by Rita
UPDATE: this event was rescheduled! See https://www.occupyboston.org/2013/02/07/nlg-fundraiser-rescheduled.
NLG Press Release. Please support NLG in their fundraiser and pack the courtrooms for upcoming 5 Occupy Boston Political Trials.
Since its beginnings the National Lawyers Guild has been an organization that radicals and activists can depend on for legal support when attacked by the government. For nearly 40 years, the NLG Mass Defense Committee has been advising, assisting, and representing activists who are engaged in struggles for political, legal, and social changes to benefit the disfranchised members of the society. Continuing in this proud tradition, the Mass Defense Committee of our Massachusetts chapter provides vital legal support to social justice movements throughout Massachusetts.
In the last two years, the Mass Defense Committee has provided legal representation for activists arrested fighting foreclosures and evictions in our community. They are representing people arrested at the offices of TransCanada protesting the Keystone XL pipeline. From the beginning, the National Lawyers Guild was providing vital legal services to activists and organizers at Occupy Boston.
On October 10th and December 10th of 2011, the City of Boston raided the Occupy Boston encampment arresting dozens of people. From the moment of the first arrests, the Mass Defense Committee was on the ground to make sure that everyone arrested had effective legal representation. More importantly, the Mass Defense Committee has remained committed to a political defense strategy that ensures that the message of Occupy Boston isn’t left at the courthouse doors. 25 of the Occupy defendants are insisting on their 6th Amendment right to trial, and the first of these trials will be held on February 11th at the Boston Municipal Court.
Mass Defense work costs money, and the lawyers who do this work take these cases pro-bono. Meanwhile, those we are up against enjoy the full resources of the District Attorney’s Office and the Boston Police Department. We have to ensure that the people’s struggle for justice is never silenced by this criminal injustice system.
THAT IS WHY WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! Join us on Friday 8th, from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM+, for a night of food, drinks and pool at Jillians, 145 Ipswitch St. Boston, MA. Sliding scale of $25.00-$500.00.
Thank-you, Rita