The Michigan Review

BAMN, NWROC Memebers Arrested
Curtin, Massie, Driver face charges in connection with anti-Klan protest

by Lee Bockhorn

Leaders of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) and the National Women's Rights Organizing Coalition (NWROC) have been arrested for their actions during a protest of the Ku Klux Klan's May 9th rally in Ann Arbor. LSA Senior Jessica Curtin of BAMN faces charges of rioting and malicious destruction of property. NWROC leaders Shanta Driver and Luke Massie, both of Detroit, turned themselves in to Ann Arbor police on July 14th to face charges of misdemeanor property destruction. NWROC members staged a protest at city hall as Driver and Massie arrived.

Two other NWROC members also turned themselves in, and another member was arrested during the protest. Ann Arbor police targeted this person as they stood about 20 feet from the crowd, searching through photos from the May 9th rally for unidentified people they are seeking to prosecute.

A total of sixteen people have now been arrested and charged with rally-related crimes. The rioting charge against Curtin carries a maximum 10 year prison sentence on conviction. Massie and Driver could face up to 90 days in jail on the misdemeanor charges.

NWROC members have complained that the arrests are politically motivated, calling it a "witch hunt." Massie said that anyone throwing rocks at the Klan rally was justified because there were no serious injuries and less than $5,000 in damages. "If the city continues with these prosecutions, they will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on the prosecution of anti-racists. We are doing nothing but coming out and expressing opposition to racist murderers," he said.

Ann Arbor Police Sgt. Michael Logghe said "we can't allow people to break the law. If the KKK killed someone in Ann Arbor, rest assured they'd be arrested. But since that didn't happen, as a city we wouldn't want a police department that just defends the right of people to say what they want."

Logghe said that if NWROC "wanted to have a peaceful protest, we'd protect them. If the KKK threw rocks and bottles, we'd arrest them. We don't pick and choose who we protect. We protect everyone, as long as no one is breaking the law, which the KKK didn't do on this date."

"We are duty-bound to protect every citizen whether we agree with what they say or not. I don't think anyone wants to live in a society where police only protect certain segments of the population," Logghe added.

Hundreds of protestors and curious onlookers turned out at the Klan rally, while more than 100 volunteer "peacekeepers" physically held up an 8 foot fence that NWROC members repeatedly attempted to breach. Protestors finally rushed an unmanned area of the fence behind city hall, heaved rocks through windows, and tore down exterior lighting. Only minor injuries were reported. MR

This article was published in the Summer 1998 edition of The Michigan Review.
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