Press Release:

Victory! All Criminal Charges Dismissed Against the Refuse Fascism Protesters who took action in Los Angeles on the 101 Freeway in 2017 Demanding The Trump Pence Regime Must Go!

June 24, 2020 | revcom.us

 

Date: Thursday June 25 @ 11:00 a.m.

Place: Los Angeles City Hall, Spring Street Steps, 200 N. Spring Street, LA 90012

In Fall of 2017, protesters on two separate occasions walked onto the 101 Freeway in downtown LA during morning rush hour, stopping traffic with a 50 foot banner and signs demanding TRUMP PENCE MUST GO! The Freeway 9 were arrested and charged with a total of 43 misdemeanors including obstruction of movement; failure to disperse; failure to comply with CHP, and each facing up to three years in jail. This included 1 person who was not even on the freeway being charged with two counts of conspiracy. In the course of defending these protestors, it came to light that the LAPD had sent in an informant to secretly record meetings of Refuse Fascism, posing as an avid advocate for the cause of the organization.

These defendants have held firm and insisted that they were right in taking these actions in the name of humanity, calling for people in their millions to take to the streets against the fascist Trump/Pence regime.

Today, almost three years later, the 30 misdemeanor charges against 5 remaining Freeway 9 defendants have finally been dismissed!

As one of the Freeway 9, Chantelle Herschberger said, “This is a victory in the fight against fascism. We defendants never backed down, after they spied on, slandered, dragged us through two trials, we remained on our mission – understanding that this regime is fascist and must be driven from power. We were right when we stepped onto the freeway in 2017 to call on others to step out as we are seeing in the streets today – not bound by politics as usual but proceeding from the interests for humanity. As the banner we unfurled said “TRUMP PENCE MUST GO!” and “NOW MORE THAN EVER!”

Paul Garcia, attorney for Miguel “Alex” Hernandez stated “The Refuse Fascism protesters were right. It has taken the deaths of innocents for most Americans to come to the realization that what their banner said back in 2017 that ‘Trump Pence Must Go!’” Michael Plaut, attorney for Chantelle, concluded, “As we know the fight for justice has only begun but today is a proud day for those who believe in the First Amendment and who stand against government and police tyranny.”

Stephen Rohde, First Amendment advocate and author of American Words of Freedom and Freedom of Assembly, stated “Everyone should learn from these brave protesters and finds ways in our own lives to exercise our constitutional rights and resist the first signs of repression.”

History

The Freeway 9 were relentlessly persecuted and prosecuted for almost three years for demanding that the Trump Pence Regime Must Go as this fascist regime was unleashing barrage of insult, injury, and atrocity, with catastrophic consequences for all humanity. They were sounding the alarm of the dangers of this regime and calling on others in our thousands and millions to take to the streets across the country in non-violent sustained mass protest demanding Trump and Pence Out Now, growing to millions, and staying in the streets until this demand is met. The LAPD responded by having the LAPD Anti-Terrorist Division (ATD) take over the investigation of these arrests. This division sent in a confidential informant (CI, aka police spy) who secretly recorded the political meetings of Refuse Fascism held in a church for four weeks. It was revealed in court that these secret recordings included attempts by the CI to entrap members of Refuse Fascism. Based on the ATD’s recommendations, two individuals whom the ATD identified as leaders of Refuse Fascism were charged with conspiracy, one of whom was not arrested or even on the freeway during these protests.

A critical component of the Trump Pence fascist regime’s program is the suppression and criminalization of dissent, the tearing up of the rule of law and the passage of laws allowing protesters to be run over, and Trump encouraging his white supremacist Nazi mobs to take out protesters on stretchers – all of which has escalated in the last 3 years.

It is outrageous that these dismissals come only after two of the Freeway 9 having been put on trial two times, both of which ended in mistrials (hung jury). Even as the first trial ended with 9 of 12 jurors voting not guilty on all charges, the City Attorney Democrat Mike Feuer demanded a new trial. The second trial also ended in with a hung jury in March of this year and again, the City Attorney’s office announced they would be seeking yet a third trial!

These Freeway defendants acted with courage and foresight and refused to back down facing three years in jail. Today, we see the eruption of a beautiful movement of hundreds of thousands across this country standing up to horrific crimes against Blacks lives, against the murder by police of Black and other oppressed people, which has been given even more of a green light by the Trump/Pence regime.

The courage and conviction shown by the Freeway 9 should inspire all those who see the danger of this fascist regime to now build on what has begun in the streets this past month to raise more powerfully that The Trump Pence Regime must go. We can’t rely on the normal channels to stop this fascist regime. We need to flood the streets in mass sustained nonviolent protest, not stopping, until our demand is met: Trump/Pence #OutNow.

 

The Freeway 9 with supporters and legal team