[Ppnews] Half-truths and Hung Juries: Statement on the Mistrial and Retrial of David McKay

[Political Prisoner News]

Half-truths and Hung Juries: Statement on the Mistrial and Retrial of  
David McKay

Sunday, March 15 2009 @ 12:11 PM CDT
Contributed by: Anonymous

On Monday, March 16, the retrial of Austin activist David McKay,  
accused of possessing Molotov cocktails at the Republican National  
Convention last September, will begin in Minneapolis. McKay?s first  
trial in late January was declared a mistrial as a result of a hung  
jury over the question of whether the conduct of the main informant in  
the case, Brandon Darby, constituted entrapment. While this was not  
the acquittal that was deserved, it remains a clear indictment of the  
government's conduct and use of informants.

Many of us familiar with the situation and the individuals involved,  
in Austin and elsewhere, easily saw through the lies presented by the  
State and their informant Brandon Darby at the first trial. Despite  
the State assigning one of their top prosecutors to the case, the jury  
obviously did as well. Jurors could not in good conscience send McKay  
to prison for the alleged crimes for which the FBI and their informant  
bear the real responsibility.

Darby is an excellent example of the government's long history of  
using informants to destroy community organizing and activist groups.  
In reports from folks who knew him, Darby is consistently  
characterized as an intentionally divisive figure who escalated  
conflicts, fetishized violence, and often encouraged the use of force,  
instead of cooperation, to get things done. In an effort to block  
evidence of their informant?s illegal conduct, the state has filed a  
motion to prohibit testimony and evidence about Darby?s history of  
advocating firebombing as a legitimate political tactic, acting as  
though evidence about the credibility and character of their chief  
witness were not relevant. The outcome of this motion is not known.

We see Darby not as an isolated incident but as part of the FBI's  
pattern of using volatile, violence prone characters in their  
politically motivated investigations. We have recently learned that  
Andy "Panda" Darst, the main informant being used against the RNC8 and  
also a prospective witness against McKay, is facing felony burglary  
and assault charges for breaking into a house and attacking men at a  
party that his wife was attending. These incidents raise serious  
questions about who our government is employing to do their dirty work  
and why. Even more disturbing is how often they get away with it.

Because of the apparent misconduct of Darby and the holes in the FBI's  
side of the story we are hopeful for David in his upcoming trial. We  
are also hopeful for the case against the RNC8, and all  
informant-driven cases against political activists as the State?s  
misuse of informants becomes more and more apparent. We hope that the  
state will get the message that our communities will no longer be  
their victim through the use of informants and illegal surveillance.  
We have hope for the future, and hope for each other.

We are pleased to say that after five months in a federal holding  
facility, David has been able to spend the past month in Texas with  
his friends and family. We are confident he will be back after his  
trial in Minnesota. We applaud all who bravely testified on behalf of  
David and the truth at the first trial, and all who are slated to do  
so again at his retrial. Thanks to everyone who has helped with  
supporting the Texas 2, and everyone working for a better world!

For more background on David and his co-defendent Brad Crowder, please  
visit www.freethetexas2.com.

In solidarity,
The Austin Informant Working Group
texas.solidarity at gmail.com

Infoshop News
http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20090315121123178