Charges Dropped against Denver Anti-Police Brutality activist Larry Hales!

[Justice for Larry Hales]

*ALERT: The Racist Frame-up Charges Against Larry Hales HAVE BEEN DROPPED!
*


On Wed., April 23 all charges were dropped against Denver activist Larry 
Hales. Hales had been assaulted by ten Denver cops this past Nov. 30. 
The cops had busted into Larry's home without permission at 10:30 p.m., 
handcuffed his partner to a chair, ripped out some of Hales' hair, 
ripped his clothes, and charged him with interfering with the police.
 
Hales, a leading activist against police brutality and war, is also 
organizing for protests at the Democratic National Convention in Denver 
this August, and is well known to the Denver police. Hales had been 
providing housing for a parolee who had been a police brutality victim. 
A parole visit had been the pretext of the cops' raid on Hales' home, 
but the parolee was not at home at the time and the cops did not have 
permission to enter or search the home when the parolee was not present.

A widespread support campaign grew up around the case, demanding that 
all charges be dropped against Hales. The National Justice for Larry 
Hales campaign launched an online petition which generated over 160,000 
email messages to the members of the Denver legislature, the mayor, city 
attorney and the judge in the case, the Colorado congressional 
delegation, congressional leaders, President Bush, Attorney General 
Mukasey, and members of the media. Letters were faxed from public 
officials such as Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner, from unions like 
USW 8751 Boston School Bus Union and many rank and file union leaders, 
religious leaders like Bishop Filipe Teixeira OFSJC, lawyers and other 
public figures.
 
*Larry Hales' message to supporters:  'Mass campaign made the difference'

*Larry Hales wrote the following statement on this victory:  The city 
attorney's office decided to drop the charges against me because of the 
attack and the violation of mine and Melissa Kleinman's fourth amendment 
rights.  But, if there was no campaign and the case not made public, I 
believe they would have gone forward, wasting time, resources and 
possibly sending me to jail for an extended period of time, up to a year. 
 
I do not believe in luck or chance, but Melissa and myself did escape 
great bodily injury or death, and so our case was never as bad as many 
others.  What happened to us is more indicative of what many people who 
try and house parolees and the parolees themselves face.  Their homes 
are ransacked and the parolees are goaded into a response and if they 
respond are violated and sent back to prison.
 
However, in our case there were a great many cops and parole officers 
and to some it may seem surreal, but what happened on Nov. 30th, is just 
more of the same, of the state using its forces to harass and 
intimidate.  They were held off and defeated by a mass campaign of 
support and this is what made the difference.
 
Melissa and I would like to thank the International Action Center, 
Troops Out Now, the Recreate '68 Alliance, USW 8751, Bishop Teixeira, 
City Council Person Chuck Turner, the Partisan Defense Committee, the 
Pan-African Newswire and all organizations and individuals that came to 
our assistance.
 
In struggle and solidarity,
 
Larry Hales

**http://troopsoutnow.org/larryhales* 
<http://www.troopsoutnow.org/larryhales>*
*Read Article on Community Press Conference* 
<http://www.workers.org/2007/us/denver-1213/index.html>
**See support letters, articles and facebooks* 
<http://www.troopsoutnow.org/larryhales/support.html>*
 
Shareef Aleem, Larry Hales and Melissa Kleinman at Dec 3 news conference
*Shareef Aleem, Larry Hales and Melissa Kleinman at Dec. 3 news conference.
*

*National Justice for Larry Hales Committee
c/o Solidarity Center*
55 W. 17th St. #5C
NY NY 10011
www.TroopsOutNow.org/larryhales <http://%20www.TroopsOutNow.org/larryhales>
justice4larryhales at safewebmail.com 
<mailto:justice4larryhales at safewebmail.com>
212.633-6646





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