LA Copwatch member targeted by police!

[rebelworker]

http://nefac.net/freejoaquin
http://www.nefac.net/files/freejoaquin.jpg


From: http://illvox.org/2008/07/01/free-joaqu ... uegos-now/ (http://illvox.org/2008/07/01/free-joaquin-cienfuegos-now/)

Free Joaquin Cienfuegos Now

Joaquin Cienfuegos, a community activist and organizer with Revolutionary Autonomous Communities, Copwatch Los Angeles and Anarchist People of Color, is under attack and needs your support.

Last week, Cienfuegos was stopped by police and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a serious crime that carries prison time in California.

One of Joaquin’s comrades gave illvox.org permission to post his account of what went down:

At around 11 p.m. we were driving down Lexington Avenue, where were we passed by the two pigs, who were looking at us as we drove by them. Before we got to the end of the block (Lexington and Cahuenga), they hit the lights on us.

Joaquin said “they’re pulling us over” as we were turning down my block (La Mirada Avenue). I told Joaquin not to stop until we got in front of my house, because if they were going to kill us or beat our asses, it was going to happen on my block and in front of my house where people could see.

As he slowed down in front of my house, the pigs came to each side of the car and one ask, “what took you so long to pull over?” and I said, “Because I told him not to stop until we got in front of my house, where we know we’re safe.” The pig said, “you are safe.” I told them “we were in front of my house” and what my address was.

At this point, they asked Joaquin for his drivers license. He didn’t have it because just three or so weeks ago he was robbed and had his his wallet, cell phone taken. They told him to exit the car, where they put cuffs on him right away and asked me if I was on parole or probation and I told them no.

I also told them Joaquin needed to get my wheelchair out of his trunk so I can get out of his car. The pig came to the driver’s side of the car and popped the trunk, went to the back and put the wheelchair together. At that point the pig saw a machete in the trunk and asked Joaquin “what was he doing with a machete?” Joaquin said that “he does gardening work from time to time and it shouldn’t be ‘illegal’ to have a machete in his trunk.”

As I exited the car. they told me I could go home. So I crossed the street and observed them from in front of my home. From afar, I hear the pig ask Joaquin, “what’s in this case?” He lifted the case out of the trunk and went to the back of the squad car… I went into my house to make some calls and then came straight back out, and saw one of the pigs searching the car and ask, “are you going to tow his car?” The pig said “that he has a suspended license” and yes he was.

He then asked me, “did I know that he had an illegal gun in the trunk?” I told the pig, “that’s not my business and how was the gun illegal when I went with him to Turners to buy the gun?” he then said that “It was loaded.”

A couple of members of CW-LA guerrillas showed up with cameras and they took Joaquin off to the Hollywood Division.

Over the weekend, Cienfuegos was transferred from Hollywood Division to the Parker Center. At a court date on Monday, he was charged with felony “possession of concealed weapon.” Cienfuegos is being held on $40,000 bail, and has had his car impounded.

The arrest of Joaquin Cienfuegos is not without context. Cienfuegos has been active in Anarchist People of Color, anti-police brutality and self-determination circles. He has been outspoken in his community organizing, and continues to work actively for a new world. For police to pull over organizers is no coincidence. It is time to mobilize in support of an important voice!

A fundraising committee to try and gain Joaquin’s release is being established. Those in L.A. are encouraged to attend. The meeting will be held Wednesday, July 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Chuco Justice Center, 253 W. Martin Luther King Blvd. Please visit illvox.org for more updates.

[BIG BROTHER]

well, I don't live in L.A. so I can't attend but I wish him the best and I hope he gets out of jail.

It seems kinda stupid that aparently they just pulled him over for no reason to begin with.

[Ultra-Violence]

^^^
Ive met Joaquin a cuople of times Hes A "real Anarchist" The Guy Practices what he preaches hes a great guy and the this whole shit is bogus its mostly for hist support of the Black Riders Party Who are basically the "new Black Panthers" under the Leadership of General T.A.C.O who is currently in jail as well as many other black riders are too on a ridicuouls amount of bail i think its one mill
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/03/214686.php
^^^
Link

Joaquin is basicaly being targeted for his activism and His Key role in the foundation of cop watch-la and its success hes is widley known within the activist community

Free Joaquin!

[Joe Hill's Ghost]

Joaquin is a great comrade. Everyone should support him in any way they can.

[Colonello Buendia]

being across the pond there's little I can do but I know what he's dealing with. Here however the Police are sneakier, when involved in community organising etc. the police act all freiendly but they gather intel on us and alienate us from the community.

[bayano]

im in an apoc collective and in some copwatch projects, so id love to hear more about this and what we can do to support

[rebelworker]

Comrades,

I was just released this morning at 8am after being woken up at 3am, thanks to you comrades and your support.

I can't begin to tell everybody how thankful I am. I trusted you all to know what to do and to do the right thing.

I was in isolation, segregated, and on lock down for majority of the time at Men's County Jail Twin Towers (in a little dungeon), and only had contact with my cell mate and the pig deputies. I didn't leave my cell not even to eat. I didn't involve myself in prison-politics and told people I'm that I was a revolutionary. I feel like that is one of the reasons why they had me on lock down, and because of my charge.

On the inside there were hundreds, over 90%, Brown and Black men. I met many people who were rounded up illegally by the Los Angeles Police Department. There were many cases, in one instance a Mexican man was stopped by and undercover pig in the Pico Union District, when he was walking, they took his ID and said it was false. He had been in america for 14 years and was now going to be separated from his family. In another case, a young Chicano was framed for a robbery he did not do and had a year taken from his life, and another Mexican male had been fighting a murder case he was innocent of for 3 years. There was a Black youth, who the police planted some weed on.

This is business as usual in Los Angeles. They need to put the thousands of new police officers to use in Los Angeles, and the jail needs to get that county money. This is the reality for our sisters and brothers, we are pushed into the system, and they want to keep us locked up or kill us off for good. The prison industrial complex exists, and to these people it's all business -- they don't care about us. All they care about is their empire and their profits.

On June 27th at around 10pm, I was dropping off my comrade at his house when the Hollywood police stopped us because my car doesn't have any license plates (I just got my car and it has a DMV permit on the front wind shield). What they saw was two young males of color in a car. They pulled me out the car, handcuffed me, and went into my pockets to get my driver's license. They then decided to go into my trunk without my consent. They began to pull out my personal belongings, all legal to carry in my trunk. They saw some fliers for the Summer Solidarity Festival/Free the Black Rider 3 event on July 12th, and saw a black case. They pulled out the case and asked me what was in it and pulled out an all-legal AR-15 riffle that is in my name. After this, they had already put me in the back seat of their car, and called their sergeant to plan their story and find anything to arrest me for.

They finally booked me at around 2 in the morning for carrying a loaded firearm and having four warrants, after they illegally searched my car. After spending the weekend in Parker Center on Monday I found out that the pigs had changed their story. They said they had stopped me for passing a stop sign (when I had made a right hand turn), they said they had done a legal search of my car, and were charging me with illegal possession of an assault riffle.

It's good to be on the outside though, and hope to help with the fund raising, our projects, and support for other comrades (like our sister who I hear caught a case as well). I also hope to remain in contact with people I met on the inside.

I apologize for taking time and resources away from the community and base building that you are all doing to focus on this case of pigs being pigs. I hope to fight it all the way through with the support of the community, organizations, and my family so we can show that it is a political case.

I don't apologize for standing up for my right to defend myself, our peoples and our communities. I could of handled the situation differently to avoid this situation, but anybody who resists will be beat down and smashed by the state, that's just the law of this motherfucking beast. I'm glad we're organized to deal with it on a small level. This isn't the first or the last time the fascist state has done this. They wanted to paint me as a gangster because I was legally carrying a gun, yet if I was a white male member of the National Riffle Association, I wouldn't get hassled for having a legal riffle, when the SWAT team and their imperialist army carries them as well. It is obvious that they have waged war on our communities and indigenous people everywhere, and we will continue to build a revolutionary popular movement of different communities to make some fundamental changes and take our territories back from the empire. That's what I have decided to live my life for. I understand that this process is a struggle, and those in the power structure will not allow this without a fight.

Today I'm just resting up, catching up with my family, running errands and getting back to people.

Hopefully we can meet up and make some plans, my phone is still inside my car that was impounded but you can leave me messages with your numbers (I'll be checking it).

We can't do this on our own, thanks comrades, lets keep moving forward.

-Joaquin

Thanks again for the support compas.

Siempre en lucha!

For support continue to contact the comrades from the Revolutionary Autonomous Communities and the Guerrilla Chapter of Cop Watch Los Angeles as well as my other friends and family doing support.

[BIG BROTHER]

good thing he's out:)