: Rainbow Bookstore Cooperative, 426 W. Gilman Street, Madison, WI 53703
Time: 7pm
July 27: Milwaukee, WI
Location: Cream City Collectives, 732 E. Clarke St.
Time: 7pm
July 28: Chicago, IL
Location: DePaul Law School, 25 E. Jackson Blvd., Lewis Center, Rm. #703
Time: 5pm-8pm
July 29: Cleveland,  OH
Location: St. Paul’s Community Church, 4427 Franklin Blvd.
Time: 7pm
July 30: Pittsburgh, PA Grand Jury Resistance Training!
Location: 623 Kirtland St, Point Breeze, Pittsburgh
Time: 7pm
July 31: Pittsburgh, PA Tour Stop!
Location: The Union Project, 801 North Negley Avenue
Time: 2pm
August 1: Buffalo, NY
Location: TBD
Time: TBD
August 2: New York City, NY
Location: Book Thug Nation, 100 N. 3rd St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Time: 7pm
August 3: Philadelphia, PA
Location: Wooden Shoe Books, 704 South St.
Time: 7pm
August 4: Washington, DC
Location: TBD
Time: TBD
August 6: Carrboro, NC
Location: Internationalist Books, 405 W. Franklin St.
Time: 7pm
August 7: Asheville, NC
Location: Firestorm Cafe & Books, 48 Commerce St.
Time: 6pm
August 8: Louisville, KY
Location: Women in Transition Space, 806 E. Chestnut St.
Time: 6pm
August 9: Bloomington, IN
Location: Boxcar Books & Community Center, 408 E. 6th St.
Time: 7pm
August 10: St. Louis, MO
Location: Black Bear Bakery, 2639 Cherokee St.
Time: TBD
August 11: Omaha, NE
Location: TBD
Time: TBD
August 12: Denver, CO
Location: 27 Social Center, 2727 W. 27th Ave.
Time: 6pm Grand Jury Resistance, 7pm Conspiracy Tour
August 13: Salt Lake City, UT
Location: Boing!
Time: TBD
August 14: San Francisco, CA
Location: Station 40
Time: 7:30pm
August 15: East Bay, CA
Location: TBD
Time: TBD
August 16: Santa Cruz, CA
Location: SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave.
Time: 7pm
August 18: Portland, OR
Location: Red & Black Cafe, 400 Southeast 12th Ave.
Time: 7pm
August 19: Tacoma, WA
Location: TBD
Time: TBD
August 20: Seattle, WA
Location: TBD
Time: TBD
August 23: Rock Island, IL
Location: TBD
Time: TBD
August 24: somewhere in Iowa
Location: TBD
Time: TBD
August 26: Minneapolis, MN
Location: TBD
Time: TBD

G8/G20, They Few, We Many: Solidarity with the Toronto Arrestees

June 2010 brought thousands upon thousands of dedicated activists to the streets of Toronto to protest and confront the G8/G20, as “world leaders” conspired to further destroy our communities and the world around us for the sake of power and profit. Residents of Toronto and activists from all over Canada and the world were met by an army of police officers with a budget of $1 billion to fund their campaign of repressive violence, fear and intimidation. This campaign was designed to sweep the streets of anyone daring to speak out against the destructive policies perpetuated by the G8/G20 and to scare people away from organizing resistance to these policies.

Not content with attacking people in the streets and arresting nearly 1100 protesters, the Canadian government also attacked the very ideas of community and organizing by arresting 17 prominent community organizers from around Canada and charging them with conspiracy. Those who have been released from jail face harsh bail conditions that prevent them from associating with people in their communities and from exercising their rights to organize and voice their dissent. This attempt at breaking solidarity amongst and with the accused must not and will not be successful.

Around two years earlier and 1300 kilometers to the west, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota experienced similar repression and attacks by the state during the 2008 Republican National Convention. Prior to the convention, police preemptively arrested eight anarchist organizers, now known as the RNC 8, through a series of raids and targeted grabs. During the convention, the police attacked thousands of protesters who had taken to the streets, ultimately arresting 818 people.

In July 2010, the RNC 8 and their supporters are still gearing up for trial, still fighting back against the state’s attempts to disrupt our organizing and resistance. The state initially charged the RNC 8 with conspiracy “in the furtherance of terrorism,” but our resistance exposed the political motivations behind these charges and forced the prosecutor to drop them. Our organizing will continue to support the RNC 8 as they endure a trial that could last up to two months. Our solidarity will continue to defend not only these eight defendants, but the rights of all of us to associate with each other, organize with each other, and resist the policies that aim to destroy our communities and our world.

The parallels between our experiences over the last two years and those of people fighting back in Toronto are clear. We are all part of the same struggle for a better world. We are all affected by state repression. And we all face the same enemies regardless of which side of which artificial border we find ourselves on.

We stand in solidarity with everyone struggling against state repression in Toronto. We denounce the Canadian government and all its agents for their violence in the service of the rich and powerful.

And as local organizers are left to deal with any summit’s aftermath, it is important to remember that we are still many, and the state still consists of but a few self-proclaimed leaders.  By leveraging our collective power, all of us can take direct control of our lives and defend all those facing government attack.

With love and solidarity,
The RNC 8 Defense Committee
http://rnc8.org
info(A)rnc8.org
 
For more information on the aftermath from the G8/G20, visit the Toronto Community Mobilization Network:  g20.torontomobilize.org

Join us for a free meal prepared by the RNC 8 and friends, Tuesday, July 20th. This is a great opportunity to stop on by to enjoy tasty free food and continue to show your support over the summer as we prepare for a trial in the fall.

As always, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options will be available.

When: Tuesday, July 20th
Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Where: 3104 16th Ave S. (Walker Church basement)

Tour to Raise Support Has the State Up in Arms

The State of Minnesota alleges that organizing a convergence space for protesters to have meetings, eat free meals, and check teh interwebs (on computers that an FBI informant helpfully set up!) makes the RNC 8 guilty of conspiracy. The Federal government claims that Scott DeMuth’s writings and associations suggest that he is an anarchist and therefore a domestic terrorist, making him guilty of conspiracy under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

We say organizing resistance to state repression isn’t conspiracy. It’s survival. We say living our lives according to our principles isn’t terrorism. It’s our right. We say we’ll continue organizing no matter how much the state tries to destroy us and our communities.

So if this is conspiracy, we say to you…Join the Conspiracy!

This summer, the Conspiracy Tour is going on a whirlwind, month-long excursion across the continental United States to raise awareness of and solidarity for political activists from Minneapolis, MN who are facing severe state repression. Come join us in raising political support and much-needed legal defense funds for the RNC 8 and Scott DeMuth.

It’s been alleged that the Tour will include a musical puppet show, a scintillating presentation on the charges the activists are facing, and various (some would say nefarious) ways you can join the Conspiracy to support targets of state repression. In addition to the usual perks of joining a conspiracy, co-conspirators will be learning ways to strengthen and protect their communities from future incidences of state repression. You know, just in case.

Come find solidarity, strategizing, resistance, and community that the state could only dream of! This will be a roadshow to remember even before you read about it in your FBI file.

Find out more about the Tour: http://conspiracytour.wordpress.com.
Questions? Wanna help out? Hit us up at midwestconspiracy(A)gmail.com.

About the RNC 8
The RNC 8–Max Specktor (who will be speaking on the West Coast stops of the tour), Erik Oseland, Eryn Trimmer, Garret Fitzgerald, Luce Guillén-Givins, Monica Bicking, Nathanael Secor, and Rob Czernik–were preemptively arrested in a series of raids by heavily armed SWAT teams and other targeted arrests on the weekend before the Republican National Convention in 2008. The criminal complaints are based on the allegations of confidential reliable informants and an undercover Ramsey County Sheriff’s deputy, who infiltrated the RNC Welcoming Committee and conducted surveillance on the activists for about a year. Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner initially slapped them with “terrorism” enhancements in the first known use of Minnesota’s version of the PATRIOT Act. After a successful pressure campaign against Gaertner’s gubernatorial bid, she dismissed the terrorism enhancement charges. The 8 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. Their joint trial will begin on October 25, 2010 and could last up to two months. More info at http://rnc8.org.

About Scott DeMuth
In November 2009, Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman were subpoenaed to a federal grand jury in Iowa investigating a 2004 Animal Liberation Front raid at the University of Iowa. Though they had no information about the incident, they both refused to cooperate with the grand jury on principle and were jailed for civil contempt. Carrie was held for four months before being released, and will be speaking about her experience on this tour. Two days after being jailed, Scott was indicted for conspiracy under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. He has been released with conditions pending trial and has been re-indicted twice in response to his attorneys’ motions to dismiss. In March 2010, the Utah house of well-known animal rights activist and former political prisoner Peter Young was raided on a federal search warrant from Iowa. The raid happened only days before Carrie’s release and lists Scott and others by name. More info at http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com.

Tour Schedule (more updated info with locations on our website)
Winona July 25
Madison J26
Milwaukee J27
Chicago J28
Cleveland J29
Pittsburgh July 30 + 31
Buffalo August 1
NYC A2
Philadelphia A3
DC A4
Carrboro A6
Asheville A7
Louisville A8
Bloomington, IN A9
St Louis A10
Omaha A11
Denver A12
Salt Lake City A13
Bay Area A14 +15
Santa Cruz A16
Portland A18
Tacoma A19
Seattle A20
Rock Island A23
Iowa City A24
Minneapolis A26

This tour is part of the We Are Everywhere campaign, a month of decentralized anarchist activities and events to promote visibility and outreach in August 2010.

Looking forward to seeing you there!