[Ppnews] Between the State and a Hard Place: Statement on David McKay's Plea

[Political Prisoner News]

Between the State and a Hard Place: Statement on David McKay's Plea

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 03/31/2009 - 23:47
http://twincities.indymedia.org/2009/apr/between-state-and-hard-place-statement-david-mckays-plea

Between the State and a Hard Place: Statement on David McKay's Plea
from the Austin Informant Working Group

The Austin Informant Working Group is an ad hoc collective of 
interested and affected individuals that formed to do research and 
media and legal work around the exposure of an FBI informant in the 
Austin radical community. The group is also helping to uncover the 
lessons about community accountability and security that must be 
learned from this debacle. It is not a prisoner support group and 
does not speak for Brad Crowder or David McKay.

On March 17, 2009 David McKay plead guilty to possession of 
unregistered Molotov cocktails, charges stemming from his involvement 
in the protests against the Republican National Convention last 
September. Those of us following the case were shocked and saddened 
to learn of this development.

The State and, in particular, the FBI reached into their bag of dirty 
tricks to make examples of McKay and his co-defendant Brad Crowder. 
It is apparent to us that if this had gone to trial again, the lies 
of the State's primary informant in the case, Brandon Darby, would 
have embarrassed the FBI and the prosecution. This would have ruined 
their case against David and called into question the reliability of 
informants in past and future litigation. This is the question the 
prosecution has feared all along.

Before David's first trial in January the prosecution filed a motion 
to change the definition of entrapment in the case. However the judge 
refused to overturn years of legal precedents for the mere 
convenience of the prosecution in this case. The first trial ended in 
a hung jury. We have reliable information indicating that it was hung 
6-6, with the crucial issue being the question of entrapment. A 
couple weeks before the March 16 retrial, in another attempt to cover 
for their informant's misconduct, the prosecution filed a motion to 
exclude information about Darby's violent tendencies and his history 
of using firearms in inappropriate situations. This motion also failed.

During the intermission in proceedings, David's defense compiled 
additional testimony that confirmed Darby's history of problematic 
and manipulative behavior. Through grassroots appeals, reliable 
witnesses came out of the woodwork to attest to Darby's repeated 
incitements to violence, his disruptive behavior and promotion of 
illegal activities in every organization he infiltrated. As the case 
of the defense solidified, so escalated the prosecution's 
intimidation of both David and Brad. The State was determined to 
prevent both the exposure of its misconduct in utilizing and 
supporting a violence-prone provocateur to entrap two young 
activists, and the precedent of being called out and held accountable 
for their repressive tactics. The State knew that Darby's testimony 
was questionable, if not completely lacking credibility.

The months since David and Brad's arrest have been hard for both of 
them, their families and the community. Days before the trial, the 
prosecution subpoenaed Brad to testify. Brad had no interest in 
testifying against David. The State then threatened to add two years 
to Brad's sentence if he failed to cooperate. The FBI has contacted 
and intimidated others, including potential defense witnesses, over 
the past few months in an attempt to disrupt David's legal defense.

It is likely that David did not want Brad, his close friend, to be 
forced to choose between testifying and enduring harsher sentencing. 
Neither did he want his family and loved ones to have to go through 
the turmoil of a second trial. David's father has spent large amounts 
of money, bankrupting his business, to pay David's legal fees.

The State has never been above entrapping and manipulating activists. 
As many of us well know, radical movements have long been the targets 
of these tactics in an effort to criminalize and suppress our 
dissent. Based on our interactions with Brad, David and the unabashed 
snitch, Brandon Darby, and through a rigorous examination of the 
court and FBI documents that emerged during this case, we believe 
strongly that this is once again the situation.

The Austin Informant Working Group concludes that there is much more 
to the story than any of us know. From what information we do have, 
we stand by the statements we have previously made about the 
entrapment of Brad and David. There are many reasons innocent people 
plead guilty, including intimidation, fear and exhaustion. The 
evidence suggests these factors, rather than the truth, controlled 
the outcome in this case.

This battle has been a hard one. In the end, the State once again had 
more resources and time than those of us who stood in solidarity with 
the defendants. Rather than let this hinder our hopes and overwhelm 
our movements we must learn from this experience and stick together 
to build stronger and more just communities. We must also recognize 
our continued resistance, solidarity, and resilience in the face of 
the forces of misery as victories in and of themselves.

We respectfully submit this statement as a Call to Action to all 
communities of conscience in support of the struggle against all 
forms of government repression, and in opposition to all the 
travesties (named and unnamed) carried out on a daily basis under the 
guise of the "criminal justice system."

In solidarity,
Austin Informant Working Group
<mailto:Texas.solidarity at gmail.com>Texas.solidarity at gmail.com




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