RNC

February 2 isn't just the next court date for the RNC 8--in Minnesota, it's also the evening of each political party's statewide precinct caucuses.  For our liberal and progressive friends and supporters, the caucuses represent an important opportunity to build support for the RNC 8 and raise awareness of the repression of political organizing.

Eye on Justice to air locally, online

In metropolitan Minnesota, Comcast pays a price for its media monopoly. The internet, cable, phone, and billboard company's contract monopolizing the cable TV running throughout the Twin Cities mandates opening several cable channels to locally produced PEG-- Public, Education, and Government programming.

Groundbreaking new shows are being prepared to air on Minneapolis Television Network and St. Paul Neighborhood Network, like a news/talk show about police brutality and local politics: Eye On Justice. This project is an effort of the entirely volunteer-driven grassroots group, Communities United Against Police Brutality, to reach out to the public and open people's eyes to some famous cases of police misconduct.

Shows: Ramona and Mike Africa (above) | RNC 8 | Murder of Brandon Rodriguez

Another legal victory!  The Minneapolis City Council Ways & Means Committee has just approved a $70,800 settlement in a case filed by Gus Ganley and his attorney, Jordan Kushner, resulting from the August 31, 2007 Critical Mass ride.

That was the Critical Mass ride one year before the RNC, which the Minneapolis Police decided to use as a test case, beating, arresting, tasering, and macing a number of the participants for no cause.  Gus was among those arrested, maced and abused.  He was held overnight and eventually charged with assaulting a police officer and obstructing the legal process using force - both gross misdemeanors - and fleeing a police officer, a misdemeanor.  On April 14, 2008 he was acquitted of all charges, after a one week trial and five minutes of jury deliberation.  Videos and testimony showed that the cop who arrested him was lying.

PDF of Settlement/Background Info from City Attorney's Office

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 week before the October 8 hearing in which all eight argued for joinder at trial.

The RNC 8 learned this week that Judge Teresa Warner has set the next court date for the eight: Tuesday, February 2 at 9am in room 131-B (that’s the big one) of Ramsey County Courthouse, 15 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul.

(Not mentioned in the scheduling order is the little-known procedure for hearings on Groundhog Day: if the prosecutor sees her shadow when she wakes up in the morning, she’ll burrow back into bed and the trial will have to wait another six months.)*

DEFEND ALL TARGETS OF STATE REPRESSION: SOLIDARITY TO CARRIE FELDMAN AND SCOTT DEMUTH
from the RNC 8 Defense Committee (www.rnc8.org)