Arrested Development
Four more years—that's what a Philly 2000 protester endured
A sober lesson for next week's protesters:
Camilo Viveiros, an activist who was arrested during the 2000 GOP convention in Philadelphia for allegedly throwing a bicycle at John Timoney, spent nearly four years with a jail term hanging over his head before he was finally acquitted.
Yes, it took until April 2004 before Viveiros and two others were vindicated. Timoney was Philly's police commissioner at the time; since then, he moved to Miami, where he led the charge late last year against FTAA protesters.
Viveiros bravely told The Nation's Michael Blanding after his acquittal, "This sends a message to the police in New York that they can't get away with criminalizing dissent."
Yes, but they can fuck with your life for four long years and force you and your broke-ass comrades to set up a defense fund.
See Blanding's earlier story on Viveiros for details. And make sure you're armed with cameras, even if you have to hide 'em where the sun don't shine.
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