DEMAND DROP the CHARGES on the CITY HALL 4 & the RIVERSIDE 6. Abortion rights activists in Los Angeles are being politically persecuted and prosecuted for leading people to take to the streets in July 2022, following the overturning of Roe V. Wade
* Sign and share this petition to the prosecutors in Riverside & Los Angeles
* Join the nationwide call-in demanding all charges be dropped LA City Attorney Hydee Soto (213) 978-8100 on behalf of City Hall 4 Riverside City Attorney Mike Hestrin (951) 955-5400 on behalf of Riverside 6. (Sample script at the end)
*Court Support
Los Angeles: Come to court Tuesday May 9, 8:30 am 210 West Temple Street LA CA 90012
Last summer when Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the right to abortion was stripped away from millions of young women and girls, RiseUp4abortionrights issued a call to act to declare that the overturning of abortion rights is ILLEGITIMATE and called on the fury of thousands of mainly young women and girls to pour out into the streets en masse. Thousands of people responded to this call in cities and towns across the country to demand the federal government restore LEGAL ABORTION NATIONWIDE NOW, including through acts of non-violent civil disobedience and non-violent acts of political protests, which was a part of sounding the alarm to the danger women face if millions of people do not take to the streets and act in opposition to the attacks on abortion.
** On July 30, 13 protesters rallied in front of the Riverside CA Historic Courthouse, where messages were displayed in chalk and washable kid’s paint. In the midst of this, they were surrounded by 20 police officers, detained with no explanation for an hour, then rounded up by the Riverside Sheriff’s Department where they were held for 5 hours. One of them had to go to the hospital and then 5 of them were released, while the other 8 were thrown in jail with a $10,000 bail each and held for 18 hours for alleged felony vandalism and felony conspiracy to commit a crime.
The extremely repressive nature of these charges in a supposed “sanctuary” state is meant to send a message to people that you cannot protest your most basic rights being taken away. The charges are meant to intimidate people into submission. The now #Riverside6 (formally Riverside 8) are still facing felony charges of vandalism which could mean a maximum penalty of imprisonment for up to 3 years and fine up to $10,000.
** On July 6, 4 courageous women responded to the call from RiseUp4AbortionRights and participated in an act of non-violent civil disobedience. Amidst fake blood on the steps of the historic Los Angeles City Hall, these 4 women chained themselves to the pillars of the building. They were wearing fake bloody pants to represent the reality that when abortion is illegal: women die. They raised the green bandanna, an international symbol for abortion rights, and delivered a message that was viewed by thousands of people online, which said:
“This is a call to action! The lives and futures of millions of women and girls are on the line! The overturning of the legal right to abortion is an atrocity! When abortion is illegal, women die! When abortion is illegal, women’s wombs turn into crime scenes! The illegitimate overturning of abortion rights must not stand! NOW is the TIME to SPEAK and ACT! NOW is the time if you have a choice, if you have a voice, to act now! We demand that the federal government restore legal abortion nationwide, now! Get into the streets in mass, sustained, non-violent protest! There is no neutral! RISE UP 4 ABORTION RIGHTS!”
About 50 LAPD officers showed up in SWAT gear and arrested these 4 young women, causing pain to their wrists. They were taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center and were released and charged with Riot or “failure to disperse.” One of them is being arraigned on May 9 at the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. At a time where the lives of millions of women hang in the balance with a likely nationwide ban on mifepristone, NOW is the time to come to the political defense of these protesters as part of waging the fight going forward for legal abortion nationwide. We need to be taking inspiration from our sisters and brothers in Iran rising up against patriarchal theocratic oppression after the murder of Mahsa Amini. In the face of brutal repression from the theocratic state, mass imprisonment of protesters and public executions of men and women, they still stood up and called more people into the fight.
When anyone comes under attack for non-violently protesting for the lives of millions of young women and girls, they must be defended, and supported. NO ONE standing up to stop the enslavement of women should face prosecution and unjust charges. We are asking you to flood the phone lines to demand all charges against Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights protesters be dropped.
Call LA City Attorney Hydee Soto (213) 978-8100 on behalf of City Hall 4
Sample: “I am calling to demand all charges are dropped against the City Hall 4 abortion rights activists. Roe was overturned on June 24th and everyone should of been doing what these young women did. There needed to be more action, as we see now the overturning of Roe was just the begining… they are after abortion pills and aiming for a nationwide ban. When half of humanity is being enslaved, should we go along with it? Or raise bloody hell?! Drop the charges on the City Hall 4!”
Call Riverside City Attorney Mike Hestrin (951) 955-5400 on behalf of Riverside 6.
Sample: “I am calling to demand all charges dropped against the Riverside 6 abortion rights activists. When there is injustice, there needs to be resistance! Millions of women lost the legal right to abortion on June 24th, asserting that all women in this country are now 2nd class citizens. This is outrageous and anyone standing up against the enslavement of women should be celebrated, not prosecuted. Drop the charges on the Riverside 6!”
Sign and share this petition to the prosecutors in Riverside & Los Angeles.
