Judge dismisses criminal charges for resistance to the arrest of two people who protested against the presence of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at UCLA; In addition, the defendants report that the Los Angeles prosecutor's office hid exculpatory evidence.
Police officers who participated in the arrest of the so-called # UCLA5 allegedly used excessive force and dragged one of the protesters on the floor against the presence of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at UCLA in February 2018.
And, on the same day as the closing of arguments for the jury to deliberate the criminality or innocence of the Protestants, the charges for resistance to arrest were dismissed in favor of the accused Atlas Winfrey (Justin Ullman, his real name) and Tala Deloria ( Nayely Monserrat Rolón Gómez)
The truthfulness of the testimony of the police, who testified in the criminal case that the Los Angeles lawyer Mike Feuer opened against the five young people, was questioned. The presentation of exculpatory evidence that was not presented in 10 months of research came to light.
On Tuesday morning, in the court of justice at the Los Angeles airport, Judge Christopher Dybwad dropped the charges for resistance to the arrest of Ullman and Rolón Gómez.
“The judge dismissed the charges of resistance arrest this morning based on the fact that the prosecution at this late date produced exculpatory evidence that went against the testimony of the police (UCLA) on the stand. said Michelle Xai (real name Yesenia Cruz Antonio), one of the accused. "In short, they lied on the stand and got caught in their lies,"
On Monday, in their defense testimony, both Ullman and Rolón Gómez said they had suffered injuries to the wrists of both hands due to the pressure applied during their arrest. The police denied in court that they were mistreated.
“The evidence is the photos they gave us when it was the day of closing arguments; they are photos and reports that our lawyers have asked for 10 months ago when the case began, ”said Michelle Xai (thus identified with La Opinion). “The prosecution said they had nothing, but after Atlas (Justin Ullman) gave his testimony, he said that when he was arrested and brutalized they had taken pictures of his injuries; the prosecutor was surprised that these reports existed, and when we returned from lunch, she said "Oh, here I have these pictures."
He described that the photographs – now held by defense attorneys – reveal the injuries suffered by Justin and his partner Rolón Gómez.
Silence in UCLA and in the office from Mike Feuer
The Opinion questioned the university institution if the police used the excessive use of force to control the protesters; if UCLA was the entity that requested city attorney Mike Feuer to file criminal charges against the protesters and, if UCLA officials lied during the trial about the physical injuries caused to the protesters.
“As I explained by telephone these (police) are witnesses presented by the City Attorney during the course of the trial. You should contact the City Attorney if you have questions about the testimony. (They) They would be the right people to comment on their trial witnesses, ”said Ricardo Vázquez, associate director of media relations.
The same questions were forwarded to Rob Wilcox, Director of Participation and Community Outreach at the city attorney Mike Feuer's office. Although Wilcox promised to respond early, at the close of the edition he did not.
Justin Ullman, Yesenia Cruz Antonio, Nayely Monserrat Rolón Gómez and Elise Kelder face criminal charges for interrupting Mnuchin's speech and disturbing the peace.
In February 2018, they declared themselves against the presence of Mnuchin at the Burkle Center for International Relations at UCLA, and were forcibly removed from the premises.
The secretary of the treasury of the administration of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence was backed up by the tax reduction policies that benefited the richest, damaging middle-class Americans.
A video shows three women who protest furiously, until one of them is taken from the arms, loaded and taken out of the enclosure. The same happened with the other two. https://twitter.com/i/status/969151197008424960
Initially, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin had approved with the publication of the event video. But, due to the contentious protests against him he decided to revoke his consent.
´Rape to the due process judicial
“I was happy when I heard that the charges for resisting arrest were dropped, but at the same time, courage to know that the UCLA police withheld the evidence. That is against the law and represents a clear violation of due process, ”Justin Ellman told La Opinion. “Every day in 10 months they should have provided that evidence; they violated the orders of the court and, based on all this, they should dismiss the case. ”
The young American insisted that the violation of due process, moreover, is a violation of the Constitution of California and the United States, "and questions the legitimacy of the judicial system in the country."
He added that, regardless of the jury's verdict, he hopes that many people will not accept the misconduct of the accusers and the police.
"It is dramatically embarrassing what has happened to us because at all times they were covering up the misconduct of the entire UCLA administration, because all of them were also involved in the misconduct," he concluded.
The 12 jurors will return to court next Thursday.
Freedom of expression and protest at UCLA … but
A UCLA document indicates that universities throughout the country struggle to protect both freedom of expression and legal freedom of protest, while addressing the basic security needs of the entire "community" UCLA is no exception " . https://ucla.app.box.com/v/EventProtests
“To achieve the right balance, consistent with the law and academic values, the Administration has been developing new policies,” indicates the memorandum that was sent to vice chancellors, deans, associate deans. presidents and directors on updated practices for events sponsored by university units that trigger protests.
The announcement of the “policies of important events” and the “Rules of participation”, indicate that when these managers have real knowledge of the planned protests that could interrupt the event, an explicit notice must be provided to the audience at the beginning of the event
“Someone in an administrative capacity must make an announcement that contains the following elements consistently articulated through events in substance and tone, regardless of the views expressed by the speaker or the protesters:
"one. UCLA respects freedom of expression, including legal freedom of protest; 2. Protests cannot be so harmful as to silence the guest speaker from communicating with a willing audience (to listen to him); 3. After a warning, protesters whose actions prevent the event from continuing will be escorted, subject to arrest and will be liable under the relevant university laws and policies.
These practices began to be applied from May 9, 2018, three months after the protest against the secretary of the treasury.
