In Ann Arbor, Michigan, 20 antiracists are being dragged into
court in the largest-scale political witchhunt in the history of
the city. The charges stem from a protest of the Ku Klux Klan
rally that took place on May 9, 1998.
The charges that have been advanced as legal cover for the
witchhunt are based on legal sophistry and the destruction of
evidence. A set of 10-year felony charges rest on a ludicrous
definition of the legal concepts of "riot" and "incitement to
riot" applied to an event at which local news media and the local
politicians themselves declared THERE WAS NO RIOT – supposedly
because of the brilliance of their policing policies and the
deployment of some 100 "peace keepers". A set of misdemeanor
charges rest on the alleged assault by protesters of an actually
undamaged chain link rental fence conveniently destroyed with the
authorization of the police after the May 9th KKK rally and
before any charges were filed.
Many prominent people, including politicians, authors, artists
and professors from around the country have called for an end to
this witchhunt. Please join them in signing on to the email
petition below.
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PETITION:
* STOP THE WITCHHUNT!
* DROP THE CHARGES! FIGHTING RACISM IS NOT A CRIME!
"WE DEMAND AN END TO THE WITCHHUNT BEING CONDUCTED BY THE
ANN ARBOR CITY GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE ANTI-RACIST MOVEMENT.
WE DEMAND THE DROPPING OF ALL THE CHARGES AGAINST THE
ANTI-RACISTS WHO PROTESTED THE MAY 9, 1998 KU KLUX KLAN
RALLY IN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN."
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Please reply to this message with your name & email address.
For more information visit http://www.umich.edu/~nwroc.