Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said Thursday that she dropped terrorism charges against eight activists in an anarchist group that planned disruptions at the Republican National Convention last September.
The county attorney's office said that the defendants, widely known as the "RNC 8," still face felony charges of conspiracy to commit riot in the second degree and conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property in the first degree.
Two counts of conspiracy to commit riot and criminal damage to property "in furtherance of terrorism" were dropped.
Civil liberties advocates had criticized Gaertner for prosecuting the activists under a terrorism law enacted in 2002 by the Minnesota Legislature in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"It was clear to us as we prepared for trial that the terrorism enhancement was going to become the focus of the proceeding," Gaertner said. "We felt it would distract the jury from the core illegal conduct that is at issue. Keep in mind that even if they had been convicted of terrorism charges, they would have received no additional punishment under the sentencing guidelines."
~ more... ~
No comments:
Post a Comment