Drop all charges against Alexander Dial

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt

Update 2/24/21: We are increasing our petition goal to 7,500 signatures. Keep an eye out for more action items, content about Alexander's story, and our plans for delivering these signatures to D.A. Mike Schmidt!

Given the events of 2020 and early 2021 namely the historic uprising for racial justice in the wake of the killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmed Arbury, and George Floyd, the early departure of former Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill after the election of Mike Schmidt in May 2020, the continuing escalation of far right violence and harassment against the Portland community including DA Schmidt himself, the charges of conspiracy and insurrection against many members of Proud Boys leadership including Joe Biggs, the lack of any complainant or witnesses in this case, and the recognition of the legal false equivalence between anti racist community defense and white supremacist authoritarian violence we are calling on D.A. Mike Schmidt to immediately lift all pretrial release conditions and drop all charges against Alexander Dial.

  • Alexander Dial (38) was arrested on August 17th, 2019, during an un-permitted rightwing rally in Portland, Oregon and charged with (in descending order of severity and sentence).

    Assault II x2 (Class B felony)

    Unlawful use of a weapon (Class C felony)

    Riot (Class C felony)

    Assault III (Class C felony)

    Unlawful Use of a Taser (Class C Felony)

    Criminal Mischief (Class A Misdemeanor)


  • No one was injured in any of the cases pertinent to Mr. Dial’s charges. In fact he intervened in at least one instance to protect a Portland resident from an assault with a hammer by Neo-Nazi group American Guard, whose members crossed state lines bearing concealed firearms, in order to attack Portland.

  • 18 Months have passed since Mr. Dial’s arrest. The new DA, Mike Schmidt, has not elected to take any action on Mr. Dial’s case. DA Schmidt won his election by promising to oppose Measure 11 charges, as well as granting case-by-case consideration for Portland’s unique situation of ongoing protests supported by the 1st Amendment.

  • Mr. Dial continues to labor under oppressive pretrial conditions which strip him of his 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th Amendment rights.

    • No gatherings, no bars, no leaving the house after dark, no participating in protests (1st Amendment)

    • May not own or operate firearms (2nd Amendment)

    • subject to search of person or premises including Urinalysis anytime (4th Amendment)

    • Excessive bail on inflated charges (8th Amendment)

Charges

  • Assault 2 x2: Class B Felony. Sentence: 5 years 10 months MINIMUM (approx. 6 years hard time), Probation, $250,000 Fine (x2) (Measure 11 crimes)

  • Assault 3: Class C Felony. Sentence: Up to 5 years, Probation, $125,000 Fine

  • Assault 4: Class A Misdemeanor. Sentence: up to 1 year, Probation, $6250 Fine.

  • Riot x2: Class C Felony.  Sentence: Up to 5 years, Probation, $125,000 Fine.

  • Unlawful Use of a Weapon: Class C Felony. Sentence: Up to 5 years, Probation, $125,000

  • Criminal Mischief: Class A Misdemeanor. Sentence: Up to 1 year, Probation, and $6250 Fine.

  • Unlawful Use of Taser: Class C Felony.  Sentence: Up to 1 year, Probation, $6250 Fine.


Grand Total Fines: $768,750

Grand Total Max Imprisonment: 29 years 8 months

It is obvious to the Portland community that these charges were brought to further a narrative that conflates community defense against white supremacist violence in the face of police inaction and complicity with the very violence that stormed government buildings in the wake of the 2020 election and conspired to murder elected officials. Given the lack of viable evidence or testimony it seems likely that this case will end in yet another jury nullification. The delay to proceed and disinterest from Mr. Dial's prosecuting attorney shows a lack of faith from the state in their ability to make a case, and yet is happy to waste state resources in this dead end pursuit. If D.A. Mike Schmidt believes in our justice system we call on him to correct this past wrong today.


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Portland, OR

To: Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt
From: [Your Name]

Dear District Attorney Schmidt:

I am writing to you with regard to the case of Alexander Dial (Case Number: 1477609). Alexander is an integral part of our Portland community:a person who stands up for social and racial justice. His name and face are well known, but his actions could have been carried out by any hundreds or thousands of brave community members who stand up against violence and hatred. Alexander embodies our values as a city: integrity, compassion, service to our community members, and a deep rejection of injustice. To more than a few Portlanders he is a hero who saved a life on August 17, 2019. He is not a threat to Portland, or a dangerous violent person deserving of harsh mandatory minimum sentencing.

Your campaign for Multnomah County District Attorney was run as “a bold, progressive platform to dramatically improve the fairness, effectiveness, and cost of our criminal justice system.” Dial’s case is an opportunity to show that Measure 11 was NOT the one-size-fits-all approach to sentencing the public once might have hoped for, and often leaves the hands of judges tied to a severely outdated theory of “crime and punishment.” Let the judge judge and allow them “to take into account the defendant’s history, the prosecutor’s argument, a victim’s impact statement and the facts of the case.” Furthermore, sentencing Dial to a sentence of nearly 30 years for being a frontline anti-fascist protester, countering the white nationalist American Guard (a designated hate group) in a city increasingly incapable of reigning in civil unrest and far right violence would be an affront to the goal of innovation for the National Association of Sentencing Commissions, for which you previously served on the board.

It is obvious to the Portland community that these charges were brought to further a narrative that conflates community defense against white supremacist violence in the face of police inaction and complicity with the very violence that stormed government buildings in the wake of the 2020 election and conspired to murder elected officials. Given the lack of viable evidence or testimony it seems likely that this case will end in yet another dismissal. The delays and the disinterest from Mr. Dial's prosecuting attorney shows a lack of faith from the state in their ability to make a case, and yet it is happy to waste state resources in this dead end pursuit. We ask you to correct this ongoing injustice today. As a Multnomah County voter I request that your office immediately drop all charges against Alexander Dial.

Thank You,

A Concerned Community Member