[Ppnews] Eugene Green Scare sentencings
Political Prisoner News
ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Tue Jun 12 11:00:40 EDT 2007
On May 22 - June 5, ten defendants in the
governments Operation Backfire case were
sentenced in federal court after Terrorism
Enhancement hearings on May 15. I paste our press
release below, and more info is available on the
Civil Liberties Defense Center website (<http://www.cldc.org>www.cldc.org).
Prison sentences ranged from just over 3 years to
13 years, and sentencing was left open for the
10th defendant sentenced, Jonathan Paul, after
his attorney challenged the judge's application
of sentencing guidelines. (She initially
sentenced him to 51 months for one court of arson
and one count of conspiracy; terrorism enhancement did not apply).
What is not included in the press release below
is our impressions of Judge Ann Aiken. She was
arrogant, self-righteous and politically
clueless. She lectured not only the defendants
but the entire courtroom every day for long
periods of time, bringing in quotes from books
(her political lessons), about remorse, morals
and how to effect political change (call the
corporations, call your legislator). Terrorism
enhancement was applied when she felt there was
any attempt to influence the government: so even
though most actions were against corporations, if
there was mention of pending legislation, public
land, or in one case, the unjust sentence the
federal government heaped onto Jeff Luers, the TE
was applied. She also lectured family members in
the courtroom and severly derided Chelsea
Gerlach's parents for letting her become an
activist at age 16, as they watched their
daughter be sentenced to 9 years in prison. She
praised cooperating defendants for 'doing the
right thing' and betraying their friends and
demanded remorse as she scolded non-cooperating
defendants for thinking they are martyrs. It was grim.
Briana Waters trial is scheduled for Sept. 17;
Rod Coronado's trial in San Diego is scheduled
for Sept. as well. More to come. (Sorry I did not
get this out early enough to give notice of
Daniel McGowan and Lauren Regan's appearance on
Democracy Now! this morning, but you can get
audio and transcript on line.) Also, link to DOJ/Gonzales press release:
<http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,117604.shtml>http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,117604.shtml
For Immediate Release: June 6, 2007
Civil Rights Outreach Committee
Oregon Eco-Sabotage Cases Unjust and Incomplete
Green Scare Investigations Continue in Other States
Eugene, OR--The last two of ten environmental and
animal rights activists charged with crimes of
property destruction in January 2006 were in
federal court Monday and Tuesday for sentencing.
The sentencing of one defendant, Jonathan Paul of
Ashland, Oregon, was delayed while his attorney
files an additional brief in response to Judge
Aikens questionable use of the federal
sentencing guidelines. Daniel McGowan of New York
was sentenced on Monday to 84 months in prison
after pleading guilty to two counts of arson and one of conspiracy.
Sentencing in the Department of Justices
Operation Backfire cases began in federal court
May 22 after a hearing May 15 to determine
whether the governments arguments for applying a
terrorism enhancement on some of the crimes of
property damage would be taken into account.
Judge Aiken made that determination separately
for each individual crime for each defendant. The
judge ruled that terrorism enhancements applied
to four out of 20 incidents involving seven of
the ten defendants. The enhancement could send
the young activists to maximum-security prisons
that house the countrys most violent offenders.
Sentences ranged from three years for Darren
Thurston to 13 years for Stan Meyerhoff. Jonathan
Pauls sentence will be determined later this
month. Information about all the sentences,
charges and legal documents can be found on the
Civil Liberties Defense Center website at <http://www.cldc.org>www.cldc.org.
Civil rights attorneys monitoring the cases are
alarmed by the vilification of environmentalists
by government prosecutors and the overreaching
use of the terrorism enhancement. Federal law
indicates that destructive actions designed to
influence or retaliate against the government
meet the criteria. Prosecutors have complete
discretion to utilize this enhancement, choosing
to label environmental defendants as terrorists
while right-wing crimes, including numerous
murders against doctors who perform abortions,
have not been labeled thusly by the Department of
Justice. Judge Aiken interpreted the enhancement
broadly, cobbling together connections among
government agencies and the targets of the
vandalism, primarily private businesses. None of
the acts of property damage injured anyone.
The rulings in these cases set a dangerous
precedent for activists engaged in civil
disobedience like those engaged in the historic
Underground Railroad or lunch counter sit-ins,
said Lauren Regan, attorney and director of the
Civil Liberties Defense Center in Eugene. Many
activists engage in lawful activities that seek
to influence or affect the conduct of business or
governmentthats how change occurs in this
country. When government is corrupted by
corporate greed, the people and their attempts to
save the environment and end senseless cruelty are often completely ignored.
The government and the court both repeatedly
tried to convince the public that the use of the
terrorism enhancement was not political nor
intended to label these defendants as
terrorists. Neither statement could be farther
from reality. Alberto Gonzalez and the FBI
falsely accused a group of people that have never
harmed a living thing as the number one domestic
terrorist threat to this country. That is
laughable at this time in history and is simply
being said for political gain. Whether you burn a
building for insurance money or to save wild
horses from horrific slaughter, the crime of
arson should be prosecuted and punished equally.
That is not the case with regard to these
defendants. Anyone concerned with civil liberties
should be scrutinizing the governments motivations in this case.
Though the Oregon cases have been mostly
resolved, there are other cases in other states
pending in what has become known as the Green
Scare for its similarity to the Red Scare of
the 1950s. The similarity being the governments
use of secret grand juries and inflammatory
rhetoric, and its apparent political motivation
in targeting activists who oppose government
conduct. Briana Waters will go to trial in
Washington State in September, as will animal
rights activist Rod Coronado of Arizona, who
faces charges for a speech he gave in San Diego.
Investigations into the Earth Liberation Front
and Animal Liberation Front continue across the
country but will not deter the incredibly
successful work of millions of environmental and
animal rights activists who continue to work in the publics interest.###
Freedom Archives
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415 863-9977
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