UC Berkeley commits 1st hate crime against WWI Veterans

On Friday August 5th Cal broke their promises of not cutting the old growth Oak trees in the grove until all the plaintiffs had their day in court. There are two plaintiffs still in the Court of Appeals (Panoramic Neighborhood Assoc. and the Oaks Foundation which included Late City Council woman Donna Spring) but on Friday they entered the Grove with the intention of isolating the tree-sitters in the Redwood and giving 72 hour notice of coming for the trees a agreement worked out with the Chief Of Police Victoria Harrison and Grove leaders Zachary RunningWolf and Ayr. This move happened on the weekend when the majority of the Berkeley radical community was at the conventions in Denver and Minneapolis. The deception of isolating the tree –sitters alone with coinciding court date for Indigenous leader Zachary RunningWolf continued and by the afternoon the lying came to a crescendo with the bum rush of the trees in the Grove because the Appellate court had dropped the injunction order on the protection on the trees. The representing lawyer Steven Volker said publicly that he was working on the California Supreme Court to reinstate the injunction. With no time to loose the University using a huge Earth mover and began knocking down trees with reckless abandon. By cutting down the trees in the Grove UC Berkeley has committed the first Hate crime against the World War Memorial (which is a state offense). The tree sitters still in the redwood (4 in total) and vow to stay prohibiting The university (UCB) from committing a second Hate crime by disturbing an Ohlone burial ground( 18 bodies were found in 1923 during the construction of the stadium –reference to Cal’s own EIR) which is a federal crime.

The clearance given by the appellate court to the university shows the depth of this institution. The action of the university clear cutting the grove even after the save oaks community and the top officials of the university have signed documents agreeing to mediate the situation shows how desperate they are to continue their imperial legacy. The university has never entered negotiations in good faith.

The fight continues… The Ohlone burial still remains for us to protect. Four brave warriors remain in the Redwood tree. The UC police are threatening forcible removal on Monday morning 8am, community presence is imperative.