A Call For Help for Holly Noll

by Sarah Pequignot ( slp [at] stuarthanlonlaw.com )
Mar 25th, 2010 indybay.org

A young woman named Holly is being prosecuted in Alameda County for an
arrest that took place during the January 14, 2009 Oscar Grant
protests. She is asking anybody who attended those protests to review
their video or photos to see if they have photos of the scene. She is
also asking if anyone, who took video/photos of both the January 7th
and January 14th protests, would be willing to share their footage,
and possibly testify at trial about the general atmosphere of the
Oscar Grant protests.

I am an attorney, assisting in the representation of a 23-year-old woman
named Holly, who is facing felony charges in Alameda County. On January
14, 2009, during the Oscar Grant protests, at least fifteen police
officers detained a group of four people, including Holly, for wearing
bandanas over their faces. As a direct result of the encounter, Holly, is
now facing trial on April 5th.

The events happened near the corner of 12th and Alice at around 5pm on
January 14, 2009. A legal observer has provided us with audio of his
observations at the scene. His audio mentions that a videographer was
present at the scene, and appeared to be videotaping. We are looking for
any video or photographs that may have been taken at the scene, showing
any interaction between Oakland police officers and the group of five
individuals (3 males, and one female) at this intersection, either prior
to or subsequent to their arrest.

In addition, a month ago, at a previous hearing in Holly's case, an
officer testified that the violence that erupted at the January 7, 2009
Oscar Grant protests, gave him reason to detain anyone wearing bandanas
over their faces at the January 14, 2009 protest. However, as many people
who participate in demonstrations will agree, people wear bandanas for
many reasons, not always to engage in violence. Conversely, people who
engage in violence at these demonstrations often don't wear masks.

For this reason, in addition to any possible footage or photos of the
arrest at 12th and Alice, Holly is also asking if anyone would be
interested in sharing their video footage from both Oscar Grant protest
dates (Jan. 7th & Jan. 14th) to help demonstrate for the jury the general
atmosphere of the Oscar Grant protests and the commonness of wearing
bandanas at demonstrations such as the Oscar Grant protests. As Holly's
defense team, we will do our best to adequately prepare anyone willing to
testify at trial.

If anyone is interested in assisting with Holly's defense in either of
these ways, please contact me as soon as possible. You may contact me by
email, as shown in this post, or you may call me at (415) 864-5600. Trial
is set to begin April 5th, so time is of the essence.

More info at:

http://supportholly.org/

Support Holly!!

Holly Noll is a bay area activist heavily involved in anti-oppression
organizing and a number of political causes. She is a dedicated student
with aspirations to teach, and a deep love for vegan food, music and bike
rides and her rat terrier puppy, Ani. Upon hearing about the Oscar Grant
execution that occurred on January 1st 2009 (please read more about the
oscar grant case here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/14/oscar-grants-killer-bart-_n_157824.html)
she felt a call to action.

Like thousands of other Oakland residents, she took to the streets to
protest this cold blooded racial killing. During the melee that occurred
over the next two weeks, over 100 people were arrested on false charges.
Most of the charges were dropped, save for a handful of people. Holly was
in this handful. She now stands as one of the two remaining members of the
Oakland 100. The wrongful arrest, and subsequent false charges placed
against Holly Noll and the other members of the o100 was done to instill
fear in those who would speak up against police abuse of power and to make
examples of those who dare to make their resistance to a police state
reality known. Holly is being charged with felony assault on a police
officer with a deadly weapon, non firearm. This is a completely false
charge.

Please support Holly and the other members of the O100 in any way that you
can.