Guelph ABCs G20 Repression Update: March

March 18, 2012 Guelph ABC

Introduction

It has been one and a half years since the leaders of the twenty richest nations and their commercial and financial interested convened in Toronto for a glamorized photo-op. In June 2010, the G20 Summit took over and militarized the core of Toronto, Canada’s largest city, and saw a week of protests, actions and mass arrests.

In the lead up to the summit, police from different municipal, provincial ,federal policing and intelligent agencies formed the G20 Joint Intelligence Group to network and coordinate the state repression surrounding the G20 Summit. This included a number of tactics, including twelve undercover operations which led to the arrests of over twenty people on conspiracy charges.

During the weekend,militant actions were called by the Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance (SOAR) and by a number of autonomous anarchist and indigenous groups. On June 25th, a break-away demonstration was called by SOAR called “Get Off the Fence”. This action saw a five hundred plus anti-capitalist bloc wreak havoc on Toronto’s financial and shopping districts, followed by generalized rioting throughout the core for hours following the demo.

What we have compiled here are some updates about anti-authoritarians and anarchists who have been facing serious criminal charges following the actions of people in the streets, and in meetings prior to the summit. Many of these cases are still open and there are many other people who have been convicted and are serving sentences who aren’t tied to anarchist networks. We hope this will shed some light on what has happened since the riot.

G20 Main Conspiracy Group

www.conspiretoresist.wordpress.com (G20 main conspiracy group)
www.boredbutnotbroken.tao.ca (Mandy Hiscocks Prison Blog)

Twenty-one people were charged with being part of the G20 main conspiracy group,the crown alleged that there were upwards of fifty other co-conspirators who were never indicted. These charges stemmed from a one and a half year infiltration operation undertaken by OPP officers Bindo Showan and Brenda Carey.

The undercovers started infiltrating anarchists in Guelph in 2008, and later spread the operation to Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto and other communities in Southern Ontario. There were other undercover operations in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal and upwards of a dozen police infiltrators.
By the time the case reached its preliminary hearing, charges were dropped against three defendants and one defendant received a suspended sentence in a plea resolution negotiated independently. In November, the remaining seventeen came to a plea resolution that saw charges of eleven of the defendants withdrawn and six agreed to pleading guilty and serving varying prison sentences.

The Convictions

The sentence lengths listed are before taking into account pretrial custody, house arrest, etc. Most people will serve about half of their sentences listed here.

Erik Lankin – 8 month sentence for one count of Counselling to Commit Mischief. Sentence began on November 28th 2011. Erik was released on January 26th 2012.

Adam Lewis – 6 month sentence for one count of Counselling to Commit Mischief. Sentence began on November 28th 2011. Adam was release on February 5th 2012.

Peter Hopperton – 8 month sentence for one count of Counselling to Commit Mischief. Sentence began on November 28th 2011. Peter was released on March 15th, 2012.

Leah Henderson – 14 month sentence for one count of Counselling to Commit Mischief. Sentence began on December 20th 2011. Leah is scheduled for release in June, 2012.

Alex Hundert – 18 month sentence for one count of Counselling to Commit Mischief, and one count of Counselling to Obstruct Police. Alex hasn’t begun to serve his sentence yet.

Mandy Hiscocks – 18 month sentence for one count of Counselling to Commit Mischief, and one count of Counselling to Obstruct Police. Sentence began on January 13th 2012. Mandy is scheduled for release in December 2012.

Jaggi Singh – Received a suspended sentence for one count of Counselling to Commit Mischief of 12 months probation. Jaggis probation began on June 21st 2011.

Leah Henderson
Vanier Centre for Women
P.O.Box 1040
655 Martin Street
Milton, Ontario
L9T 5E6 Canada

Amanda Hiscocks
Vanier Centre for Women
P.O.Box 1040
655 Martin Street
Milton, Ontario
L9T 5E6 Canada

Robin Henry

Robin was the first G20 defendant to be convicted of two counts of Mischief Over 5000 dollars and one count of Masked with Intent for breaking windows at a Starbucks and Bell store.

Robin served nine months under strict bail conditions before his sentencing. In March 2011, Robin was sentenced to one year house arrest, followed by two years probation, a 5000 dollars fine and three hundred plus community service hours. Robin is currently serving his sentence in London, Ontario.

Ryan Rainville

On December 5th, 2011 Ryan Rainville received a conditional sentence of four months under house arrest, followed by four months curfew and then one year probation. Ryan had plead guilty to three counts of Mischief Over 5000 dollars for using a red and black flag and a hammer to destroy Toronto Police cruisers during the G20 riot. He also plead guilty to a Breach of Peace.

Ryans sentence took into account the ninety-six days he spent in the Toronto Metro West Detention Centre and Maplehurst Correctional Complex following his initial arrest on these charges. Ryan fought and won a trial where he contested charges of Assault Police with a Weapon and Obstruct Officer. These charges stemmed from accusations that a police cruiser Ryan had damaged was occupied.

On December 20th 2011, a member of the G20 Investigative Team came to his home at Sagatay Men’s Residence to serve him with an appeal of his sentence. The State believes Ryans sentence was too light. It is clear that Ryans pride in his convictions and anarchist values have led them to target him in an attempt to send a clear message to other anarchists, that our politics and bodies will be criminalized if we do not fall in line.

Before his sentencing, Ryan had served over three months in prison, eight months under house arrest and five months of a restrictive curfew. He is currently serving his sentence for these charges of four months house arrest, four months curfew, followed by a year probation. It will be three years after the original event before Ryan is free of these charges.

Ryan’s appeal hearing is scheduled for this spring.

GABC has just released a zine of Ryan’s statement to the courts before his sentencing.

Print: Ryan Rainville Statement to the Courts

Web: Ryan Rainville Statement to the Courts

Girr Rowley

See Guelph ABC’s statement: “In the Face of the Courts”

Girr was arrested in November of 2010 by the G20 Special Investigation Team for his alleged participation in the black bloc action. He was placed under house arrest in Rockwood, just outside of Guelph. He eventually had his conditions reduced to a curfew.

Following his preliminary hearing, he plead guilty to one count of Mischief Under $5000, one count of Masked with Intent and one count of Public Nuisance. He was convicted on February 3rd, 2012 and is currently serving a nine month sentence. This is his first conviction.

Greg Noltie-Rowley
Maplehurst Complex
PO Box 10
661 Martin St.
Milton, ON
L9T 2Y3

Kelly Pflug-Back

Kelly has been presented in the media as the “ring leader” of the black bloc action. She has faced some of the harshest repression. She spent two months in prison, before being released to house arrest with her parents. Kelly currently has a curfew and a lengthy non-association list which includes upwards of a hundred people.

Kelly was charged with thirteen counts including Mischief Over 5000 dollars, Conspiracy, Obstruct Police, Assault Police With a Weapon and Intimidation of a Justice System Participant. Kelly has had some of these charges dropped, currently she is facing seven counts of Mischief over 5000 dollars. Kelly has plead guilty and is awaiting sentencing. The Crown is looking for upwards of 2 years.

George John Horton Norabuena

George is facing nine charges for allegedly participating in the black bloc. George was arrested in Peterborough by the local police in on September 28th 2010. He was then transferred to Toronto by the G20 Investigation Team. George was denied bail and spent a week in the Toronto West Detention Centre, before being released.

George was originally charged with Assault Police Officer, Intimidation of Police Officer, Obstruct Police Officer, Masked with Intent, Weapons Dangerous, Possession of Stolen Property under 5000 dollars, and three counts of Mischief under 5000 dollars.

In Mid December 2011 George pled to three counts of Attempted Mischief Under 5000 dollars and one count of Disguised with Intent to Commit a Crime. The Crown dropped the possession of stolen property and weapons dangerous charges.

George has been in trial for the past two months for the remaining charges of Assault Police Officer, Intimidation of Police Officer and Obstruct Police Officer. These charges are related to the attack on the Police Scout Car 766 at the beginning of the breakaway march. Nicholas Cote and Ryan Rainville both had their charges dropped from the attack on the squad car.

Georges trial will have it’s closing arguments and sentencing in March. The Crown is seeking nine months in prison for George.

Jae Muzzin

Jae Muzzin was arrested for breaking two windows at the Toronto Police Headquarters during the Get Off the Fence demo. Jae plead guilty to two counts of Mischief Over $5000 and Common Nuisance. The crown originally was asking for 1 year of jail.

Jae took a plea deal and was sentenced on February 17th, 2012 to an intermittent sentence of 60 days, to be served on 10 consecutive weekends. His Sentence will be finished by late April. Jae was also ordered to pay restitution of $2,500.

jae is currently serving his weekend sentences at Mimico Correctional Centre.

Byron Sonne

http://www.freebyron.org/

Guelph ABC is not currently in contact with Byron or his support group.

On June 22th, 2010, Byron Sonne was arrested in his home in Forest Hill north of Toronto in relation to the G20 Summit. The police created a media spectacle of his arrest, making him out as some “bomb wielding terrorist” to justify the massive expenses of policing the meeting of the richest countries of the world.

Originally, Byron was arrested on six charges ranging from explosives to intimidating of a justice participant by threats. Byron was held without bail for total a total of 330 days. In February, Byron had four of his charges dropped and is currently in trial for the remaining two charges of Possession of Explosives for an Unlawful Purpose and a Counselling offence.

Julian Ichim

Julian Ichim, one of the original G20 Main Conspiracy Group defendants who had his charges dropped was charged with six counts of Disobey Court Order in relation to a number of posts on his personal blog. He is now facing federal offences before the courts.

In these posts, the crown alleges that Julian violated a publication ban around the G20 Main Conspiracy Group case by writing about his personal experiences with two undercover operatives. The publication ban was put in place in part to conceal the names and identities of undercover officers Brenda Carey (undercover identity: Brenda Dougherty) and Bindo Showan (undercover identity: Khalid Mohammad), but has since been rescinded due in part to the continued outing of these operatives on the internet.

Julian’s trial is scheduled for mid-March.

Dan Keller

Dan’s house was invaded and he was arrested on August 25th 2011 by the OPP Anti-Racketing Branch. He was charged with one count of Defamatory Libel and one count of Council Assault for allegedly posting information on a Kitchener-Waterloo activist website, www.peaceculture.org about the identity and where-abouts of G20 undercover operative Bindo Showan (Khalid Mohammad). Dan’s pre-trial is scheduled for February and the crown is seeking two and a half years.

Erik Lankin Released!

Jan. 26, 2012 Guelph Anarchist Black Cross

Great News!

Today, January 26, 2012, Erik Lankin was released from jail in Penetang.
He served 60 days (2/3 of a 3 month sentence) for counseling to commit
mischief at the G20 in Toronto. We are ecstatic to have our comrade back
in our arms.

Special thank to all the people who send erik letters, postcards and
reading materials, We know he deeply appreciated all the support he
received.

-Sincerely, Guelph Anarchist Black Cross (GAyBC)

Mandy Hiscocks Sentenced to 16 Months

Jan. 13, 2012 Guelph ABC

“White supremacy is wrong, it’s violent and dangerous, whether it’s at the hands of a fringe group like the KKK or an accepted institution like the criminal justice system.”

“…This is why we, myself and the people in the other room, don’t have decorum in this system.”

-Mandy Hiscock’s statement to the courts

On Friday (January) the 13th 2012, Mandy Hiscocks was sentenced to 20-24 month for 1 count of Counseling to Commit Mischief and Counseling to Obstruct Police. With 31 days in pretrial custody and harsh bail conditions taken into account, Mandy’s remaining time to serve is 16 months.

With the courthouse filled with supporters, more than could even fit in the courtroom, Mandy delivered an awesome speech chastising the justice system and enlightening the judge as to why exactly, her desires have not been deterred by her sentence.

The Judge took it upon himself to try and engage her on many of the points she brought up, defending the state and capital, and even at one point announcing that he is also apart of the “99%”. Warm cheers and chants from supporters for Mandy’s words brought threats of contempt charges and removing all her supporters from the courtroom.

if you would like to stay up to date on Mandy’s incarceration, check out the support blog set up for her, or check back in with Guelph ABC for relevant updates. Mandy’s Blog: http://boredbutnotbroken.tao.ca/

If you want to write Mandy, you can send your letters, fan mail and Battle Star Galactica fan fiction to:

Amanda Hiscocks

c/o Vanier Centre for Women
665 Martin Street
Milton, Ontario L9T 5E6
Canada

-Guelph Anarchist Black Cross (GAyBC)

Mandy’s Statement to the Courts Below:

It’s not every day you get the opportunity to speak directly to a judge, and I have a lot to say. This is my first opportunity to speak since this entire process started last June so I hope you’ll hear me out until the end.

I plan to take about ten to fiteen minutes at most.

I don’t know you as a person or as a judge, so my comments are directed at the legal system in general.

I want to address some of the things you said on this matter in earlier sentencing hearings, particularly your references to the KKK.

When you sentenced Peter, Adam, Erik and Leah to jail, you stated that this is not political, it is about our tactics. You mentioned the KKK, and compared their actions to those of the non-violent civil disobedience protesters of the 60s. I agree with you that the tactics used by the KKK are reprehensible. I disagree with you that that kind of violence against people is anything remotely like the property damage that occurred on the streets of Toronto during the G20 summit.

Regardless, by focusing on the KKK’s tactics and not their politics you’ve missed the point entirely. The problem with the KKK isn’t only their tactics. It’s the fact that they’re a white supremacist group.

White supremacy is defined as “an historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of continents, nations and peoples of color by white peoples and nations; for the purpose of establishing, maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power and privilege.”

I don’t think you disagree with me that there is a system of wealth, power and privilege in this country. I benefit from this system every day, and so do you. We benefit on the backs of others, most of whom are people of colour.

Systemic oppression is widespread in the legal system. Racial profiling affects who gets arrested in the first place, who gets charged and who gets sent home, whose charges the Crown decides to proceed with and whose they drop, who gets bail and who doesn’t. It’s not a secret that if you’re in custody during your trial, your chances of conviction are higher. And even if you do get out on bail, who gets compliance checks and who doesn’t means some people end up back in jail on a breach while others don’t. Who in this is more likely to plead guilty right away because they don’t have the time, tools or money to defend themselves?

The fact is that lawyers are expensive and your chance of conviction depends on how much time your lawyer is willing to put into your case. Most judges are white, and the jury selection process means that if you’re poor you’ll almost certainly not end up with a jury of your peers. And finally, sentencing relies on privilege (your education level, your chance of employment, your income, prior run-ins with the law, and so on.)

I don’t have proper statistics for all of the above, and anyway I know you know this stuff. I just want you to be aware that I know it too, and so do most of the people in this room today and in the video room.

However, here are some statistics that I do have: According to the federal correctional investigator, over the past decade there has been a 52 per cent leap in the proportion of black offenders in federal incarceration. Black people make up roughly 2.5 per cent of Canada’s population but 9.12 per cent of federal prisoners. In Ontario, 20 per cent of the federal prison population is black. Keeping in mind that people of colour have been hardest hit by the economic downturn and the conservative policies of our current government, and keeping in mind all the ways in which the legal system disadvantages people of colour, is it really any wonder?

My point is that a few broken windows and burned police cars at a protest will not lead us down the path of the KKK. The KKK targeted black people with overt violence and terror, and this system targets them with institutionalized racism, which is just a more subtle form of violence. In fact this legal system is doing the work of the KKK more than any anti-G20 protester ever could. It’s very telling that the KKK was comprised in large part of wealthy businessmen and lawmakers – the kinds of people our society and our legal system hold up as the best of the best. Perhaps this is why in 1987 Weatherman Linda Evans was sentenced to 40 years for using false ID to get a firearm and harbouring a fugitive, despite the average sentence for that being 2 years. In the same year, a KKK leader named Don Black, who was planning an invasion of Dominica with a boatload of explosives and automatic weapons, was sentenced to 8 years, 5 of which were suspended, so that he ended up serving 3.

White supremacy is wrong, it’s violent and dangerous, whether it’s at the hands of a fringe group like the KKK or an accepted institution like the criminal justice system.

**********

It’s not always what the “justice” system does that causes the problems, sometimes it’s what it doesn’t do. The courts simply do not consider systemic oppression and inequality.

In a book called The Red Lily, Anatole France stated that “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.” The book was written in 1894 in France, but that statement still applies here, today.

A crime is a crime, you say, regardless of who committed it, and what leads people to crime doesn’t matter.

In 1999 the Supreme Court of Canada tried to address systemic injustice in their ruling on Regina vs Gladue. They stated that we need to acknowledge the circumstances of Indigenous people, the reasons they may wind up in the justice system, and the racist treatment and attitudes they encounter there. They recommended alternatives to prison sentences that mesh more with Indigenous cultures.

According to people who work in the field, many Indigenous accused still don’t know about Gladue reports or how to get them, and they aren’t always informed by their lawyers. Judges continue to resist the sentencing principles outlined at the conclusion of the Gladue case.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2008/2009, 10 years after the ruling, Aboriginal women represented 28% of all women remanded and 37% of women admitted to sentenced custody. Today Aboriginal women, though less than two per cent of the Canadian population, make up 34 per cent of female federal inmates.

My point being, I don’t have the power to change what happens in this legal system. I’m trying to indicate why I don’t respect this legal system.

**********

The crown wants this sentence to be a deterrent. It won’t be. Please take a second to have a good look around the room. When i get taken out of here do you think you’ll have increased anyone’s faith in the system?

I am certainly not deterred, I’m just angry.

No matter what my sentence is today, it won’t be about justice. Your system is not about justice. If it was, don’t you think we would have come to you when the G20 decided to set foot here to pursue their obviously unjust austerity agenda? Don’t you think we would have asked for your help when the police started to put up their fences and cages, and randomly arrest whoever they felt like so they could systematically abuse them in the detention centre?

If this system was about righting wrongs, don’t you think we would come to you to hold the rich to account for their abuses against the poor, immigration officials to account for their abuses against people without status, and settlers to account for our abuses against Indigenous people?

We didn’t and don’t come to you. We won’t ever come to you.

A court of real justice would defend people against aggressors. In this society, the privileged are the aggressors, but time after time you choose to protect their privilege and their property against people who are struggling to survive. You’re doing it wrong. Let’s not debate. The obvious answer to the violence and the chaos is the cops brought that. I’m going to try and finish.

This legal system that we have here is not equal, it’s not fair and its not just. And a lot of people out there believe that it is. What I would like to impart to you is that I don’t buy it and the statistics dont support it.

You speak of dignity, that everyone should be treated with dignity. I agree with you. But you can’t treat someone with dignity, or expect to be treated with dignity in return, while one person is up high and the other person is down low, while your boot is on their neck.

This is why we, myself and the people in the other room, don’t have decorum in this system.

Throughout this farcical legal process that’s coming to an end today the accused have been told that our actions were an attack on the rule of law, which is at the heart of our society. Well good. Our society is racist and colonial, its rooted in wealth and power, and so is the rule of law that upholds it.

And I’m going to leave this court room today, to quote Chilean anarchist Diego Rios:

“I am carrying all my hatred and contempt for power, its laws, its authority, its society, and I have no room for guilt or fear of punishment.”

-Mandy Hiscocks

Defiant G20 protester jailed 10 months

Dec. 20, 2011 by Peter Small Toronto Star

One of the most prominent anti-G20 Toronto anarchists remained defiant
Tuesday while being sentenced to 10 months in jail for counselling
mischief.

“I stand here guilty of breaking your laws, not the laws of justice,” Leah
Henderson, 27, told provincial court Justice Lloyd Budzinsky.

“I submit to your jails because today you hold all the weapons,” she told
a Finch Ave. W. courtroom packed with her supporters.

Henderson and her then-boyfriend, Alex Hundert, were arrested in their
west Toronto apartment after police stormed in during the early hours of
June 26, 2010, the second day of the G20 summit.

She did not participate in protests where some people smashed windows and
set fire to police cruisers, but pleaded guilty Nov. 22 to counselling
others to commit mischief.

It has not been proved that anyone she advised went on to commit crimes.

“This entire prosecution was borne of the politics of fear — fear of our
ideas,” said the self-described anarchist.

She told the judge she responded to the G20 as a person of conscience and
as part of a community that envisages a “future that is truly free.”

Defence lawyer Brydie Bethell said Henderson, who grew up in Alberta, is
committed to social justice and the anarchist ideal of non-hierarchical,
locally driven communities.

But Crown prosecutor Jason Miller said Henderson and others used the G20
“to exercise dissent in a criminal and violent fashion,” thus harming the
freedom of expression of peaceful demonstrators.

Miller said she has shown a degree of maturity lacking in many fellow
accused. “Ms Henderson knew better,” he said.

“It seems apparent to me that Ms Henderson realized at some point that
this got away from her.”

During Miller’s comments, some spectators sniggered, drawing a warning
from the judge.

The judge said Henderson’s politics and beliefs are not being punished,
just her criminal behaviour. “Your approach was to put your beliefs above
the safety … of others,” he said.

He accepted a joint sentencing submission from defence and Crown, sending
her to jail for 10 months on top of the 24 days she spent in custody
before making bail.

Henderson smiled as she was handcuffed to be led away, friends chanting:
“Leah, Leah, Leah.”

On Nov. 22, in the middle of a preliminary hearing, she and five others
pleaded guilty to counselling mischief.

Erik Lankin, 24; Peter Hopperton, 25; and Adam Lewis, 23, have all been
sentenced for their roles.

Amanda Hiscocks, 37, and Hundert, 31, who both pleaded guilty to an
additional charge of counselling to obstruct a peace officer, are yet to
be sentenced.


Leah's statement to the court and letter to community

conspiretoresist.wordpress.com

Below you will find the statement that I read to the court, followed by a
letter to my community.

Statement read in court at sentencing hearing:

All you need to know about me is that I am a person of conscience, I came
to this situation from a place of morality within myself, and I am a
member of a community that shares that morality and a powerful vision for
a future that is truly free.

I stand here guilty of breaking your laws, not the laws of justice.

The court has been told, “this prosecution is not political”, and that
this has been done to protect society from danger.

The truth is this entire prosecution is born from the politics of fear.
Fear of our ideas, fear of what we represent:

Freedom.

A Freedom that your jails will not confine.

I am not here for approval.

I am here because this is what stands for justice on this colonized land.

Though I stand here being judged by you, I am accountable to more, that is
beyond these walls.

I am accountable to the indigenous communities whose lands we are on. To
the earth who we’re daily assaulting with saws, and chemicals. To the
elders in my life and to the generations yet to come.

The laws that govern our societies are not laws of community, or laws of
consensus, they are laws of oppression. Laws that underpay and overwork
mothers. That deport the poor and those of colour. Laws that rob
Indigenous Nations of their traditions, their land, their childhoods. Laws
that blame the unemployed and rewards those that get rich on their backs.

I have been deeply and profoundly affected by this process, but have not
been changed by it. I have been moved by the incredible support that I
have received, far beyond what I could have imagined. It has been made
more clear to me through this process that this vision for the future is
part of a groundswell.

I want to say thank you to everyone that has supported me, thank you to my
friends, my family and my lawyer.

I submit to your jails because today you hold many of the weapons, and
many people under your spell. A day is coming when that will not be so.

A day is coming where the distorted mirror that hides the lies of
capitalism and colonialism will shatter.

Sometimes a cupcake, is just a cupcake.

A Letter to my community:
As most of you probably know by now, I have decided to plead guilty to the
charge of counseling to commit mischief. Originally, I along with 20
others was charged with four counts of conspiracy in what was called the
G20 main conspiracy group.

I am writing because the past year and a half of facing these charges and
living under bail conditions has meant that I have not been able to talk
as openly as I would have liked. My voice has been muzzled by the state,
which has served as a powerful reminder of the many voices that are
muzzled by the daily colonialism, patriarchy, racism and violence of the
world. While the silencing of my voice has an end date, the work to hear
the chorus of our grandmothers and the Indigenous Peoples whose land we
stand on is
ongoing.

I never considered that the people in power would see me, my community and
our values as anything other than a threat — because we are a threat. We
are working to tear this system down and to make space for life-centered
systems that make the 1% irrelevant. Those who benefit from the status quo
have always tried to crush that.

I want to tell you that I was arrested because I am seen as a threat. I
want to tell you that you might be too. I want to tell you that this is
something we need to prepare for. I want to tell you that the risk of
incarceration alone should not determine our organizing.

My skills and experience — as a facilitator, as a trainer, as a legal
professional and as someone linking different communities and movements —
were all targeted in this case, with the state trying to depict me as a
“brainwasher” and as a mastermind of mayhem, violence and destruction.
During the week of the G8 & G20 summits, the police targeted legal
observers, street medics and independent media. It is clear that the
skills that make us strong, the alternatives that reduce our reliance on
their systems and prefigure a new world, are the very things that they are
most afraid of.

I organize openly as an anti-colonial, anti-capitalist anarchist. My
organizing is focused on movement building, and this commitment to build
skill sets and support other activists is another part of why the state
has targeted me. However, this attempt to deter me has failed, just as it
has failed to deter thousands of others similarly facing police brutality
and jail. I am strengthened in my resolve to build communities of
resistance. We are building the structures of a new kind of society in the
midst of the old, and we cannot do that without a commitment to
skill-sharing, mutual aid and collective liberation.

Since the G8 & G20 protests, Toronto (and beyond) has witnessed a wave of
repression that has seen the justice system trap people and their
communities in its jaws, using all of their time and energy to survive the
resource-intensive and soul-sucking legal process. The state hoped that
there would be no energy left to fight against them as they cut funding to
essential services, ignored self-determination, and further criminalized
poor people, migrants and people of colour.

They were wrong.

The awe-inspiring and humbling surprise in all of this is that we have
refused to be crushed and, in fact, we have grown in strategy, strength
and numbers: in Toronto, I’ve seen the anti-austerity movements grow with
campaigns like “Stop the Cuts”; in Grassy Narrows, one day of powerful
mobilization forced the government to listen to the community’s demands;
globally, there has been a continued, intensified uprising that is showing
collective dissatisfaction with the capitalist system and austerity agenda
that the G8 & G20 perpetuate.

I took this plea willingly. I consented today to confine myself to a cage,
away from the people, work and struggles that I am connected to. I did
this for a reason.

As a group of accused, we come to organizing with different access to
power. When the 17 of us found ourselves around a table facing a trial,
continued disruption of our lives and livelihoods, possible convictions,
jail sentences and deportations, it became essential that some of us plead
guilty to ensure that the rest walk free.

It was a decision that could not be and was not taken lightly. I was
inspired, along with the rest of the 17, by a proud history of political
trials, where people have chosen to plead guilty to end the legal process?
if it resulted in the best possible deal for all involved.

This plea is not a defeat. I am energized. I am hopeful knowing that we
have each other’s back and will take care of each other, even if it means
that some of us go to jail. I am proud. I hope you are too.

I am incredibly grateful for the people in my life who have been
supporting me and who will continue to do so.

To the women who have carried me through this — you are my faeries with
magick wands and combat boots; you’ve granted me wishes and kicked the
crap out of anything I couldn’t handle. Your care and support is
revolutionary. May it become less invisible to the world.

To my family — every day I am grateful for your unconditional love and
support; that I chose you when I came into this world is perhaps the
greatest gift I have given to myself.

To my community — you have grown and expanded with me since my arrest;
this growth is a testament to our strength.

To my sureties — you took me out into the world when no one else could;
you housed me, sat on absurdly uncomfortable court benches while pregnant
and while waiting to see if your own child would be released from custody.

To the assistants, receptionists, lawyers, and legal workers that
represented us — thank you for your dedication and commitment.

To my friends that stayed in to keep me company, moved me, brought me
comfort and, most importantly, helped me to laugh and cry and rage-craft
through this — I hope that I can give half as much to you as I have
received.

To my co-evils (otherwise known as co-accused):

“While I can’t have you, I long for you… I spin worlds where we could be
together. I dream you.” – Jeannette Winterson

I’ve missed you, friends. After all this time, my heart still beats as one
with yours. But things have changed, we have grown, my heartbeat sounds
different — I’m sure yours does too. Since we became wrapped up in this
together, I have carried you with me everywhere I go. I’m excited to begin
new relationships with you that don’t have the state stuck in between us.
Thank you for all that you have been through this process:
fierce,vulnerable, honest, inspiring, loving, strong, and deeply committed
to working collectively, challenging oppression and building communities
of resistance.

There is a complex combination of rage and inspiration that this
experience has given me that cannot be summed up in one statement, let
alone a lifetime of statements, but moving forward, I am energized and
filled with hope that we will continue to struggle together in creative,
supportive and inspiring ways. I would say see you in the streets, but if
you know me, you know that I’m more excited to see you in a meeting.

With love, rage and solidarity,
Leah

Please write to me! If you don’t know what to write, send my a copy of
your favourite poem(s), recipes, you really like or short stories.

Leah Henderson
c/o Vanier Centre for Women
655 Martin Street, Box 1040
Milton ON L9T 5E6

Toronto G20 Main Conspiracy Co-defendant Statement

conspire to resist

November 22, 2011 — As people across Turtle Island look towards the global
wave of protests against the austerity agenda, the memory of the 2010 G20
protests in Toronto looms large as both inspiration and caution. We are
seventeen people accused by the state of planning to disrupt the leaders
summit – the prosecutors call us the G20 Main Conspiracy Group.

This alleged conspiracy is absurd. We were never all part of any one
group, we didn’t all organize together, and our political backgrounds are
all different. Some of us met for the first time in jail. What we do have
in common is that we, like many others, are passionate about creating
communities of resistance.

Separately and together, we work with movements against colonialism,
capitalism, borders, patriarchy, white supremacy, ableism,
hetero/cis-normativity, and environmental destruction. These are movements
for radical change, and they represent real alternatives to existing power
structures. It is for this reason that we were targeted by the state.

Although these conspiracy charges have been a big part of our daily
reality for the past year and a half, we have been slow in speaking out
collectively. This is partly because of the restrictive bail conditions
that were placed on us, including non-association with our co-accused and
many of our close allies. In addition, those of us who did speak out have
been subjected to a campaign of intimidation and harassment by the police
and prosecutors. We are writing now because we have decided to resolve
our charges to bring this spectacle to an end.

The state’s strategy after the G20 has been to cast a wide net over those
who mobilized against the summit (over 1, 000 detained and over 300
charged) and then to single out those they perceived to be leaders. Being
accused of conspiracy is a surreal, bureaucratic nightmare that few
political organizers have experienced in this country, but unfortunately
it is becoming more common. We can’t say with any certainty if what we did
was in fact an illegal conspiracy. Ultimately though, whether or not our
organizing fits into the hypocritical and oppressive confines of the law
isn’t what’s important. This is a political prosecution. The government
made a political decision to spend millions of dollars to surveil and
infiltrate anarchist, Indigenous solidarity, and migrant justice
organizing over several years. After that kind of investment, what sort of
justice are we to expect?

We have not been powerless in this process; however any leverage we’ve had
has not come from the legal system, but from making decisions
collectively. This has been a priority throughout, particularly in the
last several months, as the preliminary inquiry gradually took a back seat
to negotiations for a deal to end it. The consensus process has been at
times a heart-wrenching, thoughtful, gruelling, disappointing, and
inspiring experience, and in the end, we got through it together.

Of the seventeen of us, six will be pleading and the eleven others will
have their charges withdrawn. Alex Hundert, and Mandy Hiscocks are each
pleading to one count of counselling mischief over $5,000 and one count of
counselling to obstruct police, and Leah Henderson, Peter Hopperton, Erik
Lankin, and Adam Lewis are each pleading to a single count of counselling
mischief over $5,000. We are expecting sentences to range between 6 and 24
months, and all will get some credit for time already served in jail and
on house arrest.

Three defendants in this case had their charges withdrawn earlier and one
has already taken a plea to counselling mischief over $5,000 that involved
no further jail time. This means that out of twenty-one people in the
supposed G20 Main Conspiracy Group, only seven were convicted of anything,
and none were convicted of conspiracy. The total of fourteen withdrawals
demonstrates the tenuous nature of the charges.

This system targets many groups of people including racialized,
impoverished and Indigenous communities, those with precarious immigration
status, and those dealing with mental health and addiction. The kinds of
violence that we have experienced, such as the pre-dawn raids, the
strip-searches, the surveillance, and pre-sentence incarceration happen
all the time. The seventeen of us have moved through the legal system
with a lot of privilege and support. This includes greater access to
“acceptable” sureties, and the financial means to support ourselves and
our case. While the use of conspiracy charges against such a large group
of political organizers is noteworthy, these tactics of repression are
used against other targeted communities every day.

There is no victory in the courts. The legal system is and always has been
a political tool used against groups deemed undesirable or who refuse to
co-operate with the state. It exists to protect Canada’s colonial and
capitalist social structure. It is also deeply individualistic and
expensive. This system is designed to break up communities and turn
friends against each other.

Within this winless situation, we decided that the best course of action
was to clearly identify our goals and needs and then to explore our
options. Within our group, we faced different levels of risk if convicted,
and so we began with the agreement that our top priority was to avoid any
deportations. Other key goals we reached were to minimize the number of
convictions, to honour people’s individual needs, and to be mindful of how
our decisions affect our broader movements. Although we are giving up some
important things by not going to trial, this deal achieves specific goals
that we weren’t willing to gamble.

Our conversations have always been advised by concern for the broader
political impacts of our choices. One noteworthy outcome is that there are
no conspiracy convictions emerging from this case, thus avoiding the
creation of a dangerous legal precedent that would in effect criminalize
routine tasks like facilitation. Taking this deal also frees up community
resources that have been embroiled in this legal process.

We emerge from this united and in solidarity.

To those who took us in while on house arrest, to those who raised money
for our legal and living expenses, to those who cooked food, wrote
letters, offered rides and supported us politically and emotionally
throughout, thank you.

To those in jail or still on charges from the anti-G20 protests, to
political prisoners and prisoners in struggle, we are still with you.

To communities and neighbourhoods fighting back from Cairo to London, from
Greece to Chile, in Occupied Turtle Island and beyond, see you in the
streets.

from top-left: Pat Cadorette, Erik Lankin, Paul Sauder, Meghan Lankin,
Bill Vandreil, Joanna Adamiak, Julia Kerr, David Prychitka, Alex
Hundert, Monica Peters, Sterling Stutz, Leah Henderson, Adam Lewis,
Mandy Hiscocks, Peter Hopperton, SK Hussan, Terrance Luscombe


If you would like to issue a solidarity statement, please email
toronto.g20resist@gmail.com and let us know.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Le 22 novembre 2011 – Alors qu’aux quatre coins de l’Île-Tortue nos
communautés se tournent vers le courant planétaire d’opposition aux
diktats d’austérité, le souvenir des manifestations anti-G20 de juin 2010
à Toronto nous sert autant d’inspiration que de mise en garde.

Nous sommes dix-sept. Dix-sept personnes accusées par l’État canadien
d’avoir «conspiré» pour perturber le sommet des «leaders» du G20. Les
procureurs de la couronne nous ont attribué l’étrange étiquette de
«Principal groupe de comploteurs du G20», ou “G20 Main Conspiracy Group“.

Ces accusations de complot ne sont rien d’autre qu’une sinistre farce.
Nous n’avons jamais tous et toutes participé à un seul et même groupe,
nous n’avons jamais organisé tous et toutes ensemble et, en réalité, nous
sommes tous et toutes issuEs d’horizons politiques variés. En fait,
certainEs d’entre nous se sont rencontréEs pour la première fois entre les
murs de la prison ! Ce que nous partageons par contre, et ce, avec un
nombre incalculable de camarades, c’est une passion pour la création de
communautés de résistance.

Séparément ou ensemble, nous œuvrons au sein de mouvements opposés au
colonialisme, au capitalisme, aux frontières, au patriarcat, à la
suprématie blanche, à la discrimination fondée sur les capacités, à
l’hétéronormativité et à la destruction de l’environnement et des milieux
de vie. Nos mouvements militent en faveur du changement radical et
représentent d’authentiques alternatives aux structures de pouvoir
actuelles. C’est principalement pour cette raison que nous avons été
cibléEs.

Ces accusations, aussi ridicules soient-elles, ont occupé le plus clair de
notre temps au cours des dix-huit derniers mois. Malgré cela, il nous aura
fallu tous ce temps pour enfin nous exprimer d’une seule et même voix. Ce
silence est en partie attribuable aux conditions sévères qui pesaient sur
nous, y compris la non association avec nos co-accuséEs et plusieurs de
nos alliéEs les plus proches. De plus, ceux et celles d’entre nous qui se
sont expriméEs publiquement ont fait l’objet de campagnes d’intimidation
de la part de la police et des procureurs. Nous écrivons aujourd’hui parce
que nous avons négocié une entente visant à mettre un terme aux poursuites
entamées contre nous et hâter la conclusion de cette ridicule comédie.

La stratégie de l’État à l’égard du G20 a été de jeter des filets aussi
larges que possible sur tous ceux et toutes celles qui s’étaient
mobiliséEs contre le sommet (plus de 1 000 manifestants et manifestantes
détenuEs et plus de 300 accuséEs) pour ensuite déterminer celles et ceux
qui faisaient, aux yeux de la couronne, figure de leaders. Être accuséE de
complot est un cauchemar bureaucratique surréaliste que bien peu de
militants et militantes ont eu l’infortune de connaître au Canada jusqu’à
présent. Malheureusement, ce cauchemar tend à se répéter. Il nous est
impossible d’affirmer avec certitude si ce que nous avons fait constitue
ou non un complot ou une «conspiration». Mais en fin de compte, il importe
peu que nos actions répondent ou non aux définitions oppressives et
hypocrites de la loi. Car il nous semble évident que ces poursuites sont,
avant tout, de nature politique. Le gouvernement a sciemment choisi de
dépenser des centaines de millions de dollars pour surveiller et infiltrer
les milieux anarchistes, les réseaux de solidarité avec les autochtones et
les mouvements de justice pour les migrants et migrantes. Après l’aveu
d’un investissement aussi démesuré, quelle justice pouvons-nous encore
espérer?

Malgré tout, nous n’étions pas complètement impuissantEs dans ce
processus. Le peu de prise que nous avons eu sur les négociations est dû à
notre rigoureux processus de prise de décision collective.
Particulièrement au cours des derniers mois, au fur et à mesure que
l’enquête préliminaire laissait place aux transactions visant à en finir
au plus vite, cette recherche de consensus est restée pour nous une
constante priorité. Cette conversation a été une expérience tour à tour
déchirante, épuisante, décevante et inspirante. Mais au final, nous en
sommes sortiEs uniEs.

Des dix-sept, six plaideront coupable et les onze autres verront leurs
accusations retirées. Alex Hundert et Mandy Hiscocks plaident chacunE
coupable à deux accusations d’avoir «conseillé la commission d’une
infraction», et Leah Henderson, Peter Hopperton, Erik Lankin et Adam Lewis
plaideront chacunE coupable à un chef d’accusation similaire. Nous nous
attendons à des peines d’emprisonnement variant entre six et 24 mois, et
on nous créditera le temps déjà passé en détention ou en assignation à
domicile.

Trois accuséEs impliquéEs dans la même affaire ont déjà vu leurs
accusations tomber et un quatrième avait déjà négocié sa sortie sans peine
d’emprisonnement supplémentaire. Cela signifie que des 21 personnes
initialement comprises dans le «Principal groupe de comploteurs du G20»,
seulement sept ont été condamnées et aucune n’a été trouvée coupable de
complot. Cette proportion de retraits est saisissante et démontre
clairement l’absurdité des accusations!

L’ordre dominant opprime de nombreux segments de la population, et en
particulier les communautés racisées, défavorisées ou autochtones ainsi
que les personnes au statut d’immigration précaire et celles et ceux qui
vivent avec des problèmes de dépendance ou de santé mentale. La violence
que nous avons subie, y compris les rafles de police au petit matin, les
fouilles à nuE, la surveillance et l’incarcération avant procès, s’abat
quotidiennement sur ces personnes et ces communautés. Nous avons eu la
chance et le privilège d’être soutenuEs tout au long de notre traversée du
système judiciaire. Cela inclut l’accès à des garantEs de caution jugéEs
«acceptables» et à des moyens financiers pour assurer notre survie
quotidienne et notre défense juridique. Même s’il est remarquable que,
dans ce cas-ci, l’État ait eu recours à des accusations de complot contre
un aussi grand nombre de militants et militantes, il convient de noter
également que ces tactiques répressives sont employées quotidiennement
contre d’autres communautés persécutées.

Au tribunal, aucune victoire n’est vraiment possible. Le système
judiciaire est et a toujours été un instrument politique employé contre
les groupes considérés indésirables ou réfractaires à l’État. Ce système
existe pour protéger la structure sociale coloniale et capitaliste du
Canada. C’est une machine infernale et ruineuse qui brise les accuséEs et
les pousse à adopter des solutions égoïstes. Ce système est conçu pour
détruire des communautés et transformer des camarades en adversaires.

Dans ce contexte où toute victoire paraît impossible, nous avons déterminé
ensemble que la meilleure voie à suivre serait de cerner clairement nos
besoins et objectifs et d’explorer nos options en conséquence. La gravité
des impacts auxquels nous étions confrontéEs variait d’une personne à
l’autre. La première condition sur laquelle nous nous sommes entenduEs à
été d’éviter toute déportation. Parmi les autres objectifs que nous
poursuivions, nous avons également réussi à minimiser le nombre des
condamnations, à respecter le plus possible les besoins individuels de
chacunE et à tenir compte de l’impact qu’auraient nos décisions sur les
mouvements auxquels nous appartenons. Même si nous renonçons à
d’importantes batailles politiques en mettant ainsi fin au procès, cette
entente répond à certains des objectifs que nous n’étions pas disposéEs à
sacrifier.

Au cours de nos discussions, nous avons toujours pris en considération les
conséquences politiques de nos choix. Un des résultats notables est le
fait qu’aucune condamnation pour complot ne découle de cette poursuite.
Nous évitons ainsi la création d’un précédent juridique qui aurait
contribué à criminaliser des tâches aussi importantes que routinières,
comme la rédaction de tracts ou l’animation d’assemblées. Cette entente
permet également de libérer d’importantes ressources qui ont été trop
longtemps accaparées par le processus de défense.

Nous sortons de ce processus uniEs et solidaires.

À celles et ceux qui nous ont accuelliEs dans leurs foyers lorsque nous
étions assignéEs à résidence, aux autres qui ont amassé de l’argent pour
nos dépenses quotidiennes et nos frais juridiques, à celles et ceux qui
ont cuisiné pour nous, nous ont écrit, nous ont offert des lifts et nous
ont soutenuEs politiquement et émotionnellement, merci.

À ceux et celles qui sont en prison ou toujours accuséEs suites aux
actions anti-G20, aux prisonniers et prisonnières politiques, aux rebelles
en lutte, nous sommes toujours avec vous.

Aux communautés et aux quartiers en résistance, du Caire à Londres, de la
Grèce au Chili, depuis l’Île-Tortue occupée, et jusqu’à ce que la victoire
soit nôtre, on se reverra dans la rue.

G20 charges dropped against 11 as 6 plead guilty

Nov 22 2011 Toronto Star
Jennifer Yang and Peter Edwards Staff Reporters

In a joint submission entered in court today, six of the 17 so-called G20
ringleaders have pleaded guilty and the other 11 defendants are going
free.

The six defendants pleaded guilty in a Finch Ave. courtroom this morning
to the lesser charge of counseling to commit mischief over $5,000. Two of
the defendants — Alex Hundert and Amanda Hiscocks — also pleaded guilty to
counseling to obstruct police.

PHOTOS: G20 meets Occupy TO

The other 11 defendants all had their charges withdrawn just before noon.
All 17 were initially charged with conspiracy.

The Star reported Tuesday that the so-called G20 ringleaders struck a plea
bargain with prosecutors after preliminary hearings were suspended in late
September.

For the six who pleaded guilty, the agreed statement of facts read out in
court this morning stated that it couldn’t be proven that any of their
remarks leading up to the G20 contributed to property damage or
obstruction of police during the summit riots.

The agreed statement also noted that none of the six actually took part in
the riots.

After the charges were officially withdrawn, a statement was posted online
in which the 17 collectively condemned the conspiracy charges.

“This alleged conspiracy is absurd,” the statement read. “We were never
all part of any one group, we didn’t all organize together, and our
political backgrounds are all different. Some of us met for the first time
in jail. What we do have in common is that we, like many others, are
passionate about creating communities of resistance.”

According to defence lawyer Howard Morton, the position now being taken by
the Crown is “drastically different” from the one it took at bail
hearings. His client, Joanna Adamiak, had her charge withdrawn as part of
the plea deal.

“This was nothing more than an attempt to create a public image that these
people are terrorists,” Morton said of the prosecution’s portrayal of the
17 activists and self-described anarchists.

“These people are anything but terrorists. I mean, I wonder if any of them
would even survive anarchy.”

Among the six who pleaded guilty are the four arrested in pre-dawn raids
hours before the G20 summit began on June 26, 2010: Alex Hundert, his
then-partner Leah Henderson, Amanda Hiscocks and Peter Hopperton. Erik
Lankin and Adam Lewis, both members of the anarchist group AW@L (Anti-War
at Laurier), also pleaded guilty.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Hundert and Hiscocks will be
given the longest prison terms of 13 ½ and 16 months, respectively. Both
will be sentenced in January.

Hundert has already spent five months in pre-trial custody and another
five months under house arrest. Hiscocks was in jail for one month and
under house arrest for nine.

Hiscocks has spent the past few weeks preparing for jail by cleaning out
her apartment and spending time with friends and family, she told the Star
in an interview prior to today’s court appearance.

As an activist, she said she has long been prepared for the possibility
that some day she may wind up behind bars.

“I know a lot of people who do this work end up in jail at some point,”
Hiscocks said.

The arrests of the so-called G20 ringleaders in June 2010 were the
culmination of a year-long investigation by two undercover officers and
eight different police services.

At the June 26, 2010, court appearance for Hundert, Hiscocks, Henderson
and Hopperton, Crown attorney Vincent Paris told the court he was
overwhelmed by the volume of evidence collected on the alleged
co-conspirators.

Prior to a publication ban prohibiting media from reporting trial
evidence, Paris said a plan for violence was put into place over a series
of meetings leading up to the G20 in June 2010. He said the group planned
on hitting targets such as city hall, Metro Hall, Goldman Sachs, The Bay
and various consulates.

As Paris spoke in court during the G20 summit, black-clad vandals were
smashing their way across downtown Toronto and he linked the four
defendants with the “action . . . happening now.”

According to York University law professor Alan Young, a conspiracy case
is often tough to prosecute because it requires proof of an overt
agreement between people who may be loosely connected.

Of the 1,118 people arrested during the G20, more than 140 were charged
with conspiracy, including the 17 described as ringleaders. If the plea
bargain goes through, at least 112 of those conspiracy charges will have
been dropped.

The preliminary hearing for the 17 alleged co-conspirators began Sept. 12,
but was suspended about a week later so the group could enter talks about
a plea deal.

The group has since been embroiled in painstaking negotiations, a
complicated and delicate process involving hours of handwringing and
discussion amongst the multiple co-accused and their respective lawyers.

In an interview with the Star¸ Hiscocks said she was initially vehemently
opposed to striking any deals with the Crown. The 37-year-old longtime
activist said she disapproves of plea bargaining because she considers it
a prosecutorial tactic for eliciting guilty pleas.

But, in the end, Hiscocks agreed a plea deal promised the best possible
outcome for the most people in the group, she said.

“The justice system being what it is, we decided that we weren’t going to
see justice by going through to the end,” Hiscocks said. “We feel like the
most good we’re going to get from the system, for the people in this
group, is going to be through this plea.”

Hiscocks said she believes the charges against her were “politically
motivated” and the group has already been punished by a justice system
that is supposed to presume innocence until proven guilty.

Over the past 15 months, the co-accused have been living either in jail,
under house arrest or subject to restrictive bail conditions preventing
them from doing the community work they devote their lives to, she said.

Everyone has also been prohibited from participating in “demonstrations,”
a word that has been broadly interpreted by the courts. In September 2010,
Hundert was arrested for breaching this bail condition after participating
in a panel discussion at Ryerson University.

“The bail conditions were absolutely ridiculous,” Morton said. “I’ve had
clients charged with manslaughter that had conditions that weren’t this
bad.”

Many of the 17 are also buckling under the emotional and financial strain
of a legal battle being waged at a snail’s pace, according to Hiscocks.

She said people have lost their jobs as a result of the ongoing case and
two of the 17 who stand to have their charges dropped under the deal were
ineligible for legal aid and face an overall legal cost of $150,000 each.
Another co-accused, who would see his charge withdrawn as a part of the
deal, said he faced deportation if convicted.

According to Morton, the case was unlikely to go to trial until next
September at the earliest, more than two years after the charges were
first laid. Some defendants who submitted guilty pleas under the deal will
likely be out of jail and moving on with their lives before the trial
would have started.

Young, an expert on the plea bargaining process, said both sides, the
Crown and defence, have incentives to strike a deal.

“The Crown might perceive there are some weaknesses in the case, the
defence might have some concerns about the claims they want to make,” he
said. “So, ultimately, law of probabilities (says) your best outcome is to
go into court with a joint submission.”

Plea deals also pinch the ballooning costs of a trial, he added. Morton, a
former Crown attorney, estimates the investigation and prosecution has
already cost upwards of $5 million.

But even when people see their charges dropped as a result of a plea deal,
that does not mean they go unpunished, Young added.

“The reality is that the Crown still is victorious in the sense that it
achieves some punitive response without necessarily getting a court
ruling,” he said. “And it’s a very unforgiving process. It doesn’t say
sorry and it doesn’t compensate you for any hardship you suffered.”

Adamiak said she has already spent 20 days in jail and $50,000 defending
herself against charges that would now be dropped under the deal. The
30-year-old York University student said she has depleted her savings to
pay for her defence.

“It’s quite angering to know that the state cast a very wide net at the
G20 and a lot of people had to go through a lot, not just myself,” she
said. “To me, that’s part of the reason why taking a deal to end the
process quickly is what made sense . . . because the process was the
punishment.”

Adamiak admits there were points along the negotiation process where she
felt strongly the trial should proceed.

Ultimately, it was more important to end the process quickly so she and
the others could return to their political work as soon as possible, she
said.

“The use of charges is a fear tactic. It’s to make us fear being part of
particular organizations, to have particular ideologies,” she said. “But,
if anything, it’s made me just much more eager to get back to the things
we were fighting for before.”

Jaggi Singh pleads guilty to urging people to tear down G20 security fence, facing six months prison

[français ci-dessous]

Jaggi Singh pleads guilty to urging people to tear down G20 security fence

Crown asks for six months in prison

"Sometimes you put up walls not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down." - Anonymous
---
Media Contacts (English/French):
Craig Fortier, No One Is Illegal-Toronto: 416-735-0409
Blandine Juchs, Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC), Montreal: 438 323 1456

For updates from the court on April 28, please phone/text: Jessica Denyer, Community Solidarity Network: 416-708-3195
---

TORONTO, APRIL 28, 2011 -- Today, at the Ontario Court of Justice at Old City Hall, Montreal-based G20 protester Jaggi Singh has pled guilty to urging people to tear down the G20 security fence.

Jaggi, a member of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) and No One Is Illegal-Montreal, has technically pled guilty to “counselling to commit mischief over $5000”. His specific crime occurred during a short speech and subsequent replies to media questions during a No One Is Illegal press conference at the $5.5 million G20 security fence on June 24, 2010, just a few days before the G20 conference officially began in downtown Toronto.

Jaggi’s remarks, which will be entered into evidence, can be viewed online in two segments:
i) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ymRoN54CCc;
ii) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9NnAorPigc (begin at :030).

For Jaggi’s words, the Crown is demanding six months in prison, while his lawyer, Peter Rosenthal, is arguing for a much lesser penalty.

In return for Jaggi’s plea, the Crown is withdrawing all criminal conspiracy charges, charges still being faced by 17 other former co-accused who will begin their preliminary inquiry in September.

As part of the plea agreement between the Crown and Jaggi: i) the Crown will not call Jaggi as a witness in any G20-related case; ii) Jaggi’s plea cannot be used by the Crown in any other G20 prosecutions; iii) Jaggi will offer no cooperation to the Crown or the police; iv) Jaggi will offer no apologies for his actions and words; v) the entirety of my agreement will be public and not subject to any publication ban (plea agreement and related exhibits are linked below).

Sentencing arguments are being heard in front of Justice Bigelow at the Ontario Court of Justice today, and it is expected that he will deliver his ruling on sentence on June 21.
----------

The following groups have today issued public support letters in support of Jaggi:

* No One Is Illegal (Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto & Vancouver): On the Justice of Tearing Down Fences and Dismantling Borders

* Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC): In Montreal, In Toronto and Everywhere, the Walls Must Fall!

* Solidarité sans frontières: Déclaration de soutien avec Jaggi

* QPIRG Concordia: A Public Statement in Support of Jaggi Singh

* Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP): Support Jaggi Singh and Resistance to Capitalist Austerity

* Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW): (to be posted shortly)

If your group or organization would also like to write a support letter, or endorse an existing one, please contact the CLAC in Montreal via blocampmontreal@gmail.com
----------

- PLEA AGREEMENT: http://www.clac-montreal.net/sites/default/files/PLEA AGREEMENT - English.pdf

- Exhibit A: Agreed Statement of Facts

- Exhibit B: Jaggi Singh twitter feed (June 3-July 6, 2010)
(Why the twitter feed?: The twitter feed was public and intended for a general audience. The Crown is using Jaggi’s twitter feed (June 3 to July 6, 2010) to highlight that he posted information like: 1) CLAC’s Anti-Capitalist Reader produced before the G20 called “Warning Shot!”; 2) No One Is Illegal statements produced before and after the G20; 3) a video posted by Jaggi (but not produced or made by him) called “Mon voyage à Toronto”, which includes the Dead Prez song “Fuck the Law.” You can access the relevant excerpts of the twitter feed directly at http://www.twitter.com/JaggiMontreal)

- Exhibit C: Jaggi Singh Speech and Q&A at the G20 Security Fence (June 24, 2010)
The speech can be viewed at the following links: i) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ymRoN54CCc; ii) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9NnAorPigc (begin at :030). A transcript of the speech is available HERE.
----------

276 letters were submitted to the judge today in support of Jaggi. Many letter-writers indicated their full support for Jaggi’s words at the fence, and expressed agreement that the G20 security fence should have been removed. All letter-writers have urged the judge to impose a minimal sentence.

Among the groups who submitted support letters for Jaggi (as organizations, or as individuals on behalf of the organization): Anarchist Bookfair Collective (Montreal), Artivistic, l’Association pour la Défense des Droits et l’Inclusion des personnes qui Consomment des drogues du Québec (ADDICQ), Beehive Design Collective, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Center for Community Organizations (CoCo), le Centre des femmes d’ici et d’ailleurs, CKUT Board of Directors, Committee to Aid Refugees (CAR), Le comité exécutif de L’R, Coopérative Nos Rêves (Parc Extension), Community Solidarity Network (Toronto), Dignidad Migrante, le Bibliothèque Anarchiste DIRA, Le Frigo Vert Collective, le Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU), le Front commun des personnes assistées sociales du Québec, le Groupe de Recherche en Intérêt Public de l’Université du Québec à Montréal (GRIP-UQÀM), Head & Hands (NDG), Immigrant Workers Center, Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-économiques (IRIS), JOC-Montréal, Montréal-Nord Républik, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (Oakland, CA), Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (Toronto), OPIRG Toronto, People’s Potato Collective, Prisoner Correspondence Project, le Projet accompagnement solidarité Colombie (PASC), Purple Thistle Collective (Vancouver), QPIRG Concordia, QPIRG McGill, Radical Reference Montréal, Re-Con, le Regroupement intersectoriel des organismes communautaires de Montréal, Solidarité sans frontières, South Asian Women’s Community Centre, Stella, le Table des regroupemens provinciaux d’organismes communautaires et bénévoles, Toronto People’s Assembly on Climate Justice

As well, many more individuals (and other groups) from Montreal, Toronto, as well as all over Quebec, Canada, the USA and overseas have submitted letters of support.

-----
After today’s plea, Jaggi Singh has issued the following short statement:

“By pleading guilty to counseling to commit mischief, I can openly state that the fence deserved to come down, and that the G20 deserved to be confronted. I'll pay a price for having said so openly, but I am ready to assume that responsibility,

I assume that responsibility knowing that I have amazing and deep support from an engaged community of social justice organizers and activists in Quebec, Canada and beyond. I would like to express my profound thanks to everyone who’s offered me support in the past few months, in so many touching and diverse ways.

Importantly, I would like to particularly express a public note of solidarity and support for all remaining G20 defendants who continue to fight their criminal charges. They are all deserving of everyone’s interest and active support, and I encourage all concerned about police and state repression to provide it, tangibly.

By pleading guilty now, I am ending this legal matter, relatively speaking, on my own terms and timetable, and I’m looking forward to returning to the streets and protests of Montreal shortly.”
-----

SUPPORT G20 DEFENDANTS:

- “Support G20 Defendants” Flyer: http://guelphprisonersolidarity.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/new-g20-support...

- Free Byron Sonne: http://freebyron.org/index.php/Main_Page

- Community Solidarity Network Updates: http://g20.torontomobilize.org/

CONTRIBUTE:

- The G20 Legal Fund (Québec): http://www.clac2010.net/en/node/193
"The G20 Legal Fund considers that all arrests occurred in the context of a legitimate struggle against the capitalist policies of the G20, and that all charges should be dropped immediately."

- Guelph ABC G20 Support Fund: http://guelphprisonersolidarity.wordpress.com/g20-support/
"An accessible alternate fund for G20 arrestees, mostly those facing serious charges. The fund is for immediate short-term needs of the defendants."

- The G20 Legal Defence Fund (Toronto): http://g20legaldefencefund.wordpress.com/
"A fund that exists to hold and give out funds raised to support legal costs, fees, and other associated costs of legal defense for people facing charges stemming from the June 2010 Toronto G20 Summit."

INFO: www.clac-montreal.net/en/jaggi

___________________

Subject: Jaggi Singh plaide coupable d’avoir incité les gens à démolir la clôture de sécurité du G20

-----

| Jaggi Singh plaide coupable d’avoir incité les gens à démolir la clôture de sécurité du G20

Pour diffusion immédiate] [English: http://www.clac-montreal.net/en/jaggi]

Jaggi Singh plaide coupable d’avoir incité les gens à démolir la clôture de sécurité du G20

La Couronne demande six mois de prison

TORONTO, LE 28 AVRIL 2011 -- Aujourd’hui, à la Cour de justice de l’Ontario, au Old City Hall, le militant montréalais Jaggi Singh a plaidé coupable d’avoir incité les gens à démolir la clôture de sécurité du G20.

Jaggi, un membre de la Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes (CLAC) et de Personne n’est illégal-Montréal, à plaidé coupable techniquement pour avoir « conseillé de commettre un méfait de plus de 5000$ ». Ce crime a eu lieu pendant un court discours et lors des réponses aux médias qui l’ont suivi, pendant une conférence de presse de Personne n’est illégal. Celle-ci s'est déroulée près de la clôture de sécurité de 5,5 millions de dollars du G20, le 24 juin 2010, quelques jours avant que la conférence du G20 ne débute officiellement, au centre-ville de Toronto.

Les propos de Jaggi, qui font partie de la preuve, peuvent être visionnés en ligne en deux parties : i) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ymRoN54CCc; ii) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9NnAorPigc (à 0:30).

La Couronne demande six mois de prison pour les propos tenus par Jaggi; son avocat Peter Rosenthal, argumentera pour une peine plus clémente.

En échange du plaidoyer de Jaggi, la Couronne retire toutes les accusations criminelles de complot contre Jaggi, des accusations auxquelles font toujours face ses 17 ancien(ne)s co-accusé(e)s dont les enquêtes préliminaires débuteront en septembre.

L’entente entre la Couronne et Jaggi inclut les points suivants: i) la Couronne n’appellera pas Jaggi à témoigner lors d’une cause reliée au G20; ii) le plaidoyer de Jaggi ne peut pas être utilisé par la Couronne lors d’autres poursuites reliées au G20; iii) Jaggi ne coopérera pas avec la Couronne ou la police; iv) Jaggi ne présentera pas d’excuses pour ses actions et ses paroles; v) la totalité de l’entente de Jaggi sera publique et ne sera sujette à aucun interdit de publication.

Les représentations pour la détermination de la peine sont entendues aujourdhui par le Juge Bigelow à la Cour de Justice de l’Ontario et il est prévu qu’il rende sa décision sur la sentence le 21 juin.
-----

Les groupes suivants ont envoyé des déclarations de soutien publique à Jaggi aujourd'hui:

* No One Is Illegal (Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto & Vancouver): On the Justice of Tearing Down Fences and Dismantling Borders

* La Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes (CLAC): À Montréal, À Toronto et partout! Les murs doivent tomber!

* Solidarité sans frontières: Déclaration de soutien avec Jaggi

* QPIRG Concordia: A Public Statement in Support of Jaggi Singh

* Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP): Support Jaggi Singh and Resistance to Capitalist Austerity

* Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleuses des postes (STTP): (à venir)

Si votre groupe ou organisme désire rédiger une lettre de soutien également, ou endosser une lettre déjà écrite, veuillez contacter la CLAC à Montréal via blocampmontreal@gmail.com
-----

ACCORD DE PLAIDOYER

Pièce A: Exposé des faits

Pièce B: Flux Twitter de Jaggi Singh, 3 juin au 6 juillet 2010
(Pourquoi le flux sur Twitter? Celui-ci était public et à l'intention d'un lectorat général. La Couronne utilise le flux du compte Twitter de Jaggi (du 3 juin au 6 juillet 2010) afin de souligner des informations qu'il a diffusées comme: 1) La CLAC publie son journal anti-capitaliste "Coup de semonce!" avant le G20; 2) Des déclarations de Personne n'est illégal diffusées avant et après le G20; 3) Une vidéo diffusée par Jaggi (mais dont il n'est pas l'auteur ni le réalisateur) intitulée "Mon voyage à Toronto", incluant une chanson de Dead Prez nommée "Fuck the Law". Vous pouvez lire les extraits des différents billets directement sur http://www.twitter.com/JaggiMontreal)

Pièce C: Jaggi Singh devant la clôture de sécurité du G20 (24 juin 2010)
Les propos de Jaggi, qui font partie de la preuve, peuvent être visionnés en ligne en deux segments : i) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ymRoN54CCc; ii) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9NnAorPigc (à 0:30). Le verbatim des remarques sont disponsible ICI.
-----

276 lettres ont été remises au juge aujourd'hui en appui à Jaggi. Plusieurs auteurs ont aussi pleinement soutenu les déclarations faites par Jaggi à la clôture et ont exprimé leur accord avec l'idée voulant que la clôture de sécurité du G20 aurait dû être retirée. À l'unanimité, les auteurs des lettres exhortent le juge d'imposer une peine minimale.

Parmi les groupes qui ont envoyé des lettres de soutien à Jaggi (en tant qu'organisme ou en tant qu'individus au nom d'un organisme): Artivistic, l’Association pour la Défense des Droits et l’Inclusion des personnes qui Consomment des drogues du Québec (ADDICQ), Beehive Design Collective, Center for Community Organizations (CoCo), le Centre des femmes d’ici et d’ailleurs, CKUT Board of Directors, Le Collectif du Salon du livre anarchiste de Montréal, Committee to Aid Refugees (CAR), Le comité exécutif de L’R, Coopérative Nos Rêves (Parc Extension), Community Solidarity Network (Toronto), Dignidad Migrante, le Bibliothèque Anarchiste DIRA, Le Frigo Vert Collective, le Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU), le Front commun des personnes assistées sociales du Québec, le Groupe de Recherche en Intérêt Public de l’Université du Québec à Montréal (GRIP-UQÀM), Head & Hands (NDG), Immigrant Workers Center, Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-économiques (IRIS), JOC-Montréal, Montréal-Nord Républik, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (Oakland, CA), Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (Toronto), OPIRG Toronto, People’s Potato Collective, Prisoner Correspondence Project, le Projet accompagnement solidarité Colombie (PASC), Purple Thistle Collective (Vancouver), QPIRG Concordia, QPIRG McGill, Radical Reference Montréal, Re-Con, le Regroupement intersectoriel des organismes communautaires de Montréal, Solidarité sans frontières, South Asian Women’s Community Centre, Stella, le Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleurs des postes, le Table des regroupemens provinciaux d’organismes communautaires et bénévoles, Toronto People’s Assembly on Climate Justice

De plus, de multiple individus de Montréal, Toronto, et de partout au Canada, aux États-Unis et outre-mer ont rédigé des lettres de soutien.

INFO: http://www.clac-montreal.net/jaggi

Anarchist on trial

Ryan Rainville admits to smashing police cars at the G20, but says he never intended to hurt anyone.

By Ava Baccari Now Magazine April 14, 2011

On trial for his actions during the G20 summit last June, Ryan Rainville
told an Old City Hall courtroom Tuesday that he hadn’t originally intended
to inflict damage on property during the fateful march Saturday, June 26.

Rainville, who has roots in the Saskatchewan’s Sakimay Nation but lives in
Waterloo, was one of the eight people included on the infamous most wanted
list Toronto Police released following the G20 and is facing charges of
obstructing a peace officer and assault.

A self-described anarchist, Rainville was one of only six people who were
spent three months at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton following
his arrest in August and is alleged to be part of the group of protestors
who dressed in black clothing and employed Black Bloc tactics during the
riots that erupted at the summit, smashing windows and attacking police
cruisers.

Dressed in a collared shirt and sporting a grown-out Mohawk hairstyle,
Rainville testified that on the Saturday in question he saw a man lunge on
the windshield of a police car parked near Queen and Spadina. Rainville
approached the vehicle, he said, and made two strikes against the
passenger’s side of the windshield with a flagpole he had been handed when
he joined the march at Dundas and University.

Speaking to a courtroom packed with supporters who made several outbursts
throughout the proceedings, Rainville said that when he noticed the bright
yellow jacket of the officer inside the car he pulled away from the
vehicle and slipped back into the sea of protestors continuing east
towards Bay Street. He claimed that if he had known there was someone
inside the car he wouldn’t have attacked it, explaining that he ensured
two cruisers he attacked later in the day were empty.

As Rainville moved with the crowd heading south on Bay, he said he picked
up a hammer that was lodged in a broken window at the BMO Bank of Montreal
on King and plunged it into the emergency lights and rear window of police
vehicle parked at the intersection. He then says he smashed the windshield
of an unmarked police car nearby.

As his mother watched intently from the front row of the courtroom,
occasionally locking eyes with her son in the witness stand, the
soft-spoken Rainville told the court that he’s not opposed to acts of
vandalism as a form of protest “as long as no harm is done to human or
animal life.”

Crown Attorney Elizabeth Nadeau passed photos around the courtroom of a
man dressed in grey track pants, with a black bag slung over his back and
a red flag draping his shoulders, hovering near a police vehicle. The same
man is pictured smashing the rear window of another cruiser parked near
King and Bay streets.

Det. William McGarry, part of the G20 Investigative Unit, identified the
man as Rainville, using separate photos of him taken at events during the
week leading up the G20.

McGarry played video footage showing attacks made on three separate police
vehicles with the man identified as Rainville engaging in destruction at
each scene. In most of the photos, the man conceals his face with a black
T-shirt.

Staff Sgt. Graham Queen, the officer in the first vehicle Rainville
allegedly attacked at Queen and Spadina, testified that he was trailing
the largely peaceful throng of 10, 000 protestors when he noticed the flow
of the crowd heading west along Queen Street sharply turning back. When he
jumped into his squad car to pull back and create more space for the
fast-approaching protestors, he said three men dressed in black, their
faces covered, swarmed the parked vehicle.

One pounced on the windshield, Queen testified, causing it to partially
collapse, as the officer slunk low in his seat. Shards of shattered glass
rained down as two men, one of them allegedly Rainville, smashed the side
windows with wooden poles. Queen says he was struck on the head as another
man hollowed out the driver’s side window.

A member of the Toronto police force for 23 years, Queen said the
experience was the “most frightened I’ve ever been as a police officer.
There was nowhere for me to go. I felt trapped.”

He put out a distress call and within minutes, officers on foot patrol
rushed to the vehicle, and one reached in to pull Queen out of the smashed
car. He recalled the crowd quickly drawing near and chanting “Who’s
streets? Our streets!” while hurling rocks, apples, and what he believed
to be urine at the baton-wielding officers.

The trial resumes May 31.
Apr 14, 2011 at 12:07 AM

Contribute to the G20 Legal Defence Fund in Québec: Our solidarity is stronger than their repression!

From: jbswire@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:42:25 -0500
Subject: [apoc] Contribute to the G20 Legal Defence Fund in Québec: Our solidarity
is stronger than their repression! (+ Guelph ABC G20 Legal Fund)

From: CLAC Montréal blocampmontreal@gmail.com

[Please post and forward widely] [français ici: http://www.clac2010.net/node/194]


[We are re-launching our $5x5000 campaign to raise money for the Quebec-based G20
Legal Fund. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. If you want to support
the Quebec-based G20 defendants, we strongly encourage you to raise money, $5 at a
time, by passing the hat at upcoming events or meetings, and sending the money
directly to the address below. You can also visit one of the many black box
locations in Montreal [google map: http://bit.ly/gsfOIX] or Quebec City. The $5x5000
campaign will continue until June 26, 2011, the one-year anniversary of the G20
resistance in Toronto. More information below.]


[For people reading this appeal from outside Quebec, we encourage your contributions
to the alternative G20 Legal Fund organized by the Guelph (Ontario) Anarchist Black
Cross (ABC). This fund is an accessible alternate fund for G20 arrestees, mostly
those facing serious charges. The fund is for immediate short-term needs of the
defendants. More details about this fund, in English, are available here:
http://guelphprisonersolidarity.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/support-political-prisoners-of-the-g20/]
----------

Contribute to the G20 Legal Defence Fund in Québec!

Our solidarity is stronger than their repression

The G20 Legal Defence Fund in Quebec continues to raise money in support of all
people facing charges in relation to the anti-G20 protests in Toronto in June 2010.

The Fund considers that all arrests occurred in the context of a legitimate struggle
against the capitalist policies of the G20, and that all charges should be dropped
immediately.

The G20 Legal Defence fund is managed by a group of six local anti-capitalist
community organizers who are not facing legal charges themselves, and will ensure
that legal funds are properly disbursed.



HOW TO CONTRIBUTE:

* You can contribute ONLINE via paypal. Visit www.clac2010.net and click on "faire
un don" on the right side of the page.

* You can also make a contribution at one of our many “black box” locations all over
Montreal as well as Quebec City, part of our $5x5000 campaign. In MONTREAL, we
currently have 21 black boxes at
: Café Anthropo (Université de Montréal), Café
Aquin (UQÀM), Café Chaos, Le Cagibi, Casa del Popolo, Comité BAILS
(Hochelaga-Maisonneuve), Concordia Community Solidarity Co-op Bookstore, Coop-Café
Touski, DIRA Bibliothèque Anarchiste, Frigo Vert, Head & Hands, Immigrant Workers
Center, L’Insoumise Librairie Anarchiste, La Librairie Paulines, Maison Norman
Bethune, Okafhé du CÉGEP de Saint-Laurent, Pointe-St-Charles/Little Burgundy Legal
Clinic, POPIR-Comité Logement (St-Henri), QPIRG Concordia, QPIRG McGill, & Syndicat
étudiant du Cégep Marie-Victorin. In QUEBEC CITY, you can make donations at:
Coop-Bar l'AgitéE & La Page Noire. Read more below for details. [Here is a map of
the Montreal locations: http://bit.ly/gsfOIX]

* If you can contribute more, we encourage you to mail us a cheque. Please make any
cheques out to “La Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes” and put “Legal Fund” in
the memo line. You can mail cheques to the following address:


QPIRG Concordia/G20 Legal Fund

1500 de Maisonneuve Ouest, #204

Montréal, Quebec H3G 1N1
* At the next meeting of your group or organization, pass the hat or envelope,
asking for folks to contribute to the $5 x 5000 fund, and then pass by one of our
boxes to make a group contribution, or contact us so that we can pick up your
donation.


HOW TO SUPPORT & PROMOTE THIS CAMPAIGN:


* Share this e-mail callout on announcement lists and with your friends;


* Post the campaign information on your website or blog; the weblink is here:
http://www.clac2010.net/en/node/193;

* Promote the 5000 x $5 campaign on facebook by posting on your wall and/or inviting
your friends; the facebook link is here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140821155977856;

* Download, print and post the poster promoting the campaign; the French poster is
available for download here:
http://www.clac2010.net/sites/default/files/affiche%205x5000.pdf; the English poster
is available for download here:
http://www.clac2010.net/sites/default/files/affiche%205x5000-engv2.pdf
----------



5000 x $5: A campaign to raise $25,000 for the Quebec G20 Legal Defense Fund, $5 at
a time.

In the aftermath of the largest mass arrests in Canadian history during the G20 in
Toronto, many dozens of protesters still face charges. Charges have been withdrawn
against the bulk of people who were arrested from Quebec, revealing the arbitrary
and repressive nature of the arrests in the first place. However, several
Quebec-based community organizers, activists and residents are still facing serious
charges. They are living under house arrest conditions, face several years of
judicial proceedings, and face jail time. Their charges will not be withdrawn any
time soon, and certainly not without a serious legal and political battle.

Our strength in the face of this police and state repression is our solidarity. And
one tangible way to show your solidarity is to contribute to the G20 Legal Defence
Fund (le Fonds de défense légale des accusé(e)s du G20).

We know that the overwhelming majority of us can’t afford to donate much money from
our limited to non-existent incomes. But, collectively, many of us can chip in $5
(or a little more). We’re hoping up to 5000 of you can do so, so that together we
can meet the goal of raising $25,000.

The Quebec-based G20 Legal Defence Fund is prioritizing meeting the legal expenses
of all individuals facing criminal charges and potential jail time (and/or
deportation) related to the G20 protests in Toronto. The fund is based on the
principle that no accused should plead guilty or feel obliged to plea-bargain based
on the lack of funds or resources. The Fund considers that all arrests occurred in
the context of a legitimate struggle against the capitalist policies of the G20, and
that all charges should be dropped immediately.

The G20 Legal Defence fund is managed by a group of six local anti-capitalist
community organizers who are not facing legal charges themselves, and will ensure
that legal funds are properly disbursed.


Since we’re asking for $5 at a time, we ask that you visit one of our “black boxes”
located all over Montreal to make a donation. The black box sites include:

IN MONTREAL:

[Map of Black Box Locations in Montreal: http://bit.ly/gsfOIX]

Café Anthropo (Université de Montréal)

3150 Rue Jean-Brillant

(métro Université-de-Montréal or Côte-des-Neiges)

Pavillon Lionel-Groulx, Local C-3029

lundi au jeudi de 8h00 à 19h00

vendredi de 8h00 à 16h00

contact@assoanthropo.org

Café Aquin (UQÀM)

400 Ste-Catherine est, local A-2030 (métro Berri-UQÀM)

tél: 514-987-3000 ext. 6796

Café Chaos
2031 rue St-Denis
Lundi au vendredi: 15h à 3h
Samedi-dimanche: 17h à 3h
tél: 514-844-0738 ou annabelle@cafechaos.qc.ca

Le Cagibi

5490 St-Laurent (corner St-Viateur)

Monday 6pm-12am

Tuesday-Friday 9am-1am

Saturday 10h30am-1am

Sunday 10h30am-12am

tél: 514.509.1199 or infolecagibi@gmail.com

Casa del Popolo

4873 boulevard St-Laurent (métro Laurier)

tél: 514-284-3804

Comité BAILS (Hochelaga-Maisonneuve)

1455, rue Bennett (telephone in advance)

tél: 514-522-9863
or bails@bellnet.ca

Concordia Community Solidarity Co-op Bookstore

2150 Bishop Street (métro Guy-Concordia)

Monday-Friday: 10am-6pm

tél: 514-848-2046 or coopbookstore@gmail.com

Coop-Café Touski (Centre-Sud)

2361 Ontario est (métro Frontenac)

Lundi: 8h à 16h

Mardi au vendredi: 8h à 21h

Samedi: 9h à 21h

Dimanche: 9h à 16h

tél: 514-524-3113 ou info@touski.org

DIRA Bibliothèque Anarchiste

2035 St-Laurent (métro St-Laurent)

Lundi: 14h à 16h

Mardi: 11h à 16h

Mercredi: 13h à 16h

Jeudi: 14h à 19h

Vendredi: 13h à 16h

514-843-1018 ou dira@riseup.net

Frigo Vert

2130 rue Mackay (métro Guy-Concordia)

Monday to Thursday: 12pm-7pm

tél: 514-848-7586 ou lefrigovert@resist.ca

Head & Hands/À Deux Mains (NDG)

5833 Sherbrooke West (métro Vendôme)

Monday-Thursday: 10am-9:30pm

Friday: 10am-5pm

tél: 514-481-0277 or info@headandhands.ca

Immigrant Workers Center (Côte-des-Neiges)

4755 Van Horne, Bureau 110 (métro Plamondon)

Monday: 13h to 17h


Tuesday: 13h to 20h


Wednesday: 13h to 17h


Thursday: 13h to 20h

tél: 514-342-2111 or info@iwc-cti.ca

L’Insoumise Librairie Anarchiste

2033 St Laurent (métro St-Laurent)

mardi/mercredi 12h-18h

jeudi/vendredi 12h-20h

samedi/dimanche 12h-17h

tél: 514-313-3489

La Librairie Paulines

2653 rue Masson

9h à 18h du lundi au mercredi

9h à 21h jeudi et vendredi
9h à 17h
samedi
11h à 17h dimanche

tél: (514) 849-3585

Maison Norman Bethune

1918 rue Frontenac (métro Frontenac)

mercredi 12h30 à 18h

jeudi 12h30 à 21h

vendredi 12h30 à 21h

samedi 10h à 17h

tél: 514-563-1487 or info@maisonnormanbethune.ca

Okafhé du CÉGEP de Saint-Laurent

625 Avenue Sainte-Croix (métro Du College)
Lundi au Jeudi 7h45 – 18h00

Vendredi 7h45 – 16h30

tél: 514 747 6521 or okafhe@gmail.com

Pointe-St-Charles/Little Burgundy Legal Clinic

2533 rue Centre, bureau 101 (métro Charlevoix)

Du Lundi au Vendredi: 8h30 à 12h00 et de 13h00 à 16h30
tél.: 514-933-8432
or servjur@bellnet.ca



POPIR-Comité Logement (St-Henri)

4017, rue Notre-Dame Ouest (métro Place-St-Henri)

Tél: 514-935-4649 or lepopir@gmail.com

QPIRG Concordia


1500 de Maisonneuve Ouest, #204

(métro Guy-Concordia)

Monday-Thursday 12pm-6pm

514-848-7585 or info@qpirgconcordia.org

QPIRG McGill


3647 University, 3rd floor (métro McGill)


Monday-Friday 11am-5pm


514-398-7432 or qpirg@ssmu.mcgill.ca

Syndicat étudiant du Cégep Marie-Victorin (Montréal-Nord)

7000 rue Marie-Victorin, E-017

Lundi à vendredi: 10-17h

tél: 514 320 0150 poste 2427


[Map of Black Box Locations in Montreal: http://bit.ly/gsfOIX]



IN QUEBEC CITY:

Coop-Bar l'AgitéE

251 Rue Dorchester

tél: (418) 522-6133 ou info@agitee.org

La Page Noire

265 rue Dorchester, Québec

Lundi : Fermé

Mardi au jeudi : 14h-19h

Vendredi : 12h-21h

Samedi et dimanche : 12h-17h

tél : (418) 977-1955



-> If you would like to host a donation box at your organization, anywhere in
Québec, please get in touch with the finance committee of the Anti-Capitalist
Convergence (CLAC) of Montreal at blocampmontreal@gmail.com or by phone at
514-708-9591.

-> You can contribute ONLINE via paypal. Visit www.clac2010.net and click on "faire
un don" on the right side of the page.

-> Please make any cheques out to “La Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes” and
put “Legal Fund” in the memo line. You can mail cheques to the following address:


QPIRG Concordia/G20 Legal Fund

1500 de Maisonneuve Ouest, #204

Montréal, Quebec H3G 1N1

Thank you for considering a donation and contributing to the legal defence of all
people arrested at the G20 in Toronto.

Solidairement,

The Finance & Fundraising Committee of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence of Montreal,
on behalf of the G20 Legal Defence Fund/ le Fonds de défense légale des accusé(e)s
du G20
----------

INFO:
514-708-9591

blocampmontreal@gmail.com

www.clac2010.net

[For people reading this appeal from outside Quebec, we encourage your contributions
to the alternative G20 Legal Fund organized by the Guelph (Ontario) Anarchist Black
Cross (ABC). This fund is an accessible alternate fund for G20 arrestees, mostly
those facing serious charges. The fund is for immediate short-term needs of the
defendants. More details about this fund, in English, are available here:
http://guelphprisonersolidarity.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/support-political-prisoners-of-the-g20/]