At
Mother Jones, Molly Redden reports on one more twist in officialdumb's expanding efforts to criminalize peaceful protest. This time it isn't labeling someone a "terrorist" but charging two activists with being purveyors of a "terrorist hoax," a crime that on conviction can carry a heavy prison term.
Applying the protean term "terrorist" to dissidents constitutes a smear whose taint is difficult to undo even if those so labeled are subsequently found to be no such thing. So describing protesters as "terrorists" has many benefits for the powers-that-be, most especially the chilling effect it has on all but the most determined activists. An excerpt from Redden's story:
It's not uncommon for environmental protesters to face arrest, but here's an apparent first: On Friday, Oklahoma City police charged a pair of environmental activists with staging a "terrorism hoax" after they unfurled a pair of banners covered in glitter—a substance local cops considered evidence of a faux biochemical assault.
Stefan Warner and Moriah Stephenson, members of the environmental group Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance, were part of a group of about a dozen activists demonstrating at Devon Tower, the headquarters of fossil fuel giant Devon Energy. They activists were protesting the company's use of fracking, its role in mining of Canada's tar sands, and its ties to TransCanada, the energy company planning to construct the Keystone XL pipeline. As other activists blocked the building's revolving door, Warner and Stephenson hung two banners—one a cranberry-colored sheet emblazoned with The Hunger Games "mockingjay" symbol and the words "The odds are never in our favor" in gold letters—from the second floor of the Devon Tower's atrium.
Police who responded to the scene arrested Warner and Stephenson along with two other protesters. But while their fellow activists were arrested for trespassing, Warner and Stephenson were hit with additional charges of staging a fake bioterrorism attack. It's an unusually harsh charge to levy against nuisance protestors. In Oklahoma, a conviction for a "terrorist hoax" carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Oklahoma City police spokesman Captain Dexter Nelson tells Mother Jones that Devon Tower security officers worried that the "unknown substance" falling from the two banners might be toxic because of "the covert way [the protesters] presented themselves…A lot were dressed as somewhat transient-looking individuals. Some were wearing all black," he says. "Inside the banners was a lot of black powder substance, later determined to be glitter." In their report, Nelson says, police who responded to the scene described it as a "biochemical assault." "Even the FBI responded," he adds. A spokesman for Devon Energy declined to comment. […]
Warner, who has been arrested at protests in the past, sees his latest arrest as part of a pattern of increasingly aggressive tactics by law enforcement against environmental protesters. "It's scary," says Warner. "These companies want to make it seem like they're benevolent neighbors and no harm comes from their activities…To do that, they're trying to criminalize dissent."
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Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2005—The Islamic Republic of Iraq:
I wonder why the war boosters think elections are in and of themselves a reason to declare "mission accomplished" (yet again) in Iraq.
What good are elections if the violence continues? What good are they if Iraq's infrastructure is in shambles? What good are they if Iraq's economy continues to founder.
"Wait!" the triumphalists will interject, "Elections show that Iraqis want democracy, and democracy will work to reduce the violence."
Of course, lots of things were supposed to reduce the violence—Saddam's capture, the first elections, the second election, the capture of myriad "Al Qaida number twos," the supposed training of a new Iraqi army, and so on. Forgive those of us underwhelmed by such rosy predictions. Reality has made a mockery of all previous expressions of optimism.
But I wonder, would the triumphalists still think this last round of elections was a success if it brought to power a fundamentalist Islamic party with strong ties to Iran? Because that's what appears to be happening.
Funny that—we've expended hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives to give Iran what they most coveted—a friendly Iraqi government.
And the wingnutosphere is celebrating.
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Tweet of the Day:
If you have affluenza and you kill folks, you should have your money taken away. It's a great cure.
http://t.co/...
— @AnonyOps
On
today's Kagro in the Morning show, another federal court hits NSA surveillance. All quiet on the nuclear front.
Greg Dworkin discusses this, notes The Crazy among MI Rs, reminds us that "Reducing the number of uninsured is a good thing, not a bad thing," and points us to Billy Baker's "Bus 19" success story. A critical read of Ezra's "Pick your problem: Unemployment or income inequality." Something different: the burgeoning Shia LeBeouf plagiarism scandal (or possible performance art piece). Why have Senate Rs stayed so quiet? And a RWNJ NH state legislator threatens "armed resistance," because of course he does.
High Impact Posts. Top Comments.