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Fuck this courtroom!! - RNC arrest
by Emrys
Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2004 at 7:47 AM
Activists disgusted by police and courtroom tactics as New York tries to crack down on anarchists.
Observers screamed and cried after judge Patricia Nuñez slammed Arizona activist Josh Banno with a $200,000 bail based on a handful of bogus felony charges.
The media is already on it, and as usual, they have no idea of what happened. Rumors have turned into tall tales – like the kind you’re grandpa tells about that bass he caught in ‘34. The press is reading the sheet music the police have given them – playing a sad tune of a cop who burned his hand while arresting an “anarchist organizer.”
So here’s what went down.
A large float shaped like a dragon was the centerpiece of a feeder march to the main August 29 protests that worked their way up Manhattan and past Madison Square Garden where the Republicans, comfortably guarded by thousands of NYPD, were holding their convention. The dragon was incredible – its 15-foot head was wheeled along on a cart, and its huge mouth would open and close, chewing on a blow-up doll of George Bush. The PA system inside would announce, “I am the dragon of self determination! I eat Republicans!! Rrrrraaaarrrrr!!!”
The dragon had two large sheets that extended sideways from the head, blocking the entire width of the street. The tail was a banner of green fabric that extended back at least 30 feet.
As the parade passed the RNC at Madison Square Garden, the PA system was removed, the wings folded in, and everyone was pushed back. Josh’s group stayed together, like an affinity group should.
Soon there was some smoke, then flames. The dragon’s head had be doused in gas and lit on fire. The police began to rush in and the marchers scattered. As the paper maché head turned into a 4-story inferno, cops began to open holes in the metal barricades lining the streets so people could safely get on the sidewalk and leave the blaze.
A cop grabbed Josh’s backpack straps as he walked by the gate and pulled him out of the march – it seemed like a random, spontaneous arrest. It took place behind the dragon, on the sidewalk, away from the heat and flames. Nothing was thought of the arrest, other than he’d be out the next morning with some funny jail stories.
So the plot thickens.
The cops begin to single him out at “the arsonist.” He is put in solitary, away from the other demonstrators scooped up that day. NYPD has made him the chosen one.
Back at his arraignment on Monday evening, the DA continues his tirade. He said that they had an “extremely strong case” They claim that an undercover cop witnessed Josh light the fire. They claim that as the officer made the arrest, Josh resisted and caused the officer to put his hand in the fire and receive burns. He stood before the judge and shook his head in disbelief. His lawyer patted him on the back.
All the charges are fabricated and bogus. Josh has an excellent lawyer from the National Lawyers Guild representing him. Visits have been arranged to bring him clean clothes, magazines and other gifts.
The Josh Banno Defense Committee has been formed by memebers of his affinity group and other concerned activists and friends. They are coordinating media coverage to assert his innocence and portray the NYPD as the liars they are. There is a PayPal donation service set up to collect money for his bail. Visit http://foodnotbombs.net for more info, and keep checking for updates on the case.