Welcome to the support site for Tiga and Hugh. Updates on their legal proceedings are below, with more information on the arrests on the background page. Warrants, media coverage, flyers, and zines can be found on the resources page.
Donations to Tiga and Hugh's legal defense fund can be made here.
Tiga and Hugh's Travel Restrictions Lifted!
More good news! Tiga and Hugh had a court date by phone this afternoon with their lawyers, the judge and the prosecutor on the line. As they are no longer facing felonies, their travel restrictions have been lifted, and they can travel outside the state of Indiana! Woo!
There are no further court dates set as of right now, but we'll update people if they are going to happen. No other news as of right now, but negotiations will continue...
FELONY CHARGES DROPPED! Misdemeanors still pending...
Great news! Hugh and Tiga's felony racketeering charges have been dropped! We got word this morning that, based on arguments made by their lawyers at their last court appearance, the Felony Racketeering charge they were each facing has been deemed not legitimate. (If you're curious... the basis for this ruling is that, under Indiana RICO law, conspiracy charges cannot stem from misdemeanor charges.)
While this is definitely a reason to celebrate and a huge step, we're not quite out of the water yet. Tiga and Hugh are still each facing four misdemeanors, carrying a maximum sentence of four years. Also, they are both still confined to the state of Indiana, based on bail agreements made shortly after their arrests. Hopefully this will change in the near future, but we can't promise anything yet.
Furthermore, we're not sure what this means for the pre-trial date scheduled for this Monday, the 29th. We're going to assume it's still happening until we find out otherwise, but keep your ears to the ground for updates. If it's still happening, let's plan on trying to fill the courtroom again!
Gigantic thank you's to everyone who's offered solidarity in any form thus far... things are looking up...
A funny comic in the meantime...
*Comic not necessarily endorsed by Tiga, Hugh, or anyone for that matter. Similarities with real awesome people, absurd court cases or silly NGO's are purely coincidental. Thanks Robin!
Shirts & Stuff...
Finally! After slaving over a hot screen for hours, our first batch of tshirts are ready! The design is hand-screened on xtra fancy dark-blue-green American Apparel t-shirts, and, although it doesn't involve Tiga and Hugh's faces (sorry) it does involve bees! We will post pictures in the next few days, but trust us, they're sweet.
Also... there's an awesome benefit CD in the works right now, featuring both classic and unreleased tracks, all from local and ex-local bands. It's gonna be totally rad, so keep an eye out.
Lawyers present motions to dismiss charges, judge does not rule
On Thursday, January 21st, nearly 50 supporters joined Hugh and Tiga in Petersburg, Indiana for their first court hearing since their arrest. Friends and supporters filled nearly half the courtroom after filing through metal detectors apparently set up just for the crowd. Inside the courtroom, attorneys for Tiga and Hugh presented motions to dismiss most of their charges on technical grounds. Both lawyers offered compelling arguments in favor of motions that could take the felony racketeering charge off the table, as well as reduce the misdemeanor charges. The prosecuting attorney responded with weak arguments for the felony charge, and also defended several misdemeanor charges. Wielding menacingly huge stacks of files and flanked by none other than ISP's Brad Chandler, the prosecutor was playing dirty, even going so far as to liken Tiga and Hugh's charges with murder. Puh-lease!
The judge concluded the hearing by stating that he would take the motions “under advisement,” and inform Tiga and Hugh’s lawyers of his decision at an unspecified date in the future. A pre-trial court date was also tentatively scheduled for 2:30pm on March 4th. The agenda of the pre-trial hearing will be largely determined by the judge’s ruling on the motions to dismiss. We'll update everyone as soon as we hear back. Thanks again to everyone who came out, and who has offered their support in other ways - it makes a world of difference.
January 21st Court Hearing Approaches
The first court appearance for Tiga and Hugh is rapidly approaching. On January 21st, 2010, at 2:00 p.m., both Tiga and Hugh are scheduled to appear before the Pike County Circuit Court, where motions to dismiss some of the charges will be presented. The hearing will take place at the Pike County Courthouse, located at 801 Main Street in Petersburg, Indiana (click here for a map).
The first court hearing has been delayed many times, and we would like to thank everyone who has planned to come to prior court hearings, and has helped spread the word about their cases. Any further delays will be announced over the list serve and posted on this site. And as always, we believe the best way to demonstrate our support at these events is by packing the courthouse. A caravan from Bloomington will be leaving from the Eco-Center (located at 323 S. Walnut St.) at 11am on the 21st. If you would like to carpool from another place, or would like to coordinate rides in advance, please email freetigaandhugh@mostlyeverything.net.
Supporters fill courthouse, hearing postponed
Over forty supporters joined Hugh and Tiga at the Pike County Courthouse for their first scheduled hearing on the morning of August 25th. Defense and prosecuting attorneys were also present, but the judge was not, citing personal reasons. In his absence, attorneys met privately and rescheduled the court hearing for October 20. (It has since been pushed back three times and is now set for January 21st at 2pm.) Tentative trial dates were also set, beginning April 19th of 2010.
I-69 opponent taken by State Police, forced to give fingerprints/DNA
Indiana State Police (ISP) has widened its case against I-69 resistance to target yet another individual. Apparently not content pinning years’ worth of diffuse intentions and attempts from myriad actors onto just Tiga and Hugh, the state served Philip Shelton a search warrant authorizing his forceful detainment for the purpose of obtaining photos, fingerprints, and DNA samples. Four officers (2 ISP detectives, a uniformed ISP officer and another from the Department of Natural Resources) surprised Philip at his near-westside Bloomington home early in the morning of July 9th and escorted him to the State Police post. There, they executed the search warrant while repeatedly offering to buy him soda, then invited him out to lunch. Despite their buoyant charm, Philip declined and was driven back home. read more
read the probable cause affidavit for the search warrant here
read the search warrant here
Letter from Hugh
(feel free to forward the following letter, Hugh's first public statement since his arrest)
To all my friends and companions,
In the eight weeks since our arrest, I've felt more overwhelmed by your
solidarity than by the State's persecution. This is how it should be, and
I often feel unable to express how grateful I am for the many
different initiatives and fundraising efforts that so many of you have
undertaken since then.
During some moments of isolation, times when repression is so palpable I
can barely breathe, the actions of many have kept me strong and grounded:
the letters, hugs, the intelligent and kind words that have been said or
circulated. Despite the efforts of the authorities, I've remained a part
of my communities.
We shouldn't forget that it's these communities, these relationships and
connections, that are really under attack, and in an ever-more coordinated
way. The State has created a red herring when it claims that theatrical
office demonstrations or civil disobedience are the biggest obstacles to
the construction of I-69. What the State really fears are collective
dinners where many people can sit down together to begin, however
awkwardly or painfully, making sense of a highway project that no
layperson was ever meant to grasp. The State fears those moments when marginalized young people like me, from the cities or suburbs and seemingly disillusioned with everything, begin to break out of our imposed
and self-imposed isolation. They fear it when we begin talking with
people very different from ourselves, with farmers and others, about the
different and similar ways I-69 will impact our lives.
It's this potential for communication that is under attack, that the
police call a "racket." When they say "conspiracy," they mean our
capacity to breathe together. read the rest
Little bit of good news
A few rare tidbits of good news have floated our way this week! Hugh
traveled up to Chicago this Friday for a court date that would re-open old
charges from last fall. This was all due to the fact that there was a
claim that his arrest in April constituted a "probation violation," even
though the incidents he was arrested for allegedly occurred two years ago.
If his arrest had been ruled as a probation violation, it would have been
up the judge's discretion whether he spent the rest of his probation term
in jail (about a year and a half). Luckily, the judge didn't bat an
eyelid and dismissed the claims. Big thanks to our friends in Chicago
(and elsewhere!) for their support during this stressful time.
Furthermore, two people facing charges in Southern Indiana related to
treesits and I-69 resistance were acquitted in trial this week!
there have also been updates to the fundraising page- check it out for
details about new fundraisers in Tucson, Brooklyn and other places.
New listserve
We will make a strong effort to keep this page continually updated with any news related to the ongoing legal defense, fundraising, etc. If you prefer to not have to keep checking the website for this information, you can sign up for the "Support Tiga and Hugh" listserve, over which relevant updates will be sent every couple of weeks. Email freetigaandhugh@mostlyeverything.net (letting us know who you are) to be added to the list.
Lots of fundraisers
A number of fundraisers have taken place across the country, with many more planned. We're going to keep a list of them on the donate page. Please email us at freetigaandhugh@mostlyeverything.net and let us know the details of your fundraiser, so we can post it up. As well, check the resources page for some material about the cases to distribute. Let us know if you have any questions or need specific information to help pull off your fundraiser.
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Tiga's parents visited by Indiana State Police/JTTF
Tiga's parents were seperately visited at the homes in the past two weeks by Tom Arvin, a detective with the Indiana State Police. Detective Arving insinuated that Tiga had ties to alleged acts of arson in Florida (of which we have found no media reports) and a criminal network, and asked them to encourage their daughter to become a witness for the state both her mother and father told him to contact their respective lawyers if he wants to talk to them or their daughter in the future.
5/4 Tiga released!
Tiga was bailed out earlier this afternoon. Thanks so much to everyone who has donated. Since both Hugh and Tiga have both been bailed out now, we no longer need donations of bail money...we do need to continue raising money for legal fees and to start paying bail money back. Please let us know if we can help in any way to set up fundraisers, parties, speaking events, etc.
Thanks so much....
4/28 Hugh released!
Hugh has been bailed out!!! Thanks to everybody who helped raise the money...We're still short on Tiga's bail money and will continue to need legal fees and money to pay back bail, so please continue to pass the word along and help us out with fundraisers and such...Thanks so much!
4/27 update
Both Hugh and Tiga were both arraigned early this morning...so early in fact that folks from Bloomington were unable to make it down in time, after having found out about it only half an hour beforehand. There were no changes for the charges or the bail, and both were assigned public defenders. Tiga had visiting hours later in the evening, and those who saw her report that she's doing well. Look for more media and self-published pieces coming in the next few days...
4/26 update
We've been able to talk to both Hugh and Tiga recently...they are doing well and are keeping their spirits high. We are well on our way to raising the bail money for them, but still need quite a bit of help and will continue to need support for legal fees. Please see the donation and contact pages for info on how to help. We've learned that they are going to be arraigned either Monday the 27th or Tuesday the 28th in the Pike County Courthouse. As well, we've learned that visiting hours for Tiga are from 6:30 to 7:30 on Mondays and Hugh's are 6:30-7:30 on Wednesdays at the Pike County Jail.
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