Crashing the Party : Legacies and Lessons from the RNC 2000 - Softcover

Kris Hermes; Marina Sitrin; Heidi Boghosian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1629631027 ISBN 13: 9781629631028

Publisher: PM PRESS, 2015

Synopsis

Over the past 15 years, people in the United States - dissidents in particular - have witnessed a steady escalation of the National Security State, including invasive surveillance, indiscriminate police violence and unlawful arrests. Normally associated with the realities of a post-9/11 world, these developments were actually being set in motion during the Republican National Convention (RNC) protests in 2000, as Crashing the Party shows. It also documents how, in response, dissidents confronted new forms of political repression by pushing legal boundaries.

About this title

Review

"An exhaustive on-the-ground account of the tools that all levels of governments now use to suppress political dissent. Although focused on the 2000 Republic National Convention in Philadelphia, author Kris Hermes identifies and documents coercive techniques employed at many other protests, both large and small. Hermes, who gained firsthand experience before, during, and after the event, also shows how dedicated jail solidarity efforts can mitigate the harmful effects of arrests and overcharging, although sometimes at great personal cost. A must-read for anyone interested in knowing the how far governments can and will go in this post-9/11 era." --Jim Redden, author, Snitch Culture

"By recounting the story of the R2K Legal Collective supporting protesters against the 2000 Republican Convention in Philadelphia, Crashing the Party shows us some of the possibilities of legal defense, and outlines strategies to realize them (as well as the counter-strategies the state may employ)." --Kristian Williams, towardfreedom.com

"Crashing the Party is a chilling story, well told. In it are many accounts of solidarity, betrayal, bravery, and brutality." --J.E. McNeil, Friends Journal

"This unique book provides what is arguably the first in-depth examination of radical legal support in North America, an analysis framed by his meticulous recounting of the mobilization against the Republican National Convention [RNC] held in Philadelphia in the summer of 2000." --Irina Ceric, Radical Criminology

"A strategy for carrying activism onto the criminal injustice system's own turf is more important than ever. Kris Hermes's fine book shows us how legal collectives can continue to play a vital role." --Eric Laursen, The Fifth Estate

About the Author

Kris Hermes is a Bay Area-based activist who has worked for nearly 30 years on social justice issues and is an active, award-winning legal worker-member of the National Lawyers Guild. In May 2016, Kris was honored with the May Patriot Award from the Bill of Rights Defense Committee/Defending Dissent Foundation (BORDC/DDF). He lives in Oakland, California. Marina Sitrin is a writer, lawyer, teacher, and organizer. She is the editor of Horizontalism: Voices of Popular Power in Argentina, author of Everyday Revolutions: Horizontalism & Autonomy in Argentina, and a coauthor of They Can't Represent US! Reinventing Democracy from Greece to Occupy. She lives in New York City. Heidi Boghosian is the executive director of the National Lawyers Guild and is the cohost of the weekly civil liberties radio show Law and Disorder in New York and over 40 national affiliates. She is the former editor in chief of the Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review and is the author of Spying on Democracy: Government Surveillance, Corporate Power, and Public Resistance. She lives in New York City.

Edition details

• Publisher: PM PRESS
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1629631027
• ISBN 13: 9781629631028
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 320