Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

Update on Charges Against the Venezuela Embassy Protectors
Ajamu Baraka and Bahman Azad
17 Jun 2020
Update on Charges Against the Venezuela Embassy Protectors
Update on Charges Against the Venezuela Embassy Protectors

It was agreed that dropping the federal charges and seeking no jail time in return for pleading to a very low-level DC Code charge was an important victory.

“Judge Howell did all she could to create an unfair trial.”

The defense of the four embassy protectors who were facing federal charges has finally come to a conclusion with the defenders avoiding any serious retributions from the state. The support of this committee was absolutely critical to this outcome. The resources raised and support given by this committee allowed the defenders to mount a credible defense against the state that was intent on making them an example.

After the first trial ended in a mistrial because the jurors refused to convict the protectors, the government offered to drop the federal charge and not seek any jail time for the defenders. In return, they wanted the defenders to plead guilty to a local DC charge of incommoding. 

After discussing this offer with members of this committee, other members of the Embassy Protection Collective and other allies, they decided to accept this plea agreement. Everyone they talked to agreed that dropping the federal charges and seeking no jail time in return for pleading to a very low-level DC Code charge was an important victory.

On June 3, a court hearing was held on video which people could listen to by a conference call. The court accepted the plea agreement and sentenced each of the four defenders to six-month probation and a fine of $500 and a $250 fee to the Victim Assistance fund. Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell sentenced the defenders to 30 days in jail but suspended the sentence and placed them on six-month probation.

“The jurors refused to convict the protectors.”

At the hearing, Judge Howell continued to show her bias against the defenders and her total lack of understanding about the case. That court hearing is described in the article by Anya Parampil of the Grayzone Project, linked below. From the first day of the federal prosecution to its final moments, Judge Howell showed her anger at the protectors and did all she could to create an unfair trial where they would be convicted, imprisoned and heavily fined. It is because members of this committee helped to raise funds and awareness about the case that we achieved this positive result. 

We will keep the Defense Committee website active for at least the next six months while they are on probation as Judge Howell remains a danger to their freedom.

Thank you all very much for your active participation in the defense of the embassy protectors. We believe this case, which was followed closely in Venezuela and other countries as well as among the movement in the United States, represents a successful historic challenge to US imperialism that will be talked about and chronicled as one of the most magnificent displays of international solidarity over the past several decades.

Thank you again for participating on the committee and thanks to the dozens of embassy protectors. It was an honor to work with and support all of you.

Ajamu Baraka and Bahman Azad are co-chairs, Embassy Protectors Defense Committee
Below are links to articles on the resolution of the case:

  • Embassy Protection Collective, Federal Charges Against Four Venezuelan Embassy Protectors Dropped
  • Anya Parampil, Venezuelan Embassy Protection Collective wins legal victory in face of hostile Obama-appointed judge & govt prosecution.
  • Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Protectors of the Venezuelan Embassy declare victory after federal charges are dropped

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at [email protected]

U.S. Imperialism

Trending

Elizabeth Warren Wants Green Bombs, not a Green New Deal
Parallels Between Black and Palestinian Struggles
Cory Booker Hates Public Schools
Bill Cosby Should Have Been Denounced by Black America Long Ago
The Black Wall Around Barack Obama: Who Does It Protect Him Against?
How Complacency, Complicity of Black Misleadership Class Led to Supreme Court Evisceration of the Voting Rights Act

Related Stories

Freedom Rider: Capitol Riot Brings U.S. Foreign Policy Home
Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
Freedom Rider: Capitol Riot Brings U.S. Foreign Policy Home
13 January 2021
There needs to be soul searching and truth telling about invasions, interventions, coups and sanctions that are far more destructive than the Trump
White Rightwing Chickens Roost Violently at Capitol
BAP Coordinating Committee
White Rightwing Chickens Roost Violently at Capitol
13 January 2021
The Democrat-aligned oligarchy will try to use last week’s racist violence as an excuse to impose a corporate brand of fascism.
Coup d’état or Insurrection – What’s Good for the Goose… 
Dr.Wilmer J. Leon, III
Coup d’état or Insurrection – What’s Good for the Goose… 
13 January 2021
Under what authority does the American government have the right to instigate and execute coup’s against democratically elected governments in othe
The “Non-Aligned” Nations Realign
Wilmer J. Leon III
The “Non-Aligned” Nations Realign
14 October 2020
The formerly colonized peoples of the planet say No to US bullying, sanctions and regime change.
The Stalinist Trial of Julian Assange
John Pilger
The Stalinist Trial of Julian Assange
09 September 2020
The collusion of powers wants to bury Julian alive in their war on the very principle of freedom of speech and freedom of thought, and democracy.
No to the New Cold war with China
​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
No to the New Cold war with China
29 July 2020
The African radical, anti-imperialist, internationalist movement, sees the Chinese state and the Chinese people much differently than the U.S.
Building Power to Win is the Revolutionary Approach to Bourgeois Electoralism”
​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
Building Power to Win is the Revolutionary Approach to Bourgeois Electoralism”
17 June 2020
We must make clear that it is imperialism that degrades and destroys the earth, makes water a commodity, food a luxury, education an impossibility,
Trump vs. Biden: The China-Hating Contest Is On Like Donkey Kong
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Trump vs. Biden: The China-Hating Contest Is On Like Donkey Kong
20 May 2020
Trump and Biden promise their fans a roaring hate-fest this election cycle, as they vie for the honor of defending America’s right to full spectrum
Fighting the Invisible Enemy: Imperial Fascism 2020, Not Covid-19
Lauren Smith
Fighting the Invisible Enemy: Imperial Fascism 2020, Not Covid-19
06 May 2020
What could possibly be a more effective way to seal borders, discourage protest, and position the United States into perfect alignment for WWIII?
Freedom Rider: Standing with Venezuela and Iran
Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
Freedom Rider: Standing with Venezuela and Iran
08 April 2020
The Trump administration wants a hot war with Iran or Venezuela, or both, and those of us claiming to be anti-war must be on our guard and ready fo

More Stories


  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of January 25, 2021
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of January 25, 2021
    26 Jan 2021
    Biden Will Resume “Humanitarian” Wars
  •  “Expect Push for Censorship Under Biden
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    “Expect Push for Censorship Under Biden
    26 Jan 2021
    Under the new administration, the State will attempt to “constrict political analysis and alternative information, to impose on us an ideological conformity,” said Ajamu Baraka, na
  • Haitians Tell President “Get Out by February 7”
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Haitians Tell President “Get Out by February 7”
    26 Jan 2021
    Protesters gather regularly in cities around the country to demand that Haitian President Jovenel Moise step down by February 7.
  •  Biden Will Resume “Humanitarian” Wars
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Biden Will Resume “Humanitarian” Wars
    26 Jan 2021
    The Biden Administration will “shift back to the ‘humanitarian’ interventionism model of US imperialism,” said Danny Haiphong, contributing editor of Black Agenda Report and co-hos
  • Trump as Othello in a Corporate Theater
    Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    Trump as Othello in a Corporate Theater
    21 Jan 2021
    Trump the straw man has finally been knocked down, giving the Democrats a victory that costs their corporate masters nothing.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us