NOTICE: THIS PAGE IS OBSOLETE AND IS NO LONGER UPDATED

For the latest news and updates please go to www.judibari.org. As of March 21, 2002, this page has been merged with the home page and is no longer updated. This old page is left on the server for the benefit of those who have linked to it, and for search engines which have indexed it. It will be deleted at some point.

Trial Begins April 8, 2002 in Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney's Suit vs. FBI & OPD in Federal District Court in Oakland, California!

New Legal Documents Filed

Trial Brief -- Summarizes plaintiffs' case against the FBI and Oakland Police defendants.

"The Court is well familiar with plaintiffs’ legal and factual allegations herein, most fully spelled out in Plaintiffs’ Motion re Qualified Immunity, filed March 18, 1997. To summarize them, plaintiffs charge that their (false) arrest and the attendant searches (including the second search of Judi’s house a month after the bombing) were deliberately carried out without probable cause, through the instigation of the FBI and with the knowing and willing cooperation of the Oakland Police Department, for the purpose of politically discrediting and "neutralizing" plaintiffs’ organizing work on behalf of Redwood Summer, Earth First!, and the environment generally. Plaintiffs charge that the grounds for arrest, alleged at the time and subsequently, were deliberately falsified by defendants and others acting in concert with them, to ensure that maximum sensational publicity harmful to the plaintiffs’ lawful movement and cause, and their constitutionally protected activities in furtherance thereof, would arise from the false charges against them. They charge that defendants conspired unlawfully among themselves to achieve these illicit objectives." (Click here to view the complete document.) Filed Jan. 22, 2002. Adobe Acrobat format. (posted 2/6/02)

Offer of Proof regarding Expert Testimony of Anthony Bouza

Plaintiffs expect to call former police chief Anthony Bouza to give, in expert testimony, opinions about the (lack of ) reasonableness, truthfulness and good faith — as a matter of sound and upright police practice, consistent with normal training — of the proven actions and purported conclusions and decisions of the defendant investigators herein, in deciding to arrest plaintiffs for knowing possession of the bomb, and presenting their purported grounds in the search warrant affidavit....  (Click here to view the complete document.) Filed Jan. 20, 2002. Adobe Acrobat format. (posted 2/6/02)

Offer of Proof regarding Raid on Seeds of Peace

Plaintiffs maintain that the raid on the Seeds of Peace house ordered by defendant Sims was part and parcel of the plot to discredit them and Earth First!, and disrupt the Redwood Summer program, by means of a sensational false arrest and bombing/terrorism scandal. Given that there was no honest justification for the arrest of plaintiffs, or for the purported belief they were knowingly in possession of the bomb in their car rather than victims of it, the raid also had no justification, in point of fact.  (Click here to view the complete document.) Filed Jan. 21, 2002. Adobe Acrobat format. (posted 2/6/02)

Other legal documents online

Statement by noted historian Prof. Howard Zinn on the FBI's long history of political repression

Statement by former FBI Special Agent John C. Ryan on routine fraud by FBI agents in handling supposed informant information. (posted 7/19/01)

Visit the Legal Documents Index page for more documents

New DNA evidence in Bari Bombing Case

DNA evidence withheld for years by the FBI which provides valuable clues as to who bombed Earth First! organizers Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney in 1990 is being released at a Sept. 18 press conference following the testing for genetic material found on envelopes of three key documents. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Department has begun a new investigation based on this and other evidence developed by our team. (posted 9/18/01)

 

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Visit the BariNews list home page on the Web to subscribe and read the existing message archive at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/barinews 

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Recent mailings and updates

July 2001 EF! Bombing Update Mailing (posted 7/18/01)

Earth First! letter to supporters

As lead attorney Dennis Cunningham declared at the Oakland rally commemorating the 11th anniversary of the bombing of Earth First! organizers Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney, “It’s a good time to go to trial against the FBI!”  Read more ...

Bombing Case Update, Summer 2001

The trial in Earth First!ers Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney’s civil rights lawsuit against the FBI and Oakland Police (OPD) begins October 1, 2001. Here is an update of what we’ve been doing on the legal front to get ready.

• The “Motion for Justice” 

• Air Force Blows Up Subarus in New Mexico 

• Discovery Goes On, and On ...

Why Did the FBI Hold Back Evidence in Church Bombing Murders? — NY Times OP-ED by former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley

"... For more than two decades, Mr. Blanton and Mr. Cherry evaded indictment and prosecution because the FBI held back these recordings. This was evidence we desperately needed in 1977 — evidence whose existence FBI officials had denied. Had it been provided in 1977, we could have convicted all three of these Klansmen."
Read more ...

Banner by Martin Travers, photo by Nicholas Wilson

Bomb School, and Other Atrocities, Judi's brilliant October 1994 article about the FBI Bomb School and evidence that the FBI deliberately put out false information to smear her as a terrorist rather than the victim of an assassination attempt. Illustrated with photos of the bombed car. (posted 3/1/01)

Revolutionary Ecology - The Legacy of Judi Bari -- 58 min. radio documentary narrated by Ruby Dee and produced by Noelle Hanrahan. This excellent program aired on the Alternative Radio series in December, 2000. In Judi's own words and the comments of Carl Anthony, Karen Picket, Michael Parenti, Ed Herman, Jose Lopez, Geronimo ji jaga and Ramona Africa, this radio documentary tells her story. You can listen to this program via MP3 streaming audio or download it to your computer's hard drive from our Audio Files page.  (added 1/29/01)  
Read the Transcript of the program. (added 1/30/01)

 

We can accept donations by Mastercard, Visa, bank debit cards and direct bank debits through PayPal.com, the secure online service used by over 7 million people. There's no service charge, and they'll even give you $5.00 for opening a new account. Just click on the PayPal Donate button below. (added 3/29/01)

 

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Note to viewers: As of our 2/6/01 site update, most links to other websites will open in a new browser window. You will notice that you can't use the browser's "back" button to return to this website. Instead, just close the new window that was opened when you're through viewing the external website. You'll see that your original browser window is still open to the page containing the external link.

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 Audio Link: The History of Counterintelligence 

Ward Churchill, co-author of "The COINTELPRO Papers," presents the history of government surveillance, infiltration, and provocation. This talk was a workshop that was part of the National Conference on Organized Resistance. Recorded 1/28/2001 at American University, Washington, D.C. On the servers of Radio4All.net. There are three MP3 files to cover this 83 minute program. There is audio distortion after the first 15 minutes, but the content may be worth the effort.

Link to transcript and Real Audio of Making Contact radio program for week of May 24, 2000, featuring Bari case and titled: "In the Crosshairs: Violence Against Environmental Activists" (link added to our Audio page 2/6/01)

Trial to Begin October 1, 2001! (later postponed to April 8, 2002 due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks)

Click Here for RSJP's Official Press Release (posted 5/13/00)

At last! District Court Judge Claudia Wilken has set an October 1, 2001, trial date in Judi Bari's and Darryl Cherney's suit against the FBI and Oakland Police. The date was decided at a hearing May 12. The date allows time for discovery of additional evidence and depositions, and for our determined effort to bring Richard W. Held back into the case as an individual defendant. 

Judi's dying wish was for Held not to escape answering for his foul deeds. Held announced early retirement from the FBI on the eve of Judi and Darryl releasing the police photos of the bombed car proving the FBI had lied about the location of the bomb in order to try to blame the victims and frame them for the bombing that nearly killed Judi.

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Audio Files are available on this site -  MP3 files for download or streaming

 

Judi's 1996 Berkeley presentation of her case against the FBI.  This is Judi at her awesome peak, revealing her impish sense of humor, her intellect, and her amazing grasp of the case. Laugh while you learn the shocking facts in a way you'll remember.  Alicia Littletree broadcast this program May 12, 2000 on KZYX/KZYZ  Mendocino County Community Radio. Thanks, Alicia.

Brief selections  from the CD "Who Bombed Judi Bari?" 
Judi Bari recorded at many different places talking about her case and her beliefs, speaking to thousands at the 1996 Rally for Headwaters. These are short selections in MP3 format that are highly compressed so they download quickly. 

Music files in high quality format

• The FBI Stole My Fiddle
• Who Bombed Judi Bari

Click here to go to the Audio Files Page
 
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Changed Internet Addresses for Judi Bari Website, Redwood Justice Fund, Redwood Summer Justice Project effective May 2000

Marking the 10th anniversary of the car-bombing of Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney, we have registered the Internet  domain name judibari.org. The address of this website is now:
www.judibari.org  (please update your links and bookmarks if they still point to the old address at monitor.net)

Also, the Redwood Justice Fund and Redwood Summer Justice Project have a new e-mail address:
RJF at judibari.org  (The old email address does NOT work.)

The U.S. Mail address, phone and fax numbers are unchanged:
Redwood Summer Justice Project
P.O. Box 14720, Santa Rosa, CA  95402
Phone 707-887-0262
FAX 707-887-0865

 

Additional Featured Items 
(not as new but still hot)

Court of Appeals Rejects Oakland's Appeal, Grants Our Cross-Appeal (posted 9/29/99)

SAN FRANCISCO, CA-- Earth First! activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney won a stunning victory in their federal civil rights lawsuit against the FBI and the Oakland Police (OPD)  when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Oakland defendants' motion to be released from the case.  The three-judge panel went even further, reinstating charges that the Oakland officers conspired with the FBI to violate Bari and Cherney's First Amendment rights.
        Erica Etelson, attorney for Cherney and for Bari's estate said, "The Oakland Police suffered a major setback .... We are now set to prove their illegal conspiracy to a jury."  Said plaintiff Darryl Cherney, "The appeals court has raked the Oakland Police over the coals for their attempts to delay our case and their violation of our freedom of speech.  The FBI and OPD's continuing abuses of the rights of American citizens must be stopped."
(Read the full RSJP statement about the ruling)  

Court of Appeals Opinion Blisters Oakland Police

The OPD argued that the FBI gave them false information that the bomb had been visible on the back seat floorboard and thus the activists must have known they were carrying it.  The appellate court ruled Oakland had no right to rely on false statements of the FBI, stating, "[The OPD] had been at the scene and had personally observed the location of the hole caused by the explosion ... underneath the driver's seat."
        The court ruled that Bari and Cherney, "have presented sufficient circumstantial evidence that [the Oakland police] intended to inhibit their First Amendment activities, and that they entered a conspiracy to further this goal."  This included providing inaccurate information to the media, monitoring Earth First! prior to the bombing, and acting "in close cooperation with [FBI] ‘conspirators'" to contribute misinformation during the process of obtaining search warrants of Bari and Cherney's homes.  The ruling clears a significant hurdle for the environmental activists on their way to a jury trial.
     Read the full text of the Sept. 24, 1999, appeal ruling in Bari v. Sims on the Federal Court website (use your browser's back button to return here)  www.ce9.uscourts.gov (opinions).  (posted 9/29/99)

The REAL Eco-Terrorism — COINTELPRO Tactics Target Environmentalists

RSJP's  four-page illustrated brochure included with the August 1999 mailing covers recent incidents of harassment of activists such as the firebombing of an Earth First! activist's van in Ohio, the pipe bombing of the Forest Guardians in New Mexico, new FBI investigation of EF! activist Darryl Cherney, harassment and investigation of activists at Headwaters Forest, Vail Colorado, and Minnehaha Minnesota,  a disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting Judi Bari's case against the FBI, and more.
Click here for the complete brochure as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file, complete with four photos, graphics and nice layout exactly as printed for the mailing. (Note: 260K download takes time but it's worth the wait. (Note: you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to read this file. If you don't have it, please go to http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html for a free download of the latest version.).  After clicking on the link to the brochure, you will have a choice of saving the file to your hard disk or opening it in your browser; save it to disk if you think you might want to print it out.)

America's Secret Police - FBI COINTELPRO in the 1990s

Report by Noelle Hanrahan in association with RSJP and included with the April 1998 update mailing.
    On April 22, 1970, as 22 million Americans rallied across the country on the first Earth Day celebration, FBI agents in over 40 cities were ordered to spy on and infiltrate these events. Senator Edwin Muskie, himself a victim, remarked from the floor of Congress that this surveillance was "a dangerous threat to fundamental constitutional rights." The power of the environmental movement and the challenge it posed to business-as-usual made it an instant target for FBI suppression. (posted 4/13/98)

The Judi Bari Bombing Revisited -- Big Timber, Public Relations and the FBI  -- analysis and commentary by Nicholas Wilson
(Note: This article should open in a new browser window.)

This article reviews the evidence and presents a theory that Judi was bombed and then framed for it as part of a timber industry public relations campaign to defeat the Forests Forever initiative, Prop. 130 on the November 1990 ballot. The corporations paid giant PR firm Hill & Knowlton millions to smear (with the collaboration of the FBI) Judi and Earth First! as violent extremists, and then to falsely link Prop. 130 to EF! in the voters' minds. The industry would have lost billions of dollars if the initiative had passed, and the corporations spent some $20 million to defeat it. The article also reviews the FBI's history of repression of activists for social and political change and discusses the Bari bombing in light of Operation THERMCON, the FBI's plan to neutralize EF! by trying to connect its best known leaders with explosives. Published in the Albion Monitor May 28, 1999 (posted 6/17/99)

"Solidarity Forever" -- Report-back from the RAID Activist Conference

Besides the battle for justice in the courts, Redwood Summer Justice Project has also been active in the frontline battle for our treasured ecosystems.  Continuing our effort to ensure that environmentalists can carry on their work in defense of wilderness and of sustainable communities, we recently co-sponsored a weekend conference for eco-activists who have been targeted with violence and disruption.  The conference strengthened our network and our understanding of the sources and techniques of repression nationwide.  Our report-back, "Solidarity Forever: Standing Up to Attacks on Environmental Movements," is a must-read for activists everywhere, filled with accounts of alarming repression, inspiring courage, and techniques for defusing the attacks.

Click here for the complete four-page illustrated report as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file  for online viewing or printing out in original format, including photos and graphics.  The report file is a 147K download; you can save it to disk by right clicking on the link and choosing "save file to disk" if you  want to view it or print it out later. (Note: you must have the free Acrobat Reader program installed on your computer to read this file. Go to http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html to get the latest version.) (posted 12/6/99)
 

FBI Stalling in Bari Case Must Stop, Judge Says

In another court victory, a  federal magistrate in San Francisco said he will order the FBI to resume providing further evidence to lawyers for the late Judi Bari and fellow Earth First! activist Darryl Cherney. The FBI had stalled for over a year, claiming an appeal by codefendant Oakland Police suspended their legal obligation to provide discovery. (posted 1/21/99)

Demand Justice for Judi Bari! -- A call for signers to a Demand for Trial. Includes a brief background of the case. (posted 7/15/98)
 
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Letter announcing Judi's death and her supporters' determination to carry on her suit against the FBI and Oakland Police. posted 5/20/97)

Statement from RSJP re False Charges in Flatland magazine and Anderson Valley Advertiser

Blatantly false charges are being spread by long-time enemies of Judi Bari claiming that  new "evidence" shows that the bomb that nearly killed her in 1990 was planted, not by timber or government agents intent on quelling her organizing in defense of the old growth forest, but by someone close to her.  Not surprisingly, on even cursory examination, the whole bizarre "new evidence" theory evaporates into a puff of smoke.  With Judi no longer even alive, clearly the targets of this hateful attack are her innocent children and her civil rights lawsuit against the FBI and Oakland Police. The suit, filed in 1991, was intended to stand up to the environment of terror created by the bombing and to protect the right of all activists to work for social change without fear of government repression. (posted 2/13/99)

Letters to SF Examiner re their article about the false allegations. Two excellent letters to the editor from Tanya Brannan for RSJP and from Dan Hamburg, former Member of Congress. (posted 3/14/99)

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