Posted on 02/04/2011 5:43:05 PM PST by Beaten Valve
The Orange County district attorney’s office on Friday charged 11 defendants with conspiring to disrupt a meeting and a speech by the Israeli ambassador to the United States at UC Irvine last year.
The move comes after about 50 protesters rallied in front of the Orange County district attorney’s office Tuesday. Though some have criticized the students’ method of protest, many said that university punishment was sufficient enough for the “Irvine 11,” as the students came to be known.
In a statement, Orange County Dist. Atty.Tony Rackauckas said the case was filed because of an “organized attempted to squelch the speaker.” He also said the students “meant to stop this speech and stop anyone else from hearing his ideas, and they did so by disrupting a lawful meeting.”
“We must decide whether we are a country of laws or a country of anarchy,” he said. “We cannot tolerate a pre-planned violation of the law, even if the crime takes place on a school campus and even if the defendants are college students. In our democratic society, we cannot tolerate a deliberate, organized, repetitive and collective effort to significantly disrupt a speaker who hundreds assembled to hear.”
The Muslim Student Union, which denied planning to obstruct the speech, was suspended by the university. It was one of the first instances in recent memory in which the school recommended the ban of a student group for an action other than hazing or alcohol abuse. Individual students were also disciplined by the university.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
Deport those on student visas let them protest in their own country.
Best news I have heard in a very, very long time!
How come this doesn’t happen when libs protest a conservative guest speaker at these college?
You know, when the Lefties come out to defend the likes of these idiots, we should have 10,000 people there to say hello.
Haven’t we rolled over enough?
A conservative speaker, I believe, if I remember correctly, a then serving or former Reagan Admin official, was shouted down and denied his right to speak on the Univ. of Wis.-Madison (my alma-mater, for whatever that means) campus, back in the 1970s-early ‘80s. The only time I’m aware of that this tactic succeeded there, although it had been tried repeatedly, and no doubt has also since.
The prosecutor will charge them with disturbing the peace, the ACLU will come running and demand a jury trial, the DA will offer a plead deal that they will turn down and then the charges will be quietly dropped.
Welcome to California.
Although I share your pessimism, at least the Orange County D.A. (Tony Rackauckas) actually charged the SOBs. That’s a first. Whether they wimp out and drop the charges - remains to be seen. I’m just shocked that the D.A. has taken it this far. He’s certainly not from the Bay Area.
ditto
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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We must decide whether we are a country of laws or a country of anarchy
Tony Rackauckas
Good for Tony Rackauckas. Wonder what Eric Holder has to say. I wonder what Hillary Clinton has to say, this was an Ambassador to the United States forced off the stage. Heck, I wonder what Barak H has to say.
I suppose the suppose the supporters of New Black Panther Party voter intimidations don't have much to say about denying a Jew the right to speak.
Am I too harsh?
Because no one files a lawsuit claiming damages.
Starting hitting the universities in their pocketbooks and they’ll slowly wake up.
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