Feature Archives

Motions to dismiss trespass and felony vandalism charges against four individuals charged in association with the 75 River Street bank occupation in Santa Cruz were denied by Judge Timothy Volkmann on March 11. Gabriella Ripley-Phipps, Franklin Alcantara, Brent Adams, and Cameron Laurendau have a trial date set for May, but that date will most likely be changed due to a case conflict with one of the defense attorneys.

On February 12, Berkeley Police murdered Kayla Moore. Kayla Moore lived with "mental illness" and has been described by friends and family as a Transgender person who "passed as a woman." One month later and the Berkeley Police still have not released information as to the cause of Kayla's death, leaving most questions unanswered. On March 12, while police and corporate media were largely silent about the death, a nighttime march was held to call attention to the lack of accountability for the in-custody murder in Berkeley.

On March 5, Michael Walker, aka Ghetto Prophet (GP), co-chair of the ONYX Organizing Committee, was arrested at his home by the California Highway Patrol. Police claimed he was in violation of his parole, but GP has been off of parole since August 2012. Supporters believe this is a political attack because earlier that same day, GP participated in the Justice for Alan Blueford (JAB) Coalition rally. As of March 16, Ghetto Prophet is still being held at Santa Rita jail and supporters are asking for donations to help support his family.

Coinciding with demonstrations planned worldwide for February 23, Bradley Manning's 1000th day in prison, community members in Santa Cruz gathered at the Town Clock on February 24 to demand justice and humane treatment for the U.S. "whistleblower" soldier. The overwhelming sentiment of the Santa Cruz group was that Manning is a whistleblower and that the role he played exposing the military's crimes was crucial to the functioning of U.S. democracy, as well as a legally permissible activity.

On Wednesday, February 13th at 7pm, the Berkeley Police Review Commission will hold a hearing to discuss a possible drone policy for the city of Berkeley. On Thursday, February 14th at 1pm, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors' Public Protection Committee will hold a hearing on the Alameda County Sheriff's plan to purchase and deploy a drone. The Sheriff's office has stated it wanted to use the drone for "suspicious persons" and "large crowd control disturbances."

Davey D writes: Right now in LA there is a police officer named Christopher Jordan Dorner who is accused of killing 2 people. They were a couple, one a college basketball coach and the other the daughter of a man who repped him when he was fired from LAPD. He is believed to have shot 3 officers killing one and has threatened to return and do more major damage. He’s accused of killing a Riverside police officer. He is on the run as they have an all out manhunt…

On Friday, February 8th, one hundred anti-repression activists gathered at the pre-trial motions hearing of the Anti-colonial, Anti-capitalist 19 (ACAC 19). The newly-appointed judge of the trial moved to extend the deadline of pre-trial motions to Tuesday, March 29th at 9 AM. The ACAC 19 Support Committee asks that activists once again pack the courtroom for the next pre-trial hearing.