#ndncollective — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #ndncollective, aggregated by home.social.
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#NDNCollective's Nick Tilsen welcomes #LeonardPeltier to Landback for the People
"When Nick was 13-years-old he wrote Leonard Peltier a letter. In that letter he said he would fight for his freedom until the day he is free. In this profoundly personal episode, Nick sits down with Leonard to talk about his journey, his struggle, and what he means to the people."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVMtT2MNVHI
#Indigenous #NativeAmericans #USpolitics #USpol #politicalPrisoners #AIM #PineRidge #LeonardPeltierFree -
#LeonardPeltier to Be Freed After Half-Century in Prison: “A Day of Victory for #Indigenous People”
"We speak with the #NDNCollective’s #NickTilsen, who just visited Leonard Peltier in prison after news of his sentence commutation, about fighting for Peltier’s freedom, his health and Trump’s executive orders attacking environmental rights and Indigenous sovereignty."
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/1/21/leonard_peltier
#NativeAmericans #PineRidge #FBI #PoliticalPrisoners #StateRepression #AIM #USpol #USpolitics -
#LeonardPeltier: ‘This is what mercy is for’
by Pauly Denetclaw
Thu, December 5, 2024"Hawai’i Sen. #BrianSchatz chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, made a plea to President Joe Biden on behalf of Leonard Peltier on Dec. 4. In a less than four-minute speech on the Senate floor, he asked that Biden grant clemency to Peltier.
"Biden on Sunday evening pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, for 'offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss,' according to a statement by Biden.
"Schatz noted the alleged violation of Peltier’s constitutional rights to a fair trial during the 1977 murder trial of two FBI agents.
"'The process that led to his conviction had major issues and inaccuracies from the start,' Schatz said. 'For example, one witness whose statements were used at trial said she was told to lie and say that she was in a relationship with Peltier and that she had witnessed him shoot the agents. She later recanted that statement, saying, ‘I was forced into this, and I feel very awful. I just wish that Leonard Peltier would get out of prison.’”
"He also talked about one of the jurors in the case who allegedly admitted to being racist toward Native Americans, but was still allowed to remain on the jury that would convict Peltier of two first-degree murder charges.
"Peltier would be sentenced to two life sentences. He has maintained his innocence.
"In July, the Assembly of First Nations, representing over 600 Indigenous leaders in Canada, rescinded their nearly 40 year support of Peltier because of his alleged role in the murder of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, Mik’maq, by American Indian Movement members. Peltier denies he had any involvement. [See my posts about #AnnaMaePictouAquash]
"#AmnestyInternational, United Nations’ Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, three tribal nations, National Congress of American Indians, #NDNCollective and the Native American Rights Fund have all urged Biden to grant Peltier clemency.
“'According to reporting, a juror who on day two of the trial professed her prejudice against Native Americans, was allowed to remain on the panel,' Schatz said. 'If that wasn't enough, take it from the very U.S. attorney who tried the case. The prosecutor who tried the case, James Reynolds, who said (in a letter that) Peltier had served his sentence on ‘the basis of minimal evidence, a result that I strongly doubt would be upheld in any court today.'
"Schatz read excerpts from a 2021 letter that James Reynolds sent to Biden to ask for Peltier’s clemency.
"Peltier’s health has been declining over the last few years. He has repeatedly been denied commuted sentencing, parole, pardon, clemency, and compassionate release.
"'Peltier is now 80 years old and has been in prison for 50 years, he is in declining health, experiencing vision loss and other illnesses. In spite of all that, earlier this year, federal officials denied his request for compassionate release and parole,' Schatz said. 'So even if you believe that he did in fact commit the crime, surely the time is now to let him spend whatever remaining days he has at home to die with his family. He's done his time. He's of old age and in poor health. This is what clemency is for. This is what mercy is for. He poses little threat to society.'
"Biden’s last day in office is January 20, 2025. In his last administration, President-elect Donald Trump took no action on Peltier’s request for clemency. On his last full day in office, former President Barack Obama denied clemency for Peltier."
https://news.yahoo.com/news/leonard-peltier-mercy-165336810.html
#FreeLeonardPeltier #AmnestyForLeonardPeltier #ClemencyForLeonardPeltier #AIM #FBI #ACAB
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So, this article outlines what the nominee for director of #HomelandSecurity has planned for #SilencingDissent in the US...
From 2019: South Dakota Governor #KristiNoem Caves on Attempted Efforts to Silence #PipelineProtesters
ACLU, October 24, 2019
"South Dakota’s governor and attorney general today backed down from their unconstitutional attempts to silence pipeline protestors. In response to a lawsuit we filed alongside the ACLU of South Dakota and the Robins Kaplan law firm, the state has agreed to never enforce the unconstitutional provisions of several state laws that threatened activists who encourage or organize protests, particularly protests of the #KeystoneXL [#KXL] pipeline, with fines and criminal penalties of up to 25 years in prison.
"The settlement agreement reached today and now headed to the court for approval is an important victory for the right to protest. It comes soon after a federal court temporarily blocked enforcement of the pieces of the laws that infringed on First Amendment protected speech, and makes the court’s temporary block a permanent one.
"The laws include the #RiotBoostingAct, which gave the state the authority to sue individuals and #organizations for 'riot boosting,' a novel and confusing term. The court warned against the laws’ broad reach, noting that the laws could have prohibited:
- Sending a supporting email or a letter to the editor in support of a protest
- Giving a cup of coffee or thumbs up or $10 to protesters
- Holding up a sign in protest on a street corner
- Asking someone to protest"Under the First Amendment, that is impermissible.
"The court rightly recognized the stakes of this case. And it put these #AntiProtest efforts in perspective, asking 'if these riot boosting statutes were applied to the protests that took place in Birmingham, Alabama, what might be the result?' The answer: 'Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference could have been liable under an identical riot boosting law[.]'
"Indeed, South Dakota’s unconstitutional anti-protest efforts echoed the suppression of past social movements. From the start, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem called on 'shut[ting] down' 'out-of-state people' who come into South Dakota to 'slow and stop construction' of the pipeline. Her harmful calls were reminiscent of government attempts throughout our history to delegitimize and minimize significant #SocialMovements as the work of 'outside agitators,' including Reverend #MartinLutherKingJr.
"South Dakota’s quick and costly retreat (they’ll have to compensate plaintiffs for attorney’s fees under the settlement agreement) should serve as a lesson for other legislatures considering similar efforts to silence dissent.
"In the last few years, we have witnessed a legislative trend of states seeking to criminalize protest, deter political participation, and curtail freedom of association. These bills appear to be a direct reaction from politicians and corporations to some of the most effective tactics of those speaking out today, including water protectors challenging pipeline construction, Black Lives Matter, and those calling for boycotts of Israel. These legislative moves are aimed at suppressing dissent and undercutting marginalized and over-policed groups voicing concerns that disrupt current power dynamics.
"But the First Amendment guarantees people the right to voice their opposition. This includes our clients — four organizations (the #SierraClub, #NDNCollective, #DakotaRuralAction, and the #IndigenousEnvironmentalNetwork - #IEN) and two individuals (#NickTilsen with NDN Collective and #DallasGoldtooth with Indigenous Environmental Network) — all of whom are protesting construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and encouraging others to do the same.
"Construction of the Keystone XL pipeline may be imminent. Pre-construction activities resumed this month, and a hearing on the new Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the pipeline, which will serve as the basis for approval of any future permits, is coming up next Monday.
"With the laws we challenged proclaimed unenforceable, protesters and protectors no longer have to worry about incarceration or fines as they protest against the construction. That is, at a minimum, how democracy should work."
#WaterProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #BigOilAndGas #CorporateColonialism #Fascism #DefendTheSacred #IndigenousActivists #StandWithStandingRock #FirstAmendment