{"article":{"id":83220,"heading":"Follow Up Action for Connole","author":"johnk","created":"2003-09-18 17:34:04","modified":"2013-11-11 00:26:08","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:26:08","article":"\n

THE FBI HAS VIOLATED OUR CIVIL RIGHTS BECAUSE OF OUR POLITICAL VIEWS

Please forward this information widely. Your individual support is

needed to free an innocent man.

On September 12th Josh Connole, a known environmentalist and peace

activist, was arrested by the FBI. The FBI is accusing Josh of being

involved with the arson and vandalism of SUV dealerships in West

Covina CA, resulting in over a million dollars of damages. The FBI

is charging the WRONG man! Although they have no evidence connecting

Josh to this incident, the FBI, along with the ATF, had been

following him for several weeks. After his arrest, the FBI turned

their attention to his home, the Regenerative Cooperative, also home

to 14 other co-op members, and surrounded the house for hours while

waiting for state and federal warrants to search the co-op. After a

grueling and dehumanizing wait, Regen V was searched by the FBI and

ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) while residents stood out on

the streets watching their home being torn apart throughout the

night. Among items seized were over half a dozen computers; most of

Regen's residents are students from the Claremont colleges, CalPoly

Pomona, and Cal State Fullerton. Regen V is a Cooperative that

promotes environmental sustainability and community.

This is a prime example of the government targeting visible

activists in order to instill the fear among American citizens that

innocent people will be persecuted for peacefully trying to bring

about positive social change through exercising their first

amendment rights.

Join us in the effort to protect our civil liberties and seek legal

action against the goverment agencies involved in the unjust search

and seizures.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

We need HUNDREDS of letters written to:

editors of all newspapers

your representatives and congresspersons

independent media and other internet sites

School Papers

any organization or business that can write resolutions in support

of Josh's innocence

anywhere you can think of – we need to get the word out!

We NEED financial contributions to the Josh Connole Defense Fund for

legal fees and other expenses related to this issue

We NEED computers because the FBI confiscated ours



We NEED video cameras for documentation

Please send all checks and material donations to

The Josh Connole Legal Defense Fund

at 997 Bradford Street Pomona CA 91767

ph#: (909) 469-5100

Josh has been RELEASED, which is good, but a baffling contradiction

was quoted in the press:

\"West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez said the case against Connole,

who still remains a suspect, could not be presented to prosecutors

within the required 48-hour period.

'Once we put all the evidence together, we will file at a later day,'

Lopez said. 'We still consider him a player in this incident.'\"

This statement seems to continue to vilify, besmirch, and hold up to

public ridicule. City of West Covina should clarify and retract this

utterance.

Please continue to write letters to the City until a better account

is offered. Josh would not have been released except for a lack of

evidence. The idea that \"the case could not be filed in time\" is

ludicrous and insulting in the opinion of many.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"I'm forwarding this from a NPJ mailing list. Support Connole. THE FBI HAS VIOLATED OUR CIVIL RIGHTS BECAUSE OF OUR POLITICAL VIEWS ","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2003\/09\/83220.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}