NOTE: I'm throwing this up quickly as I hear things. Will update any details which need correction, as I learn them.
Despite "
no evidence of criminal intent or wrongdoing on the part of the activists", mainstream media is promoting the story that three Occupy protesters are terrorists who planned to bomb several places. They don't mention that the only people who planned and procured materials for Molotov Cocktails were undercover agents.
Bail for the 3 defendants is being set a $1.5million apiece. Could this turn out to be The Big Trial of this political movement?
Authorities have been treating Occupy protesters as "low-level terrorists" from day one. I remember being taken aback by seeing "Anti-Terrorism Unit" on the backs of officers' jackets at Zucotti Park. That's how the Powers That Be are treating it now if you exercise your 1st Amendment rights.
Over the months, there have been many attempts to instill fear that the Occupy movement will be violent. Though tens of thousands of people have been in the streets since September, the media will focus everyone's attention on any single act of property destruction to convince the public that Occupiers are nothing but vandals.
Months later, that imagery hasn't panned out with reality. We keep taking to the streets without leaving the media with any good images of our terrorist intentions. Reality be damned, the FBI will take care of that. If the shoe doesn't fit, they'll shove one on anyway.
In a pre-protest raid, three protesters in Chicago have been arrested and accused of planning to bomb Rahm Emmanuel's house and more. Though there is zero evidence that any of the arrestees have done anything illegal, they are being charged with terrorism. However, their attorneys have noted that the only one planning and procuring materials for Molotov Cocktails were the undercover FBI agents who glommed onto the Occupy protesters.
This is a pattern we've seen since September, 2011, isn't it? Almost every case of arrests made on US soil, of US citizens supposedly planning terrorist acts end up having a backstory involving our own law enforcement officers. Those officers tend to be the ones suggesting, prodding, planning and supply the materials for whatever plot the hapless folk who made the fatal mistake of speaking out against our government end up being arrested for.
How long will the American people bury their heads in the sand about the nature of this? How many people have to be set up as terrorists and thrown into the "enemy combatant" category with no rights, whereupon they are tortured long enough before a sham trial for us to recognize that human rights are no longer existent in this country?
If this charges aren't dropped in this case; if it goes to trial; I hope we see some of the biggest protests we've seen, yet. This is bogus and it has to stop. If our government is so afraid of us gathering in the streets to tell them what we want, then they need to admit that they are so off course they should be listening, not shutting us up with the use of force and the wielding of the power to destroy lives.
There is a protest gathering for the bond hearing at 3:30pm in Chicago. If you're near there, please go. You can see the livestream here.
CORRECTION: I had originally heard that it was FBI agents who were undercover. Apparently, the Chicago Police have now admitted that they have infiltrators and it looks like these arrests were coordinated by them. Will update this information as I learn more.
11:54 AM PT: TO CLARIFY: Maybe I typed to fast to make my point clearly. There is no evidence that there were any molotov cocktails. Yet, there are media outlets reporting that NLG lawyers are accusing the authorities of entrapment, which suggests that there was evidence. What I am seeing is a collusion between authorities willing to trump up charges and the media willing to promulgate that message without fact-checking. We need to pay attention to this.
LINKS: (will add links as I find them)
11:58 AM PT: Per dear occupant: The Chicago Tribune is now reporting that "the FBI, Secret Service and Homeland Security had been involved “from the get-go.”"
12:22 PM PT: This is the video that the three defendants made earlier in the week of police harassment: