Subject: AUT: Fwd: Anarchist gets sentenced to 7 years
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 16:50:42 -0400


it should be noted that the riot in eugene was sparked by police harrassment
of the poor community and anarchists, specifically during the protest. 

an example of the harassment is that the parents of a 15-year-old anarchist,
suspected of taking part in an anti-nike direct action, were held on their
floor with guns pointed at the back of their heads for three hours while the
police searched their house and confiscated materials. 

a comrade who was in eugene this summer said that the poor neighborhood,
where many of the anarchists in eugene live, is much like a small, overtly
police state. full of the frustrations and tensions you'd expect. and he
should know, he's been to vietnam.

my understanding is that the situation is eugene is grim do to the overt
hostility of the power structure and business interests against the
poor/working class communities.

soli!
jeff.

>[Resulting from the riot in Oregon this summer. 
>Thaxton is a Political Prisoner and deserves our 
>full support. Notice the stereotypical use of 
>"self-described anarchist" by the so-called
>"journalist". Fuck the Police. -Duff]

[and the press. --jeff.]

>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>Sentence for rioter: 7 years in prison 
>By ERIC MORTENSON
>http://www.registerguard.com/news/19991014/1a.rockthrower.1014.html
>
>The Register-Guard
>
>Amid the fury of the June 18 riot in downtown Eugene, Robert Lee Thaxton
>threw a softball-sized rock that hit a police officer in the upper right
>chest and nearly broke his clavicle.
>
>On Wednesday, a judge dropped the hammer on Thaxton.
>
>The self-described anarchist was sentenced to seven years and four
>months in prison, a surprisingly stiff term that police and prosecutors
>said should be a clear signal that violent social protest won't be
>tolerated.
>
>"That's about as strong a message as you can send, I would say," said
>Steven Skelton, chief deputy in the Lane County district attorney's
>office. "In our view, that's an appropriate message to send.
>
>"Citizens have no more right to commit crimes during demonstrations than
>they do any other time," Skelton said. "This case is not about the
>expression of rights, it is about assaultive criminal behavior."
>
>Meanwhile, the attorney who defended Thaxton during his trial, Charles
>Porter, predicted that Thaxton's conviction will be overturned on
>appeal. He said the district attorney's office did not disprove
>Thaxton's claim that he was acting in self-defense when he threw the
>rock.
>
>But Sgt. Larry Blackwell, the officer who was hit by the rock, said the
>sentence imposed by Judge Mary Ann Bearden ought to send a message not
>only to Thaxton, but to other rioters who threw rocks, hurt officers and
>damaged property but didn't get caught.
>
>"The main thing I wanted was some justice," Blackwell said. "I think I
>got justice. That was the whole thing; people think we were out for
>revenge, but I just wanted some justice."
>
>Thaxton, 39 and a native of Texas, was convicted Sept. 3 of
>second-degree assault and rioting. The assault charge is a Measure 11
>crime, carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 70 months - five years
>and 10 months in prison.
>
>The surprise came in the sentence tacked on for the rioting charge.
>Given Thaxton's record - car theft, drug possession and a minor theft
>charge - the presumptive sentence under state guidelines was probation.
>
>However, Bearden chose to depart from the guidelines and sentenced
>Thaxton to 18 months in prison on that charge. What's more, she chose to
>make the terms consecutive rather than fold in the rioting sentence with
>the assault term.
>
>The total sentence adds up to 88 months, or seven years and four months.
>
>Thaxton could have fared worse. Blackwell said he might have shot
>Thaxton if he'd had time to react to the rock attack. 
>
>"To him and the rioters, violence was a trivial part of this thing to
>them," Blackwell said. "It bothers me, it's pretty distressing; officers
>are put in situations where we could have used deadly force. Being put
>in that position is not a very pleasant one."
>
>The June 18 riot sprang from an anarchists' protest downtown against
>global economic powers and other perceived oppressors. When the event
>heated up, rioters broke windows, pounded on cars, blocked traffic and
>threw rocks and bottles. Twenty people were arrested, eight officers
>were hurt, and one motorist who felt threatened hit an anarchist on the
>head with a wrench.
>
>Blackwell, supervisor of the department's Rapid Deployment Unit, or RDU,
>had been chasing another man just before Thaxton threw the rock. The man
>darted into a crowd, and Blackwell was hit on the helmet by a thrown
>bottle. He paused, then approached Thaxton.
>
>"Here, the evidence was uncontroverted," said Porter, the defense
>attorney. "It says in the (police) report: The sergeant moved first,
>then Rob threw the stone. It shows who the aggressor was."
>
>Thaxton testified during his trial that he was afraid Blackwell would
>hit him, and that he tried to throw the rock over Blackwell's head as a
>diversion so he could escape. He also said he was afraid to leave the
>scene because he thought he would be singled out and beaten.
>
>He admitted carrying the rock but said he had intended to smash the
>window of an unoccupied police car in retaliation for what he thought
>was police mistreatment of protesters.
>
>The rock hit Blackwell in the chest with such force that it bent his RDU
>insignia into a V shape. The rock hit under his clavicle and skittered
>up over his shoulder. Although Blackwell was wearing a protective vest,
>he was badly bruised. He said a doctor told him that his clavicle would
>have been shattered if the rock hadn't hit his unit pin.
>
>"The thing that bothered me the most was, when he testified he had a
>smile on his face," Blackwell said. "He said he was at the riot for four
>hours, he described it as festive, and he was afraid to leave.
>
>"It's an insult to me as well as other police officers who were injured,
>and any of the citizens who were attacked that day. In reality, he was
>the person out there trying to hurt somebody."
>
>
>-- 
>Chuck0
>http://flag.blackened.net/chuck0/home/
>
>Dr. Laura is scared of this sig file
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>
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>
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