While his death was unfortunate this is one cause I can't sympathize with.
These guys knew what they were getting in to when they took over the
government property and there is the old saying that if you are going to
play you've got to pay." While I'm not at the point of labeling this group
as homegrown terrorists I lean in that direction.
Chuck
-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2016 7:32 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Protest gov’t killing of Robert Finicum!
http://themilitant.com/2016/8006/800658.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 80/No. 6 February 15, 2016
(Socialist Workers Party statement)
Protest gov’t killing of Robert Finicum!
The following statement was issued Feb. 3 by John Studer, Socialist
Workers Party national campaign director.
The Socialist Workers Party condemns the Jan. 26 killing of Robert
“LaVoy” Finicum by Oregon State Police and the FBI in what can only be
described as an assassination. We demand that the cops involved be
charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Finicum was one of the ranchers and others occupying the Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, over the last month. He,
occupation leader Ammon Bundy and a few others were on their way to a
community meeting in John Day. The FBI claims that following a “traffic
stop” Finicum fled and was reaching for a gun. Cops and government
police agencies often use this charge to justify cold-blooded killings,
including “finding” a weapon when the victim doesn’t have one.
This was no traffic stop, it was a premeditated assault. The FBI and
state police closed off more than 50 miles of highway, set up
roadblocks, and deployed snipers and a surveillance plane. After
shooting Finicum, the cops shot up his vehicle, with three passengers
still inside, including with flash grenades and pepper spray. They
ignored Finicum’s need for medical attention for at least 10 minutes as
he lay dying in the snow.
This echoes the callous disregard for cattle rancher Jack Yantis Nov. 1
when sheriff’s deputies in Adams County, Idaho, refused him medical aid
when they shot him after calling him to come put down one of his bulls
when it was hit by a car. They handcuffed Yantis’ wife and nephew to
prevent them from coming to his aid as he lay bleeding on the ground.
Protests have demanded the cops be charged in both killings. At recent
actions in Oregon participants chanted, “Ranchers lives matter” and “All
lives matter.” This shows the widespread impact of the explosive fight
against police killings of Blacks and others, including Michael Brown,
Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Mario Martinez, Zachary Hammond, which has
forced the rulers to place some restraints on their cops.
In the wake of the killing of Finicum, ranchers and working people in
Harney County, Oregon, are redoubling their efforts to fight for freedom
for Dwight and Steven Hammond, two local cattle ranchers framed up and
imprisoned twice on the same arson charges, for controlled burns to
protect their ranch from invasive plants and wildfires, a common
practice in the region. After serving their original sentences in full,
the government used the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty
Act to send them back to jail for more time.
Washington and cops at every level across the country are the greatest
perpetrators of terror — from Waco, Texas, to the deadly assault on MOVE
in Philadelphia, to Vietnam, Iraq and the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.
We urge the labor movement and all those who have been fighting for
justice for working people killed by the cops to join in demanding,
“Free the Hammonds! Jail the cops who killed Robert Finicum!”
Related articles:
FBI, state troopers kill Oregon occupier
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