Friday, December 22, 2017

Is Dissent A Criminal Act? No Says DC Jury As It Acquits Six #J20 Inauguration Protesters


The first six of more than two hundred protesters from the J20 group arrested in DC on inauguration day have been acquitted.  

The J20 were charged with felony conspiracy and other ridiculous charges, and the group includes many journalists who were not protesting but were present doing their jobs.

Sarah Lazare of In These Times interviewed one of those acquitted, street medic Michelle "Meil" Macchio, who said:
Hopefully, through our dissent and this case, we can get the message out that we will not stand by and let this happen. We will continue to resist and build our movement. 
I hope people are paying attention to the ongoing Standing Rock cases. While we were in trial, a number of undocumented folks were arrested for standing up to protect DACA after launching a hunger strike.

I noticed the term "trial family" in Maccio's description of the solidarity she experienced. And it made me remember how much I love my Aegis 9 trial family (ok, one of them is my husband) and supporters. Our trial for protesting at General Dynamics begins on January 4, 2018 in West Bath District Court. If you're in Maine, we would love to have your support.



Maccio's account of outside support for the J20 reminded me how important it is for us to support Aegis 9 family member Jessica Stewart who, along with Ridgely Fuller and Sharon Dean, were arrested for refusing to leave Senator Susan Collin's office in Bangor on Monday over her vote for the tax scam.

Happy solstice. Be of good cheer! We are all in this together.

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