Land of the free....

God bless America

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SHERMAN AUSTIN SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR IN FEDERAL PRISON

Sherman Austin, webmaster of RaisetheFist.com, was sentenced today, August
4, 2003, to one year in federal prison, with three years of probation.
Judge Wilson shocked the courtroom when he went against the recommendation
of not only the prosecution, but the FBI and the Justice Department, who
had asked that Austin be sentenced to 4 months in prison, and 4 months in a
half-way house, with 3 years of probation.

Austin's probation stipulates, among other things, that (1) he cannot
possess or access a computer of any kind without prior approval of his
probation officer, (2) if his probation officer gives permission, the
equipment is subject to monitoring and is subject to search and seizure at
any time, without notice, (3) he cannot alter any of the software or
hardware on any computer he uses, (4) he must surrender his phone, DSL,
electric, and satellite bills, (5) he cannot associate with any person or
group that seeks to change the government in any way (be that
environmental, social justice, political, economic, etc.), and (6) he must
pay over $2,000 in fines and restitution. Austin must surrender himself to
the Federal Bureau of Prisons by September 3, 2003.

To contact sherman, email

FROM SHERMAN AUSTIN:

On Jan 24, 2002 , my home was surrounded and raided by approximately 25
heavily armed FBI and Secret Service agents in one of the governments first
attempts to exercise the new US Patriot Act. I was interrogated for several
hours while they ransacked my room and they seized a network of computers
which I used to run my web site raisethefist.com. They also seized protest
signs, and political literature. Their excuse was a protest guide (which I
didn't author) that was posted to my site which a small portion contained
information on explosives. The FBI had been monitoring the site long before
this was ever posted, and long before Sept 11. The "explosives information"
on my site (again which I didn't author) doesn't compare to what you an
find on any other web sites such as howthingswork.com, Loompanics.com,
Bombshock.com, Totse.com, Amazon.com, or the many neo nazi web sites which
cover everything from assassinations, explosives, fraud and firearms. It's
obvious a web surfer interested in making a bomb or taking part in other
extra-illegal activities would not have to rely on Raisethefist.com. So how
could the "bomb making information" on raisethefist.com be a concern to
authorities? It wasn't a concern, it was simply used an excuse to exercise
the new Patriot Act and take down the site. And that's what they did when
federal agents spent 5-6 hours interrogating me while they disassembled
each computer one by one , mirrored each hard drive, then loaded everything
into a big white truck. During this whole process I was told I wasn't going
to be arrested, and that I could even leave if I wanted to. Once the agents
finished packing everything up, Special Agent John I. Pi, who was
conducting the investigation and raid said that I had crossed a line, and
as long as I got back on the other side of that line I'd be okay.

A week later despite what happened I still continued with my plans to
attend the demonstration against the World Economic Forum in NY. As I was
waiting for the march to begin, a swarm of NYPD officers rushed straight at
me and scooped up about 26 people, one of which was me. We sat on a bus for
7 hours before being taken to Brooklyn Navy Yard Jail. I was there for
about 30 hours before I was taken out of my cell and put into a backroom in
handcuffs and interrogated once again by the FBI and Secret Service for
several hours. They asked me questions such as if I was a terrorist or
involved in any terrorist organizations. During the interrogation I noticed
more and more agents walking through the room. I was told I wouldn't leave
custody unless they searched my car. I said I had nothing to hide and simpl
y wanted to go home. Stressed and aggravated, I signed over my keys. A few
minutes later I was driven to the court and released. As I was waiting for
someone to pick me up, about 5 FBI agents entered the court and said I was
arrested for "distribution of information related to explosives over the
internet". One of the agents grabbed my neck and told me to shut the ****
up while I tried to tell one of the legal observers I was being arrested. I
was hurried out of the court house into a black SUV where I was driven to a
federal building. I was then taken to lower Manhattan MCC maximum security
24 hour lockdown federal jail facility. At my bail hearing the FBI called
me a "man on a mission" and said I drove 3,000 miles to carry out my
alleged "plot". The judge said I was a "threat to the community" and denied
me bail, and I was to be extradited back to California to face my charges.
After 11 days I was shackled and taken to an airforce base where federal
inmates are boarded onto planes surrounded by guards with M16's and shot
guns, like prisoners of war, and flown to a federal jail "hub" in Oklahoma.
Once I got there, I learned the next day that the prosecutors decided not
to file an indictment. I was released after spending 13 days in custody.
When I got back to Los Angeles I put raisethefist.com back up almost
immediately. I continued my political organizing within the community, as
well as my work with Raise the Fist which developed into a Direct Action
Network with chapters setup around the world. 6 months later prosecutors
contacted my lawyer and said they found nothing to prosecute me for on my
computers, but didn't want to "let me off the hook". They offered me a
pre-indictment binding plea agreement which was initially 1 month in jail,
and 5 months in a "community corrections facility". I rejected the plea at
first, wanting to go to trial until we discovered the case was eligible for
a terrorism enhancement, which could have added 20 years to my sentence.

I therefore decided to enter a plea. I played months of legal limbo until I
finally expected to get sentenced to 4 months in jail and 4 months in a
community corrections facility based on the final pre-sentencing report
written by the USPO. The judge rejected the 4 months saying what kind of an
example would it set for "future revolutionaries" wanting to act in the
same manner. He stated he wanted to give me at least 8-10 months but first
wanted the opinion of the Justice Department and the Director of the FBI in
Washington, DC (Robert Muller). My sentencing was rescheduled several times
until August 4th. I was convicted for felony; distribution of information
related to explosives with intent, and sentenced to 1 year in federal
prison with 3 years supervised release.

Distribution of information related to explosives is not illegal.. What's
illegal is the INTENT part. They have to prove you have intent to use the
information to cause further crime of violence .. and how do they prove
intent? I think Bush made it clear when he said "you're either with me or
against me".

Remember, fascism and a police state doesn't come all at once, it comes
piece by piece. How far will we allow it go until we are all locked up in
concentration camps.

If we don't take matters into our own hands and do something about this
now, then we are already prisoners of war.

Raisethefist.com is not shutting down, and the RTF Direct Action Network
will continue to grow and remain active. A 1 year sentence is not the end
of this. It's just the begining.

Sun, 10 Aug 2003 06:21:42 GMT,
, "ride your bike"
wrote:

If we don't take matters into our own hands and do something about this
now, then we are already prisoners of war.

This is a *news* group.
That's old.

Where you been?
--
zk

The mantra of extremists:

"The government *always* lies to you."
"The media *always* lies to you."
"Big corporations *always* lie to you."

"But you can take as gospel *everything* anyone convicted of a crime says."

10 Aug 2003 07:55:36 GMT,
,
(Hunrobe) wrote:

The mantra of extremists:

"The government *always* lies to you."
"The media *always* lies to you."
"Big corporations *always* lie to you."

"But you can take as gospel *everything* anyone convicted of a crime says."

That does it! From now on I'm only believing cops and priests.
--
zk

x-no-archive:yes

"Hunrobe"
The mantra of extremists:

"The government *always* lies to you."
"The media *always* lies to you."
"Big corporations *always* lie to you."

"But you can take as gospel *everything* anyone convicted of a crime
says."


You forgot this one: "You can take as gospel anything a person says when he
RECANTS his confession!"
and this one: "You can take as gospel anything the family of the confessed
or convicted person says."

Pat in TX

"But you can take as gospel *everything* anyone convicted
of a crime says."

=v= Red herring. I've followed this case and found little
evidence for the government's allegations, though. The
case for the prosecution hinged on emotional histronics and
name-calling. A rational observer would not have found the
defendant proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which
is supposed to be the standard complied to.
_Jym_

x-no-archive:yes

...
"But you can take as gospel *everything* anyone convicted
of a crime says."

=v= Red herring. I've followed this case and found little
evidence for the government's allegations, though. The
case for the prosecution hinged on emotional histronics and
name-calling. A rational observer would not have found the
defendant proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which
is supposed to be the standard complied to.
_Jym_

Well, sure, unless the defendant pleads guilty to something, which he
apparently did. It looks as if there wasn't a trial to decide if he was
"guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" because he pled guilty before the trial.
We can't then say, "well he isn't guilty because he didn't have a trial."

Pat in TX

(Hunrobe) wrote in news:20030810035536.20330.00002044@mb-
m29.aol.com:

The mantra of extremists:

"The government *always* lies to you."
"The media *always* lies to you."
"Big corporations *always* lie to you."

"But you can take as gospel *everything* anyone convicted of a crime says."

The mantra of sheep:

"The government *never* lies to you."
"The media *never* lies to you."
"Big corporations *never* lie to you."

I guess my point is a little skepticism isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Back to the topic.
I feel sorry for the guy, but he gave the Feds the excuse the were looking
for. He should have never had that stuff on his site and then they wouldn't
have a leg to stand on.

- Boyd S.

Boyd Speerschneider

wrote:

The mantra of sheep:

"The government *never* lies to you."
"The media *never* lies to you."
"Big corporations *never* lie to you."

I guess my point is a little skepticism isn't necessarily a bad thing.

---snip---

Who said skepticism is bad? Let's just apply some skepticism when we view the
post-incarceration statements of someone who's imprisoned because they *pled
guilty*, fair enough?

Back to the topic.
I feel sorry for the guy, but he gave the Feds the excuse the were looking
for. He should have never had that stuff on his site and then they wouldn't
have a leg to stand on.

- Boyd S.

If you want to feel sorry for him be my guest, just reread your last sentence
and think about what you're saying.
"He should have never had that stuff on his site..." equals, "He should not
have broken the law."
".... (T)hen they wouldn't have a leg to stand on." equals, "He would not have
been arrested."
That seems pretty obvious to me. I just don't see how it qualifies as a reason
to feel sorry for him.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

(Hunrobe) wrote:

If you want to feel sorry for him be my guest, just reread your last sentence
and think about what you're saying.
"He should have never had that stuff on his site..." equals, "He should not
have broken the law."
".... (T)hen they wouldn't have a leg to stand on." equals, "He would not have
been arrested."
That seems pretty obvious to me. I just don't see how it qualifies as a reason
to feel sorry for him.

The proportionality of the punishment to the confessed "crime" is
totally deranged in this case, especially since the "law" being
violated is itself in violation of higher constitutional principles.

It would be just if apologists for this sort of political repression
and thuggery faced incarceration for the crime of speaking *their*
convictions.

This sort of tyranny begets its own undoing, by and by.

Chalo Colina