Banner at Jul 28 2008 protest in D.C.

The two Indiana residents (Hugh Farrell and Gina “Tiga” Wertz) charged with misdemeanors for intimidation and improper use of property in the campaign against the I-69 “NAFTA Superhighway” accepted a plea deal on July 14. The defendants each pleaded guilty to two counts of trespassing and were sentenced to two years non-reporting probation and a $10 fine, plus court costs. If the defendants do not violate their probation in the first 15 months, they can have it terminated at that point.

The defendants had previously faced felony racketeering charges, but those were dismissed by the judge earlier this year.

The details of the plea agreements will eventually be posted on Hugh and Tiga’s support site, mostlyeverything.net.

The defendants have made it clear that they worked closely with their lawyers to make sure the plea deals do not implicate anyone else in any illegal activity.

Disclaimer: Opinions, statements or any information contained in this or any other communication from Root Force should not be taken as reflecting the beliefs of the defendants in any criminal or civil legal action, nor upon their guilt or innocence. Root Force posts, emails, and web site content reflect the perspective of Root Force only, unless explicitly noted.

I-69 Treesit Platform

From www.mostlyeverything.net (links added):

“Indiana State Police [ISP] today [July 9] widened its case against I-69 resistance to target yet another individual. Apparently not content pinning years’ worth of diffuse intentions and attempts from myriad actors onto just Tiga and Hugh, the state served Philip Shelton a search warrant authorizing his forceful detainment for the purpose of obtaining photos, fingerprints, and DNA samples. Four officers (2 ISP detectives, a uniformed ISP officer and another from the Department of Natural Resources) surprised Philip at his near-westside Bloomington home early this morning and escorted him to the State Police post. There, they executed the search warrant while repeatedly offering to buy him soda, then invited him out to lunch. Despite their buoyant charm, Philip declined and was driven back home.

“Shortly thereafter, the probable cause affidavit requesting the search warrant was obtained from the Pike County Circuit Court, and the nature of the state’s interest in Philip further revealed. This document states that there are three reasons to believe that Philip ‘participated in the planning and/or execution of the July 9, 2007 office invasions’ (during which supplies in various I-69 planning offices throughout the state were moved outside, in protest of evictions along the proposed I-69 route). These are, rather explicitly, that Philip is alleged to live with Hugh Farrell, that he was last spring stopped by police while providing information about I-69 to residents living around its proposed corridor, and that someone in a car registered to Philip allegedly visited an I-69 planning office to inquire about the project.

“In posting this affidavit, we do mean to highlight the absurdity of the state’s legitimating a forceful seizure of a DNA sample with a list of quite clearly legal acts. But the accusations levied against Philip are consistent with those of the larger case against I-69 resistance (and the years of surveillance upon which it is based), trends which ought give greater pause than a run of the mill ‘breach of civil liberties.’ What is being actively pursued is the criminalization of those social relationships, relationships already existing between friends and those being sought after, which, in their struggle to constitute other existences, are threatening to the projects of the state. As its collection of surveillance records unfolds (while, we’re reminded today, being built up further), one can see this increasingly well. In the language of the court’s ‘discovery’ and the mutterings of the detectives, with their talk of conspiracy, their fixation on rooting out individuals as members of some group (‘roadblock earthfirst’ – rarely defined but through internet citings), and their targeting of attempts to communicate, their intentions are clear and not to be taken lightly.”

Disclaimer: Opinions, statements or any information contained in this or any other communication from Root Force should not be taken as reflecting the beliefs of the defendants in any criminal or civil legal action, nor upon their guilt or innocence. Root Force posts, emails, and web site content reflect the perspective of Root Force only, unless explicitly noted.

banner at Jul 28 '08 DC I-69 protest

Hugh Farrell, who has been indicted on misdemeanor and felony charges of intimidation, improper use of property, and corrupt business influence for publicly organizing against the I-69 “NAFTA Superhighway”, has released an open letter to his supporters. In the letter he writes, among other things, about the significance of the fight against I-69:

“What the State really fears are collective dinners where many people can sit down together to begin, however awkwardly or painfully, making sense of a highway project that no layperson was ever meant to grasp. The State fears those moments when marginalized young people like me, from the cities or suburbs and seemingly disillusioned with everything, begin to break out of our imposed and self-imposed isolation. They fear it when we begin talking with people very different from ourselves, with farmers and others, about the different and similar ways I-69 will impact our lives.”

Hugh and his co-defendant Tiga face a maximum of 12 years in prison. Support is still needed, including funds, since less than a third of their total estimated legal costs of $30,000 has been raised so far. Please visit their support site at www.mostlyeverything.net.

Disclaimer: Opinions, statements or any information contained in this or any other communication from Root Force should not be taken as reflecting the beliefs of the defendants in any criminal or civil legal action, nor upon their guilt or innocence. Root Force posts, emails, and web site content reflect the perspective of Root Force only, unless explicitly noted.

Protesters have previously deployed a banner off the current bridge and performed street theater in front of public meetings about the project. They are opposed to the bridge for its promotion of single-passenger transportation, contribution to air pollution and global warming, and potential to displace community residents.

As part of the Corridors of the Future program to reduce congestion on major trade routes, the federal government has given $15 million for highway “improvements” from State Route 500 in Vancouver to Columbia Blvd in Portland, including the Columbia River Crossing. In August 2008, President Bush issued an executive order to speed up the environmental review for the plan.

For more information on the bridge plan and resistance, contact Cascadia Rising Tide.

The I-5 Interstate Bridge joining Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA

The city of Denver is planning either to widen I-70 through Denver from 6 to 10 lanes or to add a two-mile, 8-lane detour to the highway. The expansion would destroy more than 50 homes and workplaces, increase air pollution and gas consumption, and destroy more than 300 acres of wildlife habitat. As HCEF! notes, this would all occur in an area already plagued with dozens of major polluters including a coal plant and oil refinery.

“The I-70 expansion is part of the greater picture, one where poor people and communities of color are systemically oppressed by the state for the continued privilege of white people and the wealthy,” the HCEF! press release reads. “Infrastructure expansion doesn’t meet the needs of underserved communities and only furthers their destruction. The I-70 expansion is no different; a low income community of color would be disrupted and displaced to serve the needs of a capitalist white supremacy.”

To find out more about the I-70 Denver expansion plans, check out the Environmental Impact Statement. To get involved in the struggle, get in touch with HCEF!, which is listed on our Affiliates and Allies page.

On that note, we have also added our first Root Force Affiliate group in Colorado: Welcome to Animas Perdidas Root Force, of Durango!

HCEF banner 5-26-09

Healing the Earth

Rabble.ca

We talked about the Root Force analysis and strategy, how infrastructure projects are interconnected, how to oppose infrastruture in the climate of  “economic stimulus,” and more. Check it out!

Bail was set outrageously high ($20,000 and $10,000, respectively), based on the defendants’ alleged disregard for the law (i.e., participating in multiple direct actions), use of “aliases” (also known as nicknames) and distribution of activist literature. They have both been released on bail, but funds are still needed to help pay for the costs of their legal defense.

We encourage everyone to support Hugh and Tiga throughout this legal ordeal, in whatever way they request. It’s not enough to fight infrastructure expansion — we need to lend our support to those who the state chooses to target in its inevitable backlash against our efforts.

This case is a clear attempt by the state to crush, once and for all, any opposition to the I-69 highway. Why? Because that highway is so important to the maintenance of the system.

Please visit Hugh and Tiga’s support web site at www.mostlyeverything.net.

Disclaimer: Opinions, statements or any information contained in this or any other communication from Root Force should not be taken as reflecting the beliefs of the defendants in any criminal or civil legal action, nor upon their guilt or innocence. Root Force posts, emails, and web site content reflect the perspective of Root Force only, unless explicitly noted.

Find out more.

UPDATE: Roadblock Earth First! has informed us that while HB 1656 would indeed give the legislature rather than the governor power over I-69 and economic stimulus funding, “the legislature is also a majority in favor of i-69, so there’s no indication that they would do much about nix-ing the funding.”

Michigan: The DOT has issued final environmental approval for the planning and construction of the new Detroit River International Crossing between Michigan and Ontario, Canada. The new crossing, planned to include a border inspection plaza and a seven-mile interchange connecting it to I-75, is expected to become active in 2013.

Washington: The DOT and the State of Washington have signed an agreement to implement the Cascade Gateway Project, a plan to use Intelligent Transportation Systems to alert truck drivers ahead of time to the wait they can expect at the US-Canada border. The project forms part of the DOT’s Transportation Border Congestion Relief Program.

California: Also as part of the Transportation Border Congestion Relief Program, the DOT has signed an agreement with California to build a new border crossing in San Diego. Wait times for truckers at the current Ota Mesay crossing can be up to 4 hours, according to the DOT, so a new crossing is to be constructed 2 miles to the east. The crossing will include a four-lane, 2.7-mile highway (SR 11) connecting it to the state highway system. To the south, the crossing will connect to the Tijuana Rosarito Corridor and the Tijuana-Tecate and Tijuana-Ensenada toll roads.

On January 20th, Tucson’s chapter of HAND (Hooligans Attack at Night, Duh!) paid a visit to Si Schorr’s house. We wanted to give him a special going away party.

January 15th marked the last day of Si’s role as Chairman of the Arizona State Transportation Board, but not his last chance to profit from his pet project, the I-10 Bypass, as a real estate lawyer. We etched slogans like “No I-10 Bypass,” “Glad You’re Gone, Chairman,” and “Protect Arizona’s Wildlife” on his windows and redecorated his big garage door with a huge “Fuck You, Fuck the I-10 Bypass.” Sorry we couldn’t contain ourselves on our way out from splattering gigantic blobs of paint on your driveway and sidewalk. Not!

The I-10 Bypass would destroy huge swaths of our beautiful desert home in Southern Arizona. The Bypass is only going to profit real estate developers (and their lawyers), and transnational corporations. I-10, a corridor of the future, is a crucial part of the CANAMEX Corridor, which, if built, will make the Tucson area a part of the new artery for NAFTA traffic in the Western US. This Bypass has seen rowdy opposition as each new alignment is proposed. Four down, one to go.

Dear Si:
We will hold you accountable for all of the harm that you are causing by pushing this plan through. The wild places and animals demand that you get fucked with nonstop until the road is canceled. Maybe you don’t understand how we could care so much. Remember that we are watching you!

You’re our special scumbag–and this one was just for fun.