Defend The RNC8! Town Hall Meeting

Sunday, 1/25th @ 3-6pm @ Walker Church, 3104 16th Ave S, Minneapolis

In what appears to be the first use of criminal charges under the 2002 Minnesota Patriot Act, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner has charged 8 anti-RNC organizers with four Felony Conspiracy charges, including Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism. The potential consequences of these charges are enormous. Not only could we lose 8 of our friends and allies to prison, it also creates a dangerous precedent for the suppression of dissent.

The Friends of the RNC8 invite you to join us at a Town Hall meeting to get updates on the case and discuss what we can do to defend our friends and community members. Topics covered will include: updates on the case; repealing the MN Patriot Act; using political pressure to get the charges dismissed; creating a broad-based RNC 8 Defense Committee; and other strategies for resisting the attack on our loved ones and the larger movement.

Support Committees, like Friends of the RNC 8, are the first line of direct support for activists facing or serving prison time. But these committees don’t typically have the ability, by themselves, to wage major campaigns for high-profile causes. This is where you can plug in. We’ve already been in touch with many Twin Cities activists excited to form the backbone of a new group mobilizing around the special circumstances of the RNC 8 case, and we hope you will join them.

Featured Speakers include:
*Coleen Rowley–Retired FBI agent, TIME Magazine’s 2002 Person of the Year
*Phyllis Kahn–MN State Representative (DFL-59B)
*Peter Rachleff–Professor of History, Macalester College
*Michelle Gross–President, Communities United Against Police Brutality
*Meredith Aby–Anti-War Committee
*Mordecai Specktor–Publisher of American Jewish World, Father of Max
Specktor

Speakers will be followed by small-group sessions and participatory
discussion, with a focus on action! The event is free and open to the
public. Snacks and child care will be available. Organized by the Friends of the RNC 8. FFI: info@rnc8.org