During her time in the DA’s office, Lacey has prosecuted only one officer for killing a civilian, leading to protests outside her office and her home.
“She continues to find that it is necessary for police
to kill unarmed people,” Gascón said. “Perhaps she
thinks it’s fine, or perhaps it’s all the money she
has taken from police unions.” Lacey has benefitted
from more than $5 million in contributions to
outside committees benefiting Lacey has come
from law enforcement unions.
Prospect of right-wing violence and police repression hangs over US election
With one week remaining until the US election on November 3, additional details are emerging of right-wing plans for election day violence and police preparations for repressing protests on election night.
In a motion filed yesterday in the federal case against six of the 14 fascists who plotted to kidnap and kill Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, prosecutors highlighted the timing of the plot: “On multiple occasions,” the plotters stated to one another “that the group’s deadline for executing the plot was the November 3, 2020 national election.”
The motion asks for a delay in the case so that prosecution can “determine whether additional federal charges are appropriate” because investigators found “explosive device components” which indicate a wider plot. “Because of the imminent nature of the threat, law enforcement was obliged to arrest the subjects before this evidence could be processed,” the motion reads.
Over the weekend, Jackson County Judge Michael Klaeren also reduced bail for conspirator Peter Musico from $10 million to $100,000, equivalent to a relatively minor felony. Klaeren, who was appointed to his position by Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm, called the original bond “grossly excessive” and rejected a request by the prosecution to confine Musico to his home, saying this would make it difficult for Musico to go to work. Musico, a founding member of the Wolverine Watchmen, gave a thumbs up and thanked the judge.
Last Friday, reports surfaced that a similar plot, led by an individual active within the Ohio Republican Party, was underway against that state’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine. But despite credible reports that Renea Turner planned to kidnap DeWine from his Cedarville home and place him on trial to kill or “exile” him, police have not filed charges. A report from WHIO notes, “[S]tate troopers told News Center 7 they opened an investigation, but declined to comment further.”
On Monday afternoon, Turner was allowed to hold a press conference at the state capitol building where she denied plans to kill DeWine but claimed that 85 percent of Ohioans “want him [DeWine] removed,” adding, “let’s say 5 percent of that 85 percent are skilled marksmen.”
Across the country, police departments are also preparing for election day.
In Michigan, statewide organizations representing police and sheriffs continue to refuse to abide by state elected officials’ order barring weapons at polling places—a clear nod to militia groups in the state.
In New Hampshire, officials announced they would not attempt to keep voters from bringing weapons to the polls. Further anecdotes indicate the police are becoming more brazen about their support for Trump in the days before the election, encouraged by the president’s own statements.
A police officer in New York City used his patrol car’s megaphone to broadcast pro-Trump messages to Flatbush residents this weekend. In Florida, a uniformed officer arrived at a polling station last week with a mask that said “Trump.” Eleven people were arrested in New York City Sunday when Trump supporters and protestors began fighting. Police guarded the pro-Trump demonstration and manhandled several anti-Trump protestors.
Beginning Monday, the New York Police Department deployed thousands of cops to patrol over 1,200 polling locations, with the chief explaining that the force is “at the ready” for the prospect of protests. In Washington D.C., police have purchased over $100,000 in additional tear gas canisters. Buzzfeed News reported that Police Chief Peter Newsham “told local lawmakers that in law enforcement circles, ‘it is widely believed there will be civil unrest after the November election regardless of who wins.’”
King County, Washington, will also deploy guards at ballot boxes. The chief of police in Chicago referenced election demonstrations in the context of anti-police protests in the city earlier this summer. He said: "We have operations in place to ensure that they don’t destroy property, that they don’t cause further violence and that they are held accountable.”
In New Jersey, 250 members of the state National Guard will process ballots at the county level, though they will do so in civilian clothes. Several dozen guard soldiers will help with “cybersecurity” in North Carolina, while the Washington Post reported that states like Kentucky, Nebraska and Wisconsin are also considering deploying the Guard on election day.
These deployments show a substantial police and National Guard presence will be on the ground on election night, when the likelihood of large anti-Trump demonstrations is high.
In five battleground states, mail-in ballots cannot be counted before election day. These states are also the linchpin of Trump’s strategy to proclaim “fraud” and challenge results: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, as well as Iowa. In these states, large majorities of mail-in ballots come from Democrats, meaning Trump is likely to jump to an early lead on election night as ballots from election-day voters, who are expected to be mostly Republicans, are counted first. On Monday, the US Supreme Court rejected an effort by Democrats to begin counting mail-in ballots in advance of election day. This lead will erode in the days following the election, giving Trump the opportunity to baselessly claim the election is being stolen from him. Trump may claim victory if early counts show him leading in these states, provoking mass demonstrations and counter-mobilizations by fascist groups who support the president.
Police and national security officials are “gaming” plans to crush demonstrations against Trump. In a report published by the right-wing Claremont Institute and Texas Public Policy Foundation, a network of high-level former national security officials and police leaders write, “There is an increased chance of urban unrest, especially in jurisdictions where local and state officials are reluctant to maintain order.”
The report “games” the prospect of large-scale social mobilizations and predicts a massive police crackdown.
In the early morning hours of November 4, the day after the election, the report says that police will conduct widespread raids on the homes of left-wing opponents of Trump, suggesting there will be “over one thousand arrest warrants issued using federal and state statutes from RICO to disorderly conduct with coordinated pre-dawn warrant executions nationwide. The decision to obtain arrest warrants even for the barest minimum of probable cause on the lowest of charges is meant to remove the players from the picture, at least temporarily.”
The report predicts that police departments will rebel against Democratic elected officials in cities like Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles and New York as police suppress protests, and that officers assigned to guard Democratic mayors will call in sick, abandoning their posts.
The report also references the likelihood of police mobilizing fascist vigilantes: “Riot control efforts continue throughout the country. There are rumors that several sheriffs in conservative counties throughout the country are hinting that they may deputize regular citizens into posses should the lawlessness come to their counties. Social media is ablaze with volunteers from Proud Boys, Three Percenters, and Oath Keepers and other Posse Comitatus groups to form posses.”
This is the scenario for which the extreme right is preparing. As Trump moves forward with his right-wing strategy and threatens violence against sitting governors in his stump speeches, the Democratic Party has responded with meaningless appeals for “calm.” Their greatest fear is that opposition to Trump and his attempt to steal the election will develop into a mass movement outside their control.
Trump escalates coup plotting with swearing-in of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett
One week before the US presidential election, there is an expanding political conspiracy spearheaded by President Trump to hijack the election and maintain his grip on power regardless of the outcome of the vote.
This effort reached a new stage Monday night with the swearing-in of the newest Supreme Court Justice, Amy Coney Barrett, whom Trump nominated in an effort to insure a Republican-dominated court that will rubber stamp his actions on and after Election Day.
The installation of Barrett, staged before a floodlit White House and broadcast on cable television, was the latest in a series of fascistic spectacles intended to convey Trump’s determination to dominate the American political scene in defiance of the will of the people and the text of the Constitution.
First came his speech accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for a second term as president, staged on the White House lawn and using the executive mansion as the backdrop for a partisan spectacle. Then came his return from Walter Reed Medical Center after his treatment for coronavirus, with the helicopter landing and Trump climbing the stairs to greet supporters from the White House balcony, a virtually scene-for-scene restaging of the Hitlerite documentary Triumph of the Will.
Last night, Trump rushed to hold the swearing-in of Barrett before a hand-picked audience on the White House lawn only hours after the Senate confirmed her nomination by a 52-48 vote. In a blatantly partisan affair, the most right-wing justice on the court, Clarence Thomas, administered the oath of office. Thomas is also the last survivor on the court of the majority who stole the 2000 presidential election with the 5-4 Bush v. Gore decision.
Trump’s remarks were a scripted tribute to the US Constitution as “the ultimate defense of American liberty.” The real sentiments of this would-be dictator were expressed earlier in the day in Pennsylvania, where he roared threats of violent retribution against the state’s Democratic governor if he should dare to interfere with the efforts of Trump’s fascistic supporters to intimidate voters.
Referring to Democrat Tom Wolf, Trump said, “The governor counts the ballots, and we are watching you, governor, very closely in Philadelphia. A lot of bad things happen there with the counting of the votes. We are watching you, Governor Wolf, very closely. We’re watching you.” Later in his speech, Trump referred to his opponents as “globalists”—a frequent synonym for “Jews” in fascist discourse. Speaking like a mafia boss about his thugs, he said, “We have very nice people, they don’t want to do anything before the election. Very nice, very nice people.”
Trump told the crowd he is working with police across the country to monitor vote-counting: “All we can say is law enforcement is watching Nevada, it is watching Philadelphia and Pennsylvania because they had a lot of strange things. And we are watching the Democrat governor who has got his state shut down, great state, North Carolina. We’re watching North Carolina, we’re watching Michigan.”
Crowd members began shouting, “Lock him up” at the mention of Governor Wolf’s name, echoing chants against Whitmer at last week’s rally in Muskegon, Michigan. It is less than three weeks since federal and state police arrested 13 pro-Trump gunmen, who were in the final stages of preparing to kidnap and murder Whitmer, who has clashed with Trump over the state’s policy in enforcing the coronavirus lockdown.
The president is giving a green light to every fascist in America. When state officials in Michigan, after the breakup of the plot against Whitmer, issued orders barring the open display of weapons at polling places, statewide organizations representing police chiefs and sheriffs announced they would not enforce the order.
If Trump cannot use violence and intimidation to win a majority at the polls—an effort that looks increasingly unlikely as tens of millions turn out in early voting or cast mail ballots, which are currently estimated running 2-1 against him—he will seek to halt the counting of mail ballots in key battleground states through lawsuits in which the US Supreme Court will serve as the final arbiter.
In the face of this developing political coup, the Democratic Party presents a picture of utter spinelessness. With only a narrow 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate, the Democrats nonetheless claimed they could do nothing to stop the speedy confirmation of Barrett, only five weeks after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg created a vacancy.
These claims are so ridiculous they barely require a refutation. The Senate is well known for its innumerable arcane procedures that allow a determined minority to delay and even defeat actions if they are willing to fight. If the circumstances had been reversed, there is not the slightest possibility that a Democratic president with a narrow Democratic majority in the Senate could push through a Supreme Court nomination on the eve of a presidential election. The Democrats would not even try.
Instead of calling out this conspiracy and warning the American people, the Democratic Party chooses to cover it up. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden made no reference to the Barrett nomination or the threatened election coup during his final debate with Trump. Senator Kamala Harris, his running mate, sits on the Judiciary Committee which considered the Barrett nomination, but she did not raise the question of Trump’s threats to democracy. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer did not even refer to the impact on the 2020 elections in his final speech opposing Barrett’s confirmation.
If this is how the Democratic Party “fights” an unprecedented effort to cement ultraright control of the Supreme Court, what resistance will they put up to Trump’s ever more open threats of violence and defiance of the Constitution in the 2020 election?
The Democratic Party leadership is certainly aware of Trump’s planned coup and is taking definite actions in response, but these consist entirely of behind-the-scenes discussion with top leaders in the military-intelligence apparatus to seek their assistance in compelling Trump to accept the outcome of the election.
This is confirmed by the remarkable interview given Monday by Representative Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA agent and Pentagon official before she won a House seat as one of the CIA Democrats in 2018. Speaking to Politico, she revealed that the Biden campaign was actively discussing what to do in the event that Trump refused to accept the results of the election or to leave office. Slotkin herself has sent letters to both the civilian and military leaders in the Pentagon seeking a profession of neutrality in any post-election crisis.
At the same time, Slotkin confirmed that in Michigan, her home state, Democratic officials had no idea whether they could get the support of the police to prevent right-wing militia gunmen from intimidating voters. In response to a question on a conference call of election officers, “What do we do if someone shows up carrying an AK-47 into the polls? Who do we call?” police remained noncommittal.
These statements only confirm the warnings which the WSWS has been making since Trump first attempted to mobilize the military against the mass protests over police violence that followed the May 25 police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Trump is seeking to build a fascist movement in the United States, whether he is in or out of the White House next January 20. The defense of democratic rights cannot be entrusted to the Democratic Party or any institution or instrument of the capitalist ruling class in America. It must be taken up by the working class, through the building of a mass political movement based on a socialist program.
THE LAWLESS
LAWYER CLASS
LAWYER
JACKIE LACEY PROTECTS HER MURDERING GANG INFESTED L.A. SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT.
SHE IS A REMINDER THAT THE LAWS DO NOT APPLY TO THE LAWYER CLASS!
ONLY KAMALA
HARRIS HAS DONE MORE FOR MURDERING COPS AND THEIR GENEROUS NEO-FASCIST COP
UNIONS!
https://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-lawless-class-how-lawyer-jackie.html
During
her time in the DA’s office, Lacey has prosecuted only one officer for killing
a civilian, leading to protests outside her office and her home.
“She
continues to find that it is necessary for police
to kill
unarmed people,” Gascón said. “Perhaps she
thinks
it’s fine, or perhaps it’s all the money she
has taken
from police unions.” Lacey has benefitted
from
more than $5 million in contributions to
outside
committees benefiting Lacey has come
from law
enforcement unions.
Oversight Panel Calls for Resignation of LA
Sheriff Alex Villanueva
BY FRANK STOLTZE IN NEWS ON OCTOBER 15, 2020 3:48 PM
FILE: L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks in August at
the graduation ceremony for the latest Academy Class. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
In a significant erosion of
support for Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the Sheriff's Civilian
Oversight Commission Thursday called on him to resign as leader of one of the
largest law enforcement agencies in the country. Commissioners said the sheriff
has obstructed oversight at nearly every turn and failed to address major
problems at the agency, including the existence of "deputy gangs."
The commission's resolution
describes "a serious lack of judgement and leadership by Sheriff
Villanueva" and decries "his efforts to block meaningful
reform." It also says Villanueva has restricted access to the department
by the county's inspector general.
In an extraordinary move, the sheriff opened a criminal
investigation into Inspector General Max Huntsman in 2019, accusing him of
unlawfully accessing department records. Huntsman — and the county's attorney —
said he had access to those files under the law that created his office.
Members of the commission called the sheriff's move an act of intimidation.
LOST CONFIDENCE
The nine-member panel says it
has lost confidence in Villanueva's ability to effectively govern the agency,
which employs nearly 18,000 people and operates the largest local jail system
in the country.
Villanueva was an
unconventional candidate for sheriff when he beat incumbent Jim McDonnel in the
2018 election. He was a retired lieutenant with little management experience
who had never supervised more than 100 people. Villanueva won largely because
of the backing of the deputy's union and an endorsement by the LA County
Democratic Party.
The vote Thursday to call on
Villanueva to resign was unanimous. Some of the panel's most traditionally
pro-law enforcement members agreed the sheriff must go, including former
Federal Judge Robert Bonner, former Deputy District Attorney Lael Rubin, and
former Sheriff's Lt. J.P. Harris.
Despite those credentials,
Villanueva has called the panel anti-law enforcement.
"They're political
philosophies are either they really, really hate cops or they slightly hate
cops or they're not too sure," he said. In the sheriff's view, attempts by
the panel to oversee his department are part of a "proxy war" by the
Board of Supervisors. The board appoints the panel.
It's worth noting Villanueva's
relationship with the board has deteriorated too — two members of the board
have asked him to resign. Aspiring members of the board also are critical of
the sheriff. In Wednesday's debate hosted by
our newsroom,
Herb Wesson and Holly Mitchell both said the sheriff was unqualified to do the
job. They're vying for the open District 2 seat, which represents cities such
as Carson, Compton, Culver City and Inglewood; all or part of L.A.
neighborhoods including Crenshaw, Koreatown, La Brea, and Mar Vista; and other
unincorporated areas of the county.
Villanueva did not immediately
respond to requests for comment on the commission's vote.
AN ELECTED OFFICE
The sheriff is elected by the
voters — so it's unclear what effect the calls for resignation will have. In
fact, several commissioners worried their resolution will close the door on any
hope for effective oversight — even though it simultaneously calls on the
sheriff to cooperate with the panel.
"It does seem to be a bit
of a contradiction," said Harris. "I hope it doesn't close the
door."
"He is the one that closed
the door, he's the one that can open it," said Commissioner and Loyola Law
School Professor Priscilla Ocen.
The vote comes amid a raging
debate over policing in the country and a demand for more accountability and
transparency. It also follows a series of controversial shootings by sheriff's
deputies that drew angry protests, as well as accusations of brutality by the
department during the George Floyd and other demonstrations.
Among the resolution's points:
§ Sheriff Villanueva removed the
Sheriff's Department's constitutional policing advisors, while at the same time
attempting to rehire deputies who were fired for cause, such as fabricating
evidence and domestic violence.
§ Sheriff Villanueva alleged,
without proof, that the disciplinary process was "unfair" and
deactivated the disciplinary proceedings against deputies accused of using
excessive force and committing child abuse
§ Violent deputy cliques or gangs
continue to operate within the department, particularly in the Compton and East
Los Angeles stations... Despite Sheriff Villanueva's claims that members of
these cliques/gangs have been disciplined or reassigned pursuant to Sheriff's
Department policy, Inspector General Max Huntsman has said that he is
"'aware of no implementation whatsoever' of the policy and that his office
can't effectively investigate the secret societies 'because of the obstruction
of the Sheriff's Department.'"
In another part of the resolution,
the commission says the commission has "violated the First Amendment
rights of residents engaging in protest activity as well as journalists
covering protests." It cites the arrest of LAist/KPCC reporter
Josie Huang,
who was taken into custody by deputies last month after identifying herself as
a member of the press. "In defending the arrest, Sheriff Villanueva cited
inaccurate and misleading information that was contradicted by contemporaneous
video footage."
THE BACKSTORY
When Villanueva took office in
December of 2018, commissioners initially were hopeful for a better
relationship with him than his predecessor Jim McDonnell, who sometimes
resisted requests for information from the panel and attended only a handful of
their meetings.
Indeed, Villanueva attended
several meetings during his first few months in office but as commissioners'
questions became more pointed about deputy discipline, use of force and other
matters, he quit showing up.
Villanueva was particularly
perturbed by the panel's demand for more information about his decision to
rehire a former campaign aide who had been terminated by the department for
alleged domestic violence and lying. The rehiring of Caren Carl Mandoyan
sparked a lawsuit by the board of supervisors and a judge's ruling it was
unlawful.
His relationship with the nine-member
civilian panel steadily deteriorated since then with his often refusing to even
send subordinates to answer questions necessary for them to conduct effective
oversight. McDonnell almost always sent his undersheriff to meetings - even if
his responses to inquiries left the commission unsatisfied.
In May, Villanueva defied the
first ever subpoena by the commission to testify about how he was handling the
spread of coronavirus inside LA County's sprawling jail system. The sheriff
worried it would be a "public shaming" of him.
The commission was created by
the Board of Supervisors in January of 2016 to increase transparency and
accountability at the department. In March, voters approved a measure giving
subpoena power. At each point, criminal justice reform advocates expressed high
hopes for better oversight and changes at the sheriff's department.
With the commission now at a
standoff with the sheriff, nobody expressed much hope.
There was talk of a recall of
the sheriff among a few activists who spoke at the meeting - the only hope for
some to oust a sheriff who's vowed to remain in power.
»
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