Thanks for nothing, Texas. Would it have been this “easy” anywhere else? I am so stunned by this piece of news just out. I’m stunned they tried it in the first place! It’s another example of excess from Trump and his maladministration. He’s going to be smug for days. I’m going to build a slap machine so he can be slapped all day. Well, no, but you get the idea. For one, I couldn’t get anywhere close to him, and for another, I don’t condone violence. But the image of slapping him is now stuck in my head. I hope you’re ready for a rant of sorts. With regards to The Guardian via Raw Story:
A group of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters tied to the broader left-wing “antifa” movement was convicted Friday on terrorism-related charges in Texas, in a stunning landmark decision that pushes the limits of the Trump administration’s prosecution abilities. According to The Guardian, “Nine defendants – Benjamin Song, Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Meagan Morris, Maricela Rueda, Savanna Batten, Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, and Daniel Sanchez-Estrada – were all tried together in the case. They faced a mix of charges of providing material support to terrorists, rioting, attempted murder, as well as firearms and explosive charges.”
More on those charges in the next quote. They did get a little carried away, and that was plain dumb *stupid*. But terrorists? Give me a break. First of all, there’s no such thing as antifa as per such; it’s just a very, *very* broad description, generally of protestors. And if protesting makes you antifa, then I guess I am too. *shrug* It’s just a label. Like, idiot ego is a label for Petey Boy. Even after more research, I can’t see it except as a movement.
The case stemmed from a Fourth of July protest last year near the Prairieland detention center near Fort Worth; the protesters had planned to use fireworks in solidarity with the protesters inside the area, and some of them began vandalizing government cars and broke a security camera. As police showed up to apprehend them, one protester concealed in the woods shot an officer in the shoulder with an AR-15, wounding them. The Trump administration was determined to make an example of a relatively rare case of violence stemming from left-wing protest, in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination; they charged the entire incident as a terrorist plot, even though only one of the activists opened fire on police.
Alrighty. Shooting someone was seriously stupid. There was absolutely no reason for that, no matter how angry you might be. And it was against the police. That makes even less sense (read: zero) than firing against ICE. That part I have no trouble with. I suppose you could call fireworks explosives, albeit minimal ones. And then breaking things? That was foolish. I fail to see how anything except *maybe* the shooting could be related to terrorizing. The rest, no. Anyone with a lick of sense could see they were not terrorists. Maybe I’m assuming too much about what terrorists “look like”, but the point remains.
During the trial, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, himself an appointee of President Donald Trump, invoked the siege of Waco. “The nine defendants were convicted on all of the charges they faced, with limited exceptions,” the report noted. “Of the five charged with attempted murder and firearms charges, Evetts, Hill, Morris, and Rueda were acquitted. Song was acquitted on two charges of attempted murder and convicted on one. He was also convicted of the firearms charges.” The DFW Support Committee, the group providing aid to the defendants, posted on X in response to the verdict: “We have a verdict, and we are heartbroken at the results. This is only the beginning. We will continue to fight the remaining charges until every defendant is home.”
Waco? Hooey. Get real. This isn’t even *close* to Waco, which also happened over 30 years ago. These people were protestors who were partly carried away and partly stupid. Dude shouldn’t have shot someone. I have no sympathy for him. But for the rest, terrorists? They had no manifesto, just a desire to mess with ICE, for which they can’t be blamed, because a LOT of us would like to mess with ICE. We just don’t act on it. This is going to bug me for days. Sheesh.
See you soon!
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise that among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
Hmm. Maybe the DFW Support Committee can use the ADMINISTRATION’S own description of what happened on January 6–and Drumpf’s own “reasoning” for pardoning all those criminals–in their appeals process.
If the Jan 6 insurrectionists could be pardoned for assaulting Capitol police (and, in several cases, being indirectly responsible for the deaths of some of those very same police), then the protestors here have LEGAL precedent to overturn ALL the convictions.
I wonder how we could get this information to them. You are absolutely correct. They could use it! (And I’m totally serious about getting this to them. Might have to poke around a bit.)