August 31st: National Day of Action for the Cleveland 4!

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On Friday, August 31st, join your comrades around the country in raising
legal support funds for the Cleveland 4, who were entrapped by the FBI
and face up to life in prison because of their politics and association
with the Occupy movement. The defendants need to raise $80K to create
the best defense possible against the government's sensational
prosecution based on manufactured crimes. You can make donations online
or by sending checks or money orders made out to Conveyor Belt
Collective to P.O. Box 602117, Cleveland, OH 44102.

     *See http://www.cleveland5justice.org for more info and a template
       Nat'l Day of Action flyer

Arrested in Cleveland on April 30th in a calculated move designed to
disrupt May Day protests and celebrations everywhere, five people
initially faced charges for an alleged conspiracy to destroy a bridge.
These five are Brandon Baxter, Connor Stevens, Douglas L. Wright, Joshua
 Stafford, and Tony Hayne. On July 25th, Tony accepted a cooperating
plea deal with the government. He pled guilty to all three charges and
agreed to testify against his co-defendants in exchange for a minimum
sentence of 16 years in federal prison. His cooperation has directly
increased the danger his co-defendants are facing and harmed our
struggles for social justice.

The Cleveland 4 need our support now more than ever! With trial
scheduled to begin on September 18th, time is running short and money is
urgently needed for investigation costs, testimony from expert
witnesses, and other legal expenses.

On August 31st, the Cleveland 4 will be preparing for one of the biggest
moments in their lives from their jail cells. Their lawyers will be
working fervently to secure their acquittal and release. And the
prosecutors will be finalizing their plans to lock up these activists
for life, as a threat to all of us to abandon our struggles for a better
world—or else.

*What will you be doing?*

Show solidarity for the Cleveland 4 by hosting a fundraiser for them—a
show, a movie screening, a discussion, a noise demo and rally, a bake
sale, whatever strikes your fancy. Have you been a part of the Occupy
movement in your city? Pass the hat among your comrades and raise $100
to support these defendants—every bit helps! Let us know your plans so
we can add them to our calendar by contacting us at
cleveland4solidarity@riseup.net, donate online to send in your donation,
or send checks or money orders made out to Conveyor Belt Collective at
P.O. Box 602117, Cleveland, OH 44102.

The case of the Cleveland 4 is not a story of misguided activists doing
dangerous things. Rather, it is the story of a pattern of state
repression focused on destroying resistance and undermining solidarity
within the 99%. This is a story of an FBI agent provocateur who targeted
activists, manufactured a plot to blow up a bridge, and coerced the
defendants into going along with his scheme, all to keep himself out of
prison.

This case is not an isolated incident, but one instance in an historic
pattern of state repression. Just a couple weeks after the Cleveland 4,
the Chicago police arrested the NATO 5, charging three Occupy activists
(the NATO 3—Brent Betterly, Brian Jacob Church, Jared Chase) with
conspiracy to make Molotov cocktails, Sebastian Senakiewicz with falsely
making terroristic threats, and Mark Neiweem with attempted possession
and solicitation of an incendiary device. These five were also targeted
by provocateurs because of their political views and associations. We
must defend them as we defend all other political prisoners and
prisoners of war—their liberation is bound up with ours! Find out more
at http://nato5.occupychi.org/ and check back for an announcement about
an upcoming National Day of Action for the NATO 5!

As the national political conventions quickly approach, we should expect
to see more provocateurs targeting activists and manufacturing plots in
order to charge them with serious crimes and threaten them with decades
in prison. We must show the government that we will not stand idly by
while they attack our movements and imprison our comrades. We must put a
stop to this pattern of infiltration, provocation and entrapment. And we
must step up to support our comrades around the country. So on Friday,
August 31st, bring your community together to show your solidarity with
the Cleveland 4!

For more information on current trends of state repression that are
evident within these and other cases, check out these links:

http://www.justiceonline.org/our-work/ows-foia.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/25/nypd-occupy-protests-report?INTCMP=SRCH
http://cleveland4solidarity.org/media-coverage
http://www.crimethinc.com/blog/2012/05/29/inside-the-fbi-entrapment-strategy/