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A Summer Of ARA Trials Finally Ends - In Victory
Toronto's Anti-Racist Action spent 13 days of the summer in
court in two trials, supporting 12 defendants arrested in
connection with demonstrations against Toronto's neo-nazis. In the
end, neither judge could bring himself to convict anyone on the
flimsy evidence, and everyone got off! It wasn't that they wouldn't
have gone along with a frame-up, but they were contrary enough to
demand that the Crown [the prosecution - ed.] and the police at
least do it competently.
Five defendants were charged with mischief in connection with
a demonstration June 11, 1993, when ARA brought the struggle right
to the doorstep of a Heritage Front propagandist, doing
considerable damage to his home. Outnumbered and outwitted, cops
were forced to stand by and made no arrests at the time. But in the
hysteria that followed, the police force made four arrests to cover
their asses, picking people up at other anti-racist events. A fifth
arrest was made six months later. The other group of seven was
arrested at a November 1993 demonstration outside the bunker of
Ernst Zundel, an internationally-known nazi propagandist/organizer
and Holocaust-denier. (Among those charged was a member of the
Bulldozer collective.)
The intention of the Crown and the cops was to handle both
cases as simple criminal matters: "You have the right to
demonstrate but this time you broke the law." However, the
defendants insisted on collective trials and a more political
strategy. Beginning in May 1994, when the June 11 group went on
trial, defense lawyers emphasized the role of police "intelligence"
in making the arrests - a role which the Crown had minimized in the
interests of keeping politics out of the trial. In particular, they
exposed the collaboration between a senior intelligence officer and
Heritage Front leaders in identifying anti-racists.
Other significant political points were made. Both judges
accepted that wearing disguises at an anti-fascist demonstrations
is a reasonable precaution to take, rejecting the Crown argument
that masking proves a defendants' criminal intentions. In the June
11 case the judge also resisted falling into the Crown's trap of
holding demonstration organizers responsible for the actions of
everyone at the event, without compelling evidence tying them to
so-called criminal acts. The Zundel demo judge went even further,
challenging police credibility and asking why arrests had been made
at all. Basically, people were acquitted because the collective
strategy allowed defense lawyers to totally destroy the fabricated
and twisted cop evidence by exposing its internal contradictions.
The collective defense also allowed the group to bring a more
political flavour to the trials, making straight-up criminalization
of the accused more difficult, in the media and in the community.
(For example, defendants were referred to as "anti-racist
activists" rather than "hooligans".) Because the charges were
relatively minor in comparison with the repression experienced at
the hands of police by so many communities, ARA did not run
high-profile defense campaigns. But the organization did make sure
that people in Toronto knew about the cases and the courtroom was
always full of folks ready to show their support and to face nazis
if necessary. (None showed up.)
Undeniably, 14 arrests over less than a year and a half of
organizing has had its intended effect of disrupting the
youth-based, activist group. But after a summer of trials ARA
remains intact, a victory in itself. Hopefully, the acquittals will
build some confidence that the community can organize street
actions successfully and effectively, and can defend itself against
police reprisals. Most importantly, energy directed inwards during
the course of the trials can now be redirected outside against the
common enemies.