Defend the RNC 420
The week of August 1, 2000, during the Republican Convention,
activists took to the streets of Center City Philadelphia to draw
attention to the criminal injustice system. Over 400 protesters
were arrested and are still facing charges in Philadelphia court.
- Prior to the actions, police surveilled activists' houses and
meetings, infiltrated activist groups, and interrogated people
about their plans for the Convention.
- Acting on information obtained through illegal infiltration,
police targeted specific activists for pre-emptive arrests.
- On August 1, police surrounded a puppet-making warehouse and
arrested everyone inside, altogether over 70 activists who had
been making signs and puppets for the demonstrations. When you hear
the media saying "We don’t know what their message was," that’s
because the visuals that would have communicated the message were
confiscated and later destroyed by the police.
- During the actions, police didn’t just arrest people engaging
in civil disobedience. They also arrested and harassed bystanders,
legal observers, medics, and people who looked like activists.
- Protesters faced what may be the highest bails in history for
misdemeanor charges. In one case, an activist’s bail was set at $1
million for misdemeanors. While this is an extreme example, most
protesters' bails ranged from $10,000 to $250,000, still outstandingly
high amounts for misdemeanor charges.
- Protesters also face multiple charges. Instead of the customary
citation for blocking a highway, protesters are facing as many as
nine charges apiece, including conspiracy charges. Many charges are
obviously false, for example, people arrested in the puppet warehouse
are charged with obstructing a highway.
- Several dozen protesters were singled out for felony charges, many
for felony assault on police. Such charges can bring decades-long jail
sentences. The vast majority of these charges, if not all of them, are
trumped-up efforts by police to cover up their own violent acts towards
protesters.
Taken singly or together, the city's actions deliver a chilling
message: Anyone expressing political dissent in Philadelphia will be
harshly punished.
This is an unacceptable message for a city known as the birthplace of
liberty, or anyplace else.
Activists who set out to protest the criminal justice system
experienced first-hand some of the routine cruelty and unaccountability
of that system.
- Arrested protesters were denied food, water, and urgent medical
needs.
- They were dragged, kicked, punched, and handcuffed so tightly as to
cut off circulation.
- Some people were held for over 100 hours without being arraigned.
- People who wished to give their names and cite out were not allowed
to do so.
If this is the kind of treatment accorded to a unified group of prisoners
with media attention and strong support systems on the outside, we
shudder to think what treatment awaits an average prisoner in the
Philadelphia jails.
Why were they protesting?
The Criminal Injustice System: Some Basic Facts
- Nearly two million people are incarcerated in the USA. That’s more
than any other industrialized nation, and a quarter of the entire
planet’s prison population.
- In 1994, one in three black men between the ages of 20-29 were in
prison, jail, on probation or on parole. In 1995, 47% of state and
federal inmates were black, the largest group behind bars. Black men
were 7 times more likely than white men to be in prison. In 1993,
whites made up 74% of the general population, but only 36% of federal
and state prison inmates.
- The system is more focused on profit than rehabilitation. Private
prisons turn a profit by keeping people locked up. Prison labor
undercuts good jobs on the outside by paying prisoners as low as 30
cents an hour.
- The War on Drugs is putting thousands of people away to do hard
time for non-violent offenses.
- In 1970 there were 5,600 women in federal and state prisons. There
are currently 90,000. 60% of that population are black and Latina. The
majority are poor women convicted of nonviolent economic crimes such as
credit card fraud. The majority of women in prison for violent crimes
were defending themselves against abusive husbands or boyfriends.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Let Mayor Street and District Attorney Abraham know that you’re outraged at this travesty of justice!
Demand that all charges against protesters be dropped.
Contact Mayor Street and D.A. Abraham:
Mayor John Street
City Hall
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 686-2181
District Attorney Lynne Abraham
1421 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 686-8701
Help us pay legal costs! Please donate to the legal defense fund
PDAG
P.O. Box 40683
Philadelphia, PA 19107
We’re facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs. Any amount will help.
Donate your time and energy!
Call the R2K Legal Collective at (215) 925-6791 and let us know what you can do,
or check out our website at www.r2klegal.org for more info.