Add your name to tell SF District Attorney: Drop the charges against Inauguration Day protesters

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Add your name to tell SF District Attorney: Drop the charges against Inauguration Day protesters

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón

Bay Area activists need your help. Please add your name to an open letter to SF District Attorney George Gascón to drop repressive charges against protesters.

For more information, check out their message to you below:

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Dear friends, supporters, and community members,

The J20 Resisters are facing charges stemming from a protest in the Bay Area on Inauguration Day 2017. On that morning, we took action in opposition to the atrocity of the openly violent, white supremacist Trump administration taking power, and in solidarity with families and communities facing greater danger and oppression under this regime.

Nearly a year later, SF District Attorney George Gascón has chosen not to drop our charges, despite hundreds of calls and emails from supporters who see our actions as principled opposition to Trump’s rule. We remain unwavering in our commitment to justice and steadfast in resistance to this administration and the frightening escalation of political repression. We believe the City should be dedicating its resources to protecting those most vulnerable under the new government, not squandering resources on criminalizing dissent.

We are asking you to sign on to this letter to San Francisco elected official, DA Gascón, adding your name, organization, and/or business to the growing list of those who refuse to allow this repressive prosecution to continue.

In community,
The J20 Resisters

Sponsored by

Daily Kos

To: San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón
From: [Your Name]

We implore you to drop all charges against the J20 Resisters. By doing so you will be acting in accordance with the San Francisco values you have committed to uphold.

By continuing to press these charges, you are sending a message that prosecuting these community activists is the best use of the resources of your office, and you are aligning yourself with the dangerous trend toward repression in the wake of Trump’s election. The Trump administration directly contradicts the values of San Francisco that you claim to uphold as District Attorney. This is the moment to take a stand in support of social justice and the protection of civil liberties, the very values that compelled the J20 Resisters to act on Inauguration Day.

One year ago, you spoke at a news conference on hate crimes, acknowledging that Trump’s election “has given people license to act on their hate.” You stated “If we don’t stand up today because we are not Muslims, because we are not Latinos, because we are not gay or lesbian, there will be a day when they will be coming after you and there will not be anyone there to stand up with you.”

The J20 Resisters chose to stand up against hate in solidarity with our Black, Muslim, Latino, LGBTQ, and immigrant neighbors and community on inauguration day. You continue to press charges against activists whose actions are consistent with the values you articulate.

You argue that you must press charges against these brave activists in the interest of “public safety,” yet the J20 Resisters acted in the direct interest of public safety on inauguration day -- the public safety of our marginalized community members targeted by Trump’s oppressive policies.

While no one was harmed by the principled actions of the J20 resisters, thousands are harmed daily by this administration’s political maneuvers. We ask that you recognize that the public safety of the diverse communities in San Francisco includes resistance to this hate, bigotry, and violence.

The J20 protests demonstrated to the world that a national resistance would be activated every step of the way, starting from day one of this new administration. This was an emergency and these protesters knew that Trump’s election required them to take immediate action. Despite acting out of such a pressing need, eleven months later, the J20 Resisters are still being charged, and now face a trial in the spring of 2018.

We believe San Francisco should be protecting those most targeted by this new administration, not squandering resources to prosecute protesters. We know that many residents of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area agree.

District Attorney Gascón, we call on you to follow through on your commitment to social justice, and to San Francisco. Join us on the right side of history, and drop the charges against the J20 Resisters.

Sincerely,
Friends of J20 Resisters and our undersigned supporters