Like many of you, I wake up most mornings and go to bed tender and alarmed by the news from the frontlines of the movement. Inspired by the determination and courage of the ongoing uprisings and steady organizing of our movements, yet anxious by the escalating attempts to eliminate democratic processes and civil rights protections, churning of the wheels of state repression, mass evictions and economic devastation, callousness to the risk of COVID to those incarcerated and growing threats of civil violence by fascists and white nationalists. 

People are both resisting and participating in grand jury investigations and the frequency of subpoenas are growing. White nationalists and other fascist tendencies, emboldened by our federal government, are increasingly using deadly force at protests that challenge the ways they benefit from racism. 

In response, the local and national NLG are developing protocol and trainings for our legal observers to stay safe as they continue to defend our movements, gearing up for grand jury resistance representation and mobilization, and fighting for the dropping of charges against protestors and others swept up by arrests during protests. 

Please join us next Wednesday, September 9 from 5-7pm for White Nationalism and Relationships to the State: From Building Black Power to Elections - a webinar to reflect on how communities and the movement are defending themselves against the collusion of white nationalist forces within civil society and government. 

Together we are stronger. We look to each other to provide what the government is not and will not, and to defend those taking action for the protection of human and civil rights. 

In solidarity,

Sara Kershnar, Interim Executive Director

All recordings and resources from previous sessions in this series can be found on the webpage by clicking the button below.

On Wednesday, August 26, protesters mobilized at Oscar Grant Plaza at 8pm to demand justice for Jacob Blake, who was shot and paralyzed by Kenosha, WI police officer Rusten Sheskey on August 23. Ten legal observers were also present. Six people were arrested. Five were cited and released, and one was charged with obstruction. OPD deployed  with riot gear, and targeted the crowd with batons, and pepper spray projectiles. There were several minor injuries. OPD also deliberately targeted medics and medic vehicles, impounding one medic vehicle and arresting a medic.

On Friday, August 28, protesters mobilized once again at Oscar Grant Plaza for the Justice and Liberation for Black Bodies march, at 7pm. Thirteen legal observers were present. From the beginning, there was a strong and aggressive response from OPD, who deployed tear gas against the crowd by around 9:30pm. Police are reported to have brandished their less-than-lethal weapons, antagonized and pushed protesters, and snatched and grabbed a number of arrestees. There were at least 12 documented arrests, and protesters were taken to Santa Rita Jail. Multiple people were charged with assault on an officer for aiming laser pointers; others were charged with obstruction.

On Saturday, August 29, protesters gathered at Lake Merritt for the “Mourn the Dead, Fight for the Living” vigil. Eleven legal observers were present. Once again, OPD mobilized in large numbers, both in vehicles and on foot. Police encircled protesters and used tear gas against the crowd. Eight people were arrested and once again charged with assault for possessing laser pointers. 

On Sunday, August 30, there was a rally in support of Donald Trump and against the “radical left” at the Golden Gate Bridge. Four counter-protesters were arrested by California Highway Patrol. 

As August comes to an end, over 230 people in ACSO custody have tested positive for Covid-19 since April. There have been two major outbreaks: one in mid-July, which resulted in a peak of 106 infected people; and another outbreak in mid-August during which Covid-19 cases increased by 300% on August 16 alone. The jail population has also increased over time, to about 75% of March 1 levels. There have been few early releases of prisoners, and no mass releases since orders from Judge Tara Desautels released several hundred people in March and April.

Intake and release (ITR) remains a major concern for Covid-19 exposure. One hotline caller was exposed to the virus on July 8 during booking, when she was placed in a cell with another new arrestee who exhibited symptoms of Covid-19. Both women were tested, but the individual with symptoms was released before her test results returned. The caller became ill with Covid-19, missing multiple visits and court dates.

Another prisoner was exposed to Covid-19 when he was housed in a single cell with a person who was exhibiting symptoms of the virus. Deputies later admitted that this placement was incorrect and that the prisoner was supposed to be moved into a quarantine unit. The caller’s unit was not on quarantine at the time. 

These situations raise serious questions and concerns. Why is the jail moving infected people through non-quarantined units? Why are testing rates so low – only around 10% of the population? And why does ACSO refuse to re-test prisoners when declaring them “recovered,” when the constant movement of prisoners within the jail presents an obvious risk of re-infection and re-exposure? 

The Sheriff’s Covid-19 dashboard has produced a false sense of transparency with the public and with the courts. On August 28, Magistrate Judge Nathaniel Cousins continued a status hearing on Covid-19 in Santa Rita until Friday, October 10. Previously, these status hearings occurred biweekly. As the jail and public officials close ranks, the community is losing valuable opportunities to hold the jail accountable for major inconsistencies in its infection rates – such as the suspiciously high numbers of “asymptomatic positives” and the fact that dozens of prisoners have been declared “recovered” seemingly overnight.

The Santa Rita Jail Hotline works directly with prisoners to determine how they were exposed to Covid-19 and whether the care they are receiving is adequate. Hotline calls suggest a very different reality than what is being presented to the public. If you are interested to become a hotline worker, please fill out this form.

An immigration work group has been meeting periodically and working on ways to hold accountable the SF Immigration Court. Please join the NLG-SFBA Immigration listserv or email April if you are interested in joining the NLG-SFBA immigration community. If you would like to request observer-supporters at a client’s immigration hearing, please fill out a request form here and email migrantjustice@nlgsf.org to follow up. 

RESOURCE

NEW REPORT ON HEALTH HARMS OF ICE TRANSFERS, by Human Impact Partners, Asian Prisoner Support Committee, and Asian Law Caucus

This newly released report presents research on the severe public health and equity impacts of ICE transfers, along with immediate steps the California Governor and Legislature can take to interrupt this process, support immigrant communities, and apply a public health approach to community safety.

Seeking:

Request for an attorney to consult with #FreeThemAll14 - the fourteen organizers who were arrested at Governor Newsom's house on Monday, July 27. They recently published a report about their incarceration in Sacramento County Jail. 

After consulting with a NLG-SF attorney, they believe that there is a strong basis for a civil suit against California Highway Patrol and other agencies. In arresting the organizers, CHP circumvented Sacramento County's emergency bail schedule, which should have resulted in a cite-and-release. CHP sought a bail increase for the misdemeanor charges, which led organizers to be incarcerated for 16 hours, during which they were denied food and water.

We are looking for attorneys who can assist with the following:

- Assisting the #FreeThemAll14 in filing a claim against CHP

- Determining the basis for and filing a claim against CHP and other agencies, such as the Sacramento Sheriff

- Determining, via discovery, who gave the order to detain organizers

- Strategizing about the potential risks, strategy, timing of a complaint, and how to leverage the complaint to maintain media attention and lift up the demands for release of people from detention centers.

Please contact Lina Garcia-Schmidt at demonstrations@nlgsf.org if you are interested in supporting this lawsuit. 

Lawyers and law students willing to advise prisoners on the process of filing and drafting pro se claims

Please contact srjhotline@nlgsf.org. 

SEND A NOTE OF SUPPORT TO TIEN AND PATTI: 

Transferred from a CA prison to a CO ICE jail

On Monday 8/31 morning, Governor Newsom allowed the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to hand over Patricia Waller, a Belizean domestic violence survivor, and Tien Pham, a Vietnamese refugee, directly to ICE to extend their incarceration from the ‘criminal justice system’ in California to the federal immigrant prison system under DHS. Furthermore, they will be moved farther away from their loved ones in CA, transferred to a facility in Colorado. You can read Asian Law Caucus’s press release and send Patti & Tien notes of encouragement via this form.

SUPPORT THE ACCOUNTABILITY IN DETENTION ACT & URGE GOV. NEWSOM TO SIGN AB 3228

AB 3228, the Accountability in Detention Act, has hit the Governor's desk! AB 3228 requires all private prison operators in the state to abide by the standards of care in their contracts and creates a civil cause of action in state court for violations of these standards. The bill also provides attorneys fees for plaintiffs that are successful in their suit.

1. Sign and share the petition asking Governor Newsom to sign the bill

2. Uplift the bill by participating in the social media campaign through the end of the week!

Find sample tweets, graphics, and messaging here. 

FILL OUT SURVEY RE. IMMIGRANTS WITH ANKLE MONITORS

A brief survey, created by a working group of Bay Area advocates interested in policies surrounding SF ERO’s use of ankle monitors (more info about the working group is included in the survey), will help identify trends, priorities and legal strategies in advocating for the removal of ankle monitors and other alternatives to detention.

The Young Women's Freedom Center is Hiring!!

The YWFC is currently hiring for the following positions:

- Statewide Organizer 

- LA Program Manager

 
- SF Program Manager 

- SF Lead Organizer 

- SSC Lead Organizer