molly conger

we’re halfway through the first trial, a disorderly conduct charge for which no officer actually witnessed the alleged conduct, and this is the most egregiously unconstitutional proceeding i have ever witnessed. i’m not optimistic about the justice my friends will receive.

we’re in a brief recess after the conclusion of the defense’s case and jessica reavis of the league of the south has just threatened a witness in the courtroom.

we definitely won’t get to every case scheduled for today. maya little’s case has already been continued.

this morning’s defendant was found not guilty of the principle charge (disorderly conduct) but the judge ruled the clearly unconstitutional arrest was made with probable cause, so the subsequent charges of carrying a 2.25” knife were not suppressed & was found guilty on those.

the judge will make a sentencing determination on carrying a weapon at a protest (a class one misdemeanor) and carrying a concealed weapon (a class two misdemeanor) when we come back from lunch at 2pm.

this judge is retired but is called in to preside over most of the cases involving antiracists arrested at these protests. he is accountable to no one and it seems like he knows it.

i spend a lot of time in court. i’ve seen plenty of judges i disagree with ideologically preside fairly over cases and apply the law. this judge is not only clearly ideologically aligned against the defendants, his understanding of the law is sorely lacking.

at one point, he asked the defense attorney with what appeared to be genuine curiosity, not in bad faith, if a police officer had the authority to prevent a person from standing on a particular side of a public street to prevent a possible future disorder.

he also argued in favor of arresting people pre-emptively for crimes that might occur without their intervention. this is a gross infringement on the first amendment.

anyway, this person was arrested for crossing the street. the disorderly conduct allegation was utterly unsupported. there was video of the entire incident from multiple angles. the defendant had their hands in their pockets and was speaking in a conversational tone.

standing on a public sidewalk, hands in their pockets, while members of multiple hate groups berated and threatened them. a member of the hiwaymen threatened to hang them. they stood quietly on a public street.

the arresting officer did not witness any conduct, by his own admission. he was acting on the orders of an officer who was not physically present and could only see that the defendant had crossed the street.

the arresting officer testified that it was clear to him who the problem was because of “the theatrics” they were engaging in, gesturing wildly. the video shows the defendant removed their hands from their pocket for a single moment and did not touch anyone.

the arresting officer and the officer who ordered the arrest both testified that they heard the defendant screaming and causing a disorder, but that they couldn’t hear what was said. the video shows the defendant being screamed at but never raising their voice.

so while the not guilty verdict on the disorderly charge is good, the entire arrest should’ve been thrown out, which would’ve meant dismissing the subsequent charges based on the search performed by the detention officer. i hope that they appeal this.

please, if you can, donate to the legal defense fund for this defendant and their other comrades facing charges for standing up to white supremacy in north carolina. this is a travesty of justice but everyone is depleted by the repeated injustices here.https://twitter.com/aylinglindsay/status/1233125376404025344?s=21 …

it was perhaps ambitious of the court to schedule nearly a dozen cases for today. we got through two.

this morning’s defendant was found guilty of the two misdemeanors but the judge handed down a prayer for judgement continued (PJC). it’s a weird north carolina thing where you’re found guilty but not really? they will have to pay court costs but there’s no punishment.

the second case heard today was related to an incident i witnessed back in october. the defendant sat down in front of an illegally operated backhoe & was charged with impeding traffic on a highway. he was found not guilty because the backhoe wasn’t supposed to be on the road.

the defendant testified that he believed the operator of the backhoe intended to harm the crowd with it and made the brave decision to stop its progress with his body. https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1191520814220402688?s=21 …https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1191520814220402688 …

at the risk of sounding a bit maudlin, i teared up a little during his testimony. i don’t know him well, but we’ve been on the same sidewalks at a few protests. his testimony was earnest, steadfast, and sincere.

it is a rare moment when someone is able to speak a real truth to power from the witness stand. he was unshakeable in his truth.

he testified that when he saw the vehicle, he thought of charlottesville. of the vehicle that plowed through a crowd of antiracist protesters, killing heather heyer. in the gallery, jessica reavis laughed so raucously that a bailiff had to ask her to compose herself.

he testified that he believed the driver of the backhoe, which flew a confederate flag from the back, intended to strike the crowd. he knew that the bridge was the only place the vehicle would not be able to go around him.

the defendant testified that after the operator of the backhoe struck him with the vehicle, he realized he could not force the driver to stop. “my only option was to step back and rely on the principles of nonviolence.” so he sat down.

the judge seemed to me to be somewhat taken with the defendant’s argument that his actions were in defense of others, but ultimately the verdict came on a technicality - the statute requires the impediment of “regular traffic” & an illegally operated tractor isn’t regular traffic