Skip to content

Legal System

Judges In TikTok Case Seem Ready To Discount First Amendment

September 29, 2024 Ari Paul, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. , , ,
A US circuit court panel appears ready to uphold a federal law that would effectively ban the popular social media network TikTok because it’s owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. The legal attacks on the video platform—which FAIR (8/5/20, 5/25/23, 11/13/23, 3/14/24) has written about before—are entering a new phase, in which judicial interpreters of the Constitution are acting as Cold War partisans, threatening to throw out civil liberties in favor of national security alarmism. Earlier this year, despite widespread protest (Guardian, 3/7/24), President Joe Biden signed legislation forcing TikTok’s owner “to sell it or face a nationwide prohibition in the United States” (NBC, 4/24/24).

Georgia’s Repressive Tactics Unravel In ‘Stop Cop City’ Case

September 29, 2024 Fight Back! News. , , , ,
Atlanta, GA – In a surprising but significant turn of events, on September 24, Georgia prosecutors have dropped all 15 counts of money laundering against three prominent activists involved in the “Stop Cop City” movement. These activists – Marlon Kautz, Adele MacLean and Savannah Patterson – are leaders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund (ASF), a bail fund that has supported protesters opposing the construction of a controversial police training facility in Atlanta. While the trio still faces racketeering charges, the dismissal of the money laundering allegations nevertheless marks a victory against state repression and exposes the cracks in the state's legal strategy.

Ohio: Haitian Group Files Criminal Complaint Against Trump, Vance

September 25, 2024 Rafael Bernal, The Hill. , , , , ,
A grassroots immigrant advocacy group filed a complaint seeking criminal charges in Springfield, Ohio, against former President Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R), over their role in elevating false allegations about Haitian immigrants abducting and eating local pets. The complaint, filed by Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) in Clark County Municipal Court, alleges that Trump and Vance, by amplifying those claims, had a “direct impact” in spurring the 33 bomb threats that rocked the southwest Ohio city. “Like those who falsely shout ‘fire!’ in a crowded theater, Trump and Vance do not color within the lines of the First Amendment. They commit criminal acts,” the group said.

Legal Challenges Against Rosebank Oil Field Given The Green Light

September 25, 2024 Stop Rosebank. , , , ,
Rosebank will do nothing to lower energy bills, save jobs, or make our energy supply more secure. It will only make billions for oil giants, with the UK public footing the bill through billions in tax breaks. The previous government knew this - and approved the field anyway. We believe that the decision to approve Rosebank was not only a disaster for the climate, and morally and economically wrong, but unlawful.  Claims that drilling Rosebank is compatible with the UK’s obligations and a safe climate doesn't add up - and we will prove it in court. This is now a straight fight between a livable future and oil and gas industry profits. The UK government has already admitted the decision was unlawful.

The Cost Of Resistance

September 17, 2024 Chris Hedges, Scheer Post. , , , ,
This video is a recording of a talk given by Chris Hedges at the Kairos Club London on September 11, 2024. Drawing on his intimate knowledge of resistance and repression, Hedges detailed the methods we need to adopt to defeat the powerful interests, including the fossil fuel industry and the animal agriculture industry, which have placed their profits above the protection of our species and all life on earth. Hedges’ talk is preceded by an audio intro from Roger Hallam. Hallam is part of the “Whole Truth Five,” who are five members of Just Stop Oil who were sentenced last month to the longest ever prison sentences for non-violent protes

US Citizens Among 37 Sentenced To Death Over Congo DR Coup Attempt

September 16, 2024 Al Mayadeen, Orinoco Tribune. , , , , , ,
Three US citizens were among 37 defendants sentenced to death by a military court on Friday for their involvement in a failed coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in May. On May 19, armed men briefly seized control of a presidential office in Kinshasa before security forces killed their leader, US-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga. Among the Americans on trial were Malanga’s son, Marcel Malanga, and his friend, Tyler Thompson. Thompson had accompanied Marcel to the DRC. The third American, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, was a business associate of Christian Malanga.

Official Statement By Chairman Omali Yeshitela On Behalf Of The Uhuru 3

September 15, 2024 Hands Off Uhuru, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
On September 12, 2024 a jury in the federal courthouse in Tampa, Florida repudiated the more serious charge of the U.S. government’s frame-up of the Uhuru 3 by finding myself, along with Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, NOT GUILTY of being agents of the Russian government. The prosecutors unleashed a barrage of lies and distortions of the law, along with deliberately confusing jury instructions, to mislead the jury into returning an inconsistent verdict, convicting us on the lesser charge of “conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States,” which we intend to appeal and are confident we will win. But more importantly, the jury’s “not guilty” verdict on the “Russian agents” charge means that the jurors agreed with the legitimacy of our efforts to advocate for the liberation of Africa and African people.

Four Palestine Action Activists Walk Free After Jury Refuses To Convict Them

September 15, 2024 The Canary. , , , , , ,
In Bradford Crown Court, a two-week trial ended against four Palestine Action activists, with the jury on Friday 13 September refusing to convict them of charges of ‘criminal damage’ after they shut down an Israel-supplying military electronics firm in April 2024. Palestine Action: A Jury Concurs, Kind Of The jury had been out for deliberations since 2:30pm on 11 September, after the trial commenced on 3 September. The Palestine Action activists will now face a retrial. The ‘Shipley Four’ occupied the premises of ‘Teledyne Defence and Space’, at Airedale House, Shipley, for over 14 hours on 2 April, six months into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, to prevent its manufacture of weapons parts used for war crimes.

Climate Lawsuits Against Fossil Fuel Companies Have Nearly Tripled

September 13, 2024 Oil Change International. , , , ,
Washington, DC – 86 climate lawsuits have been filed against the world’s largest oil, gas, and coal producing corporations – including BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies – with two in five cases involving claims for compensation for climate change damages linked to fossil fuels. The number of cases filed against fossil fuel companies each year has nearly tripled since the Paris Agreement was reached in 2015, according to a new report, titled Big Oil in Court – The latest trends in climate litigation against fossil fuel companies by Oil Change International and Zero Carbon Analytics. The analysis reveals the intensifying legal pressure on fossil fuel corporations responsible for 69% of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions, the main driver of the climate crisis.

Uhuru 3 Found Not Guilty Of Being Russian Agents

September 12, 2024 Hands Off Uhuru, Popular Resistance. , , ,
On the morning of September 12th, the jury returned a verdict in the free speech trial of the century, where Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel faced bogus charges of working as Russian agents.  The 12 person jury concluded a not guilty verdict on count number two, “failure to register as a foreign agent,” in other words, working as agents of Russia. This was the big charge that carried an up to ten year prison sentence. The jury contained no black jurors, but to their credit, they saw clearly that African people have agency and sovereignty over their actions. 

Uhuru 3 Trial: FBI Lead Investigator Exposed, Both Sides Close

September 11, 2024 Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa!. , , , ,
On Monday, September 9, 2024, the free speech trial of Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel began its second week. Proceedings were delayed because two jurors had not arrived. One of the missing jurors arrived late and then at 9:45am, Judge William Jung declared that he would give the other absent juror 30 more minutes and then would remove her from the jury. Attorney Mutaqee Akbar raised the fact that the missing juror was the only African on the jury. He asked the judge to replace her with the sole African juror in the pool of alternates who have been seated in the jury box throughout the trial. The judge refused and seated a white juror. The 12-person jury now has no African members.

Update On The Uhuru 3 Free Speech Trial Of The Century

September 8, 2024 Hands Off Uhuru, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
Tampa, FL—The first week of the free speech trial of Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel left observers shaking their heads and asking how the government has dedicated 30 FBI agents over the course of 3 years, conducted military raids on peaceful U.S. residents, offered a $10 million reward for information and still has no case. With only one witness left, the prosecution has failed to present any actual knowledge or evidence of the government’s baseless charges that the Uhuru 3 are “secret pawns in a Russian government conspiracy to sow political discord and interfere in elections”.

Uhuru 3 Trial Enters Second Day

September 7, 2024 Fight Back! News. , , , ,
Tampa, FL – As the trial of the Uhuru 3 enters its second day, the prosecution calls its first witnesses. The Uhuru 3 are members of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and the Uhuru Movement who are charged with conspiracy and “acting as agents of the Russian government within the United States without prior notification.” The courtroom was packed with supporters of the defendants. Many had traveled from all across the country to be there. The prosecution first called Professor Brian Taylor, a professor of political science, to the stand as a witness. Taylor’s role in the trial was to provide background information on the Russian intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Free Speech Trial Of Uhuru Three Begins In Tampa

September 5, 2024 Phil Wilayto, Popular Resistance. , , ,
The trial of the Uhuru 3 opened this morning at U.S. District Court in downtown Tampa, Judge William Jung presiding. The defendants in the highly politically charged case are facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted of charges that they have been operating as unregistered agents of a foreign government, Russia. The three defendants are Omali Yeshitela, the longtime chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party; and white supporters Penny Hess, chair of the African People's Solidarity Committee, and Jesse Nevel, chair of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement.  As noted in a post by the Hands Off Uhuru! Coalition, the 82-year-old Yestitela “has protested every U.S. war that has taken place during his lifetime.”

Venezuela Issues Arrest Warrant for US-Backed Former Candidate

September 5, 2024 Ricardo Vaz, Venezuelanalysis. , , , ,
The Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office has issued an arrest warrant for former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González. On Monday, state prosecutor Luis Ernesto Dueñez requested that the Court of First Instance with competence over terrorism-related matters approve the order to arrest the US-backed politician for the charges of usurpation of functions, public document forgery, instigation of law-breaking, conspiracy, sabotage and association to commit crimes. Later in the day, Judge Edward Briceño approved the warrant and tasked the CICPC investigative police unit with executing it.
«12345678910»
Sign Up To Our Daily Digest

Independent media outlets are being suppressed and dropped by corporations like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our daily email digest before it’s too late so you don’t miss the latest movement news.