Victory for Grant Newburger
Felony Charges Dropped to Traffic Citation for Protest
September 23, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Contact: We All Stand Together Defense Committee
Phone: Defense Committee 312-722-2534
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In a stunning rebuke to the vindictive political persecution of Grant Newburger, all three felony counts of aggravated battery on a police officer against him were dropped today and he was merely cited with a single citation of interfering with traffic, which is the same ordinance violation that many other protesters were charged with last fall. The penalty Grant got was a $10 fine, he is no longer facing the 7 years in prison.
The November protest where Grant was arrested was part of what became a massive national wave of protests against police murder. Grant was knocked to the ground by police while he was walking in an intersection on a green light, carrying a banner declaring, “Justice for Mike Brown.” Two others arrested at that protest had their charges dropped last fall. But Grant was singled out, and charged with the very serious and very outrageous crime of battery to an officer, which Grant never did. Instead he was the one battered by police.
Grant is well known in Chicago’s South and West Side Black communities for opposing police brutality, his participation in the Revolution Club and bringing revolutionary politics to the people for over 20 years. The charges against Grant didn’t stem from anything he did at the protest but because of his role in opposing police terror and the system at its root.
Grant says: “What is concentrated in my case, and the case of Iggy Rucker and Alfredo Reyes who are still charged with felonies for protest against police murder, and other cases around the country is whether the movement protesting police terror will be suppressed and its leaders locked down or if it will fight that suppression and criminalization as part of the larger battle to stop police terror. People must stand up in much greater numbers and determination and seriously change the terms of how all of society looks at this and acts on it.
"I am organizing for Rise Up October 24 in NYC to Stop Police Terror. Many thousands need to converge in NYC to deliver a powerful message, with national and international impact. Police Murder Must Stop NOW!”
Grant added: "I would also thank my attorneys, Tom Durkin and Robin Waters for their tireless and outstanding efforts on my behalf."
Stop Mass Incarceration Network - Chicago
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The Stop Mass Incarceration Network is a project of the Alliance for Global Justice, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. For more info, see stopmassincarceration.net
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