From Drop the Charges Against Pride Defenders (Facebook)
After months and months of utter nonsense, it is with great joy we announce today that two of the Pride Defenders have just had their charges DROPPED! While we may never know the reasons for this victory, we know that the public pressure campaign could only have helped so thank you, thank you for your continued support.
Let’s take a moment to celebrate!!!!
But while we’re putting our party hats on, let’s also take a moment to remember that THREE queer comrades are still facing charges. It is important to note that the people still in the courts are the three who are alleged to have defended Pride from the homophobic preachers, while the charges that have been dropped were related to crybaby Fred calling the cops on queers who allegedly delivered him some lawn signs. We are still being criminalized for defending ourselves.
Additionally, while it’s easy to be excited at the dropped charges, it’s important to remember that much of the intended damage has already been done. The cops press charges against folks as punishment all the time. They know that whether or not it gets dropped a few months later, your face and name will still be in the paper and you might lose your job or your housing, along with other social repercussions. They know that if they press charges they can get warrants and bust into your home or ambush you on the street, which is traumatic in itself and serves to scare other queers from taking action. And they know that fighting the trumped up charges in court will cost you and your friends a lot of money.
Never forget that the cops aren’t our friends and the judicial system is a nightmare machine. Justice has never come down through court verdicts and rights have never been given to us by the state. We have fought to keep ourselves safe and we will continue to fight for the freedom to be fabulous until our last days. NO DIALOGUE WITH THE CITY OR THE COPS UNTIL ALL CHARGES ARE DROPPED!
#dropthecharges #pridedefenders #acab #ftp #hamilton #hamont #hamiltonpride #freecedar #cantstopwontstop