Humboldt Revolution

Mike Thompson, our very own Congressional Rep., recently signed on to a letter asking Judiciary Committee chair John Conyers to begin Impeachment hearings on Cheney who from all reports is still trying to throw that long ball into Iran. This puts Mike more or less in the vanguard of a still weak Congressional movement led by Florida Congressman Robert Wexler and overwhelmingly made up of Progressive Caucus members (13 out of 19 signers).  Mike is the only Blue Dog caucus member to take this step and he deserves our approval in breaking ranks with his conservative band of Democrats who can always be counted on to support Bush and the Empire in just the right numbers.

For instance, Mike’s Blue Dogs showed their muscle recently when 80% of them (36 of 48) voted to appropriate additional billions for the Iraq war in 2008, giving the Republicans a secure majority. Mike was absent on hospital leave but he has consistently voted against the yearly appropriation. In fact Mike became number 83 or 84 among the 100 plus Congressional signers of Progressive leader Lynn Woolsey’s manifesto to only fund the Iraq war to bring the troops home. Another reason to cheer him on.

Mike is a very intelligent politician. He may hang with the Dogs, but he is often quick to vote with the Progs.  Some of us may wonder what secret thrill Mike gets from clanking his can of Coors with the Curs, but in fact his two-faced approach may be a major reason he has risen in the estimation of insiders to be among the couple dozen most influential members of Congress.  His pivotal positioning has enabled him to make the kind of assists that builds a reputation as a valuable team player.

Up to now this strategy has worked superbly in his district where no very serious challenge has surfaced among fellow Democrats.  Having a slam dunk district- with only vanity Republican candidates to run against -  has left him free to raise large amounts of money and spend it on other people’s campaigns. As with Pelosi, being a champion fund-raiser is another sure ticket to leadership in the Party.

The political landscape however is changing daily. Since the 2006 elections people have come to expect results. The old game – where Mike is for impeachment but won’t do anything about it - is bankrupt. Dissent in the antiwar, impeachment and 911 Truth movements can no longer be stifled by the Good Cop Bad Cop charades that still terrify many activists in the older labor, women’s, environment, Gay and Civil Rights Movements. We even have a candidate for President who dares the unthinkable –   raises our expectations!

This year, besides strong challenges from without by the Green Party, Mike is being challenged from within the Democratic Party.  Coast resident Mitch Clogg has entered the contest and will face Mike on the June primary ballot.  Democratic Party voters will now have a chance to choose someone who hasn’t made a career running with the Republican Lite Brigade. This is after all a Congressional District that rejected the Lieberman Liberalism of the Clintons by a decent margin. Now voters will have a chance to support someone like Mitch who won’t just be dragging his feet at Obama’s heels. Congressman Clogg could be a significant player pushing President Obama to actualize significant changes.

Congressman Clogg could even be part of a fresh class of Congress members willing to finally rid the Legislature of its current complicit Democratic leadership. This is the leadership - a la Speaker Pelosi - that knew all about waterboarding. (No wonder impeachment has been off their wet little Democratic Party table.)  This is a party where Progressives – whose caucus numbers 70 –  totally bought into the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Actof 2007, Pete Stark and Dennis Kucinich excepted. (Jane Harman, Congresswoman for the Rand Corp. which penned this Act, is trying out for the Joe McCarthy part where crimethinkers from the antiglobalist, environmentalist, animal activist, anarchist and 911 Truth movements are among the explicit targets. Jane had a ringside seat along with sister Pelosi a couple years ago when various Congress  people were let in on the wonders of waterboarding.)

Mike meanwhile has a long way to go before he satisfies those of us who have been demonstrating weekly at his offices in Eureka and Ft. Bragg. He has made it a strategy to be out of step with his constituents, preferring to throw in his lot with the little Blue Dog clique of Reagan Democrats who for some reason couldn’t make the transition to the Republican Party in their districts.

Although Mike may be moving to Party Center as a member of its leadership, this means he is only too willing to vote yes on bills like the Peruvian Free Trade agreement. The party leadership pushed hard for that bill and indeed got it – but the majority of the Democrats in the House broke ranks and rebelled.

This is an agreement which will force Peruvian farmers to compete with highly subsidized American products like cotton, corn and wheat and  also undermines public health efforts in that country by restricting generic drug competition, which will increase prices for new medicines in Peru.

Corporate agribusiness and pharmaceuticals will prosper but of course U.S. workers can expect more of the same in the way of job loss produced by Clinton’s NAFTA where five years ago the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC, estimated  had eliminated 879,000 jobs.

Mike has not been the principled fair trader we need in Congress. He has voted for free trade agreements with Chile, Singapore and the Andes Preference extension. His stand on the WTO has been ambiguous. Its time for Progressives and leftists to question support for an incumbent whose closest cronies are Dixiecrats.  This is not the “Deep North,” is it?

Paul Encimer  Box 162 Piercy Ca 95587  923 4488

Paul Encimer presents

GEORGE W. BUSH IN

THE TRUMAN SHOW

 Some people believe that fascism is brand new with DubBush, but Mussolini defined fascism as corporate militarism. Eisenhower in his famous Kiss Off address gave it a uniquely American name: the Military/Industrial Complex.

    It was the Korean War that provided our native Fascism’s bipartisan template.    The defining difference: the Republicans – then as now –“want  war” while the Democrats  - whether today or yesteryear  - are firmly “opposed to peace.” After sixty years in action I think it’s fair to call both parties Fascist   

   Korea enabled the incipient Julius Caesarism of FDR  to evolve into the Augustus Caesarism of the amazing Harry Truman. Truman’s nonproclamation of war against that rocky freezing peninsula turned Congress into the Emperor’s Rump as surely as Cromwell’s lockout of Parliament did 300 year earlier. Truman managed all this, like DubBush, with a popularity rating in the low twenties.

       DubBush allegedly solaces himself by identifying with Churchill, but it should be Truman.  Harry, not Winston, was the real hero of 1948/84. It was Harry who first scared the hell out of the American people and made the Cold War a way of life  It was Harry who killed the  “peace dividend” and enabled the military-industrial complex to mature into the junk bond Warfare State that enriches our elites to this very day. It was Harry‘s National Security State that’s morphed into our Homeland Police State. It was Harry who institutionalized the foreign policy which pits an eternally good us against an eternally evil them.  DubBush inherits all this. His regime invented none of it.

    We are likely to laugh at the parallel of  DubBush with either Winston or Harry. Isn’t it like comparing the first somewhat heroic Napoleon with his frankly farcical nephew, Napoleon III?  But when the Fuehrer restored the Kaiser, mustache for mustache, it was ridiculous -   Charlie Chaplin playing Frederich Nietzsche - but it didn’t turn out to be all that funny.

     With the atrocity of the Iraq War, DubBush offers the finishing touches on an extended War he shares with his father and Bill Clinton.  Clinton’s million dead is on a par with Dad & Dub’s million plus. These three Presidents, teamed together with the Military/Industrial/Congressional Complex, have passed the Korean War’s 2 million dead civilians and, with the help of Speaker Nancy Betrayus and her Democrats, are chasing Vietnam’s 3 million mark. This long Iraq War has become a centerpiece of a Middle East War that rivals the Thirty Years War that devastated Germany in the 17^th century.    (25 years for this one so far if you include the Eighties war that we egged Iraq into with Iran)

   Old CIA hands, Frank Stockton and Philip Agee, first made the apt comparison of Korea with the Iraq war.  Sec.of State Acheson made it known that Korea was outside our defense perimeter,  tempting the North Koreans into an invasion of the South that was loaded with leftists eager to put an end to the American puppet regime of Syngman Rhee.

Out of this, Truman produced a Cold War that lasted a generation - successfully casting the war weary and prostrate Soviet Union for the very Agro Hitlerian role, recently vacated.

    Truman’s National Security Council document NSC-68 (the predecessor of P-NAC) laid out the script in advance – with the US projecting  onto the Soviet Union our own Imperial Shadow, as we connived for Economic and Military Global Dominance. All that we needed was a pretext to scare the American people into Mobilizing for Permanent War.  Korea was the pretext.         

      In a later repeat, DadBush’s State Department used Kuwait as a lure to initiate the destruction of Iraq, neutralizing the threat to Israel.   DadBush’s neocon cronies sought to finish the war, laying out their strategy in an updated version  of  NSC-68 in the P-NAC document. All they needed was a similar pretext – as P-NAC put it, “another Pearl Harbor.”   9ll was it.

     Both Truman and the Bushes/Clinton  faced the same horror– the  possible outbreak of peace. Nothing was more frightening to our elites than the successful conclusion of WW II, except the ending of the Cold War.  The specter of peace meant the end of the Great Barbeque of endless war. The Warfare State took us out of the depression and kept us out. Fighting the good fight for the Free Market was the myth to be observed, hanging on for dear life to Crony Capitalism was the reality to be served.

      DubBush has successfully replaced Communism with Terrorism, an accomplishment  impossible, however,  without the crucial work of Carter and Clinton in building up al Quaeda through the Soviet-Afghan and Yugoslavian wars. Otherwise DubBush could never have been able to establish Islamofascism as the suitable candidate for an Endless War on Terror to succeed the Cold War.

         From Korea on, the American Emperor has never been naked. He has all the appurtances of Imperial prerogative -  the ax, the scepter, the globe,  the robe,  the crown, the fearsome frown, the boots hobnailed with looted jewels for grinding third world faces forever.  Instead, it was the jackals of the Congress and the vultures of the Media who consistently proclaimed the Emperor’s “nakedness” as a ruse to cover their own impotence. 

        The difference with DubBush  is that he is demanding open fascism where the earlier Emperors were happy to have the velvet bedroom slippers covering the hobnailed boots. Bush and his cronies want us to know that the boot is going to be in our faces. They want us to see the mud and shit in the tread before they rub it in.

       We can expect no help from the Democrats here. They not only submit, they enthusiastically cooperate.  Check out the recent Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act supported by every Progressive Congress member except Dennis Kucinich and Pete Stark. The fitting successor,  in more ways than one,  to Bush and Cheney turns out to be Speaker of the House, Nazi Pelosi, a connoisseur of waterboarding. Her  taste for torture explains why impeachment is not  on the Democratic Leadership’s fabled table. The wood is so wet it wrecks the flimsy paper that the constitution is written on. The next Constitution will probably have to be rewritten in our own blood on our own bodies before we wake up enough to reassert our inalienable rights.

                                                Paul Encimer

     I watched the vote go down on CSPAN in the House over the nonbinding Iraq troop redeployment (haha) measure HR 4156.  This was no bipartisan love fest like the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 which offers grants to vigilantes and snitches to find out who among us is the most pissed off about our Homeland Empire. That one passed 411 to 6.  HR 4156 was a real squeaker, sneaking by at the barest level 218 to 203.

      Our very own Blue Dog Mike Thompson got the big debate plum, delivering the final word before the completely assembled House in advance of the vote on 4156. He was a bit nervous but got several good rounds of applause.

     One of his applause winning riffs was his “rebuttal” to his opposite number, a white-haired Republican dude from Florida who scornfully attacked HR 4156 for its lack of substance – with nonbinding timelines that even so left troops and mercenaries all over Iraq. Thompson responded to great applause that if it was so innocuous why were the Republicans so hard-line about it?

      Thompson’s rebuttal deserved his Party’s approval since it killed a record of four birds with one stone.    Number one, he mocked the Republicans for their rigid and suicidal pro-Bush stand that WE ARE WINNING THE WAR, something that us Vietnam era activists heard every couple months for 10 years or so.

      Number two, he defended the fragile egos of the Progressives who were supporting this charade by insisting that there was something after all to HR 4156, if only a tweak of Bush’s Pinocchio-sized nose.  

       Number three, the fact that it was he, Mike Thompson, loyal member of the Blue Dog Caucus, doing the arguing reassured his fellow canines that this tweaking wouldn’t hurt the Empire a bit, honest.

        Number four, he saved face for the Party by handing the left wing anti-war Base (us) a tantalizing symbolic victory.  Just wait, it promised, until the Democrats had 60 Senators and a Lieberman Liberal for President. The Democrats obviously believe they have a real mind fogger here, a Cognitive Dissonance spectacular that will bring us base types dutifully to the polls in 2008. 

        Thompson did manage to get my enthusiastic applause when he  made the point that from the time that Congress knew it would have to withdraw troops from Vietnam until the time it actually did so 21,000 Americans soldiers died. This continues to distinguish him and Democrats like Murtha from the ChickenHawk opposition to whom The Troops are a renewable resource.

           Even Speaker of the House, Nancy Betrayus, made a decent speech, referring to her Oath of Office with a sense of urgency that could have been mistaken for an intention to put Impeachment back on the Dems rotten little table. In fact, an Urban Legend has Nancy B. offering to put Impeachment on the table if she got X number of hand written notes (c/o Cindy fpr Congress, 1260 Mission Blvd/ SF CA 94103). Lots of desperate people are biting on this (I may still drop Nancy a line.)

         I have to admit I haven’t been this involved in a TV vote since as a high school student I watched excitedly with my sister as JFK narrowly lost his VP bid to Estes Kefauver in 1956.   In this case, with a few minutes to go, one of the 5 Republicans who had put the measure at a victorious 218, shifted to NO and as the clock ticked down the handful of Dems who hadn’t voted swelled the NOs among Dems to a big 15. But finally with about 2 minutes to go one of the Dems went into the YES column.  I waited (anxiously?) for one of the Republicans to shift from YES to NO and defeat the measure. (The thrills and chills of parliamentary democracy.)

       Instead of defeat however the Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Act (sic sic sic) passed barely 218 to 203 with 4 Republicans adding to the winning total and 15 Dems joining the Republican losers.  These NOs included Progressives Kucinich and Pete Stark - with John Lewis sitting this one by voting Present and Julia Carson not voting.  The only staunchly anti-war Republican  -  Ron Paul - voted NO as well -  no doubt, like the Progressives, unable to stomach the cosmetic compromise of it all.   9 Blue Dogs, 3 New Democrats and 2 Democrats without a Caucus joined the Republicans (the math doesn’t quite add up because  Barrow from Georgia belongs to two Caucuses –Blue Dogs and New Democrats!)

            In any case, the narrow “Democratic Party victory” in passing this measure is evidence of the “power” of  the left wing antiwar “base” forcing these Machiavellian heroics.  Quite a feat to bring such unity to what is actually not a party but a coalition.  There are really THREE distinct Democratic Parties disguised as Caucuses: the Blue Dog Republican Lite Party, the Global Zionist New Democrat Party  and the Progressive Democrat American Party.

           It would have been remarkable – if   HR 4156 wasn’t so laughable – to see only 9 out of 46 members of  the Blue Dog Republican Lite Party (the BDRLP)  break ranks to come to the aid of their Empire. It wasn’t that long ago that  just about half of them voted to protect the Emperor and his eavesdropping FISA violations. Another one third supported  his assault on habeas corpus and affirmed his right to torture by voting for the Military Commissions Act.  Larger numbers of  Blue Dogs were no doubt willing to indulge themselves in a bit of uncharacteristic lese-majeste because of  their  realization that the Democratic Party Leadership, to which Thompson seems to have ascended, has the Progressives playing grammar school soccer while the opposition suits up for NFL level football.

     All this goes a long way to explain  Thompson’s otherwise unaccountable behavior as a Progressive Blue Puppy  (voting with the Progs while hanging with the Dogs). His two-faced game is apparently paying off in influence in both directions.   He is able meanwhile to keep providing politically (and commercially) correct pork barrel for the district as well. For our part we here at the base can continue to challenge him Monday mornings at his local offices and by working for anti-war candidates in the primary and in the election. But the careerist mentality of Thompson and his colleagues in the face of rampant fascism demand that we develop strategies of civil resistance.   It’s clearly pointless to pin our hopes on the Progressives whose 70 members (including 24 crossovers from the 41 member Black Caucus) seem motivated by the same fear of The American People, so to speak, that pervades the Democratic Party leadership in general. A clean break with the system a la the Mexican Zapatistas looks more like the answer.    Paul Encimer   Box 162  Piercy CA 05587

DAYS OF ACTION AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY!  October 22 and 23
Resistance and Remembrance

Contact:  REDWOOD CURTAIN COPWATCH   copwatchrwc@riseup.net  (707)633-4493

On Monday October 22nd, people all over the country will be acting-
marching, rallying, uniting, protesting, speaking– against police
brutality.

http://www.scdirectaction.org/copwatch/?p=19
http://www.scdirectaction.org/copwatch/?page_id=2
http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2007/10/262162.shtml

Here, behind the Redwood Curtain, we have experienced numerous killings by
the police and have been feeling, in multiple ways, the brunt of
increasingly militarized police forces. At the same time, we are subject
to the (in)justice system, perpetuating the violence and repression.  WE
ARE NOT CRIMINALS!!

While Redwood Curtain CopWatch and others do daily work to counter police
brutality, support survivors and their families, and explore radically
different ways for our communities to organize themselves, we believe that
October 22nd and 23rd are opportunities to get together in a BIG way to
show our opposition to the police state and other violent state
repression.

Also, there will be an indoor night space on October 22nd, providing
opportunity to: gather and share information; begin better networking;
bolster resistance to State violence; and further build relationships
necessary to support and understand each other- recognizing that we must
learn from the most oppressed people and communities amongst us.

“There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so ODIOUS,
makes you so sick, that you can’t take part; and you’ve got to put your
bodies upon the gears and wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus,
and you’ve GOT TO MAKE IT STOP”  –Mario Savio, 1964

SCHEDULE (see below for further details)
October 22nd and October 23rd
Days of Action Against Police Brutality

**Monday, Oct. 22nd**
WEAR BLACK!

Walkout    1:15pm
Public Convergence/Rally   3:00pm
Creation   Film, Dinner, Networking   6:00pm

**Tuesday, Oct. 23rd**

Demonstration and Memorial for Christopher Burgess  12 Noon
—————————————————————————–
WALKOUT!
WALK OUT of school and work at 1:15pm on Monday October 22 IN DEFIANCE OF
THE POLICE STATE.

We will not continue to function as if everything is alright while the
killing and violence continues!!  We take notice of the expanding police
state.  Police terrorism is unacceptable. On this day, we make a powerful
statement of resistance by walking out- We let our employers, teachers,
fellow students and co-workers know that it is THAT IMPORTANT!  We disrupt
the ongoing complicity of our daily lives. We challenge the systems and
institutions in which we live!

COVERGENCE at 3:00pm at the Gazebo in Old Town Eureka
Rally in opposition to police brutality. WEAR BLACK! Speak your mind.
Fight back!  Hear words from families of people murdered by the police.
Say “NO MORE” loud and clear with your presence!!
Stand together to show and voice the Power of the People. Those who have
died already and those who are harassed and abused daily deserve for
people to speak– and to demand and create justice.

CREATION at 6:00pm at the Labor Temple  840 E. Street  Eureka
Dinner
Film
Networking
Share stories and strategies. Next Steps to continue the movement and
create alternatives to the violence of police.  Begin connecting as
support networks.  Connect with CopWatch and other groups.

**Tuesday October 23rd**

DEMONSTRATION AND MEMORIAL AT THE EUREKA COURTHOUSE

One year ago, on October 23, 2006, Christopher Burgess was shot and killed
by EPD, when he was 16 years old. Come together to honor his memory and in
protest. NO MORE FEAR FOR OUR CHILDREN!

——————————————————————————————————–
Here’s a link to  a full size flyer for October 22nd and Oct. 23rd (It
also has good info on how to deal with police, Know Your Rights)
http://rs238.rapidshare.com/files/63031371/Finally____.pdf

Redwood Curtain CopWatch and others organizing the Days of Action welcome
groups and individuals to make their own written statements regarding
police brutality, militarism in our communities, other repressive
functions of the State, or the work your doing in resistance.  The
Convergence on the Gazebo or the Creation space in the Labor Temple will
be good places to distribute your statement and/or publicly read it!!
CopWatch would like to compile your statements into a booklet.

COPWATCH PATROLS AND TRAININGS

We believe IT IS CRUCIAL TO BE ON THE STREETS patrolling the police.

The right to watch & the right to videotape are CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED
activities

Just the possibility of a CopWatch presence may deter abusive behavior by
police.

CopWatch Trainings:  Thursday  Oct 18  6:00-9:00pm  Arcata, CCAT
Saturday  Oct 20   1:00-5:00pm  Eureka
call for details

We want to have CopWatch crews on the streets on October 22nd and 23rd –
at the   Days of Action Against Police Brutality.  If you are interested
in being on CopWatch patrol, please come to a training.  If you can’t make
the training, please call Redwood Curtain CopWatch (707) 633-4493.

Bus schedules:   http://www.redwoodtransit.org/

FROM COLLEGE OF THE REDWOODS:
Buses leave from College of the Redwoods on Monday, October 22nd going
North at 1:47pm and 2:15pm.  With a WalkOut at 1:15pm, CR students could
have time to do a smaller rally at CR before getting on the bus… police
academy?

NOTE TO ALL:
We encourage you to organize with others to walk out and to
march/rally/protest between the time of the walkout and the Convergence at
the Gazebo in Old Town at 3:00pm.

FROM HSU AND ARCATA:
HSU students will be meeting at the Art Quad on campus after walking out
at 1:15pm.  Then, after whatever actions HSU students choose to do on
campus related to police brutality, students and other folks in Arcata,
meet at the Plaza to rideshare to the Gazebo in Old Town.

Buses from Arcata on Monday, October 22nd going South leave from the
Transit Center at 1:40pm  and 2:38pm.

People wanting to ride their bikes from Arcata to Eureka on the 22nd  can
meet up with other bike-riders at the Plaza– to begin riding at 1:45pm.

OCTOBER 23rd
Please check the bus schedule for Oct. 23rd , the year anniversary of the
killing of 16 year old Christopher Burgess, to get to the Eureka
Courthouse around 12 noon in Memoriam and Protest.
——————————————

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING ?

Behind the Redwood  Curtain there’s been  a drastic rise in the presence &
violence of the police.

**In the past 2 months, 5 people in this area have died during police
(EPD, Sheriff’s, CHP) ‘encounters’ or in police custody.**

Over the past 2 yrs:
* Eureka Police Department [EPD] fatally shot 5 people including two teens
* EPD & Sheriff’s Dept.  beat a man to death
* 100-200  community members were separated from their families, detained,
and deported in ICE immigration raids
*Sheriff’s and CHP separately shot and killed two men with no witnesses
* EPD, Sheriff’s, and SWAT burned a Hupa man’s house down, killing him
*Humboldt County jail got rid of its Law Library for prisoners
*Suspicious in-custody death of a jailed man awaiting transport to mental
hospital
* More automatic and semi-automatic weapons supplied to local cops

Also, common police behavior has intensified:
*day & night abuse of houseless people for ‘crimes’ like sleeping
*cruel treatment of people experiencing mental health crises
* intimidation of communities of color, native peoples, and youth
* violence and intimidation against people engaged in political activities

The police continuously try to justify killing by saying they feared for
their lives…In EPD history, there have been only 3 line-of duty deaths
of Eureka Police Dept. officers: 2 from car crashes (1947, 1974) and one
from a heart attack (1996).
————————————-
MURDERS BY POLICE:

Christopher Arrion Burgess, 16 year-old Native American boy.  He was
pepper sprayed by a probation officer who stormed into a house where
Christopher was watching a movie with friends.  EPD officer Terry Liles,
who had pulled Christopher out of sleep about 3 years earlier (13 years
old) and beat him until the boy’s skull was fractured, chased Christopher
on October 23, 2006, and shot him in the heart.  Killed him.  And this,
after years of Christopher being systematically criminalized, and still
being a kind and much-loved kid.

Cheri Lyn Moore, a grandmother, who was distressed about the anniversary
of her son’s death and called mental health, was killed by an overzealous
EPD SWAT team.  Cheri lived in an apartment, but was a friend to the
streets.  EPD, behaving like they were in an action movie, made what they
call a “welfare check” after calls from mental health, and rather than
allow Cheri to speak with friends and be comforted from her despair,
staked out her apartment with snipers, forced themselves into her
apartment, and shot her multiple times.  Killed her.

Martin “Fred” Cotton, a 26 year-old man on the streets of Eureka was
killed by EPD and Humboldt County Sheriffs.  EPD was pepper sprayed
Martin, kicked him, beat him with night sticks, and punched him with
fists-for up to 20 minutes.  EPD put a hood on Martin and took him
directly to jail to die, and where the beating continued, rather than
immediately bringing him to the hospital. Martin was not seen by medical
staff while in police custody, until he was dead. NONE of the officers
involved were put on any type of leave, nor have their names been
disclosed.

Zachary Cooke- 18 years old: He was in a bed, covered by sheets when EPD
officer Terry Liles shot and killed him.  This was about 2 months after
Liles, who was also involved in the shooting of Cheri Moore, killed teen
Christopher Burgess.

Peter Stewart:  When an ambulance was called to take a young Hupa man,
Peter Stewart, back to Semprevirens mental hospital in Eureka, he had been
released two days early and was not stabilized, instead the Humboldt
Sheriffs, EPD and SWAT team showed up. Peter Stewart had not committed nor
was he accused of any crime.  Peter did not want to go with the
weapon-brandishing police.  The cops threw 50 rounds of tear gas and
ammunition into the house, which eventually caught it on fire with Peter
inside.  Fire trucks were in the driveway with friends of Peter who were
firemen, begging to be allowed to put the fire out.  The police refused
and allowed the housed to burn.  Peter was sound dead in the bath tub,
wrapped in wet sheets- an apparent attempt to survive the gas and heat.
Peter’s mother and other family were forced by the police (essentially ‘at
gunpoint’) to stay away. The family witnessed the killing.

James ‘Hans’ Peters, a man from Hoopa, was locked up in the Humboldt
County Jail, awaiting transfer to Napa State Mental Hospital.  He, a man
with mental health issues, was in solitary confinement for several months.
He had allegedly hurt a jail guard while he was incarcerated.  The jail
clams they found Hans near dead–and that he had hung himself.  Then the
jail brought him to the medical hospital and did not inform the family.
When family members eventually arrived, having received an anonymous call
from the hospital staff, the police would not allow the family to see
their beloved or even be told his condition.  The family was kicked out of
the hospital and the parking lot by police. Another day passed before his
mother was allowed to see him (he was on life-support)- and only after a
judge’s order. She wasn’t given information on his condition until the
media wrote about the situation. The family doubts everything told to them
by the Sheriffs about Hans dying from a ’suicide attempt’; reasons for
doubt include the nature of the wound and the condition of Hans’ body,
which they saw after he died. Hans died in the hospital, in the
jail/Sheriff’s custody.

Many accounts from people who have been incarcerated in the Humboldt
County Jail include hearing people get KILLED in the jail by Sheriff’s
Deputies and guards.  And these stories have always been covered up.

Eloy Infante-Toscano, killed by Sheriff’s Deputy in the woods near Larabee
Valley.  Mr. Infante-Toscano was from Mexico.  No one but he and the
Deputy were present when he was shot and killed.

Gabriel Cuevas-Maldonado, shot with assault rifle by EPD officer Gary
Whitmer.  Mr. Maldonado was in a house when he was killed.  He spoke no
English.

EPD Homicides 2005-2006, those admitted by EPD:

Sept. 15, 2005     Gabriel Cuevas-Maldonado, shot by police

Nov. 7, 2005     Shawn Garfield

April 14, 2006    Cheri Moore, shot by police

April 30, 2006    Trevvor Davenport

Oct. 23, 2006    Christopher Burgess, shot by police

Nov. 4, 2006    Anthony Evans

Dec. 8, 2006    Jonni Honda, shot by police

Jan. 4, 2006    Zachary Cooke, shot by police

Feb. 10, 2006    Jason Turnage
—————————————————-
WEAPONS
Assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons are being supplied by a large
corporation (Target) and the DA.

TAZERS
Tazers give off a 50,000 volt blast. EPD is expecting to have a new batch
of tazers soon. The body count in North America now stands at 287 after
having been tasered with this “less than lethal” device. 15 Canadians and
272 Americans since 2001, 9 dead in August of this year alone.

Tazers in Humboldt have been used, for instance, on a person sneaking into
a concert at the Eureka Muni and people following police orders (to walk
away) in Arcata.  They are known, not only to be especially lethal to
youth and elderly, but are used as punishment rather than restraint.  They
are used excessively wherever they are supplied to police.

One of many similar tazer stories:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/side2/4464516.html
…Since the Houston Police Department armed itself with Tasers, touted as
a way to reduce deadly police shootings, officers have shot, wounded and
killed as many people as before the widespread use of the stun guns, a
Houston Chronicle analysis shows.

Officers have used their Tasers more than 1,000 times in the past two
years, but in 95 percent of those cases they were not used to defuse
situations in which suspects wielded weapons and deadly force clearly
would have been justified.

Instead, more than half of the Taser incidents escalated from relatively
common police calls, such as traffic stops, disturbance and nuisance
complaints, and reports of suspicious people.
In more than 350 cases, no crime was committed. No person was charged or
the case was dropped by prosecutors or dismissed by judges and juries,
according to the Houston Chronicle’s analysis of the first 900 police
Taser incidents, which occurred between December 2004 and August 2006.
Of those people who were charged with crimes, most were accused of
misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies….

CONSTANT VIOLENCE AGAINST HOUSELESS PEOPLE

In downtown Eureka, a private security company (owned by the mayor’s
brother) that is legally not supposed to lay their hands on anyone, has
beaten people who are on the streets. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in
taxes go to pay this private company.

April 25, 2007: On so-called public grounds in Arcata, a peaceful
encampment protest regarding the human rights of houseless people was
raided by 7 police agencies from Humboldt County–after a long night of
rain. Arcata is one of many towns where there is no shelter or ‘free’
place to sleep without police harassment; harassment that sometimes
includes physically violent attacks and confiscation/theft/destruction of
personal gear.  Eighteen protesters/sleepers were arrested (and jailed) at
the raid, with no charges later filed. Prior to that, then Arcata Ranger
Bob Murphy, ordered a porta-potty that had been rented by the encampment
participants, to be taken away.  [There are NO public bathrooms in
downtown Arcata].  Bob Murphy is notorious for his paid habit/job of
hiding in the woods and sneaking up on, or stalking, people who have found
an otherwise safe place to sleep. Police regularly deprive people living
out-of-doors from sleep. During the encampment, cops used bright lights,
fake raids, and confiscation of peoples’ survival gear (recognized forms
of torture) to harass and keep awake encampment participants. They stole a
man’s vital medication and arrested him when he went to retrieve it.  The
police failed to call an ambulance when one of the protesters they
arrested had a seizure on the cement while handcuffed.

VIOLENT TARGETING OF POLITICAL DISSENT

On November 2, 2006, while thousands of people throughout the country
protested the war against Iraq, demonstrators riding bicycles from Arcata
to Eureka were attacked by police, knocking one woman unconscious (and she
was later charged with felony assaults on an officer); That same day, in
Eureka, a row of police in riot gear and armed to the teeth pointed their
guns from the Federal building at quiet rallyers.

As a helicopter circled above them, non-violent demonstrators, mostly
students of color, peacefully walked from Arcata to Eureka on the only
route available (the shoulder of the highway) on May 1st 2006 in protest
of anti-immigration legislation.  The walkers were violently intercepted
by police several times. Three petite women on the walk were arrested and
physically abused by the police during the walk.  No charges were filed
against the arrested women

There is a history of violence (sometimes deadly) and collaboration by
police and civilians, against local non-violent forest defenders. Guns
have been shot at old-growth tree-sitters. Huge trees have been felled
while protesters were in the area, one such incident killing activist
David “Gypsy” Chain. Prior and subsequent to that murder, the police have
been PRESENT and allowed trees to be felled with protesters in the
immediate area. There have been hundreds of instances of police using
physical brutality and tactics of torture against non-violent protesters,
and many instances of police collaboration with life-threatening acts
(including vehicular manslaughter attempts) by non-officers. EPD and
Sheriffs used pepper spray on young, immobilized non-violent protesters
through massive spraying and q-tip application straight to the eye. None
of the officers involved in any of the above incidents, occurring
frequently over 2 and ½ decades, have ever been put on leave for their
participation.  The DA’s (current and former, Gallegos and Farmer) have
NEVER prosecuted civilian or police for violence against forest protection
activists- even lethal violence.

POLICE TERROR AGAINST FAMILIES IN THEIR HOMES

Sheriffs Dept.  Drug Task Force terrorizes families who have small 215
marijuana grows– at gunpoint. Wayne Hansen (Sher. Dept.) is consistently
involved in the terrorizing.

Sheriff’s deputies went to a long-time multi-family property in Trinidad
because County inspectors were having difficulty getting in contact with
the land owner regarding building and health permits. Sheriffs rammed into
the unlocked home of a young couple, and pointed a gun at the woman who
lives there– she was holding her infant and standing next to her 4 year
old son.

—————————————————————————
COPWATCH:   MORE THAN JUST WATCHING THE POLICE.

We formed Redwood Curtain CopWatch, outraged about excessive police force,
EPD killings, and the harassing and brutal role that police have in and
against our communities.  We’ve been sharing strategies of survival,
witnessing, and resistance to police brutality and transformative
community actions with CopWatch groups throughout the country.

Redwood Curtain CopWatch NOT ONLY documents oppressive, abusive police
activity…

Also, we work on supporting victims of police brutality & people caught in
the criminal (in)justice system.

COPWATCH INVITES YOUR STORIES  so we can support individuals- & their
families- who have been brutalized/harassed/murdered by police, keep a
public history/log of specific abusive cop activity, and spread truth
regarding harmful incidents& trends.

We seek to Create  Support Networks of community options  (that don’t
involve the state) for  people when: they believe they’re in danger; need
emotional or mental health support; are being harassed; have problems in
their neighborhoods;  have fear due to their immigration status…
We believe that building community and neighborhood relationships is
essential to protect each other from police violence.  Community building
will go a long way toward ending other violence in our lives.

We have found that State-sponsored “solutions” such as police, the mental
health system, and local “homeless plans”, most often deceive and
terrorize us.

We believe that for true justice, we must examine and address the
underlying oppression & mindsets that lead to unmet needs, economic
disparity, fear of each other, and all forms of violence.

As a community we can work towards creating real justice that heals &
transforms rather than destroys and erases.  Police violence does not make
us safe.

RESIST POLICE BRUTALITY!

For Victim Support WE NEED:
.  Healers, good   listeners, counselors, survivors
.  People to speak with  victims and witnesses& document their stories in
safe settings
.  Lawyers & organizations to file lawsuits, petitions, etc.
.  Supporters  in courtrooms
.  People demanding justice through direct action, protest, outreach, etc.
. People to staff a HOTLINE

For Community Support WE NEED:
. Healers & healing networks to work OUTSIDE OF THE SYSTEM (i.e. Icarus
Project, mental health support, physical health networks, rape crisis
help, domestic violence victim support, addiction counseling)
. Support & organizing for and with youth, immigrant communities,
houseless people
. People to give workshops on subjects including: know-your-rights,
non-violent direct action, racism, sexism, etc.
. Gathering & office spaces
. Digital video cameras, tapes, digital audio recorders

A mentally ill man WHO COMMITTED NO CRIME, Peter
Stewart, was murdered on June 4, 2007 by out of control
police who shot 50 rounds of tear gas into his house and
then when one of the rounds caught on fire, watched the
house burn down with Peter in it. Fire trucks were sitting
in the driveway and Peter’s friends from school who are
firemen begged the SWAT team to allow them to put out
the fire. Peter was found dead in the bathtub naked and
wrapped in sheets where he had apparently tried to ease
the pain of the burns from the teargas. His family was never
allowed to talk to him. Keep in mind that Peter Stewart
had committed no crime, nor was he accused of a crime.

September 7, 2007 Rally at the Capitol, Sacramento
Remarks made by Jacqueline Marshall-Alford
Grieving Mother of Peter Stewart
Hupa Tribal Member

Hello, My name is Jacqueline Marshall-Alford, I am a
Hupa Tribal member, I reside on the Hupa reservation. I
want to talk about what happened to my son Peter Stewart
on June 4th on this year, in Hoopa.
Peter was harmless he was loved by all, he would give
the shirt off his back, and money in his pocket to anyone
that needed it. He gave food and a place to stay for
any one in need. His death was a heart breaking shock
to the entire community and many other communities as
knew him.
On June 3rd an ambulance was called to take my son
Peter Stewart back to Semprevirens mental hospital in
Eureka, he had been released two days early and was
not stabilized. An ambulance never came, what happened
was police came flying into the yard where Peter
was, brandishing weapons and holding a gun to his
head, the witness said Peter Said “What did I do”, the
officer said “nothing”, Peter got scared, he threw out a
butter knife in the dirt and ran back inside. Peter has Bi-
Polar 2, which is Bi-Polar with Schizophrenia. The officer
continued to use brutal language, by the time I was
called by a neighbor, I drove up to Bald Hills, the sheriff’s
from Eureka were there and refused to let me in, I
pleaded with them “Please all Peter needs is to hear my
voice, he will be okay”, they refused and made me back
my car down the drive way. That is where I stayed for
that day, that night and the next day.
More and more Sheriffs came, along with Eureka Police
Department and Pelican Bay SWAT team, it was
scary, I know my son was scared to death seeing 100
armed officers pointing guns at the house, with his disorder,
of course he wouldn’t come out, he knew they
would gun him down, and make up a lie of why they
had to shoot him. During the night SWAT team made
comments on their radios in which we heard that they
seen Peter making a sandwich, drinking juice and
watching T.V. and falling asleep around 5a.m This to
me is no one who is going to harm anyone. June 4th
came, they began shooting tear gas in the home, they
shot 50 rounds of tear gas in the home, we heard it, and
the entire Hoopa community heard it on their scanners
and counted them.
While they were shooting off the tear gas, I told my
niece who was with me, my husband and my youngest
son-they are shooting off guns too, I can hear it, when
they shoot off the tear gas they are shooting off rounds
of ammunition. About the 40th round was when that
tear gas was more flammable, it is the one that caught
the house on fire. They stood and watched the house
burn up with my son in it. Standing by was three fire
trucks from Hoopa Fire Department, but the SWAT
team refused them entrance. While the house was burning
the SWAT team that was brandishing weapons on
me & my family laughed while the house was burning.
My son Peter was found after the fire trucks were finally
admitted in towards the end of the fire. He had
taken his clothes off to get wet in the bath tub to get the
tear gas burns off of hi, Peter wanted to live, I know my
son, he wouldn’t [hurt] anyone, not even those evil people
tormenting him on that awful day. Peter was found
wrapped in wet sheets in the bath tub. The SWAT team,
Sheriffs, and Eureka Police Department tried to cover it
up and say Peter started the fire, but we all know that is
a lie. Peter wouldn’t have been trying to save himself
and get the burns from tear gas off of him if he built the
fire. After my son was taken by the coroner, friends
looked through the remains of the home, they found the
bullet holes riddled through the home. I was never
given the opportunity to speak to my son, nor was any
negotiator, they lie about that, it was heard all over
Hoopa on the scanners their evil language to my son.
My family is having a hard time dealing with the loss of
Peter. Peter was my oldest son, I had four sons, Peter
had two other brothers from his father, so there was a
total of 6 Stewart boys, now there are 5.

STOP POLICE TERRORISM
Please contact Redwood Curtain CopWatch:
(707) 633-4493
copwatchrwc@riseup.net

Evidence gathered, action.

Tuesday evening saw a gathering of brave protesters in front of the Eureka City Hall during the half hour leading up to the council meeting at 6:30. Featured was food distribution and many people stopped briefly and paid their respects to the deceased as they filed into the meeting or continued on their way elsewhere.

A statement consisting mostly of a list of evidence collected by Redwood Curtain CopWatch was distributed by members of CopWatch as were small fliers announcing a meeting of the Coalition For Police Review (Sept. 12th, 5:30 p.m. at the CPR office, 917 3rd St. Eureka).

A report on the city council meeting will be forthcoming. We do not need to sit around and be bullied by a small minority of oligarchic fascists. Democracy works but only with input from a well informed majority.

Following is the contents of the CopWatch handout, a pdf file of this statement may also be downloaded here for printing and distribution you will not likely read this in the Times Standard or Eureka Reporter;

UPDATE FROM REDWOOD CURTAIN COPWATCH
Since Redwood Curtain CopWatch learned of the Thursday August 9th death of Martin “Fred” Cotton II, we have spoken with many witnesses and other community members regarding the events leading to Martin’s death. Immediately after the Sheriff’s Department sent a press release (on the afternoon of August 10th), local papers wrote ‘stories’ simply parroting the police account and criminalizing Martin. People’s reports to Redwood Curtain CopWatch and to ACLU members share many common threads; facts and perspectives that stand out starkly against the police account.
Martin was pepper sprayed and then beaten severely by the Eureka Police Department [EPD]; a sack was thrown over his head and he was taken to jail. There, we believe he was further beat by Sheriff’s and possibly also EPD officers. The man next to the cell where Martin died witnessed officers dragging Martin, who was hooded and handcuffed, into a cell. Multiple officers (but no medical staff) then went into the cell. After 15 minutes of intense thumping and moaning coming from the cell, the officers exited. No further noise came from the cell. The man in the adjacent cell was soon released. According to the Sheriff’s Dept, Martin died two hours after booking.
Martin, known to be manic-depressive, was involved in a confrontation at the Eureka Rescue Mission on Aug. 9th, just five days before his 27th birthday. Rescue Mission staff called the police, who arrived after Martin, unarmed, had already been ejected from the Mission. The EPD officers, whose names continue to be withheld by EPD, immediately pepper sprayed Martin, kicked him, beat him with night sticks, and punched him with fists—for up to 20 minutes by many accounts. EPD pummeled Martin all over his body, including heavily attacking his kidney area and his legs while he was face down on the concrete. Each witness with whom we have separately and independently spoken regarding the attack by EPD has said at least five officers inflicted the beating, with several more present at the scene. Not one such witness observed Martin threatening or attacking the police. Many people present explicitly stated that Martin never reached for an officer’s baton. All witnesses have expressed trauma at watching what they explained as an unwarranted, long-lasting, and deadly beating.
EPD officers intimidated people attempting to photograph the public incident; one woman trying to take photos on a cell phone was reportedly told to “put that f—ing cell phone away!”
Eureka Mission House Manager, Bryan Hall, ordered some of the men who reside at the Mission and were witnessing the brutality to go inside after several minutes of the beating. Bryan, who made the call to police, was the only person from the Mission to attend the so-called Town Hall meeting featuring EPD Chief, Garr Nielsen, on Thursday August 16th. Bryan defended the police and told a very different story than we have heard from all other witnesses. It is our informed belief that the men who stay at the Mission were not allowed to attend the meeting to share their stories. Additionally, many of the witnesses, who already suffer from police harassment and abuse, are fearful of retaliation if they were to step forward.
On the 16th, Chief Nielsen admitted that he hadn’t read a report from the incident, yet since his very first interview on the matter he has insisted, without a doubt, that ‘his’ officers were warranted in their actions. At the same time he has consistently criminalized Martin and justified the killing with speculations of drug use, even going so far as to blame Martin for his own death. At the Thursday meeting Nielsen spoke of a Sheriffs’ film showing Martin banging his head on the walls of the jail. Nielsen repeatedly expressed relief stemming from his conclusion that Martin banged his own head to death, rather than being killed by officers. Two days after the meeting, Nielsen admitted that he had not seen such a film. Throughout the “Town Hall” meeting, (actually occurring in a private restaurant owned by the mayor), the chief seemed far more concerned with EPD’s public image than with the tragic death of another human being.
Martin is the 6th person killed by the hands and weapons of local police officers (all involving EPD) in the past 2 years. Martin’s death was perhaps the most brutal. Lawsuits have been filed against the City of Eureka by 3 other victims’ families. The District Attorney and the police have, regarding each incident, claimed that the force used by officers was justified. A former cop and 28-year forensic ballistics expert explains:
“…with the thousands of police involved shootings that have occurred, there are few where the officer or department has admitted a mistake or error in judgment; the department usually investigates its own shooting incidents and clears themselves and the officer of any wrongdoing.”
We have no faith that justice or accountability will come from the closed circle of the EPD, DA, Sheriff’s Dept, and Coroner.
EPD is hoping for a toxicology report that will indicate some drug in Martin’s body, so as to further criminalize Martin and distract from EPD officers’ behavior—behavior that is unacceptable and unwarranted under any circumstances. Meanwhile, no officers involved in the deaths of Martin and others have been tested for drug or steroid use.
Although Martin was severely injured from the cruel and undeserved beating, EPD took him directly to jail to die, rather than immediately bringing him to the hospital. Neither Nielsen nor any jail employee (Sheriff’s Dept) has indicated that Martin was seen by medical staff while in their custody, until he was dead. This is unacceptable and adds to the outrage that we feel.
Even if one were to ignore the deadly beating inflicted by police in front of the Mission and accept Nielson’s ‘theory’ that Martin banged his own head to death, the police would be responsible; Martin was ‘in their custody.’
Martin was houseless… And he is someone’s son, grandson– and a brother and friend to others. We are tired of community members dying at the hands of police. Killing by EPD cannot be seen as a mistake– it is EPD’s modus operandi, and it must stop.
Redwood Curtain CopWatch believes that as a community we can work towards creating real justice that heals and transforms rather than destroys and erases. Police violence does not make us safe. The police, as a structural component of our society, have not outgrown their long legacy of protecting the rich ‘from the poor’; and have accelerated their
practice of further marginalizing the people most trampled by our socio-economic system.
We have experienced, documented, and heard stories about the consistent abuse of people who have mental health issues and of people who are homeless. These targeted populations are integral parts of our neighborhoods and families. (Martin was one of 3.3 million people in the U.S. diagnosed as manic-depressive.) People who are in crisis need help not violence. The police believe they can treat many of us like we are ‘scum’, like we cannot feel pain–our bodies and lives worthless, can be exploited and violently disposed. In contrast, Redwood Curtain CopWatch wants to create grass-roots support networks that respect, nurture, and heal the community; exploring true conflict resolution that has nothing to do with the police.
Please help us imagine creative alternatives to the violence of police. Let’s work towards justice that is nourished by knowing our neighbors, taking care of each other, and relating to each other as dignified human beings.
Please contact Redwood Curtain CopWatch: copwatchRWC@riseup.net (707)633-4493.

May 9, 2007

As you may know, from April 21 to May 2, PEOPLE PROJECT created an
encampment based on the principles of non violence to reclaim sleep in
public spaces, highlighting the need for a people-run campground. The
action exposed the current ban on public sleeping and the local policy of
harassment towards poor and houseless communities.  It wasn’t difficult to
reveal these policies of cruelty; the harmonious and dignified space
created through the encampment prompted the City of Arcata to respond with
more threats, intimidation, and force.

Building on the previous weeks’ events, PEOPLE PROJECT invites your
participation in a preparatory encounter meeting, this Saturday May 12, to
strengthen and build relationships and alliances.

One focus of the meeting will be preparing for an upcoming public forum.
The public forum, scheduled for the last week of May, is another step
toward broadening PEOPLE PROJECT’s ongoing effort– to address injustices
and hardships facing the houseless community through creative collective
dignified community solutions.

The preparatory encounter, on the heels of the encampment action, will be
a chance for various folks and organizations in the area to see each
other, determine how they can help organize the forum, and ultimately
begin working together toward community that recognizes dignity and
respect for all.

We encourage at least one representative from each of the organizations
listed below to participate in meeting Saturday afternoon (May 12) from
3:00pm to 6:00pm at the Labor Temple, 840 E St. Eureka.  Snacks will be
provided and welcomed.

We apologize for the short notice. If your organization cannot come to
this meeting, any input through email or phone conversations is greatly
appreciated.

Please forward this letter to any other supportive organizations or
individuals.

We look forward to coming together with you soon.

PEOPLE PROJECT Assembly Collective

HOPE Coalition Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County

Bar None Women in Black

American Civil Liberties Union Civil Liberties Monitoring Project

Veterans For Peace Accion Zapatista de Humboldt

Californians for Alternatives to Toxics Human Rights Commission

Communities For Peace Unitarian Universalist Church

Redwood Peace and Justice Center War Tax Resisters League

Green Party (Hum Co.)          WildPhyre Rose Gathering

Redwood Curtain CopWatch Food Not Bombs

Raven Project             Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Art As Resistance Collective Ethnic Studies Collective (of HSU)

Northcoast Environmental Center Native American Studies Collective

Women’s Studies (of HSU) Industrial Workers of the World/IWW

Grow GMO Free (of Humboldt County) Sewing for Peace

Humboldt Friends Meeting, Quakers Humboldt Free Radio Alliance

Emma Center Black Student Union (of HSU)

Law Office of Tracy D. Herrin We Do Not Consent

Citizens Pulp Mill Committee Humboldt Watershed Council

The Legacy Connection Mattole Wildlands Defense

Church of the Joyful Healer Dream Big Coalition

Campaign Against SunValley Floral Farms’ Toxic and Unethical Practices

Mobile Medical Services Blue Lake Lightning Farm

Arcata Educational Farm (Community Supported Agriculture)

Arcata Playhouse, Vagabond Players  Synapsis

Blake Richard Organic Fern Gully Tree-Sit Affinity

Environment and Community Masters Program (of HSU)

From April 21st to May 2nd, PEOPLE PROJECT enacted an encampment, a
non-violent direct action to expose the criminalization of
houseless people and the human rights violations that accompany an
intentional policy of cruelty.  Ultimately, the encampment aimed at
engaging in dialogue and connecting with other people in the
community to generate support for a free, people run, ecologically
sustainable campground.  PEOPLE PROJECT participants were
exercising constitutionally protected activities, primarily one’s
freedom of speech, assembly, and the right to sleep.

Over the course of those 11 days, PEOPLE PROJECT witnessed and
received an enormous outpouring of support and found that many residents
were not aware of the situation and policies effecting houseless and poor
people locally.  In addition to peaceful dialogue and well attended public
dinners at the encampment wherein people shared their experiences, the
City’s policies and the effects of criminalizing houseless people were
highlighted through the City’s violent actions to repress the encampment
on April 25th.  It is important to note, that the City, through numerous
regional police agencies, awakened over 50 encampment participants and
either arrested or forced them to vacate public space despite there being
no
legal location for houseless people to get necessary sleep.  Police
also seized vital belongings, including medication, from nearly 100
individuals which further exposed a much repeated human rights
violation wherein the police confiscate and destroy houseless people’s
survival gear.

At a well attended City Council meeting on Wednesday May 2nd, PEOPLE
PROJECT participants, supporters, and observers chastised local
government regarding their behavior and urged them to stop their
policies of harassment and human rights violations.  In a rare display
of public outpouring, people spoke of their inspiration generated by
the PEOPLE PROJECT encampment and the true community it created.  Not
surprisingly, the Council further exposed their bigotry toward houseless
people and an unwillingness to recognize basic human rights.  The only
council member to have visited the encampment, Mr. Paul Pitino, motioned
for a town hall meeting.  The other council members remained silent.
Similarly, they failed to respond to the Public’s comments.

The City of Arcata is still holding much of the property that they
seized on April 25th.  Earlier on Wednesday May 2nd, police arrested a
man seeking a return of his confiscated medication.  He remains jailed.

PEOPLE PROJECT will continue to mobilize and to create safe places
for dialogue and houseless people to exist.

Arcata, California - PEOPLE PROJECT announces the culmination of their
protest encampment beginning Wednesday morning with the completion of the
encampment, a rally and march that Wednesday afternoon, and a press
conference on Thursday.

Wednesday’s rally and march, beginning at 1pm at 14th and Union Street,
will be an opportunity for the entire community to come together to
celebrate, support and discuss the homeless encampment action and the
relevant issues that it has raised.

PEOPLE PROJECT wants to be clear the encampment is not asking for money,
services or help from government.  “We have found that to be useless” said
longtime PEOPLE PROJECT participant. For many years, the City of Arcata
has claimed it would do more to address the issue of homelessness. Many
view the Homeless Task Force as one costly but fruitless effort by the
City that created numerous road blocks for every clearly articulated
solution presented. With the encampment action, People Project instead
seeks to connect with caring community members and strengthen the
houseless community’s vision of a campground.

PEOPLE PROJECT began a demonstration Saturday afternoon April 21 and later
that evening created the protest encampment. On April 25th Arcata Police
Department, University Police, Eureka Police Department, California
Highway Patrol, Humboldt County Distract Attorney and Fortuna Police
Department mobilized to tear down the encampment, take the belongings of
nearly 100 people, and remove the primarily houseless demonstrators. Many
consider this the largest police action in Humboldt County in the last 15
years.

Visits to the PEOPLE PROJECT encampment involved discussions about the
illegality of the City’s policies that target houseless people.  In mid
2006, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in ‘Jones v City of Los
Angeles’ that it is unconstitutional for a city to ticket or arrest
individuals who sleep on city property if no other option exists.  “For a
community that considers itself progressive, it seems unthinkable that
there would be such an increasing number of poor and houseless people
falling victim to constant harassment and violations of their rights”
stated Squiggy Rubio.

After the police raid, demonstrators spent three days and two nights on
the front lawn of City Hall demanding the return of police-seized
property. “After violent police repression, we found it appropriate to
temporarily move to the often hostile downtown business area where money
is prioritized over human rights” said PEOPLE PRJOECT participant, Willie.

On Saturday night April 28, PEOPLE PROJECT human rights demonstration
moved to the base of Redwood Park on 14th and Union Street declaring “we
will not disappear.”

The PEOPLE PROJECT encampment that is claiming public space will be
completed on Wednesday May 2nd. It is the first phase in a longer process
to expose the cruelty, dehumanization and criminalization of houseless
people, to open up dialogue with other community members and to generate
support for a free, people-run, ecologically sustainable campground.

On Thursday May 3 on the corner of 11th and D street at noon, a press
conference will be held to further discuss the situation facing homeless
people here locally and around the nation. Upcoming events to be organized
by the PEOPLE PROJECT will be announced during the press conference.