VICTORY! City drops charges against Pat Hunt for Oct. 8...

[Neal...@aol.com]

The background is another  case of police harassment of a movement action, through issuing tickets, much like what happened after the May Day march...Those organizing the O8 rally and march decided to fight the tickets. The first court date was continued by the City. The second date was to have been tomorrow --Neal

 

This afternoon we learned that the City of Chicago has dropped the charges against Pat Hunt for two alleged ordinance violations she got at the October 8th march on Obama 2012 Headquarters on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.  Pat's next court date was to have been tomorrow, but that is now CANCELED -- so please help spread the word to anyone you think might have been showing up in solidarity.

Officers apparently targeted Pat as she had signed the permit application on behalf of the Midwest Anti-War Mobilization.

Asked by the administrative law officer as to why they were dropping the charges, the attorney for the City, Scott Sachnoff, said it was because he couldn't schedule the arresting officer to appear in court.  "And?," asked the administrative law officer.  Note that for proceedings in this court, the burden of proof for the state is so weak that arresting officers do not have to appear.

Our pro-bono National Lawyers Guild attorney, Jeff Frank, asked Sachnoff afterwards for more reasons as to why the City was dropping the charges.  Sachnoff responded that it was because Pat didn't actually commit the infractions that were the flimsy basis for the charges -- she didn't temporarily affix a banner to a statue, and she didn't push the sound cart which was supposedly an unauthorized "vehicle."  Frank told him that the City has to knock these BS charges as using flimsy alleged ordinance violations as a cover for harassment is a 1st amendment violation.  Sachnoff responded that "You know, this is just practice for G8/NATO."

Many thanks to both Pat Hunt and Jeff Frank for not backing down, and for standing up for the rights of all us.

Andy