4/25/06: Today in Rolling Meadows, IL, the Anti-Minutemen defendants defeated the attempts of the state’s attorney’s office to put them in jail and convict them on trumped-up charges stemming from a peaceful protest against the Minutemen, para-military vigilantes. The defendants pled to supervision based on the lowest of the many false charges filed against them. After completing community service, the charge will be dismissed in April 2007.
This victory was won on the basis of a very successful political battle that exposed the Minutemen for the racist vigilantes that they are and ripped apart their claim to be simply a “lobby against illegal immigration.” The anti-Minutemen defendants won support from thousands, in the Chicago area and around the country, who saw their own interests represented by these courageous young opponents of racism and chauvinism.
After court, the defendants thanked all those who had supported them, including their lawyers Jed Stone, Jon Curnyn, and Jim Fennerty, and called on everyone, citizens and non-citizens alike, to come out on May First to demand an end to attacks on immigrants.
On Oct 15th, 2005 the Minutemen held an “America First National Summit Bootcamp” at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights. A Confederate flag hung prominently at the America First Summit. This conference brought together the national leaders of the anti-immigration vigilante movement, white supremacists, politicians and ex-military personnel to strategize on how to round up and hunt down undocumented immigrants on the borders and throughout the country. The Minutemen enjoy support from the highest levels of the Republican Party and have been openly courted and promoted by the likes of Tom Tancredo and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In response to their summit, a multinational demonstration came together from all over the Chicagoland area to protest the escalating attacks and draconian laws that are aimed against all immigrants. Hundreds of people, families and organizations participated in this protest.
Acting on orders from the Minutemen and without provocation, the police attacked this protest. The police selectively arrested these young people on multiple charges of battery and resisting arrest. Just as the police protected the Minutemen in October, the state’s attorney went after the defendants to make an example of them. The message was clear: “Stand up to these racists and you’ll be next.” But the political support that came forward for the Anti-Minutemen defendants turned that message on its head, but not without a head to head political and legal battle.
In an attempt to intimidate the growing support for this case, Assistant State’s Attorney Lance Northcutt told the court he would issue subpoenas to media outlets and at least one organization present at the protest. Subpoenas were said to be issued to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, La Raza Newspaper, WRTE FM, Daily Herald and other reporters and news organizations. Northcutt has even listed a press volunteer for the Anti-Minutemen defendants as a potential witness for the prosecution and threatened to subpoena them. These subpoenas ordered the media to turn over their audio, video and print articles pertaining to the event on October 15, 2005, no later than April 19, 2006.
Rather than oppose the threat of contempt of court charges, the local suburban paper, the Daily Herald supplied hundreds of photographs to the Assistant State’s Attorney, most of which were never published.
But in the end, because of a tremendous outpouring of support, including a highly- attended press conference called for by the Chicago press team of World Can’t Wait and the Council of American Islamic Relations, the prosecution was forced to drop the heaviest of charges and let the defendants go!
As the World Can’t Wait Call states “If we speak the truth they will try and silence us. If we act they will try and stop us. But we speak for the majority, here and around the world.” These couragous young people had right on their side and maintained their principles in the face of the government’s avowed plans to put them in jail. Their stand drew broad support from many sections of society looking for a way to oppose the Minutemen, and is an inspiring example to all of us. People across the country need to learn from this and stand with immigrants against these armed, racist vigilantes, as we build the movement to take on the whole fascist agenda concentrated in the Bush regime, and change the course of history.
Click here for an article from the Daily Herald.