Drop All Charges

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner has dismissed two of four charges against the RNC 8, a group of young people who were arrested in advance of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

The stupidity of the charges is highlighted by the overblown language of the ones that were dropped: Conspiracy to Commit Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism, and Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Damage to Property in Furtherance of Terrorism.

The remaining charges are Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Damage to Property in the First Degree (no terrorism intended, I guess) and Conspiracy to Commit Riot in the Second Degree (again, no terrorism was meant to be furthered, never mind what was mentioned earlier about about that terrorism stuff).

Gaertner, who is a Democrat, has her eye on the governor's office in 2010. Who knows how that plays into the legal strategy -- will she pander to the Right by prosecuting, or will her desire to get a nomination out of a bunch of DFL party activists possibly move her to drop the charges altogether?

In their official statement on the dropped charges, the RNC 8 said:

In the months leading up to the RNC, the defendants were involved in open, public organizing with a broad coalition of Twin Cities activists and community members. We continue to assert that the only “conspiracy” committed by the RNC 8 was to provide basic and necessary infrastructure for people who wished to engage in their fundamental right to dissent.

As you may recall, at least part of the state's case is based on informant testimony from a guy who has since been convicted of assault himself. Other parts of the case rely upon objects found in the defendents' homes, many of which could have completely innocent purposes (duct tape, anyone?).