Charges Dismissed Against Anti-War Protester
by Boston IMC (No verified email address)	07 Mar 2013
March 7, 2013 - Charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer were dropped today against Shaun Joseph, an anti-war activist arrested while protesting a Boston appearance by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Joseph, a computer scientist and member of the International Socialist Organization, released the following statement: ALL CHARGES DISMISSED - DO NOT COME TO COURT! (unless you really like crypto-fascist architecture) Friends, I am happy to tell you that all charges against me have been dismissed by the Suffolk County DA as of this afternoon. After an extraordinarily tangled and drawn-out process--the court first tried to delay my trial AGAIN; then Assistant District Attorney Susan Terrey dropped the "resisting arrest" charge; then the Judge Tracy-Lee Lyons took us through a kind of undergraduate seminar on existential logic (with her honor playing the undergrad) before storming out for lunch; then Terrey finally dropped the "assault on a police officer" charge--my 18-month tour through the criminal "justice" system has ended with my total vindication. There is much to say--and I hope to write about the political lessons of my experience soon--but for now I will limit myself only to thanking everyone who helped me through this ordeal, especially my superb lawyer Myong Joun and everyone else at the National Lawyers Guild; my comrades in the International Socialist Organization, the United National Antiwar Coalition, Boston United for Justice with Peace, Veterans for Peace, the RI Mobilization Committee to Stop War and Occupation, and many other social justice organizations; and everyone who expressed their support, signed a petition, and/or came out for court solidarity. I also wanted to take this opportunity to share a very fine article from Ralph Lopez that reminds us all of why it's necessary to protest criminals like Donald Rumsfeld (note: contains some graphic/disturbing images). http://warisacrime.org/content/ma-prosecutor-lets-rumsfeld-walk-charges- Thanks again for all your political, emotional, legal, and moral support. shaun