Supporters to Pack Courtroom to Stand Against Suppression of Dissent and Targeting of Activists and Social Movements
Chicago – Mr. Gary Wagaman will be going to trial on four counts of felony aggravated battery against a Chicago police officer next Monday. Wagaman is alleged to have thrown a deadly weapon—a frying pan—at the officer. He was arrested along with other protesters at a “casserole” march on June 6, 2012 that was held in solidarity with student strikes in Montreal. Casserole marches typically include protesters using pots, pans, and kitchen utensils as noise makers. Nearly all of the people arrested that day had their charges dropped and one was acquitted at trial. Only Wagaman continues to face charges, which supporters say are politically motivated and designed to scare people away from exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly.
What: Felony trial for Gary Wagaman (case no. 12 CR 11384)
When: Monday, July 15, 9 a.m.
Where: 2650 S. California Ave, Courtroom 207, Chicago
Supporters point to the commonplace use of police violence and trumped up charges against protesters across the country as indicative of a pattern of state repression against dissent. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) also has a notorious history of using violence and intimidation against protesters in the streets, as clearly seen in the CPD’s responses to last year’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) protests. Wagaman’s arrest is one of many arrests that occurred across the country during solidarity marches with the student strike in Montreal and as students and their allies have taken to the streets to protest exorbitant student loan interest rates and soaring student loan debt at home.
“Gary is not facing these charges because an officer was injured or because his life was in danger,” said Emily Day, an activist in Chicago. “Gary is facing these charges because the cops and prosecutors want to make an example of him to show us all that there is a high price to pay for protesting the global economic policies and government practices that put the vast majority of the world in precarious living situations. Gary is facing these charges because he, like millions of people across the globe, took to the streets to voice his dissent and to struggle for justice.”
Supporters will pack the courtroom to show the strong community support for Wagaman and refusal to tolerate repressive police violence and politically motivated prosecutions.
Visit https://www.facebook.com/FreeGaryWagaman?fref=ts for more information.
