A jury of Johannes Mehserle’s peers has declared him guilty in the death of Oscar Grant — but it comes with a very important caveat: “involuntary manslaughter.”
By all accounts this is a tremendous win for Mehserle, given that the maximum sentence is a mere fourteen years.
AlterNet readers will remember that Mehserle is the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) cop who shot transit rider and Oakland resident Oscar Grant execution-style on New Years Eve 2009. The atrocious crime was caught on video by a BART rider and the fall-out centered around issues like police brutality and race-baiting.
The jury — which comprised precisely zero African-Americans — was in Los Angeles. The trial was actually moved from the Bay Area to L.A. because of the immense publicity surrounding the case. And L.A. has a track record of siding with cops — the last time one was found guilty of murder was in 1983.
Given the disservice to justice, riots are expected in downtown Oakland tonight although Oscar Grant’s family had asked for peace, regardless of the outcome. (Already, “Rodney King” is a trending topic on Twitter.)
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
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In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
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