In the case of Sergio Ballesteros, authorities in California have resorting to an old law that was meant for something else to take away his civil liberties. This is just another reason why people across the nation are demonstrating against the power elite.
It’s enough like 1984 to pass the sniff test…it stinks. Then I see headlines like this:
…and they make me wonder, are we so different? Aren’t we fighting Big Brother too? The answer is the 99 ers who are going to force the damn pols into change…one way or the other.
“Sergio Ballesteros, 30, has been involved in Occupy LA since the movement had its California launch in October. But this week, his activism took an abrupt turn when he was arrested on a felony charge — lynching.
Under the California penal code, lynching is “taking by means of a riot of any person from the lawful custody of any peace officer," where "riot" is defined as two or more people threatening violence or disturbing the peace. The original purpose of the legal code section 405a was to protect defendants in police custody from vigilante mobs — especially black defendants from racist groups.
Whether its use in this case will be upheld by California’s courts is uncertain. But the felony charge — which carries a potential four-year prison sentence — is the kind of accusation that can change the landscape for would-be demonstrators.” (Read more here)
Ballesteros is not the first protester to face this 1933 California law. Occupy Oakland activist Tiffany Tran, 23, was arrested Dec. 30 and charged with "lynching." At an arraignment four days later, prosecutors opted not to file the charges, the San Francisco Bay Guardian reported. They could change their minds until the one-year statute of limitations expires.
No comments:
Post a Comment