FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2010

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

Deputy Chris Dugger Confirms Lack of Evidence to Support RNC 8 Conspiracy Charges
FBI Informant Andrew Darst Evades Initial Subpoena, May Be Compelled to Appear on June 9

St. Paul, Minn. — On Friday, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Dugger took [...]

On Friday, we heard the testimony of Chris Dugger, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Deputy.
Dugger started attending Welcoming Committee meetings in November of ‘07. He was told to “listen and figure out what they were up to.” He didn’t start getting paid until spring of ‘08, and was deputized at the Ramsey County [...]

Today was the fourth day of the RNC 8 hearings. Most of the day was spent questioning Sergeant Jay Maher of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department Special Investigations Unit, who conducted extensive surveillance leading up to and following the RNC, worked with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department informants and supervised some of the raids. Chris [...]

On Friday, March 3, Garrett Fitzgerald and Max Specktor appeared on WORT-FM Community Radio in Madison.  Check out their hour-long appearance and discussion with callers on the noon-hour program A Public Affair. Download the show from the WORT archive:
Garrett and Max on WORT - 27MB MP3
On Monday night, both will be speaking at University [...]

After we learned earlier this month that the RNC 8 will face a single trial, we also learned that Judge Teresa Warner has denied Max Specktor’s motion to suppress evidence obtained in a warrantless search on September 1, 2008.  Max and his attorney Larry Leventhal had argued the motion in a September 29 hearing, a [...]

In advance of the upcoming hearing for all of the RNC 8, Max Specktor is scheduled to be in court at 9am on Tuesday, September 29.  Max and his lawyer Larry Leventhal will argue a motion to suppress evidence regarding the contents of the vehicle in which he was a passenger when the vehicle was [...]

One year after the fact, much of the corporate media has unsurprisingly looked to the official RNC narrative of the events of August and September, 2008. As one letter to the Minneapolis Star Tribune rebutted:
Last year’s Republican National Convention may have given the Twin Cities a [supposed] $168 million economic boost (Star Tribune, Sept. [...]

Conventional Wisdom: Reflections on the 2008 RNC Protests
This new documentary examines protests at the 2008 Republican National Convention, largely focusing on law enforcement’s reaction to and treatment of protestors and organizers during the Convention. Drawing upon interviews from activists, lawyers, street medics, and law enforcement, among others, Conventional Wisdom is a reflection on what happened [...]

Defend the RNC 8!
The Struggle for Justice After the RNC
Wednesday, April 29 - 7pm
Coffman Student Union Room 324
University of Minnesota
300 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis
The RNC 8 are a group of Twin Cities residents, nearly all in their 20s, who were initially charged with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism under the Minnesota version of [...]

Max Specktor and Rob Czernik’s talk at the San Francisco Anarchist Bookfair last weekend was recorded by Bay Area Indymedia.  Download the mp3 audio here (20:22) or listen on Indybay.org.
Max, Rob and Max’s attorney Larry Leventhal also appeared on Flashpoints, a nationally syndicated radio show based from 94.1 KPFA in Berkeley. Download the mp3 here [...]