RNC 16 Put the Pigs on Trial
People's Tribunal Finds the System GUILTY!
Updated with video October 31, 2016 | Originally published October 3, 2016 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Judge:
As one of the RNC 16, and in the interest of emancipating all humanity, I now call this People's Tribunal to order. Please come forward to make your opening remarks.
Opening Statement:
Listen to audio of the Message, recorded by members of the Revolution Club
Listen to audio of the Message in Spanish
I'm a member of the Revolution Club and one of the 16 people facing criminal charges.
We’re standing here outside the criminal INjustice center in Cleveland, a meat grinder that grinds up the lives of masses of oppressed people every day. What we are doing here is a People’s Tribunal to indict agents, known and unknown, who were involved in suppression of righteous protest against the hideous Republican National Convention. This past July, Donald Chump came to Cleveland with the fascist message of “Make America great,” of law and order, white supremacy, “build the wall” scapegoating of immigrants, disgusting misogyny, and naked “USA #1” chauvinism.
But this did NOT go down without a fight. On July 20, the Revolution Club went right up to the gates of their RNC Nazi rally, linked arms in a circle, and then Gregory “Joey” Johnson stood in the middle of the circle and announced, “America Number 1? America first? It always has been first: at genocide... at slavery... at exploitation... of destruction of the environment... of torture... of coup d’etats... of invasions. We’re standing here with the people of the world today.” Then Joey lit that bloody red, white, and blue rag on fire. This bold action, and the message behind it, was picked up by national and international media and broadcast to the world: There is a force right here in the belly of the beast, the Revolutionary Communist Party, the Revolution Club, and our leader Bob Avakian, with a whole different message: America Was NEVER Great! We Need to OVERTHROW the system!
At a time of deepening divisions and cracks in their system, of growing eruptions of struggle against the ongoing epidemic of police murder, this was NOT what the ruling class wanted to see interrupting the “legitimacy” of their election charade. Despite the fact that burning the U.S. flag is constitutionally protected political speech thanks to the Supreme Court decision Texas v. Johnson, and despite the fact that the same Gregory “Joey” Johnson that decision is named for is the one who also burned the flag this time, that did not stop the pigs from breaking their own laws to brutally assault and arrest Joey and 15 other members of the Revolution Club! Even before he lit the flag on fire, the pigs were attacking the Revolution Club’s protective circle to try to prevent the flag from burning and silence our message, which they failed to do.
Today, we are going to put them on trial, We will indict the various pigs and pig agencies responsible for this illegal attack. They have been subpoenaed and have arrived at the court in their full pig regalia... Homeland Security/Secret Service pig, FBI pig, Cleveland police chief pig Calvin Williams, Alex Jones Infowars pig, Cleveland prosecutor pig Timothy McGinty, and others. They are in the pig pen and they will be called up to testify one by one. We will prosecute them, present evidence and they will testify in their own words. If all they can do is oink, a pig Latin translator will be provided. Joey Johnson will give the closing arguments. The jury will listen to all the evidence and then give their verdict!
Judge:
The charges are:
Aiding and abetting crimes against humanity being plotted by the RNC.
Conspiracy to commit thuggery in the service of a criminal fraudulent enterprise, also known as the 2016 presidential election.
Conspiracy to prevent lawful flag burning by Joey Johnson and the Revolution Club.
Violation of First Amendment protected political speech, specifically violation of Texas v. Johnson.
Assault and illegal arrests of Joey Johnson and the RNC 16.
Conspiracy to cover up said unlawful police attack.
Homeland Security/Secret Service Pig
Judge: Pig pen manager, please bring the Homeland Security/Secret Service pig up to the witness stand.
Judge Oath: Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is based on actual statements that have already been made publicly, and are of the public record?
Pig: Yes.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: What was your role in the RNC?
Pig: The RNC was designated as a National Special Security Event. The lead agency was the U.S. Secret Service, under the overall command of the Department of Homeland Security. We collaborated on the design and implementation of the overall security for the event. We have the FBI in charge of intelligence gathering, in partnership with local law enforcement. As the City of Cleveland’s “Safety and preparedness update for the RNC 2016 stated, “Anyone wishing to exercise their first amendment rights will be able to do so, and the City of Cleveland will assist them to ensure a safe environment.”
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that you gave $50 million to the City of Cleveland to pay for “heightened security measures including expanded law enforcement and surveillance”?
Pig: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that this included money for 2,000 sets of riot gear, 10,000 sets of plastic handcuffs, 2,500 steel barriers stretching 3.7 miles, 2,000 26-inch retractable steel batons, 100 sets of body armor, 310 police bicycles and protective gear, 16 Pointer Illuminator Aiming Lasers, rubber and wooden bullets, tear gas, tasers, sound amplifiers, bean bags, sting-ball grenades, pepper spray, night vision devices, a video surveillance system, and other devices?
Pig: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true you also brought in 300 extra Homeland Security agents and 5,000 other police from around the country to supplement Cleveland police?
Pig: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Was all this to “ensure a safe environment” for our First Amendment rights?
Pig: Oink, oink, oink, oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: In addition to creating a police state in Cleveland, isn’t it true that the Secret Service also played a direct role in the illegal arrests of the RNC 16 at 4th and Prospect on July 20?
Pig: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that Secret Service agents pointed out specific members of the Revolution Club to be arrested?
Pig: Oink, oink.
Judge: Order! Order! All this pig is doing is oinking! Bring in the pig Latin translator.
Pig Latin translator: What this pig is saying is, of course we created a police state and targeted the revolutionaries at the convention. We’re the pigs, not the people!
FBI Pig
Judge: Please bring the FBI pig up to the witness stand.
Judge Oath: Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is based on actual statements that have already been made publicly, and are of the public record?
Pig: Yes.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that in the lead-up p to the RNC, agents from the FBI, along with local police, paid “home visits” to dozens of community organizers and activists, as well as people associated with supporters of the Revolutionary Communist Party?
Pig: We were doing “community outreach.” Oink, oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that you questioned people about their plans for the convention, and the plans of other groups and individuals, and some were asked about previous addresses and their political and social affiliations?
Pig: The deputy police chief, Ed Tomba, said, “The Cleveland police have a very robust pre-convention intelligence team. We have a real, real good idea of who we think is coming here and what their objectives are. And if we can deter those objectives, that’s what we’re going to do.”
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Since most of the “visits” were directed at activists, particularly those associated with struggles against police brutality, what exactly were the objectives that you were trying to deter?
Pig: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: You say this was “community outreach.” Is this kind of like the “community outreach” that you did with COINTELPRO, your illegal counter-intelligence program [in the 1960s]?
Pig: Oink, oink, oink.
Judge: Order in the court! Bring in the piglatin translator.
Piglatin translator: What this pig is saying is, we were trying to harass and intimidate people from coming to protest at the RNC. And we had the assistance of the media in all this. We had a lot of success... but those damn revcoms!
Cleveland Police Chief Pig Calvin Williams
Judge: Please bring Cleveland police chief pig Calvin Williams up to the witness stand.
Judge Oath: Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is based on actual statements that have already been made publicly, and are of the public record?
Chief Pig Williams (CPW): Yes.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Chief Pig Williams, isn’t true that you were informed ahead of time that this flag burning was happening?
CPW: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that the Revolution Club sent out a press release announcing this well in advance?
CPW: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Did you or did you not pre-meditatively plan an attack on this legal demonstration?
CPW: As I said in the press conference, “There are people that their only purpose of being here is disruption, disorder, chaos, hurting people and destroying property. And those are the only people at this point that are giving us any kind of problem at all... There’s one group, that you all know who they are, that this is what they came for, and we’re prepared for it.”
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Which group are you referring to?
CPW: Oink, oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Don’t you know that it’s legal to burn the flag under Texas v. Johnson?
CPW: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: And didn’t you know that the Joey Johnson who won that Supreme Court case was the same Joey Johnson who the press release announced would burn the flag at the RNC?
CPW: As I said in the press conference. “According to my legal team and the Constitution, you can legally burn a flag if you don’t incite violence or are a danger to other people while you’re doing it,”
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that one of the RNC 16 was initially charged with “desecration of a flag”?
CPW: Oink
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Is that a crime?
CPW: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that Joey Johnson was initially charged with “arson”?
CPW: Oink. Well, as one of my officers said on ABC Channel 7, “We have a law against open burning in the city of Cleveland and that’s what that was. It’s not about the flag, it’s about open burning.”
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that flag burning is considered speech, and is not in the category of “arson” or “open burning”?
CPW: Oink. Like I said, “We know they had a right to burn the flag, but we have a responsibility to protect public safety. Right? [directed toward the pig pen; pigs oink and nod and nudge each other] “I think a couple of people, their pants got on fire, and we actually put that out.”
Revolution Club: [in unison] LIAR! LIAR! Nobody’s pants were on fire!
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that the Revolution Club formed a protective circle to ensure the safety of the flag burning? [Pig: Oink]. Isn’t it true that your pig police forced their way through this safety circle before the flag was even on fire? [Pig: Oink]. Isn’t it true that the only safety danger was caused by your pig police, pushing people, choking, and dog piling six or seven officers on top of Joey Johnson and other members of the Revolution Club? [Pig: Oink]. Did Joey Johnson and the Revolution Club feel safe in these moments [pointing to pictures of Joey Johnson and Revolution Club members being put in chokehold by police]?
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that of the hundreds of videos online of this action, and thousands of photos, not one of them shows a person on fire?
CPW: Oink. But, “There were also counter-demonstrators that were ready to attack the people that were lighting the flag on fire! All those things were arrestable in this situation.” I mean, really, “The area got amped up when this happened.”
Revolution Club Prosecutor: But isn’t it true that it was the Revolution Club members, not the “counter-demonstrators ready to attack,” who you had arrested? [Pig: Oink]. Isn’t it also true that “a hostile crowd” is not a legal justification to suppress free speech? [Pig: Oink]. Isn’t it true that the Westboro Baptist Church was in Cleveland for days and was on the scene at 4th and Prospect when the Revolution Club burned the flag? [Pig: Oink]. Isn’t it true that their hate-filled signs against women and LGBT people invoked a hostile crowd? [Pig: Oink]. Isn’t it true that they were protected, rather than attacked and arrested? [Pig Oink].
CPW: But we had to disperse the crowd because of “violence being perpetrated.” That’s why I initially instructed officers to charge the RNC 16 with “inciting violence.”
Revolution Club Prosecutor: So what excuse do you have for the Revolution Club members you arrested after the flag burning, while they were doing nothing more than chanting? What exactly was their crime?
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true, Chief Pig Williams, that you selectively targeted the Revolution Club, that the only violence being incited and perpetrated was from the pigs under your command? And if there was any fire danger, it was caused by you violently attacking our protective safety circle?!
CPW: Oink! Oink! Oink!
Revolution Club Prosecutor: [disgusted] I think we’ve heard enough. Chief Pig Williams conspired with the whole hierarchy of federal and state pig police agencies to plan and carry out an attack to attempt to stop Joey Johnson and the Revolution Club from burning the flag. They brutalized Johnson and the Revolution Club, arrested them illegally, and concocted one lie after another to justify their actions.
Cleveland Prosecutor Pig Timothy McGinty
Judge: Please bring Cleveland Prosecutor Pig Timothy McGinty up to the witness stand.
Judge Oath: Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is based on actual statements that have already been made publicly, and are of the public record?
Pig McGinty: Yes.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that you are prosecuting Joey Johnson and the RNC 16 for political speech that’s protected by the First Amendment?
Pig McGinty: Oink, oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Now I’d like to turn to the issue of preventative detention. Before the convention your court system bragged that they were set up to process 1,000 people a day, from 5 am til 1 am. Why, then, were the RNC 16 held for over 24 hours, when there were only 24 arrests during the whole convention?
Pig McGinty: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: As the director of the ACLU in Ohio said, in response to our extended detention: “There is no reason these people should be held for so long on minor charges.... The delays in processing these cases suggest that protesters are purposefully being held to keep them off the streets. This is simply unacceptable treatment.” Isn’t it true that you preventatively detained the RNC 16?
Pig McGinty: Well, you see, we “misplaced the paperwork!” Right? [Looking over at the pig pen; pigs oink and nod and nudge each other.]
Judge: Timothy McGinty, I want to remind you that you are under oath. Bring in the piglatin translator.
Piglatin Translator: What this pig is saying is, We wanted to keep these revolutionaries off the streets until after Trump’s speech and the RNC was over.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: As county prosecutor you are responsible for calling grand juries and seeking indictments. When 12-year-old Tamir Rice was gunned down by the police before our eyes, in a video that was clear as daylight and should have been an open and shut case of murder, you waited a year and a half after the murder before finally going before a grand jury. This grand jury, based on the case that you failed to present, did not indict the killer cop. You are a very good prosecutor when it comes to prosecuting people like Tamir. Did you forget how to prosecute when it comes to cops?
Pig McGinty: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: And is it true that a mere two weeks after the flag burning you called a grand jury which added additional felony and misdemeanor charges to the two RNC 16 defendants already being charged with felonies?
Pig McGinty: Oink, oink, oink.
Judge: Piglatin translator!
Piglatin Translator: This pig is saying, Our job is not to prosecute police who terrorize and murder youth like Tamir Rice. That’s what they’re hired to do, to keep the whole system going! Our job is to prosecute people like Tamir Rice and people who expose our system and organize to overthrow it, like you revcoms.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: No further questions.
Alex Jones Pig
Judge: The sole charge against Joey Johnson and one other Revolution Club member is assault on two alleged reporters for Alex Jones Infowars. Please bring pig Alex Jones up to the witness stand.
Judge Oath: Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is based on actual statements that have already been made publicly, and are of the public record?
Jones: Yes.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Is it true that you and your website, Infowars, support Donald Trump?
Jones: Yeah, Trump was on my radio show in December 2015 and praised my “amazing” reputation and promised me, “I will not let you down.”
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that you had “special guest” credentials to attend the 2016 RNC? [Pig Oink]. Isn’t it true that you praised Trump’s acceptance speech?
Jones: [proud oinking & emphatic nodding]
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Got it. Just checking. So, Alex Jones, why don you tell us what your so-called reporter said when you interviewed him on YouTube about what happened in Cleveland on July 20 of this year, at 4th & Prospect.
Jones: He said, “They came out and burned the American flag in front of me, and I’m a veteran... I ripped the guy’s shirt off, and just punched him and kicked him, man. The cops were like, aaah! You know, it was intense, man. I was like dude, I’m a fucking veteran, my buddies died for this country, and you’re going to burn this flag in front of me? Screw you. It’s not gonna happen.”
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Oh, okay then. So your reporter openly admitted to having assaulted Joey Johnson to try to stop him from burning the flag? And the alleged injuries happened in the course of carrying out this criminal assault on Johnson? What do you think about all this, Alex Jones?
Jones: People have free speech all day long until they’re trying to overthrow the country. At that point it’sedition and we’re coming after you. As my reporter said: “Im gonna go meet up with the Cleveland police department. I’m gonna file a charge against the Revolutionary Communist Party... I’m gonna submit this in and then go after revcom cuz these guys are un-American bastards. And this is America and we are here to defeat communism.... Revcom for prison.” [proud oinking & emphatic nodding]
Revolution Club Prosecutor: So, people of the jury, here you have the pig Alex Jones, an operative for the Trump campaign, on the night of July 20 recording his reporters, who admitted they targeted the Revolution Club because of their political views and assaulted Joey Johnson, yet these two reporters are still named by pig prosecutor McGinty as the so-called “victims” that Johnson and the other RNC defendant are charged with assaulting! Can we get McGinty and Williams up here again?
Judge: I’ll allow it. Will the Pigs McGinty and Williams please come back to the stand?
[McGinty & Williams Pigs join Jones Pig]
Revolution Club Prosecutor: [addressing McGinty & Williams Pigs and pointing dramatically at Alex Jones Pig] So let me see if I understand this. You want us to believe that THESE Alex Jones reporters are the “victims” you’re relying on to prosecute Joey Johnson and another revolutionary for assault??
[McGinty & Williams Pigs oink and nod]
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Have you SEEN the video they made where THEY proudly confess to being the ones who assaulted Johnson?? Where they say they were trying to violently stop a legal protest???
[McGinty & Williams Pigs oink]
Revolution Club Prosecutor:How is it that you have not immediately dropped the charges after seeing that??
[McGinty & Williams Pigs oink] [Pigs look increasingly exposed]
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true, therefore, that you all are part of a conspiracy to silence the message and punish those who stand against your system and are organizing to overthrow it as soon as possible?
[McGinty & Williams & Jones Pigs] Oink, oink, oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: [disgusted] No further questions. Get back to the pig pen, pigs.
[Revolution Club boos them off the stand]
Cuyahoga County Jail Sheriff Pig
Judge: Cuyahoga County Jail Sheriff pig is being charged with cruel and inhumane treatment of the RNC 16 detainees. Please bring him up to the witness stand.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that harsh treatment was directed at the women RNC 16 detainees?
Pig: Oink?
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that you denied medicine?
Pig: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: That you turned up the AC and refused to provide blankets?
Pig: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: That one Revolution Cllub member was strip searched, strapped to a chair, tormented, and did not receive food for 24 hours?
Pig: Oink.
Revolution Club Prosecutor: Isn’t it true that you separated all the women from each other, in solitary confinement?
Pig: Oink oink.
Judge: Piglatin translator?
Piglatin translator: What this pig is trying to say is, These women were rowdy, proud, defiant. They were chanting. They were not submissive like women should be. So we punished them and tried to put them in their place.
Closing Statement
Judge: Joey Johnson, please come forward to make your closing argument.
1, 2, 3, 4, Slavery, Genocide and War!
5, 6 , 7, 8, America was NEVER great!
You’ve heard a lot here today...
- About the FBI knocking on the doors of known activists and supporters of the Revolutionary Communist Party in the lead-up to the RNC...
- The bringing in thousands of cops from all over the country, including thousands of Homeland Security and Secret Service agents, creating an atmosphere of police state intimidation...
- The brutal police assault on the Revolution Club and the blatant violation of our legal right to burn the flag...
- The concocting of one pretext after another for their outrageous attack. The lie that I lit myself on fire, or the lie that I endangered the so-called “safety” of pro-Trump operatives from Alex Jones Infowars, who allegedly got burned even though they admitted in a video that they assaulted me in order to prevent the flag burning, and yet myself and one other Rev Club member are now being charged with assaulting them!...
- The convening of a grand jury to add more charges to the two Rev Club members who were already charged with felonies by the same prosecutor who refused to indict the pigs who murdered 12-year-old Tamir Rice!
All this reveals that the essence of this society is not a “democracy,” but a thoroughly rotten capitalist-imperialist dictatorship, run by a ruling class that sets the terms and limits of the debate. This presidential election is a case in point. Trump, a fascist monster, versus Clinton, an imperialist war criminal! And they can talk about “freedom and democracy” all they want, but if they see it in their interests to break their own rules, they will, whether it’s rights that don’t apply to Black people and murder laws that don’t apply to cops, or international war crimes laws that the U.S. breaks with impunity... or Supreme Court decisions that burning an American flag in protest is protected speech.
The Revolution Club came to Cleveland to represent for the hopes and aspirations of the seven billion people on the planet. As Bob Avakian says, "American Lives Are Not More Important Than Other People's Lives." As Bob Avakian says, "Internationalism—The Whole World Comes First."
We had a right to do what we did, and it was the right thing to do, by burning that symbol of oppression and empire!
Judge to the jury: I understand you have a verdict.
Jury: We do, judge.
On Count 1, aiding and abetting crimes against humanity being plotted by the RNC, we find the pigs... guilty!
On Count 2, conspiracy to commit thuggery in the service of a criminal fraudulent enterprise, also known as the 2016 presidential election sham, we find the pigs... guilty!
On Count 3, conspiracy to prevent lawful flag burning by Joey Johnson and the Revolution Club, we find the pigs... guilty!
On Count 4, violation of First Amendment free speech, we find the pigs... guilty!
On Count 5, violation of Texas v. Johnson, flag burning as protected speech, we find the pigs... guilty!
On Count 6, assault and illegal arrests of Joey Johnson and the RNC 16, we find the pigs... guilty!
On Count 7, conspiracy to cover up said unlawful police attack, we find the pigs... guilty!
In sum, we the jury of this people’s tribunal, find... The whole damn system is guilty as hell!
[Rev Club chants: The whole damn system is guilty as hell!]
This is what we want to announce: We are going to defeat these charges against Gregory “Joey” Johnson and the RNC 16, expose their system, and accumulate forces for revolution in the process! We are going to wage this struggle inside and outside the courtroom. What we did today was political theater, but it was based on the actual facts of this case.
We are announcing today that we will be filing a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service, the FBI, the City of Cleveland, the Cleveland Police Department, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams, and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty for false arrest, for assault pursuant to a false arrest, and malicious prosecution of the RNC 16. We are putting them on trial for violating their own laws, undermining Texas v. Johnson, in order to politically suppress and repress the RNC 16 because of our righteous message, and thereby having a “chilling effect” on people’s freedom to express themselves by burning the flag.
If you know something about the history and reality of this country, that America was NEVER great, and you support the Revolution Club delivering this message powerfully and dramatically right in front of the RNC... if you think revolution and Bob Avakian’s new synthesis of communism need to be heard and known, and not silenced or suppressed by the powers that be... if police murder after murder after murder of Black and Brown people makes you sick and you’re feeling like Colin Kaepernick... if you think people should have the right to burn the flag and you don’t want to let them undercut Texas v. Johnson... if you think it was right to burn the flag... JOIN us in demanding: DROP THE CHARGES ON GREGORY “JOEY” JOHNSON AND THE RNC 16!
[Everyone Chants] Drop the charges! Drop the charges!]
[flag burning]
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