Event Recap for Wed Dec 12th Drop the Charges Press Conference
DareToStruggleCT
Photos from event are attached to this email.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, December 5th, 2025
Contact: Mike, Dare to Struggle – CT
On Wednesday, December 3, 2025, Dare to Struggle held a press conference outside New Britain Superior Court (20 Franklin Square) ahead of a hearing for the three activists targeted and arrested in August by New Britain Police (NBPD). This was their second court date and their 1st appearance in court, as documents for one of the activists was lost before the first court date on October 10th 2025.
Their arrests occurred within an hour of the start time of the "National Night Out" event sponsored by NBPD, which we had posted plans to protest. Notably, the warrants thrown together on August 5 were tied to an unrelated incident from several days prior. We exposed these arrests for what they were: blatant and outrageous attempts to silence activists for speaking out against police brutality and the mistreatment of the homeless. In doing so, we made it clear that those attempts to silence us were futile.
About a dozen people attended the press conference, including the arrestees and other Dare to Struggle members, one of their lawyers, Homeless Liberation Initiative members, members of the CT Civil Liberties Defense Committee, members of homeless advocacy group U-ACT based in New Haven, and other supporters.
Lily, one of the arrested activists, highlighted that the arrestees and their attorneys were still waiting on NBPD to produce bodycam footage and all documents related to the arrests. After filing the motion for discovery in September, the materials were due on October 28.
Attorney Jon L. Schoenhorn laid out the plan: now that they had filed a motion to compel the discovery, they would ask the judge to order it. "I cannot file a motion to dismiss unless I have the actual evidence that the police claim they used to get this, what I believe is an unconstitutional, illegal arrest warrant," he said.
"This right here is a big bogus waste of our time," said Jessy, another arrestee. "The courts have [...] bigger cases to worry about. Stop worrying about our First Amendment right."
Kimmy, the third arrested activist, said when she was arrested at her home, the NBPD officer did not clearly state his name when asked. Kimmy learned just this week through an FOIA request that "His name is actually Marcin Ratajczak, and I want that name to be remembered because he is one of the bottom-feeding pigs who murdered Zoe Dowdell," she said.
Following the press conference, we packed the court to back our activists up as they faced the judge, who did not grant the motion to compel. Instead, he said he would grant the order to compel if we do not receive the requested evidence before the next court date on January 15. Schoenhorn said the police could face sanctions if they don't produce all footage and records. We also learned that the state's attorney's office didn't even request the materials until December 2, the day before the hearing.
Key highlights of the event included:
- The judge did not grant the motion to compel, saying he would do so only if we do not receive the requested evidence by the next court date. Therefore, even though the original due date was October 28, we may have to wait until next year, dragging out the case further.
- Marcin Ratajczak, an officer who arrested a Dare to Struggle activist at her home on bogus charges, is one of the five cops responsible for the death of Zoe Dowdell in 2017.
- We got our next court date: Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 10:00am. Leading up to that date, we will continue to expose the bogus charges and demand they be dropped.
Read CTExaminer's coverage of the press conference here.
Read Inside Investigator’s coverage of our last press conference here.
Dare to Struggle is a multinational organization open to anyone who wants to resist and stop injustice no matter who holds political office. We don’t lobby politicians. We don’t use insular activist lingo. We don’t chase social media fame. We don’t seek careers or corporate sponsorship through activism. We’re committed to standing with the people subjected to the horrors of the American nightmare. We go to the neighborhoods facing police brutality, ICE raids, poverty, and evictions, talk to people about the problems they face, and organize people in collective struggle. We know that radical change only happens when people step outside of routine protest or expecting politicians to do it for us and take bold, collective action.
Homeless Liberation Initiative is a mass organization initiated by Dare to Struggle, led by formerly and currently homeless people, fighting against the ways the homeless are attacked in New Britain.
We are demanding:
1. Drop the bogus charges against Dare to Struggle members
2. No more repression of free speech and protest
3. Release all information detailing surveillance of DTS CT activity
4. End the criminalization and inhumane treatment of homeless people in New Britain and all of CT, especially by gentrifier businesses like the Assembly Room
5. Charge Middletown Police Department Officer Connor Reinsch, responsible for the death of Katherine Colon, with manslaughter. Charge all 5 NBPD officers responsible for the death of Zoe Dowdell—Kyle Jones, Marcin Ratajczak, Christopher Kiely, Michael Slavin, and Chad Nelson—with murder.
