Two N.O. Public Housing Activists to be tried on felony charges

[annm4peace]

If you feel this is important please give a kick.
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2008/06/12639_comment.php#12733



Two N.O. Public Housing Activists to be tried on felony charges
by Mike Howells Monday, Jun. 09, 2008 at 1:42 AM


Judge Rules Two N.O. Public Housing Activists Will Be Put ,On Trial For Felony Charge

Judge Rules Two N.O. Public Housing Activists Will Be Put ,On Trial For Felony Charge.

New Orleans Criminal Court Judge Byron Williams ruled on Friday that public housing activists Jamie Loughner and Joy Kohler will face trial in July on the felony charge of possessing a false explosive. At the conclusion of a preliminary hearing in the the New Orleans Criminal Court Building Williams ruled that the district attorney showed that the state had probable cause for bringing Kohler and Loughner to trial. Loughner and Kohler were arrested at the December 19, 2007 anti-demolition protest/occupation at the B.W. Cooper Housing Development. The NOPD and the District Attorney contend that the sleeping dragons that Kohler and Loughner uses to attach themselves to apartment buildings in the development scheduled for demolition were "false explosive" devices.
During the hearing the testimony of police who were at the scene of the arrest often raised serious questions regarding the assertion that the Cooper protesters intended for the sleeping dragon to appear to police as explosive devices. Swat Sargeant Paul Deas admitted under oath that he never heard Jamie Loughners threaten him or anyone else. Under examination by defense counsel Sargeant Todd Morrell, NOPD bomb expert and son of City Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge Morrell, testified that a false bomb could "look like almost anything". It was also noted that sleeping dragons have been used at peaceful protests throughout the country without resulting in authorities treating them as false explose devices. In the case of a third defendent police acknowledged that she did not even possess a sleeping dragon.
This police testimony did not prevent Judge Williams from ruling that the state proved there was probable for bringing Loughner and Kohler to trial. Trial for Joy Kohler on the charge of possessing a false a false explosive device is scheduled for July 16, 2008. Williams set trial for Jamie Loughner on July 17, 2008. Both trials will be held in New Orleans Criminal Court E. While testifying the second in command of the New Orleans SWAT division refused to confirm or deny the involvement of the FBI or the ATF at the Cooper protest.
All people in New Orleans with a stake in defending freedom of speech and freedom of assembly should make a point in showing solidarity with Jamie and Joy against the repression they are facing. Public tolerance of the railroading of Joy and Jamie will only embolden authorities to step up repression against all who speak out in defense of social justice. Those interested in defending democratic rights increasing under attack are urged to attend next Thursday's 7pm meeting of C3/Hands Off Iberville at Basin Hall in St. Jude's Church on 400 Basin St.

Mike Howells

[sasquatch]

1. Harassment, good ol' fashion harassment

[DFW]

2. I'm surprised they haven't yet been accused of burning the Reichstag

[Canuckistanian]

3. A "sleeping dragon"?

Like, literally one of these?

[uppityperson]

4. Felony charges because they didn't have an explosive, but the police thought they might?Another link

Good lord. k&r.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-26/1202624527107370.xml&coll=1

Activists accused of wielding fake bomb
Women arrested at housing protest
Sunday, February 10, 2008
By Gwen Filosa

Two women ever-present at demonstrations over the razing of public housing in New Orleans now face criminal charges because of a peculiar device called, in police circles, a "sleeping dragon."

In the world of public protest, the sleeping dragon -- often a piece of pipe that links activists together in an effort to avoid being handcuffed -- is a way to show passive resistance. When the police come to break up a protest, a circle of activists may defy them by locking their hands together with handmade metal restraints while the police figure out a way to haul them away.

But at a corner of the B.W. Cooper public housing development in December, where wrecking crews were about to dismantle a 1950s-era section of the complex set for demolition before Hurricane Katrina struck, police took notice of the device they say Jamie Loughner, Elizabeth Cook and Farah "Joy" Kohler brought along.

Police said they saw green wires emerging from the sleeping dragon and took it for some type of explosive. The New Orleans Police Department, and now the Orleans Parish district attorney's office, called it a fake bomb, meant to scare away law enforcement. ...(more)

[DCKit]

5. Someone needs to remind these public servants that it's THEIR Constitution and Bill of Rights too.

Are any of the prosecutors, police officers, etc... Black? Gay? Hispanic? Just "different"?

Because once any single group is sufficiently repressed, the fascists will move on to a new target - They've got nothing besides hatred and intolerance to rally public support and anyone lacking the correct combination of being rich, white, Republican, closeted and connected makes a dandy target.

To the prosecutors and police officers involved in this travesty of justice: Get a clue. We're all next on the list. Read a f*ing history book, morans.