ANTI-RACIST 28 CLEARED!
By One People's Project

Almost all charges were dropped against anti-racist activists who demonstrated against neo-Nazis arriving in town to attend a racist rally at the US Capitol on August 24. The activists were charged with attacking the racists while they were parked at the Baltimore Travel Center inside their chartered bus, and were facing a combined total of 1,177 years behind bars.

According to James Rhodes, attorney for the "Anti-Racist 28," the case was incredibly weak, much of it relying on a video which could not identify any of the assailants because of the rain and the bus door which blocked much of the scene. "There was no way in determining what role if any the defendants played (in the assault)." Rhodes said. Two charges still stand, but Rhodes says he expects those also to be thrown out before the scheduled Oct. 31 court date.

The attack, which was on a bus of neo-Nazi skinheads reportedly from Michigan, left a number of them injured and their bus, in the words of one "demolished," The 28 defendants, who included a lawyer that was a legal observer for the demonstrators, reportedly did not arrive on the scene until after the assault. No one knows who was responsible. Over the past month, support for the Anti-Racist 28 was widespread, September 23rd being declared an International Day of Solidarity for them. Meanwhile the Nazis compiled the defendants' addresses they obtained from police records and spread them throughout the Internet. Among them was the Libertarian Socialist News, run by Bill White, a person close to the National Alliance (NA), the white supremacist group who sponsored the racist rally outside the Capitol. In a post reportedly signed by him on the DC Indymedia website, he said that as soon as the NA got the addresses of the anti-racists they would all be dead. On Sept. 11, there were reports of neo-Nazis visiting some homes, but no incidents of violence were reported, despite White's reporting that some anti-racists in Pittsburgh were beaten.

Another person that made the case a primary concern as well as obtaining information on the defendants was Tina "Labrat" Edwards, a member of EURO, a group founded by David Duke who fled the country last year while facing tax charges. According to her, three of her colleagues were injured in the melee, one needing medical attention. She wanted to attend the court date on Oct. 31, but reportedly has since moved from Michigan to California to live with a boyfriend. This has not been confirmed.

Deicide, one of the defendants who was working for Indymedia when he was arrested, said that he is not concerned with any of their activities, and it will not deter him from doing what he believes is right. He is concerned with the possibility that police in the area simply picked up those activists that they did not want to participate in the counterdemonstrations at the US Capitol. This charge of detainment, where activists are arrested on flimsy charges only to see them dismissed, was also heard regarding the 649 activists coming to demonstrate against the IMF. "We were profiled," he said. "We weren't arrested for what we did, we were arrested for who we were. I think that as in practice a sharp warning to people who do anti-Nazi work, that you are being watched by a state that views you as dysfunctional, but not the National Alliance as dysfunctional in what they do."

Regardless, Deicide says that he is happy that everyone was able to beat the system at its own game and are now able to continue on with their work. "I think that all systems of authority need to be challenged, no matter what they are, but the one that doesn't seem to be challenged all that much is the monopoly over the economy," he says about his primary focus. "It seems to be central in every other system of authority, including race and gender."

The benefits and fundraising efforts that are either planned or underway are still going ahead to help offset legal fees.