I spoke with Tom Elko of the Minnesota Independent about how the government is labeling and prosecuting political activists as terrorists, and some patterns that are emerging between a few of the most well-known cases, including the RNC 8 and the SHAC 7.
“They are not going after the people that are doing any alleged crimes,†Potter says of the eight individuals charged with Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism under Minnesota terrorism laws. “They are going after the most vocal and public figures, and that’s certainly who the RNC8 were.â€
“They’re not saying the RNC8 went out there with Molotov cocktails and threw them at cop cars or attacked innocent civilian Republican representatives walking around the Twin Cities. They’re saying they conspired to do so, and conspiracy is a legal and political term that’s been used throughout history when nothing else sticks.â€