Source:
WGME tv "Supporters rally for 11 arrested at
Gaza ceasefire protest in Portland"
Six of
us went to court this morning with attorney Lenny Sharon to plead not guilty to
the charge of obstructing a public way February 2 in Portland, Maine. Five
defendants who did not appear also had the same plea entered on their behalf.
Photos of supporters courtesy Tim Paradis, Maine Coalition for Palestine
We were not allowed to make statements by the judge, only to say how we pled. Paige told of 30,000+ Gazans killed by Israel, extremely relevant to our case, but could only say a little before being silenced. The Portland Press Herald reported what little I said in their coverage of today's proceedings and Yusuf Ebrahim, who was with us in court, gave a great interview to the Bangor Daily News yesterday explaining his own motivations for protesting.
Our disposition hearing
was set for July 24. Between now and then we'll meet and gather advice before
deciding individually how to proceed.
If we had pleaded guilty
today we could have done 30 hours of community service and then the court would
dismiss the charges. Some may yet decide to do that, and some may hold out for
a trial.
Lenny will be filing a
motion to change our terms of bail i.e. "no loitering in roadways" as
overly vague. We were reminded by the judge that another condition is no
illegal activities while out on bail. I asked Lenny the hypothetical: what if I
got arrested in California? He said it was unlikely another state would pick up
the Maine bail violation for obstructing a public way. But if one of us were
arrested again in Maine, the person might have to go back to jail pending
another hearing on the Feb 2 bail conditions.
Stay tuned...
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