RNC '08 Report: Text: Statement of Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner

According to the Minnesota Independent, at a December 17th court appearance for the RNC 8, "Attorneys for the defendants and Janet Hafner, a spokeswoman for Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, said the judge asked them not to disclose details to the press. That request -- which was not a formal gag order -- was apparently breached almost immediately when defense attorneys discovered that Gaertner's office had issued a statement, prompting the RNC8 attorneys to rush back to the judge's chambers en masse. The result was that Gaertner's office pulled back its release..." The full text follows.

My office is charged with protecting the public safety in Ramsey County while respecting individual rights by enforcing our state's criminal laws effectively and fairly.

Every day, law enforcement officers present cases to our prosecutors, and those prosecutors determine if criminal charges are warranted based on the facts presented to them, and on the law.

That is exactly what they did in the cases of the eight individuals who have been charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree riot and first-degree criminal damage to property during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September 2008.

Contrary to the assertions of some individuals supporting them, the defendants are not being singled out for prosecution for political reasons, or to silence the free speech we all cherish. Plain and simple, they face these charges because they broke laws that apply to them, and to all others, equally.

Thousands of their fellow citizens peacefully made their voices heard during the convention. There is real evidence, however, that a few individuals committed crimes intended to interfere with others' ability to exercise their First Amendment rights free of violence.

The evidence shows that these defendants, rather than being victims of oppression, planned to deprive others both inside and outside the convention hall of their free speech rights through acts of violence.

We would not be fulfilling out duties as prosecutors if we did not bring, or now dropped, charges against such individuals when we believe the evidence shows, beyond a reasonable doubt, that they have violated criminal laws that apply to all of us.

My office will continue to prosecute these cases as we would any other cases - fairly and without favor.

Click to download the attached file(s):

Text of Gaertner press release as provided by Friends of the RNC 8 (PDF, 28K)