ST. PAUL, Minnesota — On February 2, 2010 before Judge Teresa R. Warner, the RNC 8 will have a full day of hearings on up to 13 motions, many regarding the suppression of materials found at preemptive raids seeking to disrupt the activists. The eight defendants were arrested before the Republican National Convention in September 2008. Their arrests followed many months of police infiltration and surveillance of their group, the RNC Welcoming Committee, which helped organize lodging, food, medical and legal aid for those protesting the convention. These motions will highlight the political motivations behind the unlawful raids and unjust charges of conspiracy. The February 2nd hearing will be held from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. in Room 131-B in the Ramsey County Courthouse on Kellogg Boulevard in Downtown St. Paul. Supporters will also host a free lunch during the noon recess at Central Presbyterian Church, 500 Cedar Street in St. Paul.
One of the most interesting motions to be argued asks to compel discovery about a fictitious anarchist group manufactured by police: "Indy TACT (Temporary Anti-Capitalist Team)." Retired Bloomington Police Officer Richard Greelis admitted in his post-RNC memoir, Cop Book, that this inflammatory group was a creation of his police department, with the goal of adopting a sector of St. Paul in which to encourage illegal activity. Therefore, the defendants have filed a motion for additional discovery regarding this group and its role in creating an environment of police repression and entrapment. (See http://tinyurl.com/RNCcopbook.) This and other motions to be heard Tuesday could potentially reveal as-yet-unknown information about the nature of confidential RNC informants.
During the hearing, the defendants will also argue a number of motions impacting their upcoming trial, including a motion for dismissal of the case because the State violated their First Amendment rights. The State has disclosed a series of documents from the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department suggesting that the police singled out defendants due to their political views and writings. For just one example, the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department opened an investigation on co-defendant Luce Guillen-Givins based on publicly available, Constitutionally protected political writings and a "criminal history" that only included charges later dismissed by the courts.
According to the motion filed on discriminatory investigation and prosecution, the State manufactured these conditions by opening an investigation based on perceived political beliefs, and later pursuing an arrest and charging the defendants with criminal conspiracy based upon their politics and not the defendants' actions. This type of abuse by the Sheriff's office raises serious questions about why the State is prosecuting the RNC 8 because of their radical political philosophy and writings.
Additionally, the Defense filed motions to suppress the content of the illegal raids on the Convergence Center at 627 Smith Ave., a communication center and several residences. During these raids, the State seized numerous computers, literature, documents, and standard household cleaning and maintenance items. The search warrants were based on incomplete information provided to judges, including the fact that one of the alleged RNC-WC members of concern to FBI informant Andrew Clark Darst was in fact an informant for the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department.
"These raids were sinister intelligence gathering operations and preemptive political disruptions under the guise of defending the public good," said RNC 8 co-defendant Garrett Fitzgerald. "This prosecution is an effort by the sheriff's department to continue its cock-a-hoop narrative, and cover its tracks to hide their own outrageous behavior."
The defendants also filed a motion regarding their rights to utilize a jury questionnaire in order to expedite the jury selection process, ensuring it is fair to all those involved and that the jurors' biases are fully known.
The RNC 8 and RNC 8 Defense Committee continue to host events every month, including an upcoming free community meal at Walker Community Church on March 16 at 6pm. For more info on the RNC 8 and upcoming events, visit: http://rnc8.org.
Links to February 2nd Motions
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/memo-pc-jnt.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/mtn-pc.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mtn-questionnaire126.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/motionforsuppression.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/motion-to-suppress-convergence-center126.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/motion-to-suppress-comms-center126.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/memmotiontosuppressfranks1-26.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/suppexh100125181131-1-26.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/luce-mtn-suppress.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/mtn-ep.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/luce-memo-ep-and-attachment.pdf
http://rnc8.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/indycomp100129093428.pdf
Background on the RNC 8 case
The RNC 8 were preemptively arrested in a series of raids by heavily armed SWAT teams on the weekend before the Republican National Convention convened in St. Paul, Sept. 1-4, 2008. The criminal complaints are based on the allegations of “CRIs” (confidential reliable informants) and an undercover Ramsey County Sheriff’s deputy, who infiltrated the RNC Welcoming Committee and conducted surveillance on the political activists more than nine months before the Republicans met in St. Paul.The RNC 8’s case continues to highlight the problematic prosecution of dissent by the State. In the interim, on April 8, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner dismissed “terrorism” counts against the RNC 8. The eight defendants still face felony charges of conspiracy to commit riot in the 2nd degree and conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property in the 1st degree.
The continued prosecution of the RNC 8 represents the government’s attempt to criminalize dissent and scapegoat a group of dedicated political organizers for an over-the-top security regime that turned St. Paul into a police state for the week of the Republican convention.
The RNC 8 may be available for media interviews and all inquiries and requests can be sent to the contact information above.
For more information, go to: RNC8.org
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