No. 1 Heroes and Heroines. Tim DeChristopher.

10/15/2012

Acrylic on canvas, 30"x30"

Bidder 70.org
Tim DeChristopher

Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to jail for two years for disrupting a leasing auction for federal oil and gas exploration, saving 150,000 acres of wilderness near Arches Canyon Park, etc. He decided not to appeal his case because the court forbid any discussion of "ethics, justice, or the role of citizens, restricting his defense to a narrow range of technicalities rather than the critical issues of the case.

Bidder 70 Documentary trailer.

"At this point of unimaginable threats on the horizon, this is what hope looks like. In these times of a morally bankrupt Government that has sold out its principles, this is what patriotism looks like. With countless lives on the line, this is what love looks like, and it will only grow. The choice you are making today is what side you are on."
- Tim DeChristopher's address to the Court - July 26th, 2011

The fossil fuel industry should not control our justice system.
This trial is about intimidating other activists, not justice for Tim.
We will support Tim by continuing to fight for justice and a livable future.

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Elizabeth Hunt, Attorney, Tim DeChristopher’s Legal Defense Team, Issued the Following Response:
“For me, I think it is very sad that he stands convicted of two felonies and continues to be held in federal prison in a case wherein the Government conceded on appeal that there was legally insufficient evidence to sustain either conviction, and only argued procedural issues. I do not see how it is in anyone’s interest for our government to prosecute, convict, and imprison someone and not take meaningful corrective action when it is recognized that there is legally insufficient evidence to justify the convictions.“

Below is Tim's speech after he was convicted. Excellent.

5 Comments

Notes.

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Me and dance.

"Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love."
-Rumi

"Let us fall in love again
and scatter gold dust all over the world." ---Rumi
Stinson Beach 1998

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
- Kurt Vonnegut"

Randall Potter

10/15/2012 03:11:15 pm

wow. what a great speech he gave to the court. It moved me to tears.

johanna harman

10/15/2012 04:06:49 pm

Both speeches were great. The one he gave to the court and the one he gave after he was sentenced.

10/16/2012 02:47:06 am

Bidder 70 is a great film. Just saw it at the Mill Valley Film Festival. Really liked the filmmakers. They will come to your community and show it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/21/bidder-70-documentary-tim-dechristopher_n_1615406.html

Johanna harman

11/12/2012 12:40:02 pm

Hey Randall,
Check out this article. I agree with it.
The Commodification of Tim DeChristopher
http://wrongkindofgreen.org/2011/08/29/the-commodification-of-tim-dechristopher/
"Tim DeChristopher, in his own words, acknowledges quite specifically the reasons for his actions, and what he would like climate activists to do to support him and his effort that day in the auction house. It is essentially a two-word suggestion: join him...
...Organizations, environmental or otherwise, should have focused on the action of disruption Tim employed, and called upon their minions to repeat it in substance and form...
...[N]o one will have the guts to stand up and say, “Sorry, Tim. We are too afraid, too comfortable, and too embedded to join you.”

3/21/2013 01:48:26 pm

Tim said something similar to this.
Orin Kerr re: Aaron Schwartz and the manner of federal criminal cases.
http://www.volokh.com/2013/01/16/the-criminal-charges-against-aaron-swartz-part-2-prosecutorial-discretion/
"I think it's important to realize that what happened in the Swartz case happens in lots and lots of federal criminal cases. . . . What's unusual about the Swartz case is that it involved a highly charismatic defendant with very powerful friends in a position to object to these common practices. That's not to excuse what happened, but rather to direct the energy that is angry about what happened. If you want to end these tactics, don't just complain about the Swartz case. Don't just complain when the defendant happens to be a brilliant guy who went to Stanford and hangs out with Larry Lessig. Instead, complain that this is business as usual in federal criminal cases around the country - mostly with defendants who no one has ever heard of and who get locked up for years without anyone else much caring."
-Orin Kerr
http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/21/barrett-brown-persecution-anonymous