Riot charges were dropped Wednesday against Minnesota Occupy Homes activists Nick Espinosa and Matthew Van Grinsven, who were arrested while defending the Cruz house in South Minneapolis from home eviction this summer. Occupy claims that the Mexican immigrant family was fraudulently foreclosed upon by PNC Bank. In this video recorded last week, Espinosa addressed what effect the riot charges and police arrests had on the Occupy movement and its morale. Espinosa and Van Grinsven faced gross misdemeanor riot charges and penalties that carried up to two years in jail and a $7,000 fine. Instead, the two defendants walked out of court with pleas for a petty misdemeanor and a $78 fine. Occupy activists claimed that, during the court proceedings, “the prosecution swore that none of us would get anything less than a misdemeanor, and tried to intimidate us to take a bad deal that would limit our ability to protest in the future.”
Our mission: The UpTake breaks down walls of power to expose the raw truth. We use fearless storytelling as a catalyst for positive social change. The UpTake shines the light of transparency and access to create a better informed, healthier democracy.
