A Lambertville youth accused of arson in the fires that destroyed two unfinished homes in Bedford Township housing developments started the fires to bring attention to the construction of new homes in the area, authorities said.
Michael W. Sykes, 17, who was arrested during last weekend's police stakeout to catch the arsonist responsible for the string of fires in the Lambertville area, was arraigned yesterday in Monroe County District Court.
He pleaded not guilty to one count each of arson and home invasion. Judge Mark Braunlich ordered the teenager held in the county jail in lieu of $1 million bond. He is scheduled to be back in court March 26 for a pretrial hearing.
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Angola 3 Federal civil rights trial could come by Summer
A federal trial could start this summer for three men who claim they are victims of cruel and unusual punishment because of the decades they spent in isolation cells at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, their attorney said Monday afternoon.
The federal lawsuit was filed in 2000 on behalf of two Angola inmates who were first placed into isolation cells in 1972 and a third inmate who spent 29 years in isolation before his conviction was overturned and he was released in 2001.
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The federal lawsuit was filed in 2000 on behalf of two Angola inmates who were first placed into isolation cells in 1972 and a third inmate who spent 29 years in isolation before his conviction was overturned and he was released in 2001.
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Three arrested at NOLA public housing demo
The latest in a string of local protests against the demolition of the city's "Big Four" public housing developments has resulted in the arrest of three vocal opponents.
About 30 protesters held signs and yelled "stop the demolition" over bullhorns outside the partially demolished St. Bernard Housing Development. They were demanding that officials at all levels stop the demolition in order to give Congress time to investigate charges of corruption against Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alfonso Jackson.
Around 10:30 a.m., New Orleans Police officers at the scene shouted from across Milton Street that "this is now a crime scene," meaning that anyone behind the yellow plastic tape would be arrested.
A few protesters objected to being shuffled outside the cordoned off area and were handcuffed and taken away in an NOPD van.
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About 30 protesters held signs and yelled "stop the demolition" over bullhorns outside the partially demolished St. Bernard Housing Development. They were demanding that officials at all levels stop the demolition in order to give Congress time to investigate charges of corruption against Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alfonso Jackson.
Around 10:30 a.m., New Orleans Police officers at the scene shouted from across Milton Street that "this is now a crime scene," meaning that anyone behind the yellow plastic tape would be arrested.
A few protesters objected to being shuffled outside the cordoned off area and were handcuffed and taken away in an NOPD van.
Source and full story
Nine arrested in Binghamton, NY during anti-war protest
Nine people — including seven Binghamton University students — were arrested when an anti-war protest on the Vestal Parkway escalated into a confrontation with police shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday. Three students are in jail.
The charges included obstructing governmental administration in the second degree, resisting arrest (both Class A misdemeanors) and disorderly conduct (a violation).
Initial reports said ten people, many of them students, were arrested, but a press release from the Vestal Police Department listed nine individuals charged with arrest. Three of them, Andrew B. Epstein, Thomas A. Pieragastini, and David Bittner, all BU students, are in jail on $500 bail.
Pepper spray was used on several of the protesters “when the people who were arrested started to shove,” said John Butler, Vestal’s chief of police, adding that their eyes have since been “irrigated.”
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The charges included obstructing governmental administration in the second degree, resisting arrest (both Class A misdemeanors) and disorderly conduct (a violation).
Initial reports said ten people, many of them students, were arrested, but a press release from the Vestal Police Department listed nine individuals charged with arrest. Three of them, Andrew B. Epstein, Thomas A. Pieragastini, and David Bittner, all BU students, are in jail on $500 bail.
Pepper spray was used on several of the protesters “when the people who were arrested started to shove,” said John Butler, Vestal’s chief of police, adding that their eyes have since been “irrigated.”
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Bush Administration Targets Latin American Solidarity Activists
In response to the democratic upsurge in Latin America, the Bush administration is targeting for special surveillance and repression US groups who lead public pressure campaigns to end US government intervention in that continent.
One of those groups is the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, or CISPES, an organization formed in the 1980s to block the US government's role in fomenting El Salvador's civil war and the Reagan administration's support for right-wing military groups that caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Salvadorans.
In January, said CISPES executive director Burke Stansbury in a recent interview, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to CISPES ordering it to register as an agent of a foreign government or entity.
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One of those groups is the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, or CISPES, an organization formed in the 1980s to block the US government's role in fomenting El Salvador's civil war and the Reagan administration's support for right-wing military groups that caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Salvadorans.
In January, said CISPES executive director Burke Stansbury in a recent interview, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to CISPES ordering it to register as an agent of a foreign government or entity.
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Lawyers for the Angola 3 work to gain release of Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox
Citing "lost" evidence, fabricated eyewitness testimony, and the Louisiana Department of Corrections' zeal to quickly end its investigation into the 1972 murder of a prison guard at Angola, defense lawyers Monday called for the release of two men known as part of the "Angola 3."
The three men, all from New Orleans, are Albert Woodfox, Herman "Hooks" Wallace and Robert King, who were blamed for the fatal stabbing of officer Brent Miller at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in 1972, when it was known as one of the most bloody and brutal state prisons in the United States.
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The three men, all from New Orleans, are Albert Woodfox, Herman "Hooks" Wallace and Robert King, who were blamed for the fatal stabbing of officer Brent Miller at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in 1972, when it was known as one of the most bloody and brutal state prisons in the United States.
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NYC: Police arrest man trying to drape Tibetan flag in Times Square
Police say a protester trying to drape the Tibetan flag over the towering Yahoo! billboard in Times Square has been arrested.
The 21-year-old man was arrested on charges of criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct and reckless endangerment, police say.
The man was trying to hang the Tibetan flag on the Yahoo! sign high above the New York Police Department's substation near 43rd Street and Broadway. Tibetans have been protesting around the world since March 10, the anniversary of the failed 1959 uprising against Chinese Rule. Tibetans accuse China of trying to crush its culture.
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The 21-year-old man was arrested on charges of criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct and reckless endangerment, police say.
The man was trying to hang the Tibetan flag on the Yahoo! sign high above the New York Police Department's substation near 43rd Street and Broadway. Tibetans have been protesting around the world since March 10, the anniversary of the failed 1959 uprising against Chinese Rule. Tibetans accuse China of trying to crush its culture.
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Georgia: Anti-War Grannies Arrested Trying to Enlist
As part of actions across the United States to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, 10 "Grandmothers for Peace", ranging in age from 57 to 80, were arrested Monday while trying to enlist in the United States Army. Acts of civil disobedience are planned this week in at least 17 other U.S. cities.
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Canada: Native leaders sentenced to jail in mining protest
OTTAWA — Native leaders from a remote Northwestern Ontario reserve were sent to jail in handcuffs yesterday for opposing mining on their traditional lands, as an opposition leader blamed the Ontario government for failing to resolve the conflict.
Chief Donny Morris, deputy chief Jack McKay and four band councillors each received six-month sentences for contempt of court from the Ontario Superior Court in Thunder Bay.
It was the second time this year that aboriginal leaders have been jailed in Ontario over mining blockades.
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Chief Donny Morris, deputy chief Jack McKay and four band councillors each received six-month sentences for contempt of court from the Ontario Superior Court in Thunder Bay.
It was the second time this year that aboriginal leaders have been jailed in Ontario over mining blockades.
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March 2008 Prison Dispatch from Jeff “Free” Luers
What a long and strange journey this past year has been. I have been riding highs and lows as I have been struggling to regain my freedom and find a balance between my desires for this movement and my own personal happiness.
I’ve made no secret of my often conflicting emotions or my disappointment in radical struggles here in the United States. Yet, despite my confusion about my own part in this messy struggle that now sees so many of us locked behind bars—so many split once again into factions, while many others hearts are broken by the betrayals of friends and former heroes—I have strived to remain true to the ideals in which I believe. It is often difficult to carry your head high when the rest of your life feels like you are falling apart, but we must continue to do so because it is only with our heads high that we can meet the eyes of our enemy and let them know that while we may be afraid we are not cowards; that while we may be hurting we are not broken, and most importantly, that while we may be small we are not weak, we are still defiant and we can still be dangerous.
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I’ve made no secret of my often conflicting emotions or my disappointment in radical struggles here in the United States. Yet, despite my confusion about my own part in this messy struggle that now sees so many of us locked behind bars—so many split once again into factions, while many others hearts are broken by the betrayals of friends and former heroes—I have strived to remain true to the ideals in which I believe. It is often difficult to carry your head high when the rest of your life feels like you are falling apart, but we must continue to do so because it is only with our heads high that we can meet the eyes of our enemy and let them know that while we may be afraid we are not cowards; that while we may be hurting we are not broken, and most importantly, that while we may be small we are not weak, we are still defiant and we can still be dangerous.
Source and full story
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