ACAC 19 Hearing: No Justice Here

On Friday afternoon, an array of approximately 100 supporters attended a pretrial motions hearing for the ACAC19. The ACAC19 is a group of nineteen political dissidents arrested in San Francisco on Columbus Day while demonstrating in solidarity with indigenous, global and local struggles against imperialism.

The crowd trickled in from around the Bay, gathering on the steps of the San Francisco Superior Courthouse, sharing pizza, conversation and a supporter’s impromptu puppet show. “All Cops Are Columbus,” read a sign taped near the steps until a cop tore it down. A big banner stretched across the face of the building declared “No Justice Here! Against All Repression.” Ali Winston, who often whistle-blows on corruption of the Bay Area police departments, was the only journalist present.

A long line of supporters and defendants slowly filed through the metal detectors. The officers turned off the second metal detector, making the line move so slowly that the hearing was over before many people, and even some defendants, were through the line. Later, in the courtroom, the supporters, defendants and nineteen defense lawyers sat across from Judge Harold Kahn. The Judge extended the motion-filing deadline, which is now March 14. The final pretrial motions hearing will be scheduled for a full day on March 29. The defense will be filing a pitchess motion, a motion to expose involved officers’ records of abuse. There will also be a motion to quash search warrants placed on defendants’ phones. “Wait,” Judge Kahn implored during the hearing: “Why would you need a search warrant for a case like this?”

“Good question,” everyone in the courtroom shrugged.

In addition to sustaining comrades as individuals, to defending a community as a whole, solidarity and support raise the costs of repression to the state. Political as well as material costs. In this way we not only care for each other with our solidarity but we force the repressive apparatus to refigure its decisionmaking, its calculations behind future acts of repression. Not only a defense, solidarity is a weapon.

Come show solidarity on March 29and regularly check the ACAC19 supporters website for updates. If you can’t physically attend, call the SF District Attorney and demand all charges be dropped against the comrades.