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Law and Disorder
Law and Disorder is a weekly, independent radio program airing on several stations across the United States. Law and Disorder gives listeners access to rare legal perspectives on issues concerning civil liberties, privacy, right to dissent and the horrendous practices of torture exercised by the US government.
The 1871 Anti-Klan Act And The NAACP Lawsuit
Black Mississippi Congressman Benny Thompson with the support of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (the NAACP) last month sued former president Donald Trump, his disgraced lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the fascist group Proud Boys, and the Oath Keepers,, a far right organization of ex-military and policemen.
Thompson used the 1871 anti-Klan act as a basis for his lawsuit. He alleges that there was a conspiracy between Trump and the other defendants to stop Congress from doing its business when Trump incited the January 6 ransacking of the Capitol.
The 1871 anti-Klan act was passed for precisely this purpose. 150 years ago, six years after the conclusion of the Civil War. The southern losers who wanted to keep slavery in another form, formed the Ku Klux Klan to murder, terrorize, and harass Black people for registering to vote, voting, running for office , or performing their duties after getting elected.
The launching of this lawsuit is an extremely positive development. Its chances of success would be increased exponentially if the fight was extended beyond the courtroom and masses of people were mobilized behind it. This is a lesson to be learned from Attorney Michael Ratner.
Guest – Black rights and socialist activist Malik Miah, an advisory editor for Against the Current magazine and a regular contributor to the Australian newspaper, Green Left Weekly. Malik Miah is a retired airline mechanic and trade unionist at United Airlines in San Francisco.
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Ross Ulbricht: Petition For Clemency
Seven years ago a NY jury found Ross Ulbricht guilty on charges related to operating the Silk Road website. The site was a Tor-hidden site, and used Bitcoin, triggering an all-out FBI search to determine the operators identity. The 29-year-old convicted on seven charges, including a kingpin charge, and Judge Katherine Forrest imposed two life sentences and 40 years without the possibility of parole, for the young, nonviolent and first-time offender.
The sentence was far longer than prosecutors sought. The website sold, among other items, illicit substances. Ross wasn’t convicting of selling illegal drugs but rather of creating an e-commerce website that others elected to use for that purpose. At trial, no victims were named; rather rampant corruption, abuse, evidence tampering and several violations of Ross’s rights cast doubt in the legal and technology communities on both the conviction and the extraordinary sentence.
In the 2016 appeal, defense attorneys presented a litany of improprieties in the investigation and the trial itself. One of the consequential of these was the court precluding information about two corrupt federal agents investigating Silk Road who were sent to prison on corruption charges. The Supreme Court refused to consider the case. So supporters spent the past four years preparing to petition Donald Trump for Clemency.
Guest ” Ross’s mother, Lyn Ulbricht joins us to talk about a petition for clemency to President Donald Trump. Free Ross Ulbricht.
