SUPPORT STEVE SWART, DEFEAT GOVERNMENT FRAMEUP!
A young Anarchist, Steve Swart is one of those few defendants still on
trial
for the protests at last Summer's Republican National Convention in
Philadelphia.
Like many young people, he came to protest the farce of U.S. democracy
at
this event and how the polictical system is totally controlled by
money.
He came to try to present a poor people's agenda, to protest the
massive
use of prisons against Black youth, the hypocrisy of racist, fat cat
politicians
and thier corporate political handlers, against years of police
brutality
and cop murders, the frameup of Mumia Abu Jamal and other political
prisoners,
the rape of the environment, and many other issues, all of which were
in
opposition to the police state and the corporate agenda. Because of
that,
Steve and thousands of others were crushed by an army of Philadelphia
police,
State police and federal agents of various stripes, whose role was to
silence
all dissent during this event. During the convention, the Philly cops
beat
and maced thousands of these people in the streets, kicked and
handcuffed
them, just like they do the locals everyday, especially in Black and
Brown
neighborhoods.
This was the ugly face of government repression come out of hiding, the
same police force that dropped bombs on MOVE and killed babies, and
that
burned an entire neighborhood down; the same cop force who spied on and
attacked the Black Panther Party in the 1960's, making them disrobe at
gunpoint
in the streets; the same cops who harassed and framed up hundreds of
people
in the 39th precinct on bogus drug charges, and then stole their
houses,
clothes, cars, and other personal effects; the same police force that
railroaded
Mumia Abu Jamal to the death chamber; this same police force and its
judiciary
has now got Steve Swart by the throat. Yet it is he who faces over ten
years
in prison for allegedly assaulting a cop, and he is among a group of 15
felony defendants still awaiting trial. Well, the wait is finally over
for
Steve Swart, he goes on trial on July 16, 2001.
While Swart is accused of attacking the officer, he argues the opposite
is actually true. He says the officer attacked him, and then someone
else
knocked the cop down. At that point the officer pulled out his gun.
(This
was all shown on television). Swart believes that the police and
prosecutors
concocted the story of the "assault" to cover for how *out of control*
the
officer in question looked on tv. The "assault" Swart is accused of is
even conveniently not contained in the television footage, leading to
the
unmistakeable conclusion that this entire incident is a scam, a total
malicious
prosecution by government authorities. The government wants to crush
this
young man to set an example against others, and to get yet one more
serious
activist off the streets.
All over the country, activists are being thrown into jail for protests
against government policies. They still have Black, Chicano and Native
political
prisoners from the 1960's and 70's in state and federal prisons like
Sundiata
Acoli, Herman Bell, Leonard Peltier, Ruchell Magee, and many others.
Now,
we have a new generation, and we cannot let the government crush all
forms
of political dissent in this country, just because they selectively
pick
out anyone they consider a leader or grassroots activist with
potential.
The government itself violates the laws that it writes and maintains on
the books, we cannot let the people be crushed because of its
hypocrisy.
I have known Steve Swart for many years, when he was a student at
Michigan
State University. He invited me to speak at a forum against racism and
police
brutality, afterwards he and a number of students had discussions with
me
over the course of the next few days, which have lasted us for years.
If
there is any word I could use to describe it is that he is serious. Now
he faces years in prison for daring to speak out against the
government.
We are always taught in this country that it is "different" because
dissidents
are not retaliated against by the state, but those of us who have been
active
for years know that this is one of the worst lies of a hypocritical
society.
The fact that he is an Anarchist is sure to be used as "evidence" in
court
of his "criminal activism" against the state, just as it has always
been
used against Anarchists, and if we don't help the man, he will be
railroaded
to prison.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP STEVE SWART?
We can help Steve by:
(1) Going to the trial in Philadelphia. If you live there, or are on
the
East Coast especially, please attend the proceedings. Or provide
lodgings
for those coming in from around the country.
(2.) Make a donation to The Committee for the Legal Defense of Steve
Swart,
c/o Michigan Activist Legal Defense, P.O. Box 6236, East Lansing, MI.
48826
(3). Send letters of protest or faxes to :Lynne Abraham, District
Attorney's
Office, 1421 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA. 19102
written by: Lorenzo Komboa Ervin