First RNC felony sentenced. Letter from his attorney.

[annm4peace]

I post this to encourage you to call MN officials and tell them to drop the charges.

Most of those arrested are fighting for all our rights, for justice, and to speak out against the greed and corruption. Some where arrested in the grand sweeps.
Please call in tomorrow, Monday.. and demand they drop the charges on all those arrested during the RNC.

Call [phone] or e-mail [e-mail] (cc: [e-mail])




Below is the statement read by Bill Drebenstedt before Judge Salvador Rosas in Ramsey County Court on December 12 at the sentencing of Joe Robinson. Robinson received probation and community service even though the prosecutor asked for a 6 month sentence in the workhouse.

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Two months ago, I met Joe after he entered a guilty plea to the charge for
which you are going to pronounce sentence today. Since that day, I have had
the privilege of getting to know Joe on a personal level. I am honored to
stand before you today and tell you he is my friend.

I met Joe during an afternoon hearing involving another RNC arrestee. It
was October 14th. Joe had pled guilty that morning. We merely exchanged
introductions. That evening, I walked in late to a teach-in sponsored by
the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and, much to my surprise, saw Joe sitting
there. That got me wondering. I could imagine that he had nothing better
to do that afternoon and decided to hang around the courthouse. How did he
end up at the teach-in, though? My interest was piqued, and I knew it was
time to get to know this man.

Joe expressed deep regret over his decision to accept responsibility for
this incident not because he was worried about what might happen to him, but
because he was concerned about what harm his having done so may have done to
the larger effort to stand in solidarity with the hundreds of people who
were unjustly arrested during the RNC. His concern was for the community –
not himself. He went outside the immediate circle of friends by whom he was
surrounded to reach out to the Anti-War Committee. He was looking for ways
to contribute to our community. Joe has helped raise funds for Sisters’
Camelot, a non-profit collective that distributes free produce and dry goods
to neighborhoods all over the Twin Cities. Joe has helped our community.

I have spent countless hours with Joe over these past couple of months. I
have learned much about what makes him tick as a human being. Joe asks many
of the same questions I ask. Why are people homeless when so many homes sit
vacant? Why do so many go hungry in a society that wastes tons of food
daily? Why does the greatest nation on the face of the earth need to kill,
maim and torture people to maintain its standing in the world? Why, in a
country where law and order is so popular, does our government and the
corporate interests it serves have such a reckless disregard for the rule of
law – both domestic and international? Like me, Joe has been unable to find
justification, moral or otherwise, for this state of affairs.

In an effort to slow down the war machine that is so bent on destruction and
human suffering, Joe has laid his body on the line. He sought to stop the
war planners from wreaking even more havoc on the world during the RNC. He
has put his own personal interests aside to further the cause of human
rights throughout the world. Some may differ as to how they view the
tactics he has employed, but how can one question his motives?

I ask, “Is the person who steals to feed their family more or less guilty
than the person who steals in furtherance of greed?” As a pragmatic
humanitarian, I cannot fathom how someone could pass judgment on both deeds
in a like manner. One act arises out of necessity. The other is a product
of excess. The acts may seem identical, but the motives distinguish the
two.

One could say Joe did not need to take such drastic action. He could have
voted. He should have written to a congressional representative. He could
have voted for one candidate to whom he would have no access over another
candidate to whom he would have no access. He should have called an office
staffed by people trained to dispose of callers. He could have submitted
his comments via somebody’s comments page on the internet only to watch his
words disappear into never-never land. These things should work.
Unfortunately, the belief that these are the tools of democracy in America
is just plain naïve. Joe did need to take drastic action. We all need to
take drastic action. When a person falls down beside you on the sidewalk,
you stop to help them up. When whole segments of the human population are
being knocked down, we need to help them up and make sure they aren’t
knocked down again. I think we all are trying to figure out how to
accomplish this Herculean feat.

I understand the tendency to be cynical in such a seemingly dark world, but
I ask you today, your honor, to be an optimist. Do what Joe has been
teaching me to do, and look towards the light. In the few short months I
have known him, he has lifted the Twin Cities community in a way I would
have never thought possible. He has done so with selflessness, a giving
nature and a readily apparent desire to leave the world a little bit better
off than he found it. He is indeed a beacon of light.

President-elect Obama’s change.gov website attributes this statement to
Obama: “Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we
leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit
today.” I have to wonder if the government is listening in on Joe. I know
we are supposed to look to our presidents for leadership, but I’m happy to
report that the president-to-be now seems poised to follow Joe’s lead - at
least in terms of the rhetoric the president-elect uses.

You see before you today a small sampling of the local community. All of
these people would like to address you today, but I seem to be one of the
more outspoken. Sure, their words would not be identical to my own. I can
assure you, however, that I speak for each and every one of them when I
deliver this one simple message: PLEASE DO NOT SEND OUR FRIEND TO JAIL. We
understand your role in the judicial process and appreciate the fact you
must pass sentence today. We also understand that you have some latitude
under the law in imposing that sentence. I hope that I have helped convince
you that, rather than being a detriment to the community you serve, Joe is
an asset to this community. Let him continue making the contributions I
have seen him make on a daily basis.

Joe wants to continue fostering humanity. Joe wants to attend college. Joe
wants to help make the world a better place. Joe wants to continue seeking
out more effective means to bring communities together. Do not extinguish
his dreams. Help him realize them. Help us help him realize them.

I thank you for hearing me out and taking what I have said into
consideration. I trust that you will be fair and wise in the pursuits we
are engaged in together – the pursuit of a just resolution to this matter
and the pursuit of a more just world.