Rally for Human Dignity and Pack the Courthouse for Nanci

***If you can come at 2pm, please be prepared to do so even if you can't be there in the morning.***

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Calls to action:
*Follow the Facebook event page for updates and information (http://www.facebook.com/events/1625282964431883/)
*Show up at the 8am rally on Monday, November 7, 2016 at courthouse (661 Washington St, Oakland, CA 94607)
*Pack the court (Arraignment is scheduled for 9am. Please note that we are showing support, not asking for direct action at this time. Please be respectful of the families of other impacted folks that may need access to the courtroom.)
*Contribute to the bail and legal fund (http://www.paypal.com, send to aptpinfo [at] gmail.com)

Court Support Details:
We will meet at 8:00 AM for a rally in front of the Wiley Manuel Courthouse. The court arraignment starts at 9:00 AM in Department 112 at Wiley Manuel (661 Washington St in downtown oakland) They may not have a decision on the charges and may have us come back at 2 PM.

The tone for this court support action is RESPECTFUL and COURTEOUS. When there's a time to turn up in the future, we will let you know, but today is not that day. Please be mindful that multiple systems-impacted families will be in the court to support their loved ones. If you are asked to leave to make room for any of these folks, please politely do so.

If you can't make it out on Monday, you can also support Nanci Armstrong-Temple and Michelle Lot's ongoing legal expenses with a PayPal donation. The PayPal email is aptpinfo [at] gmail.com.
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The Anti Police-Terror Project, together with the Nanci for Berkeley Campaign, faith leaders, and allies, urges the Bay Area community to come out on Monday and rally around our most vulnerable neighbors. We will take a stand against the City of Berkeley's coordinated campaign to criminalize homelessness which has manifested as the criminalization of life itself. The Berkeley Police continue to mercilessly carry out their role as the shock troops of gentrification, selectively enforcing unjust laws against unhoused persons.

Residents of all our cities, regardless of housing situation, have a right to self-determination and dignity. All people, and especially our elders, deserve to live free and safe from state-sanctioned terror and abuse. Nobody should have to sleep with one eye open, hoping a police officer will not drag them out of their home in the middle of the night, barking at them to hurry up and ordering them not to dare try to set up a new home down the street.

That is precisely what happened at 5:00 AM - under the cover of night and away from the general public’s eyes - on November 4, 2016. Witnesses say the Berkeley Police Department violently raided an encampment of community members residing in tents at the corner of Fairview and Adeline Streets. Police forced residents out of bed and into the streets, seizing their property and arresting four people. The encampment had served as a safe place for those seeking shelter from the rain and cold.

Among those arrested Friday was District 2 City Council candidate and Anti Police-Terror Project member Nanci Armstrong-Temple, who responded to calls for help. Armstrong-Temple implored the police to stop the eviction, to treat the homeless residents with care and to provide reasonable accommodations to those with visible disabilities. Instead, the police used force and threats to clear the encampment. When the police dragged away an elderly woman who was pleading for her cane, Armstrong-Temple verbally demanded to know what they were doing. Without warning or cause, Armstrong-Temple was slammed to the ground by Berkeley police. She was arrested and faces two false charges: one charge of felony “lynching” and one charge of resisting arrest.

The use of the word lynching is a form of psychological abuse that is being employed to torture activists in the movement for black lives. White supremacists have historically used lynching as a method of criminalizing and terrorizing Black people into submission after the the 13th Amendment gave birth to a new kind of slavery - forced labor by those convicted of a crime. The pointed use of this charge against a Black woman verbally objecting to elder abuse highlights the continued enslavement of Black and Brown bodies. This is the third recent case of a prominent black woman activist being accused of this act when protesting wrongdoing by law enforcement.

Berkeley Police Department’s violent terrorizing of sick and elderly people at the tent city and the apparent endorsement of their conduct from Gregory Daniels of the City Manager’s office is disgraceful. This was a strategic act to do on a Friday, as many of the affected individuals would likely have had to spend at least the entire weekend in jail.

Please visit the following links for statements on the matter:
https://www.periscope.tv/w/1rmxPbnloLQGN
https://www.periscope.tv/w/1YqJDjXYNEkKV

#APTP #BPDGuiltyAsCharged #HomesNotHandcuffs #FreeEmAll