Antiracist and antifascist activists Mike Williams, Yvette Felarca, and Paz Porfirio went before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Richard Sueyoshi this morning and pled no contest to a lesser charge of misdemeanor unlawful assembly after being charged with other misdemeanor and felony charges at a counter protest against a white supremacist rally in Sacramento on June 26, 2016.
The trio provided security for counter-demonstrators protesting the rally of members of the Traditionalist Worker Party and the Golden State Skinheads at the State Capitol in Sacramento where 7 counterprotesters were stabbed.
The defendants, known as the Sacramento 3, agreed to complete 90 hours of community service in 18 months approved by a non-profit organization with the conditions of withholding their right to assemble at the California State Capitol to protest during that 18-month period.
The only exception to go to the Capitol would be only for legal business. If they all complete the 90 hours, all charges will be dropped. If they do not complete what they agreed too, they will face 90 days in jail and 3 years of probation.
According to a press release issued this morning by the defendants, the defendants were "facing bogus criminal charges of riot, incitement to riot, and assault with a deadly weapon stemming from their participation in an anti-Nazi protest June 26, 2016.”
“At that same event, police stood by and did nothing as seven anti-racist protesters, including Felarca, were stabbed by Nazis. None of the Nazis who stabbed them are facing criminal charges from the Sacramento District Attorney,” they pointed out.
Felarca and Williams had both faced felony charges.
"What we know from coming here today is that we can fight and we can win," said Felarca after leaving the courthouse.
In a Facebook post later, Felarca wrote, “Thank you to all friends and supporters! It’s over—we won! All the Sacramento felonies and all the original misdemeanor charges against me, Mike Wiliams, and Porfirio Paz are gone. No trial, no jail time, no fines or restitutions, and nothing on our permanent record. We pled ‘no contest’ to a low misdemeanor (unlawful assembly) which will be dismissed from our record in 18 months.”
"Thanks for all of your support," said Williams while talking to supporters. "You guys all want a better world for everybody."
Attorney Shanta Driver said, "I think this is a real victory. We won. All of the felonies are gone. Under the worse case scenario, this would be considered a violation and would end with a low misdemeanor conviction - and that's not going to happen."
Sacramento County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Grippi issued a statement calling the plea deal a “fair and just resolution.”
“The Sacramento District Attorney’s Office has great respect for the First Amendment and in the rights of citizens to exercise that freedom,” claimed Grippie. “However, when orchestrated acts of violence take place in our county, whether in the name of free speech or in an effort to prevent it, our obligation is to hold those individuals accountable. This plea agreement is a fair and just resolution under the circumstances of this case.”
William Scott Planer, the lone white supremacist charged in the case, was sentenced in July to four years in prison.
For an in-depth article about the rally and the ensuing charges and court case, read this UK Guardian article: Anti-fascists were stabbed at a neo-Nazi rally. Then police tried to charge them https://www.theguardian.com/…/antifa-charges-california-act…
I took this photo of Mike Williams, Attorney Shanta Driver and Yvette Felarca after they left the courthouse today.
I will add more information to this article as I receive it.