Protester June Brashares is escorted off the convention floor on the final night of the Republican National Convention on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004, in New York. Associated Press photo by Ted S. Warren
Posted on 06/21/2005 4:29:08 PM PDT by TFFKAMM
A California woman who staged a protest inside the Republican National Convention last September while President Bush was speaking went on trial Tuesday on charges of kicking and injuring a security official.
June Brashares, 40, of San Francisco, is on trial in Manhattan's Criminal Court charged with misdemeanor assault, attempted assault, disorderly conduct and harassment in connection with the incident on Sept. 2, 2004.
Assistant District Attorney Jessica Troy said Brashares kicked and opened a wound on Sean Flanagan's leg as he and another RNC floor official took her out of Madison Square Garden's main hall during Bush's speech.
Troy said Brashares, a member of a women's anti-war group called Code Pink, had been standing on a chair, "screaming at the top of her lungs" and holding a banner that read, "Bush Lies. People Die."
"Ms. Brashares kicked the two men as they were removing her from the hall," Troy told the jury in opening statements. She said a kick opened a wound in Flanagan's leg, causing profuse bleeding. Flanagan was treated at Bellevue Hospital and released.
Troy also told the jury that Brashares, who had entered convention hall with a legitimate floor pass, was not on trial for her political beliefs. "This case is not about politics," she said. "It's about disorderly conduct."
Brashares' lawyer, Robert C. Gottlieb, disagreed, telling the jury that the only reason Brashares was "attacked by a gang" was because her banner and comments were anti-Bush. For this he said, "They pulled her off a chair and dragged her away."
Flanagan, Brashares' alleged victim, was the trial's second witness. "My shins were black and blue" after the kicks, he testified. He showed the jury his left leg and the scar that resulted from the laceration, which required 10 stitches to close...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Protester June Brashares is escorted off the convention floor on the final night of the Republican National Convention on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004, in New York. Associated Press photo by Ted S. Warren
Why is she being tried in San Fransisco?
Where's that great photo from a Bush rally of an agent pulling another shrill woman's hair. I loved that.
Is it worth getting a criminal record?
Former Green Senate candidate Medea Benjamin, founder of Global Exchange and Code Pink, was also removed by security earlier in the convention when she unfurled a banner calling for an end to the Iraq War.
The GPCA charged that the treatment of those jailed for peacefully protesting at the contention is unconscionable. Reports from the jails indicate that hundreds of those detained were not allowed to see lawyers, were fed rotten food, not provided drinking water and forced to sit in floors covered with chemicals. A New York State Supreme Court judge Friday ordered the city to release hundreds of people who had spent 48 hours or more in jail and fined NYC for contempt of court after it failed to comply.
"The abuse of those who dissent is unconscionable. Law enforcement is supposed to protect and serve, not to abuse and oppress. I applaud those whose bravery and courage in exercising their Constitutional rights has incarcerated them," said Tom Hutchings, a retired law enforcement officer and Green candidate for 33rd AD (San Luis Obispo).
"The expression of opposition to the actions of our government is being forcibly repressed," said Pat Gray, GP congressional candidate, 12th CD (San Francisco/San Mateo).
"The New York City police are acting like an occupying army, brutalizing U.S. citizens for daring to exercise their right to dissent. How tragic for our country that, under the current regime, free speech only exists when it's convenient for our rulers," said Terry Baum, Green congressional candidate in the 8th CD (San Francisco).
-30- The Green Party of California
Yep, same old argument. The liberals have argued, many times successfully, that the 1st Amendment gives them the unlimited right to be a public nuisance, stop fellow citizens from successfully commuting, and prevent legal commerce. They're wrong.
Ooops, my fist slipped... sorry. Here's your nose; it must have fell off after my knuckle made contact.
Trajan88
So thats what a liberal looks like.. :D
WHY WERE THESE PEOPLE GIVEN CREDENTIALS?
More on the JUNE......
"A coalition of groups for clean, affordable, public energy protested today outside the gates of Camp Pendleton. We demanded that George Bush Jr. ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to implement wholesale energy price caps immediately!!
Media Contact: June Brashares, Global Exchange: 510-551-9689 "
Have to ask PETIE Wilson that....maybe he was mad because he got taken out as Governor of CA???
That's a long way from San Francisco.
The cops were absolute ANGELS with those protestors... they were too light on them by far. I remember the last night of the convention I was on a train going back to long island, and this guy who had been maced by the cops was screaming and drunk. He being loud and annoying on the train... the ticket guy kept saying he was going to call the cops onto the train if he didn't shut up, but never did.
I don't understand though, was it a secret that she's a member of the green party or a member of this commie/homosexual group? It's almost like they didn't anticipate protests. They need to do a better job next time, alot of people want to shut us up or shout us down.
Pete Wilson was being a gentleman, giving her a chair.
That's what Republican gentlemen do.
You mean someone in Code Pink went bonkers and violent? No way...
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