While Latinos aren’t surprised that the US government would use terrorist tactics, Americans are just learning this. Continuing a long history of oppression of South America, in July 2013, the US government in a warlike move against Bolivia forced down a plane carrying the president, Evo Morales. They didn’t do this by sending fighter jets to engage. Instead, the US got the government of Portugal to refuse permission to land for refueling, and the plane had to turn back and land in Austria. The US was searching for Edward Snowden, who had leaked information on the extent to which the US government spies on its own citizens. The attack on President Morales’ plane was a new 21st century tactic.
In the US state of Michigan, governmental terroristic tactics are directed at Rev. Edward Pinkney a leader who, with others, fought and mobilized voters in the small town of Benton Harbor to recall the local mayor. The Benton Harbor City and County Clerks verified enough signatures as valid to call a recall election of Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower.
Instead of setting the election to occur, local authorities had Rev. Pinkney arrested on bogus charges of voter fraud. He posted bail and is at home with an electronic monitor. That the full might of the government would be turned on a small-town preacher who participated in collection of only about 400 signatures shows that, in fact, the government is frightened of its own people. There was an emergency financial manager (unelected dictator) in Benton Harbor, but the people got past that tactic. As electronics and robotics result in widespread poverty and unemployment in Michigan, the government has to turn to new tactics in desperation to preserve itself.
At Rev. Pinkney’s preliminary hearing on May 30, 2014, the prosecutor was forced to admit, “There is no direct evidence to connect Pinkney to this crime,” Defense attorney Tat Parish asserted. “There is no evidence, just supposition, that a crime was committed….” The prosecution is falling back on a claim that circumstances point to Rev. Pinkney—meaning he’s a political leader, so they blame him.
In an attempt to cut Rev. Pinkney off from his strong base of support, the court issued a completely unprecedented order that neither he nor his wife (who isn’t criminally charged at all) can use a computer. His alleged “crimes” didn’t involve use of a computer but circulating paper petitions and getting handwritten signatures, so the gag order cannot be justified.
Courts have ordered fraudsters and child pornographers not to use their computers for those activities. The purpose is to protect society and the victims. But that is just an order limiting the use of the computer in specified ways. No case has been located in which an unconvicted person is ordered entirely to stop using a computer. This is a new 21st century way of imposing isolation on an accused. The case and the gag order show the new lengths to which the fascist government will go to stop people from using the very electoral machinery to which people are constantly exhorted to limit their political activity.
Like the tactics used against President Morales, new 21st century means of isolation are imposed on Rev. Pinkney. We cannot allow this to continue. Rev. Pinkney’s case is not just another of the many injustices that occur every day in the US criminal court system. It represents a political attack on all of us and the use of new means of trying to isolate and smash our struggles. The united national defense of Rev. Pinkney shows this won’t happen.
For more information go to
www.BHBANCO.org.
