Feature Archives

Prisoners in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, California announced that they are beginning an indefinite hunger strike on July 1st to protest the conditions of their imprisonment, which they say are cruel and inhumane. An online petition has been started by supporters of the strikers. Key demands include the elimination of group punishments, modification of active/inactive gang status criteria, and the provision of adequate food.

Joshua Hart, Director of Stop Smart Meters! was arrested on June 21st after blocking the entrance to the Capitola PG&E payment center in protest of PG&E’s illegal “smart” meter installations in the County. The County of Santa Cruz, as well as the Cities of Capitola and Watsonville, have adopted urgency ordinances prohibiting the installation of wireless “smart” meters within their jurisdictions. Forty-three local governments throughout the state have formally demanded a halt to the program because of concerns about health, privacy, accuracy, and fire safety.

On June 10th, homeless activist Gary Johnson — repeatedly ticketed and arrested in the 3-month long Peace Camp 2010 protest against the Sleeping Ban at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse — was sentenced to six months in jail and taken there in chains for violating California's 'anti-lodging' law (647e). Activist-attorney Ed Frey, who initiated, supported, and was arrested during the protest, was jailed at the same hearing. Judge John Gallagher refused to suspend sentencing pending appeal and denied a motion for a new trial after several jurors complained of juror misconduct.

On the morning of June 16th, the front pages of Spanish newspapers carried stories of demonstrators for democracy performing acts of violence. Amateur footage exposed that police infiltration was to blame, but YouTube blacked out some of the videos because they allegedly violated the privacy of the infiltrators. The incident happened just days before an announced nationwide protest against economical austerity measures to be imposed by the government.

Dozens of Bay Area activists rallied on June 16th in front of the Federal Building in downtown Oakland to “resist government attacks against activists”. On May 17, 2011 the SWAT Team of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and members of the FBI raided the home of Carlos Montes, a long time Chicano activist and active member of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. Courage to Resist activists joined the rally to support Bradley Manning Support Network organizer David House who refused to answer questions from a Grand Jury in Virginia on June 15th.

The National Lawyers Guild filed a class action lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department on June 13th, in the United States District Court. The lawsuit asserts constitutional violations stemming from the November 5, 2010, mass arrest of 150 peaceful protesters following the sentencing of Johannes Mehserle, the BART police officer who killed Oscar Grant. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief as well as monetary damages for those 150 people who were unlawfully corralled by police and incarcerated in overcrowded holding cells for up to 28 hours.

A community protest was called for the day that Johannes Mehserle was to be released from jail. Mehserle is the former BART police officer convicted of killing Oscar Grant, a young unarmed African American man, on New Years Day 2009. The Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant called for two protests in Oakland the day Mehserle was released: the first at Fruitvale BART at 3:00 pm and then at Broadway & 14th Street at 5:30 pm. Hundreds protested in Oakland on June 12th. Mesherle was released from Los Angeles County Jail just after midnight on June 13th.