A Call from Seattle: Support The Chase 5!

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Category: Occupy

Created on Monday, 12 March 2012 18:30

Written by itsrighttooccupy

This comes from the itsrighttooccupy blog.

On his birthday, Jamie Dimon will roam free; The Chase Five will be on trial

March 13th - Chase 5 Solidarity and Chase Bank Action

8:30am:  Courtroom Solidarity 12pm: Demo outside the Courthouse 12:30pm:  Chase 5 Press Conference 1pm:  March on Chase Bank

From Oakland to Chicago we have witnessed moves to crush our #Occupy movements.  We are facing repression because we represent a challenge to the legitimacy of this system.  We have openly called into the question the right of the 1% to rule.

As we break with this system, we find ourselves confronting the dual threats from Democratic party operatives and their defenders.  On the one hand, they attempt to cajole us into the ranks of electoral politics in order to both neutralize us and reinforce their system.  Meanwhile, Democratic mayors continue to unleash the repressive

apparatus of the state in the form of police attacks in the streets and legal intimidation in the courts, attempting to sow fear and confusion.  #Occupiers in Houston are facing felony charges for blockading the port, and hundreds are facing charges from #occupy actions in Oakland and dozens of other cities.  To counter these attacks, we must build national solidarity efforts.

In Seattle, five #occupiers are facing charges for their participation in a Chase Bank occupation.  On November 2nd, JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon came to Seattle.  He was confronted by massive street protests that began when 5 Occupy Seattle participants chained themselves together inside a Chase Bank branch.  Hundreds of protesters arrived and encircled the bank; it was shut down for the day.  That evening, hundreds blockaded a hotel where he was accepting a “business leadership” award.

The Chase 5 Trial begins on March 13 – Jamie Dimon’s birthday (!).  As he roams free, the Chase 5 will be in court facing trespass charges that carry a maximum sentence of one year in jail.  Concurrently, #occupiers in Atlanta are calling for nationwide actions against Chase Bank on March 13 to “celebrate” Dimon’s birthday.

Chase Bank is a part of a terminally flawed system of legalized bribery, corruption, exploitation, and injustice.  It is a system that makes outlaws of those who have the audacity to rebel.

Not one banker has been arrested for destroying the lives and livelihoods of millions of people and entire nations.

Not one banker has faced criminal charges for forcing countless thousands of families into the streets.

Not one banker has been criminally charged for financing the destruction of our planet in the name of profit.

Let’s build national and global solidarity with those struggling for a new world – and against the attacks on the movement.  Support Seattle’s Chase 5 and show our determination against the logic of the system as we declare our own legitimacy.

• Drop the Charges Against the Chase Five, and all #occupiers in Seattle.  Call and email the Chief Prosecutor, Craig Sims: 206-684-7771,Craig.Sims@Seattle.Gov

• Read The Chase 5 statement, released on November 2nd, at your local #Occcupy.

• Forward Chase 5 press releases on to national and local press wherever you are.