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On December 10, 2005, the city of Toledo was shut down and freedom of speech was declared dead

By Dr. Trudy Bond  Posted by Joan Brunwasser (about the submitter)       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments
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On December 10, 2005 the city of Toledo was shut down and freedom of speech was declared dead. This martial law was not the result of a threat of nuclear attack or terrorist "chatter" but rather a decision by the city administration, the police and the judicial system in Toledo that protecting a small group of white supremacists was worth sacrificing first amendment rights.

As a result, ANYONE - who assembled ANYWHERE IN THE CITY OF TOLEDO FOR ANY
PURPOSE outside of the city sanctioned perimeter for the Neo-Nazi rally could be threatened with arrest and jail. According to Judge Thomas Osowik's ruling on December 9, this right to assemble was suspended indefinitely. And ironically, the City administration dismissed the lawsuit on Monday, December 12, two
days after December 10, as it had served its illegal purpose.

Now, we in the community are facing several court battles. There are the cases of 7 young people from Chicago, including two juveniles who were arrested only for allegedly violating an unlawful, unconstitutional restraining order of which they were unaware. The fact that the city of Toledo was under martial law had not been publicized. They were jailed from Saturday until Monday
afternoon without bail, and have civil and criminal charges pending against them, in spite of having committed no illegal actions.

Then there are 6 individuals from Lansing, Michigan who have a variety of "disorderly conduct" charges for such crimes as shouting profanities at the Nazis and criminal charges which stem from their presence at the actual "sanctioned" neo-nazi demonstration.

Those present at the counter-demonstration agree that they witnessed no violence or even "disorderly conduct," except by the police, whose outrageous and dangerous tactics included several unprovoked charges into the crowd by platoons of cops on horseback.

All of these people are being defended by one attorney, Terry Lodge. With no assistance from any organization (not even the state or local ACLU), Terry faces a huge task and at this point is protecting the rights of all of us single-handedly. The civil contempt charges will go to trial in a few weeks, and it is likely that there will be several jury trials on the bogus criminal charges. Those from Chicago have already been forced to make 3 trips to Toledo for trial dates that have been rescheduled, as their personal costs continue to rise.

The Freedoms we often take for granted: freedom of speech, association, and the right to assemble are under fire in Toledo. All of us have a stake in making sure that the reprehensible viewpoints of a distinct minority aren't allowed to be made into the excuse for shutting down the freedoms of others.

Please support this ongoing fight to protect our freedoms. Press and passing on this information are some of the most important ways you can help us. Donations can be sent to Terry J. Lodge, IOLTA Account, 316 N. Michigan St.,
Suite 520, Toledo, OH 43624-1627.

Thank you,
Dr. Trudy Bond
armordilo@aol.com


Dr. Trudy Bond is a psychologist and peace activist in Toledo, Ohio, having
been arrested for civil disobediance when the city first became a police state,
shutting down the sidewalks to allow for marine training in January, 2005.
She is working with a group to confront the repeated martial law that is
occurring in Toledo, Ohio.
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Joan Brunwasser is a co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform (CER) which since 2005 existed for the sole purpose of raising the public awareness of the critical need for election reform. Our goal: to restore fair, accurate, transparent, secure elections where votes are cast in private and counted in public. Because the problems with electronic (computerized) voting systems include a lack of (more...)
 

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