Silent vigil/Film NO GOD, NO MASTER/In an Unprecedented Court Escalation, Trump Protesters Could Be Facing Decades in Prison for Inauguration Demonstrations

There is usually a silent vigil on Fridays, from 5 to 6 PM, sponsored by Homewood Friends Meeting, outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St.  The next scheduled vigil is on June 2. Black Lives Matter.  

The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee and Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility are continuing the FILM & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS DVD SERIES.  The DVDs will be shown at Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218, usually on the First Friday.  After the 5 PM Black Lives Matter vigil, there will be a potluck dinner. At 7:15 PM, on June 2, a DVD of NO GOD, NO MASTER will be shown with a discussion to follow.  There is no charge, and refreshments will be available.  

NO GOD, NO MASTER is a 2012 USA independent crime suspense thriller directed, written, and produced by Terry Green. The film stars David Strathairn, Ray Wise, Sam Witwer, Alessandro Mario and Edoardo Ballerini. It was filmed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The story includes references to the 1914 Ludlow Massacre as well as depictions of the Sacco and Vanzetti trial and the 1920 Wall Street bombing.  When a series of package bombs show up on the doorsteps of prominent politicians and businessmen in the summer of 1919, U.S. Bureau of Investigation Agent William Flynn (Strathairn) is assigned the task of finding those responsible. He becomes immersed in an investigation that uncovers an anarchist plot. Based on true events of the 1920s, the film sets the stage for a timely drama with resoundingly similar parallels to the contemporary war on terrorism and the role government plays to defeat it. Call 410-323-1607 or email mobuszewski [at] verizon.net for further information.   

Friends,

  Unfortunately this article conflates nonviolent protest with violent rioting.  I was involved in a nonviolent anti-killer drone die-in a few blocks from the Inauguration, and we were not arrested. Nevertheless, it contains some updates on a court in D.C. and laws passed around the country.

Kagiso,

Max

Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)

In an Unprecedented Court Escalation, Trump Protesters Could Be Facing Decades in Prison for Inauguration Demonstrations

By Celisa Calacal [1], Lauren Kaori Gurley [2] / AlterNet [3]

June 1, 2017, 7:49 AM PDT

2

  Nearly six months after Donald Trump was sworn into office, more than 200 protesters who gathered in Washington, D.C. to protest his inauguration are facing felony charges that carry sentences of 70 to 80 years.

  According to Al Jazeera [4], the 212 protesters were arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department and initially charged with felony rioting, a crime that carries a 10-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine. On April 27, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia added additional charges that include urging to riot, conspiracy to riot and destruction of property. 

   The possibility of long-term prison sentences for these protesters could have a chilling effect on participation in future rallies, particularly at a time of heightened levels of anti-Trump activism. While it's unclear whether police departments will respond to large-scale political protests in a similar fashion, a dangerous precedent has been set. These legal actions may also infringe on the demonstrators' First Amendment rights, as they directly target anti-Trump protest movements.

   Olivia Alsip, a 23-year-old from Chicago, told Al Jazeera she never envisioned [4] participating in the anti-Trump protests on inauguration day could leave her facing an 80-year prison sentence: "It seems that innocent until proven guilty is a falsehood—all the way from the prosecution and police to the people who had previously supported me in my activism.”

   Alsip and the other defendants face the additional strain of having to pay for travel expenses to and from Washington for each of their court hearings before they go to trial. "Most of us don't have a whole lot of money," she said. "Generally we are fighting the rich because we are economically or politically disadvantaged and don't have a lot of capital."

As political protests and civil disobedience reach their highest levels since the 1960s, 18 states have responded by proposing over 30 bills aimed at suppressing demonstrations by increasing [5] and expanding [6] penalties for protesters. A new law in Missouri prohibits protesters from covering their faces with masks or other disguises. Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and Iowa have introduced bills that call for increased penalties for blocking traffic and demonstrating on private property.

  The American Civil Liberties Union has called these new laws “unconstitutional,” vowing to “fight in statehouses against any bill that violates the First Amendment.”

   While several defendants have pleaded guilty to shorten their sentences, about 130 of the defendants have joined a "points of unity" agreement pledging to reject any potential plea deals and cooperation with prosecutors. On May 26, 21 defendants filed motions to have their cases dismissed.

   Following the January 20 arrests, lawyers for some of the arrested protesters filed a class action lawsuit [7] against the MPD alleging that law enforcement engaged in excessive use of force and conducted false arrests. The Office of Police Complaints, a D.C. government agency, has called for an independent investigation [8] evaluating the actions of MPD officers that day.

  Celisa Calacal is an intern for AlterNet. She is a senior journalism major and legal studies minor at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. Previously she worked at ThinkProgress and served as an editor for Ithaca College's student newspaper. Follow her at @celisa_mia [9].

   Lauren Kaori Gurley is a freelance writer and master's candidate in Latin American studies and journalism at New York University. Her work has been published in In These Times, the American Prospect and the American Journal of Economics and Sociology. Follow her @laurenkgurley [10].

Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@alternet.org'. [11]

        [12]

Source URL: http://www.alternet.org/activism/unprecedented-court-escalation-trump-protesters-could-be-facing-decades-prison-their

Links:

[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/celisa-calacal
[2] http://www.alternet.org/authors/lauren-kaori-gurley
[3] http://alternet.org
[4] http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/05/anti-trump-protesters-facing-decades-bars-170522063956218.html
[5] https://theintercept.com/2017/05/06/oklahoma-governor-signs-anti-protest-law-imposing-huge-fines-on-conspirator-organizations/
[6] http://www.alternet.org/activism/state-lawmakers-are-brutally-cracking-down-protesters-under-cover-trumps-law-and-order
[7] http://dcist.com/2017/05/even_more_felony_charges_for_inaugu.php
[8] http://dcist.com/2017/02/office_of_police_complaints_wants_i.php
[9] https://twitter.com/celisa_mia
[10] https://twitter.com/LaurenKGurley
[11] mailto:corrections@alternet.org?subject=Typo on In an Unprecedented Court Escalation, Trump Protesters Could Be Facing Decades in Prison for Inauguration Demonstrations&body=URL:http://www.alternet.org/activism/unprecedented-court-escalation-trump-protesters-could-be-facing-decades-prison-their
[12] http://www.alternet.org/
[13] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs