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<h1><b>RNC 8 court saga finally
over</b></h1><font size=3>
<a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/10/19/rnc-8-court-saga-finally-over" eudora="autourl">
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/10/19/rnc-8-court-saga-finally-over<br>
<br>
</a>By <a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/profiles/ceci">Sheila
Regan</a>,
<a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/partners/tc-daily-planet">TC Daily
Planet</a><br>
October 19, 2010<br><br>
The final four defendants of the RNC 8 all took plea deals on Tuesday
(October 19), ending the two-year-long court saga that began with the
2008 Republican National Convention. Rob Czernik, Garret
Fitzgerald, Nathaneal Secor and Max Specktor each pled guilty to gross
misdemeanor charges, and their suspended sentences mean that none of them
will serve jail time. <br><br>
On August 29 and 30, 2008, two days before the RNC started, the Ramsey
County Sheriff's Department raided
the<a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/13935"> RNC Welcoming
Committee Convergence Center </a>and
<a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/13944">three</a>
<a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/13958">homes</a> and arrested
members of the RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist/anti-authoritarian
group. Monica Bicking, Garrett Fitzgerald, Erik Oseland, Nathanael Secor,
and Eryn Trimmer were the first to be arrested, followed by Luce
Guillen-Givens later that day. Rob Czernik and Max Specktor were
arrested on September 1.<br><br>
The RNC 8 were originally charged with conspiracy to commit riot in the
second degree and conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property in the
first degree. The two conspiracy charges were later enhanced with a
terrorism charge under the 2002 Minnesota version of the Federal Patriot
Act, but last spring Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner dropped the
terrorism enhancement. <br><br>
Nathaneal Secor pled guilty to conspiracy to commit damage to property to
the third degree, and was sentenced to 180 days in jail with $1000 fine
which was suspended to 100 hours of community service, a $200 fine and
one year of probation. Secor said at the trial that it would be
disingenuous for him to state that he was at the victim of the court, but
stated that Ramsey County Sheriff's Department was also guilty of crimes,
exercising an "absurd degree of social control." Secor
said that he would "continue to work for nothing less than
liberation."<br><br>
Max Specktor pled guilty to conspiracy to commit riot to the third
degree, and was also sentenced to 180 days in jail with a $500 fine,
which was suspended to 100 hours of community service, one year of
probation, and a $200 fine. "I accept total responsibility for
conspiracy,' Specktor said to Judge Teresa Warner, "but that is only
part of the story." Specktor said that he refused to
participate in the spectacle of democracy. "I refuse to sleep
walk through life," he said. <br><br>
Warner responded to Specktor, saying "You are entitled to your
opinions and ideas," but that she was basing her sentencing on his
actions. "This isn't about political ideals," Warner
said. "This is about a criminal offense." <br><br>
Rob Czernik pled guilty to conspiracy to commit riot in the third
degree. Czernik refused to swear an oath with the words "under
God" and was reprimanded by Warner for speaking at the same time as
her. "Please don't talk while I'm talking," she said to
him. When asked whether he was guilty of conspiring to commit riot,
he responded "proudly." Czernik didn't give a final
speech as the first two defendants had, instead saying "I'm not
going to speak to the court so let's just get on with it." He
was sentenced to 180 days in jail with $500 fine which was suspended to
the same community service obligation as the others, and a $200 fine and
two years of probation. His attorney asked why Czernik's probation
time was longer than the first two defendants, to which Warner replied
"I'm not here to negotiate with you," and that the decision was
at the court's discretion. <br><br>
Garret Fitzgerald also refused to swear an oath with the words
"under God." He pled guilty to committing damage to
property to the third degree. When asked whether he admitted that
what he did was wrong, Fitzgerald responded "I knew it was against
the law." He called the charges against him exaggerated and
overblown, and said "I've never denied that I broke the law,"
but that "we were specifically targeted because of our political
beliefs." Fitzgerald also attempted to read for the court
<i>The Lorax</i> by Dr. Seuss, but Judge Warner did not permit him to
read the whole thing. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail with a
$1,000 fine, which was suspended to 100 hours of community service, a
$200 fine, and two years of probation. (Press conference video
below.)<br><br>
<a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/39112">Charges were
dismissed</a> against Monica Bicking, Erin Trimmer and Luce
Guillen-Givens on September 16.
<a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/38621">Erik Oseland pleaded
guilty</a> to conspiracy to commit damage to property in the 3rd degree,
a gross misdemeanor on August 27, in a deal that required him to serve a
91-day sentence in the Ramsey County Workhouse beginning on October
20. He is the only one of the RNC 8 who will serve time in
jail. <br><br>
<br><br>
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