DEFEND THE RALEIGH THREE!

The Raleigh Three still desperately need your support. Oppose the witch hunt!

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WHAT HAPPENED IN RALEIGH?

On Friday, November 5th, shortly after the presidential election of 2004, over 200 people participated in a protest that took over Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, North Carolina. According to reports in corporate news outlets, the rally continued down Hillsborough Street towards the state headquarters of the Republican Party. Police arrived to find that the GOP office had been vandalized by unknown individuals; a puppet depicting George W. Bush and John Kerry as a two-headed monster was also left at the office. Shortly thereafter, in a nearby neighborhood, local vigilante John Robbins attacked and detained two young women. On no grounds other than their presence in the neighborhood, these two women and a young man were then arrested by police officers, charged with "malicious destruction of property with an incendiary device", a felony, and had bail set at an astronomical $50,000 each.

To this day, no evidence or eyewitnesses have been produced linking these arrestees to the alleged vandalism. Their inflated charges and excessive bails are clearly the result of political pressure from the Republican Party to find a scapegoat for the protests that broke out in the wake of the presidential election. Since their arrest, the FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force has taken advantage of this opportunity to harass local political activists, including members of the Green Party and peace advocates, while conservative newspapers such as the News and Observer have run editorials that essentially proclaim the arrestees guilty until proven innocent. The situation has all the trappings of a frame-up witch hunt.

WHO ARE THE RALEIGH THREE?

Vanessa, David, and Melissa, the three young people arrested that night in Raleigh, are all ordinary working folks from Columbia, South Carolina. Vanessa works long hours to support her boyfriend Jason's child, whom she is helping to raise. David is a longtime activist, raised by his mother--a member of the American Friends Service Committee and Women in Black--to oppose injustice in all its forms. His own activism began at the age of twelve, when he went to protest against the widely opposed School of the Americas, a facility at which soldiers and torturers were trained to serve in Latin American dictatorships. He is no stranger to violent crackdowns on dissent, having also protested against global injustice at the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations in Miami. All three have been instrumental in maintaining Columbia Food Not Bombs, a program that collects, cooks, and serves free meals to the homeless.

WHAT SIGNIFICANCE DOES THEIR CASE HAVE FOR THE REST OF US?

As soon as others heard of their plight, grass-roots community groups united to support the Raleigh Three. In less than a week and a half, a full $15,000 was raised to cover the non-refundable bonds needed to bail them out of jail. Countless individuals concerned with civil liberties, due process of law, and freedom to dissent have donated money, time, and effort to their support.

But their ordeal is not over yet. Realizing that the phony “incendiary device” charges were impossible to substantiate, the state has brought new charges against them of “felony riot”, and the district attorney has made it clear he intends to make an example of these defendants, be they guilty or innocent. The mainstream media has already pronounced them guilty, without reference to evidence or due process.

If we do not oppose this travesty of justice, it threatens to set a precedent for judicial harassment of innocents which could come back to haunt us all soon as our civil liberties are further eroded in this age of increasing repression. Simply being present in a neighborhood near a demonstration is not sufficient grounds for anyone to be arrested, let alone pronounced guilty in advance. Arbitrary prosecution like this not only terrorizes those of dissenting views, it intimidates anyone who desires to think freely or take a walk on a Friday night without fear of being snatched up by riot police. Freedom for the Raleigh Three means freedom for all of us.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

• The Raleigh Three still desperately need money to defray costs from the exorbitant bail and to secure adequate legal representation. There are many ways you could help to raise these funds: hold a benefit dinner or bake sale, set up a benefit show, or make a donation yourself, in hopes that others might do the same for you. To donate, you can send money through PayPal: visit http://www.paypal.com, click on "send money" and enter ealbiston@yahoo.com as the recipient. If you would like to send a check through the mail, please send it to:

Liz Albiston
PO Box 281
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-0281

If you do so, please email raleighthree@yahoo.com and indicate how much you’re sending.

· Volunteer work from anyone with legal skills (lawyers, law students, etc.) would be greatly appreciated. Please email raleighthree@yahoo.com to get involved.

· Watch the website (raleighthree.blogspot.com) for updates about court dates; one of the best ways you can support the Raleigh Three is by attending their court dates in solidarity. We will circulate calls to pack the courtroom when we find out dates and times.

· Spread the word! Talk to your friends, write letters to the editor and articles for sympathetic media, emails updates to listservs, post information on websites, and keep informed about the latest developments.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Since the arrests, numerous radical and progressive organizations and individual activists have been harassed, threatened, and terrorized by an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force as well as assorted right wing fanatics. Among the targets have been members of the NC Green Party, various anti-war groups in Raleigh, members of the NC State Muslim Students Association, Raleigh Food Not Bombs, Internationalist Books and Community Center in Chapel Hill, the NC Independent Media Network, and more. The alleged vandalism is merely an excuse for the state to revive repressive tactics against political activists and dissent of all forms. One of the best ways to be prepared and resist this crackdown on our civil liberties is to know your legal rights:

The National Lawyers Guild provides an excellent resource describing your rights, available at http://www.nlg.org/resources/know_your_rights.html. Learn it yourself and spread the information among your friends and fellow activists.