Bree Newsome Released From Jail: 'We took this task into our own hands because OTHERS Failed to act'

[kpete]

A judge gave them each a $3,000 bond, which they later paid and then were released. The judge told them they were allowed to leave the state if they wished.

State Rep. Todd Rutherford of Columbia, who also is an attorney, will represent Newsome.

................


A group called Ferguson Action tweeted photos and video of the incident, where they refer to the woman who was arrested simply as "Bree." They released this statement:


https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/614869102549708800
http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2015/06/27/woman-removes-flag-from-state-house/29384039/

Update: Democracy Now! has confirmed Bree Newsome and James Tyson have been released.
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2015/6/27/this_flag_comes_down_today_bree

[Little Star]

1. k&r

[marym625]

2. K&R

[MoonRiver]

3. Awesome!

[newfie11]

4. K&R!!!!!!!!

[Red Oak]

5. "...allowed to leave the state if they wished.."

Got a kick out of this line.

I'll bet they wished she would leave the state.

Not gonna happen.

[marble falls]

8. That line got me, too. They want to include her out. She might collect another Dixie rag.

[tammywammy]

15. She's from North Carolina

By not making her stay in South Carolina she can go home and also do the talk show circuit.

[Red Oak]

20. Thanks TammyWammy - eom

[sabrina 1]

6. That will become an iconic photo. I hope all charges will be dropped against her.

I doubt they expected the huge support she received from all over the country.

[TBF]

12. She's a hero -

I cringed when I heard that South Carolina was ready to "debate" removing the flag.

Excuse me? Exactly what is it that isn't clear to you folks about how offensive this is?

I heard Michael Moore is paying Bree's expenses but I wouldn't mind chipping in to help also.

[calimary]

28. Yeah. They're ready to "debate." Yeah, riiiiiiiiiight.

I salute her! She has more guts than all of them combined. She's a hero.

I would point to nikki haley again. She needs to be held responsible. GET OFF YOUR ASS MADAM GOVERNOR. GET THIS DONE. DO AN EXECUTIVE ORDER. To hell with the procedures and the talking and the debating and the stringing it out til you hope people forget or give up or get distracted or move on to other things. Otherwise, I'm betting there will be more attempts like this. I hope there ARE more attempts like this. I still put my best bet on a nice flame-thrower. You don't even have to get a lot of special gear. You don't have to climb up anywhere.

[Telcontar]

40. Your commitment to Constitutional Democracy is inspiring

Pray a Republican President never agrees with your methods.

[TBF]

59. Care to share your problem with removing that

symbol of oppression and bigotry?

[kestrel91316]

69. Thank you for showing us so early in your stay your love of racists and hatred of the liberal

tradition of civil disobedience.

Enjoy your stay.

[kestrel91316]

68. Flaming arrows.

[rhett o rick]

44. They'd be foolish not to drop all charges and hope this quiets down. If not

Bree Newsome might be the new Rosa Parks.

[avebury]

46. The charge is pure BS.

All her attorney has to do is ask one question - In what way did she deface the "monument?"

She climbed the pole, unhooked the flag and brought it down where she was immediately taken into custody.


Did she throw paint on the flag? No
Did she cut the flag with scissors? No
Did she slash the flag with a knife? No
Did she use a lighter or match to set the flag or fire? No

Just in what way did she deface this "monument?"

They might have made a case for attempted theft but defacing a "monument" would be an abuse of prosecutorial authority and idiotic at the same time.

If the State of South Carolina wants to look like an idiot I guess that this would work.

This is the kind of lame move I would expect Oklahoma to make.

[treestar]

56. She did deface the monument

Well, I might change my mind on reading the statute. But unlike other so called heroes, she is willing to face the charges. She probably would not want them dropped. The trial will grant publicity, too. The national debate about the flag would intensify and its popularity would possibly decline.

[avebury]

60. In what way did she deface it? nt

If she did not damage the flag then the most she would be guilty of is attempted theft.

[treestar]

63. They probably consider it defacing to

remove it. It's there by state law. I think she'd prefer the trial to them dismissing the charges, as she can get more mileage out of it that way. And it's likely a misdemeanor at most.

[avebury]

74. If I were on the jury, I would laugh at that charge

as I found he innocent.

If they are foolish to continue to charge the lady, the state is the one who will look foolish to the world.

[treestar]

79. Exactly.

Let th look foolish to the world. They should be over this civil war business and their issues with civil rights by now. It's the 21st century

[marble falls]

7. If you want something done, find someone ready, willing and able to step up....

and do the right thing. Bree Newsome is one of those someones. We need all the Bree Newsomes there are.

[vanlassie]

9. Almost looks like they are handing her that flag. Wonder what happened to it?

[BumRushDaShow]

11. The guy holding the flag in that pic was her accomplice

James Tyson. See post #10.

When you look at the video - a police officer takes the flag from them, sortof half-rolls/half-bunches it up while they were handcuffed, and then later escorts them away while still in possession of it. They eventually put a new one up.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. K&R and also a thank you to her

blond-haired, blue-eyed accomplice - Occupy Charleston protestor James Tyson (who held the pole steady and assisted).

Newsome and Tyson are part of a group of about 10 activists who orchestrated the flag's removal after a white supremacist allegedly slaughtered nine people at "Mother" Emanuel AME Church in Charleston on June 17.

"We didn't see it fit to have the flag stand erect while the people who were massacred were laid to rest under it," Lewis said.

The group planned to keep the flag in a box without defacing it as the funerals for the victims are held this week, the youth educator from Charlotte, N.C., said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-removes-confederate-flag-s-statehouse-grounds-article-1.2273299

The trial is set for July 27 per the below -

Newsome and Tyson were taken to Richland County’s Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, where a judge set a $3,000 bond for each of them and said they would be allowed to travel to North Carolina in the meantime before their trial date of July 27. Each posted bail immediately.

State Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, a Columbia attorney, is representing Newsome. After the bond hearing, Rutherford said Newsome “maintains her innocence on the charge.” Someone called him and asked him to represent Newsome, he said.

Columbia attorney Mark Schnee is representing Tyson, who he says was standing nearby at the time of the flag’s removal and did not climb the pole or touch the flag. Schnee said he was contacted by the activist group several days ago and asked about laws and rules regarding protests.

http://www.thestate.com/news/local/article25652377.html

They would be wise to drop it because it would become an absolute media circus and PR nightmare for the state if they went ahead with it.

[Hoppy]

13. What legal basis would they use to dismiss the case?

[BumRushDaShow]

17. What legal basis have they used to dismiss most civil disobedience cases?

For example
This too

The cops usually conveniently "don't show up" and the lawyers request dismissal and it's granted. If every protestor carrying out civil disobedience actually went to trial, the backlog would probably go out hundreds of years.

For example, ACT-UP has an interesting document online for their NY chapter -

Motions to dismiss

A dismissal is the termination of the defendant's charges without any finding a guilt.

One primary basis for requesting the dismissal of the charges is that the charging document is
defective. In the Summons Part, this most often involves the police officer's failure to sign the
summons or, on a disorderly conduct summons, to allege the defendant's intention to block
pedestrians or vehicular traffic. (see People v. Tarka) In non-Summons Part cases, motions to
dismiss based on a defective complaint usually involve facial insufficiency, or the prosecutor's
failure to allege sufficient facts to satisfy the elements of the offense charged. In the summons
part the judge should inspect the summons for sufficiency, in the DAT parts the attorney
should do so.

The second primary basis for a dismissal is justification--which the purpose of the arrestee's
act was to prevent a greater harm. This defense is part of the New York State Law Penal Law
(Section 35.05).

A third, related, ground is "the interests of justice"--that the issue related to the demonstration
or some other fact related to the case (sometimes the police officer's brutality in the arrest)
demands that the case be dismissed. See sample of written motion to dismiss in the interests
of justice. While motions to dismiss may not often be granted, they should be made if there is a grounds.

http://www.actupny.org/documents/CDdocuments/ACTUP_CivilDisobedience.pdf

The legal teams in SC would comb their penal codes for similar. It's pretty routine. Notably, those who often end up held over for trial was because of an assault charge, etc.

[cojoel]

18. prosecutor discretion

Prosecutors have discretion to not press charges on a case-by-case basis.

[knightmaar]

33. I don't know. How about "Imminent Presidential Pardon"?

[Beartracks]

53. "Tyson... did not climb the pole or touch the flag"? He's gripping it in the pic!

He's the guy in the yellow vest, isn't he?

Is it significant to his defense whether or not he touched the flag?

==================

[BumRushDaShow]

73. I may be wrong but

I really don't think SC wants the media circus of a trial (even if their base calls for lynching anyone who desecrates their sacred symbols). Yes, he is the guy in the vest and he was also inside the wrought-iron fenced area around the pole.

They may delay and delay and huff and puff, but I expect that when no one is looking, they will decline to prosecute and drop any potential charges. They know that Hilton Head (among other resorts) is a money-maker and it would be a shame if a boycott during high season is suddenly announced because of teabagger sound and fury that signifies nothing.

[Fred Sanders]

14. Public interest. De minimus. Lack of proof of criminal intent. Racist symbols are not protected.

Made the last one up, wish I did not have to.

[Hoyt]

16. Here's to that young lady, and the guy on the ground. Love it. I hate that flag. nt

[riderinthestorm]

19. This is excellent news. Also Micheal Moore has offered to pay all legal expenses

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026913399

[RiverNoord]

21. Newsome and Tyson are heroes and patriots.

[Gothmog]

22. This was a good protests

Bree is a great young lady

[greatlaurel]

23. Thank you to Bree Newsome and James Tyson for this brave act.

Last edited Sun Jun 28, 2015, 02:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Thanks for this post. The statement from Ferguson Action is very well written.

[kpete]

25. beauty

[greatlaurel]

35. That is a terrific image.

Thank you!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

52. I have the perfect poem to go with this...

[font size=5]Still I Rise[/font]

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

-- Maya Angelou, 1928 - 2014

[greatlaurel]

61. That is a beautiful poem to accompany this beautiful image. Thank you.

Maya Angelou was a magnificent woman and one of our greatest talents. Her wisdom and spirit are greatly missed.

Bree Newsome's act of bravery and beauty illustrates this:

"Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise."

[candelista]

24. What exactly did this achieve?

[LovingA2andMI]

26. Why do you ask?

Elaborate on the REAL purpose of your question.....

[kpete]

27. She

DID something

unlike most of our citizens & politicians


ACTION IS OUR DUTY!!!

[BrotherIvan]

34. ^^BOOM

She DID SOMETHING!!!!

[Telcontar]

41. What she did was raise the stakes

Niw people who otherwise wouldn't have objected to removal of the flag will insist on preserving it.

Dumbass stunt with forceable blowback

[BrotherIvan]

43. No

But thanks for your concern.

[bvf]

54. Absurd statement.

Even if there were a grain of truth in it, it would just be an example of fence-sitting racists digging in their heels and coming out from under their rocks, to mix metaphors.

She did the right thing. More power to her and her companions.

[HERVEPA]

65. Dumbass post, hopefully with forceable blowback

[brush]

75. Dumb ass stunt or heroic action?

I'll go with taking heroic action instead of just being a keyboard cynic like some people.

[LynneSin]

31. She showed the world that it's bullshit the flag is still up there

Governor Haley and the South Carolina government are clinging to some antiquated law passed in a time of extreme racial tension to ensure that Whites could always show who was in charge of the state. And yes I know that was the democrats who passed that back in the 60s but many of those democrats left the party to join the republicans after Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights act of 1964 including South Carolina's own Strom Thrurmond.

If Haley wanted to she could just order that the flag be removed and the flagpole be taken down to ensure it could not be put up again. She is too chickenshit. Bree Newsome showed bravery knowing that she could be jailed, she could be beaten and she could possibly be shot for what she did. But she showed that if we want the flag removed we could just get rid of it.

I think of great photos of civil disobedience in our lifetime like the vietnam protestors putting flowers in the national guard's guns or the lone man who stopped the tanks in China's Tiananmen Square. Bree's photo of climbing the flagpole and removing the flag will be one to be remembered throughout history.

Well Behaved women rarely make history!

[awoke_in_2003]

36. It brought attention

to the fact that it is still flying. Does this hurt your feelings?

[brush]

37. Asking that is kind of like the old question of asking how much something costs.

If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

In your case, if you have to ask, you can't comprehend it.

[rhett o rick]

45. I'm glad you asked. But would have liked to hear your opinon first. Remember Rosa Parks?

Someone asked her that exact question.

I hope you stick around for the discussion. I hope this wasn't a drive-by fruiting.

[mucifer]

48. She also did it in a calm way praying while being arrested.

It was very moving to watch. Although, a lot of news organizations aren't showing the video or telling how she did it. Watching it done is very moving and I'm not Christian.

[Hekate]

49. You again. Bree set an example for all of us, that's what. What do you achieve by being here?

[treestar]

55. Took time off the lifetime of that flag

Like what Rosa Parks did, it shows someone willing to cross the line to make a point.

[Gregorian]

57. Peace.

[PoliticAverse]

70. Massive publicity for the issue? n/t

[noiretextatique]

71. what? YOU are discussing it

and so are millions of others. that is an achievement.

[LynneSin]

29. Bree for Governor of South Carolina

Clearly she got the job when Gov Haley could not.

Haley could order it down. But refuses to give in to the racist ways of South Carolina's past. Shame on Haley!

[EL34x4]

32. It's not that simple.

Governor Haley just can't "order" the flag to come down. Her power is not absolute. The flag was put there in 2000 by State legislation. There's a democratic process to remove it which the Governor is advocating for.

Not defending the flag or Governor Haley by any means, just pointing out the reality of the situation.

[LynneSin]

39. It's a flag - just order it down

sometimes it's just the right thing to do

[Telcontar]

42. Banning torture us just a treaty

Oder it anyway if we need information. Simetimes its the right thing to do.

Either we are a nation of laws, or we aren't. Choose wisely

[rhett o rick]

47. We are only a nation of laws when it suits the rich and powerful. Torture is against the law

but that didn't slow down Bush and Obama doesn't think it was that big a deal because just a few folks got tortured.

The whole purpose of civil disobedience is to break the law.

[Telcontar]

77. The flip side of civil disobedience is willingness to accept consequences

[rhett o rick]

78. Yes I know. What's your point. nm

[brooklynite]

76. Well, since the flag was yanked down by strangers...maybe it needs some maintenance

I'd take it down for a week or to to check it out...

[TheOther95Percent]

30. Keeping this top of mind. That's what it achieved.

SC has had more than a week to change the law. How long does it take to have a debate and a vote? Not this long. What's taking time is for legislators to take the temperature of their constituents so the "vote" can pass without jeopardizing too many politicians' behinds'.

SC's politicians still haven't gotten into a room to debate a measure to remove that flag.

What is taking so long to have that vote?

It's been 10 days or so since 9 people were murdered because of what that flag represents.

Will that flag still be there in a week, a month, a year?

That is not courage. What Ms. Bree Newsom did took real courage.

[Solly Mack]

38. K&R

[Hekate]

50. KnR

[Dont call me Shirley]

51. My husband and I kept wondering when someone was going to take that flag down. Bree did it!

Violent criminals get lower bonds than $3000.00 WTF!

[Cha]

58. Bree..

Bree Newsome Is What Courage And Bravery Looks Like



GOD ‎@Niall_JayDub
Cuz she a hero #FreeBree #BLACKGIRLMAGIC #still
8:01 AM - 27 Jun 2015 2,784 2,784 Retweets
2,426 2,426 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2015/06/27/bree-newsome-is-what-courage-and-bravery-looks-like/

Mahalo kpete

[Aerows]

62. When you think of courage

you see that it is not a billboard.

It is action.

[Jamaal510]

64. K&R

[MadDAsHell]

66. Disappointing that she was hauled off and it was re-raised within minutes. nt

[kestrel91316]

67. Heroism in action! She will be remembered as much as Rosa Parks.

[suffragette]

72. K&R