[Ppnews] RNC 8 court saga finally over

[Political Prisoner News]

RNC 8 court saga finally over

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/10/19/rnc-8-court-saga-finally-over

By <http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/profiles/ceci>Sheila Regan, 
<http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/partners/tc-daily-planet>TC Daily Planet
October 19, 2010

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.

On August 29 and 30, 2008, two days before the RNC started, the 
Ramsey County Sheriff's Department raided 
the<http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/13935> RNC Welcoming Committee 
Convergence Center 
and  <http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/13944>three 
<http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/13958>homes 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.

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.

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."

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.

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."

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.

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 The Lorax 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.)

<http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/39112>Charges were dismissed 
against Monica Bicking, Erin Trimmer and Luce Guillen-Givens on 
September 16. <http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/38621>Erik Oseland 
pleaded guilty 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.




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