Birds Before The Storm

Thank… well, thank the PR nightmare that was summoned in defense of these two. But Professor Calamity and his comrade have had their charges dropped. (see our original post on the matter for background). But Tortuga House lost the injunction that was preventing the police from looking through all their crap, which is irritating, and there’s still weird vague grand jury threats floating around. From Friends of Tortuga:

In the face of a PR nightmare, Pennsylvania authorities have withdrawn all charges against two members of Tortuga accused of using Twitter to aid protesters at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. At a hearing today, instead of oral arguments regarding a defense motion to unseal the secret 18-page affidavit authorizing the arrests of Elliott Madison and Michael Wallschlager at a motel just outside of Pittsburgh, the prosecution immediately moved to withdraw all charges against the two before the defense had a chance to argue its case. Although clear from the beginning that these charges were absurd based on the State’s very own laws, our housemates were incarcerated for 36 hours, had their van towed and belongings confiscated, and one house member was given $30,000 in straight bail.

The District Attorney and his spokesperson were at pains to explain why the State would drop all charges against these dangerous twitterists and of course, refused to admit that these charges were unconstitutional and a heavy-handed attempt to scare anarchists and others from protesting in ways unsanctioned by the government. Instead, the prosecution says they decided that pursuing the charges “would be unwise” after consulting other law enforcement agencies and because of other pending investigations. The secret affidavit authorizing the arrests in Pennsylvania is set to become public on Nov. 23rd. We imagine the Pennsylvania State Police will seek an extension to keep this document sealed—perhaps in order to hide the flimsiness of their secret evidence? However, no matter the reason, we will fight to unseal this document and we will not let the State hide behind sealed evidence, obscure innuendo, and other traditional tactics used by secret police.

Though it is a victory that all the charges against our two housemates were dropped in Pennsylvania, we cannot forget that there is still a mysterious grand jury and other “ongoing investigations” out there. While we may be free from criminal proceedings now, we are still under the threat of future charges/indictments. What these might be, when they might happen, and what cause the State has is, of course, secret. Although our only option is to wait and see, we refuse to let them go about their business ruining our lives in peace and quiet and will continue fighting them every step of the way.

For more information and updates, please go to friendsoftortuga.wordpress.com

Last friday in Oakland (a neighborhood in Pittsburgh), the police were, well, insane. There was a full-fledged police state, complete with chasing down any suspects and beating and arresting them, tear gas, LRAD sound cannon, dispersal orders without permitting dispersal, etc. etc…. but no protest. There was a gathering of students, but there were no banners, no chants, no rioting, no nothing. Just a flyer that had circulated. Anyhow, I found myself without the mental energy to put it all together, all of what happened (but posted some pictures). Fortunately, we now have this crimethInc. report.

Well, first of all, there are apparently 877 police in Pittsburgh, but they’re hoping to field 4000 for the event by calling in troops from all the hell over. Lots of talk about the national guard and the purchasing of less-lethals. Then there’s the Pittsburgh Organizing Group’s [POG] first general update. This covers a few different consultas and lead-in workshops, as well as some of the organizing principles such as “please don’t show up and alienate everyone by wearing black masks and smashing everything in sight.” This is likely to be a contentious decision.

And here’s some random corporate articles about it (mostly culled from that POG report): a liberal tells us to fuck off and be obedient, another article (which is factually challenged, claiming that NYC held the last RNC for example) talks about how screwed pittsburgh is, since once bought all the less-lethals will stick around. Another editorial (less angry), talks about how all the rocks will be thrown by outsiders. A letter to the editor decries the accusations of us all being jackasses. More defending of us, saying yeah, some windows aren’t as big of a deal as global governance. And here are all the articles by Mike Boda, who appears to actually make some sense.

There is also an interesting article about where the leaders might be staying, which is the nemacolin woodlands resort, 35 miles out of town. Note that this place has private landing strips and helicopter pads.