I received this email from Brian Michaels a few days ago and am passing it on.
Just an FYI, these cases stem from the incident created by the US Forest Service at Kid Village
on July 3, 2008 at the Wyoming gathering which occurred just about dinner time. (the videos you see all over the internet). Sky was the sister arrested in Kid Village. Roses was arrested up on the road following the entire parade that ended up by the USFS vehicles.
As Brian points out in his email, it was the video's that played such a huge part in this outcome. Keep them coming. I will disagree with Brian one bit - I refuse to use the word "riot" as that's the terms the USFS labeled what happened and as we all know, the cops are always the good guys in a "riot". I much prefer "incident" or "policy brutality".
At any rate, this is great news. Justice has prevailed.
******BEGIN FORWARDED EMAIL**********
Howdy
it is with great delight to announce ~~~~the cases against Roses and Sky have Been DISMISSED
I having been working with these attorneys from the beginning on getting these charges dismissed; discussing all aspects of videos, witnesses and why these cases will not be tried by a US Attorney, bringing them along, resisting any plea offers..
these two women were the only ones who were arrested after the kid village police created riot and did NOT take the deal everyone else took /..
they stood their ground for us all -- and WON ~!~ they deserve our gratitude and appreciation for their courage against these monsters.
once again--- our best defense against these unruly LEO's is the truth --- and our best proof of the truth is our Videos.
without these videos, our people and the truth stand much weaker against the force of lying LEO's in Court....
earlier on, around last November, Vermin and Osey's charges were dismissed... that is a pretty good track record or Wyoming..
B
************END*********************************
Monday, September 21, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Legal Update From Free Assembly Project
A big shout out to all the people helping family with legal issues. You rock!
Here's an update I received yesterday.
*****BEGIN ORIGINAL EMAIL*********
__PCU_//\_Free Assembly Project____
St.Louis MO - www.Free-Assembly.org
_//\_________________________________an Association of Volunteers__/
26 August 2009 PUBLIC INFO POST
Rainbow Charges Dropped in Wyoming
~ 2 of 3 Defendants are Off the Hook
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
During the infamous 'Kid Village Incident' at the Rainbow Gathering in Wyoming, Skye Laurel Riggs and Rose Stanley were assaulted and charged with 'Interfering' by Forest Service LEO's.
That was July 3, 2008... since then, the criminal proceedings have dragged for nearly 14 months.
Today, with trials finally set 5 weeks away, we were informed by defense attorney Ron Kopriva that these prosecutions would be dropped: Dismissals will be filed by the U.S. Attorney's office shortly.
The remaining case against Dale Kellogg -- pulled from a car in the parking lot, tazed and beaten the day before -- is reportedly in negotiations. The driver's license and 'Resisting' citations have been dismissed, and the Government has proposed a "pre-trial diversion" on the remaining 'Interfering' charge: a year probation, then expungement. Kellogg has not yet seen the deal or instructed his attorney on what to do, but it looks like the Feds want to duck his trial too.
There is good cause for a sense of relief, but don't call these 'victories'. After enduring police violence and perjury, then protracted burdens of criminal defense, denied speedy trial, these victims have only avoided further injustice. The core issues of LEO intimidation tactics against the Gatherings will not be aired or adjudicated, and the Perp-Cops are not in jail.
Still these outcomes are instructive: In these extraordinary cases in a remote venue, what the defense lawyers needed were good info on prior 'Rainbow' cases, ready reliable witnesses & evidence, and a bit of support (and scrutiny) in the public interest. That's what we gave them... last winter when we landed solid affidavits and authenticated videos on their laps, the winds began to change.
The upshot: Predatory prosecutions prey on the weak; if they can't eat you, they won't fight. So, strong defenses are better... put up good facts, raise the big issues, get 'constitutional' about it.
And the tenacity of these defendants standing up for their rights and sticking it out -- this has been decisive. It was Roses who got 'Fed up' with the lies and delays, and pushed her lawyer in July to set a trial date... and she told him to convey a message to the U.S. Attorney: "Bring it on."
Public outrage doesn't hurt either... if you think that the U.S. Attorney should show a bit more good sense and fully dismiss the last charge against Kellogg, call him and tell him so:
Jason M. Conder, US Attorney's Office:
P O Box 449 - Lander, WY 82520
(307) 332-8195; Fax: (307) 332-7104
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Keep On Keepin' On,
Here's an update I received yesterday.
*****BEGIN ORIGINAL EMAIL*********
__PCU_//\_Free Assembly Project____
St.Louis MO - www.Free-Assembly.org
_//\_________________________________an Association of Volunteers__/
26 August 2009 PUBLIC INFO POST
Rainbow Charges Dropped in Wyoming
~ 2 of 3 Defendants are Off the Hook
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
During the infamous 'Kid Village Incident' at the Rainbow Gathering in Wyoming, Skye Laurel Riggs and Rose Stanley were assaulted and charged with 'Interfering' by Forest Service LEO's.
That was July 3, 2008... since then, the criminal proceedings have dragged for nearly 14 months.
Today, with trials finally set 5 weeks away, we were informed by defense attorney Ron Kopriva that these prosecutions would be dropped: Dismissals will be filed by the U.S. Attorney's office shortly.
The remaining case against Dale Kellogg -- pulled from a car in the parking lot, tazed and beaten the day before -- is reportedly in negotiations. The driver's license and 'Resisting' citations have been dismissed, and the Government has proposed a "pre-trial diversion" on the remaining 'Interfering' charge: a year probation, then expungement. Kellogg has not yet seen the deal or instructed his attorney on what to do, but it looks like the Feds want to duck his trial too.
There is good cause for a sense of relief, but don't call these 'victories'. After enduring police violence and perjury, then protracted burdens of criminal defense, denied speedy trial, these victims have only avoided further injustice. The core issues of LEO intimidation tactics against the Gatherings will not be aired or adjudicated, and the Perp-Cops are not in jail.
Still these outcomes are instructive: In these extraordinary cases in a remote venue, what the defense lawyers needed were good info on prior 'Rainbow' cases, ready reliable witnesses & evidence, and a bit of support (and scrutiny) in the public interest. That's what we gave them... last winter when we landed solid affidavits and authenticated videos on their laps, the winds began to change.
The upshot: Predatory prosecutions prey on the weak; if they can't eat you, they won't fight. So, strong defenses are better... put up good facts, raise the big issues, get 'constitutional' about it.
And the tenacity of these defendants standing up for their rights and sticking it out -- this has been decisive. It was Roses who got 'Fed up' with the lies and delays, and pushed her lawyer in July to set a trial date... and she told him to convey a message to the U.S. Attorney: "Bring it on."
Public outrage doesn't hurt either... if you think that the U.S. Attorney should show a bit more good sense and fully dismiss the last charge against Kellogg, call him and tell him so:
Jason M. Conder, US Attorney's Office:
P O Box 449 - Lander, WY 82520
(307) 332-8195; Fax: (307) 332-7104
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Keep On Keepin' On,
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Incident Command Report
A kind brother FOIA'd the incident command report from the Wyoming Gathering 2008.
It's available here in PDF format. WARNING! It's 44 megabytes. Please download and distribute freely.
It's available here in PDF format. WARNING! It's 44 megabytes. Please download and distribute freely.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Cleanup Report
This is a cleanup report by a person who stayed to the very end of cleanup for Wyoming. It's in PDF format and very large as it has a narrative and pretty photos.
Click here for cleanup report.
There are lot of photos with voice narrative we did not use in the report. The photo name and the WAV file name are the same or similar. The Audio explains what you're seeing in the photo. You will need an appropriate media reader installed for your web browser.
To view all of them, click here.
Click here for cleanup report.
There are lot of photos with voice narrative we did not use in the report. The photo name and the WAV file name are the same or similar. The Audio explains what you're seeing in the photo. You will need an appropriate media reader installed for your web browser.
To view all of them, click here.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Arrest Statistics from Wyoming Gathering
I posted some information on another blog I have based on FOIA requests to the US Forest Service and the Federal Court in Wyoming. Click here for more info. You'll find summary statistics on citations, arrests, fines gatherers paid and more. In case you were wondering how much money the kangaroo court brought in, hope on over and find out. There is also summary information by the USFS year by year on arrests and cititaions.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Defendents who were arrested at Rainbow Gathering on July 3
So the three people arrested have their court dates coming up and we are especially looking for a video that was taken up on the road as the cops were amassing and a woman was yelling at them.
I have spoken to one person who saw it at Kid Village right after the incident was over, but he does not know whose video it was or what became of it.
I have heard second hand that someone else saw it and it showed the woman being pepper sprayed.
If we don't turn up this video and/or witnesses of this portion of the event, a single mom could be sent to jail. PLEASE pass this info on to everyone you can think of. If you have info, you can send it directly to the usual Rainbow legal suspects or you can send what you have to me and I will forward it on.
Let's not allow our family to go to jail. United we stand ....
Love,
Karin
I have spoken to one person who saw it at Kid Village right after the incident was over, but he does not know whose video it was or what became of it.
I have heard second hand that someone else saw it and it showed the woman being pepper sprayed.
If we don't turn up this video and/or witnesses of this portion of the event, a single mom could be sent to jail. PLEASE pass this info on to everyone you can think of. If you have info, you can send it directly to the usual Rainbow legal suspects or you can send what you have to me and I will forward it on.
Let's not allow our family to go to jail. United we stand ....
Love,
Karin
Monday, October 6, 2008
ACLU Report Direct From Linda Burt, Executive Director
Dear Rainbow Family Gathering Participates:
As a result of a number of press articles regarding conflicts at the 2008 Rainbow Family Gathering in Wyoming the Wyoming Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union requested complaints, narratives or reports regarding individuals experiences at The Gathering. We were particularly interested in a conflict that occurred in “kiddy village”. Kiddy village is an area set-aside for those participants that have children and is particularly directed to children’s experience.
There are no official Rainbow Family representatives, documents or incorporations. It is my understanding they have been gathering since the 1970’s and generally believe in non-violence and alternative lifestyles. They gather once a year in national forests to pray for the planet and for peace.
One of the United States Forest Service’s (USFS) press releases regarding the 2008 Rainbow Family Gathering stated that “about 400” Rainbow Family members surrounded a squad of officers trying to leave the “kiddy village” area after an arrest. The press release also stated that Rainbow Family members threw sticks and rocks at federal officers. Both the USFS and the Rainbow family agree the incident started when officers arrested a family member for an alleged drug offense.
The accounts of the experiences of individuals at this years gathering came from a number of sources: many of the reporters were long time Rainbow Family members and participants, some were casual or first time attendees and others Wyoming residents that just wanted to see “what was going on.” Among our reporters were doctors, lawyers, National Guard members, a nurse, and a retired carpenter from Lander. One of the telling items in all of the reporting was how similar the experiences were. The similarities maintained=0 Adespite the date, time, number of people reporting, age, or place of occurrence. These similarities in experiences and allegations provided an added element of validity to the reporting.
The USFS has stated that they are simply at the gatherings to “handle the perimeter” and to deal with “specific problems”. The reality of their presence seems very different however.
*****Report continues - to read the rest and see the email headers, click here***************
As a result of a number of press articles regarding conflicts at the 2008 Rainbow Family Gathering in Wyoming the Wyoming Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union requested complaints, narratives or reports regarding individuals experiences at The Gathering. We were particularly interested in a conflict that occurred in “kiddy village”. Kiddy village is an area set-aside for those participants that have children and is particularly directed to children’s experience.
There are no official Rainbow Family representatives, documents or incorporations. It is my understanding they have been gathering since the 1970’s and generally believe in non-violence and alternative lifestyles. They gather once a year in national forests to pray for the planet and for peace.
One of the United States Forest Service’s (USFS) press releases regarding the 2008 Rainbow Family Gathering stated that “about 400” Rainbow Family members surrounded a squad of officers trying to leave the “kiddy village” area after an arrest. The press release also stated that Rainbow Family members threw sticks and rocks at federal officers. Both the USFS and the Rainbow family agree the incident started when officers arrested a family member for an alleged drug offense.
The accounts of the experiences of individuals at this years gathering came from a number of sources: many of the reporters were long time Rainbow Family members and participants, some were casual or first time attendees and others Wyoming residents that just wanted to see “what was going on.” Among our reporters were doctors, lawyers, National Guard members, a nurse, and a retired carpenter from Lander. One of the telling items in all of the reporting was how similar the experiences were. The similarities maintained=0 Adespite the date, time, number of people reporting, age, or place of occurrence. These similarities in experiences and allegations provided an added element of validity to the reporting.
The USFS has stated that they are simply at the gatherings to “handle the perimeter” and to deal with “specific problems”. The reality of their presence seems very different however.
*****Report continues - to read the rest and see the email headers, click here***************
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