To: Judge William Collette
Pledge of Solidarity with MI CATS Community Defenders
I, the undersigned, acknowledge the imminence of ecological collapse. I pledge to show the same steadfast courage and conviction when faced with industrial tyrants and state repression in my community, in solidarity with MICATS "felons" whose actions have been cheapened to "publicity stunts" by the state and in solidarity with all those whose voices are systematically silence and exterminated throughout history.
Why is this important?
"I am unsympathetic about people trying to use this courtroom as some sort of place to make public statement about their problems."
"So here’s the point. 'Environmental Necessity.' If there is somebody leaking oil on a piece of property and you race out in the yard, and you go in and you stop it, and they charge you with trespassing, I’d throw that case out in a heartbeat. That’s what I think of as 'Environmental Necessity.' I don’t think of coming in and chaining yourselves to somebody else’s construction equipment, in order to make sure that TV cameras come out and see you, for whatever purpose, is that type of thing I’m talking about. That doesn’t work. So no, I can’t allow that."
-Judge William Collette's statements in court regarding MI CATS community defenders
We need to show Judge William Collette and the jurors that the actions of MI CATS "felons" and the like are necessary and just the beginning.
"So here’s the point. 'Environmental Necessity.' If there is somebody leaking oil on a piece of property and you race out in the yard, and you go in and you stop it, and they charge you with trespassing, I’d throw that case out in a heartbeat. That’s what I think of as 'Environmental Necessity.' I don’t think of coming in and chaining yourselves to somebody else’s construction equipment, in order to make sure that TV cameras come out and see you, for whatever purpose, is that type of thing I’m talking about. That doesn’t work. So no, I can’t allow that."
-Judge William Collette's statements in court regarding MI CATS community defenders
We need to show Judge William Collette and the jurors that the actions of MI CATS "felons" and the like are necessary and just the beginning.