stephanie
01-21-2007, 10:14 PM
:(
SNIP:
Ellison spoke at fund-raiser for woman from group that tried to kill Feinstein
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Posted: January 21, 2007
7:00 p.m. Eastern
By Jay Baggett
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Minnesota freshman Rep. Keith Ellison for his recent swearing-in ceremony, the controversy over his taking the oath of office on the Quran overshadowed his earlier role in supporting a terrorist whose group tried to kill policemen and allegedly twice tried to murder Pelosi's fellow San Francisco lawmaker Sen. Diane Feinstein.
On Feb.12, 2000, Ellison joined Bernadine Dohrn, one of the founders of the 1960s radical group the Weather Underground, and several other speakers at a fundraiser for recently arrested Kathleen Soliah, a.k.a. Sara Jane Olson.
Kathleen Soliah, a.k.a. Sara Jane Olson
Soliah – who along with a small band of Bay Area radicals took in Bill and Emily Harris and Patty Hearst, the last surviving members of the Symbionese Liberation Army following the May 17, 1974, shootout in Los Angeles – had been on the run since the three SLA "soldiers" were captured in September 1975.
Initially charged with planting pipe bombs under two police cars in Los Angeles in August 1975, Soliah was later charged in Sacramento for the murder of a bank customer killed in an April 1975 holdup after the victim's son exerted pressure through the media to reopen the case. Hearst, in her 1981 book, "Every Secret Thing," described the bungled robbery as an SLA operation in which she, Soliah, the Harrises and several others participated.
Soliah, arrested in St. Paul, Minn., in June 1999 and living under the name Sara Jane Olson, initially denied being Soliah or a member of the SLA. The upper-middle class doctor's wife was described by friends – several of whom were members of the state legislature – as an actress in community theater, a gourmet cook and a soccer mom who read books to the blind. People Magazine even did an article on her, featuring her well-appointed Highland Park home, and casting her as a Martha Stewart-type homemaker.
But as the long-forgotten story of the SLA was resurrected in the media and as the Los Angeles district attorney began to present the voluminous evidence, stored for over 25 years, Soliah-Olson shed the Martha Stewart image and presented herself as the victim of a politically motivated "witch hunt" and surrounded herself with SLA attorneys, '60s radicals and their sympathizers.
On Feb. 12, 2000, Soliah-Olson and her supporters held a forum and auction fundraiser for her defense in St. Paul. Among the speakers was Keith Ellison, a local criminal defense attorney, activist and radio talk-show host.
His speech is still preserved on an archived copy of the now-defunct Soliah-Olson defense website.
Ellison, who frequently defended black gang members in his practice, linked the prosecution of Soliah-Olson to notable radicals Geronimo Pratt and Mumia Abu Jamal.
"For the people who want to incarcerate Sara Jane Olson, ain't nothing changed," said Ellison. "As a matter of fact, they want to settle scores with Sara Jane Olson and others who were fighting for freedom in the '60s and '70s.
"... And like many of my clients, Sara Jane Olson has a public defender. Do you understand what I'm saying? Because she cannot afford to pay for her defense all by herself. Do you understand what I'm saying? I mean, the reality is, Sara Jane Olson, basically – is a black gang member – as far as I can see.
"... I think, just like the people who want to come together and lock up Sara, we need to come together and free Sara. And all the Saras, because she's not the only one."
Ellison, crediting the speech given by Dohrn earlier that evening, continued.
"This is not about justice," he said. "This is not about accountability, this is not about public safety. This is about symbolism. This is about making a point. This is about saying to you and to me that we are going to get you if you ever try to stand against what we're about. We're going to get you. And we're going to lock you up and we don't care how long it takes, we're going to get you."
Before finishing his speech, Ellison admitted his knowledge of the SLA was deficient:
THE REST:
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53796
SNIP:
Ellison spoke at fund-raiser for woman from group that tried to kill Feinstein
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: January 21, 2007
7:00 p.m. Eastern
By Jay Baggett
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Minnesota freshman Rep. Keith Ellison for his recent swearing-in ceremony, the controversy over his taking the oath of office on the Quran overshadowed his earlier role in supporting a terrorist whose group tried to kill policemen and allegedly twice tried to murder Pelosi's fellow San Francisco lawmaker Sen. Diane Feinstein.
On Feb.12, 2000, Ellison joined Bernadine Dohrn, one of the founders of the 1960s radical group the Weather Underground, and several other speakers at a fundraiser for recently arrested Kathleen Soliah, a.k.a. Sara Jane Olson.
Kathleen Soliah, a.k.a. Sara Jane Olson
Soliah – who along with a small band of Bay Area radicals took in Bill and Emily Harris and Patty Hearst, the last surviving members of the Symbionese Liberation Army following the May 17, 1974, shootout in Los Angeles – had been on the run since the three SLA "soldiers" were captured in September 1975.
Initially charged with planting pipe bombs under two police cars in Los Angeles in August 1975, Soliah was later charged in Sacramento for the murder of a bank customer killed in an April 1975 holdup after the victim's son exerted pressure through the media to reopen the case. Hearst, in her 1981 book, "Every Secret Thing," described the bungled robbery as an SLA operation in which she, Soliah, the Harrises and several others participated.
Soliah, arrested in St. Paul, Minn., in June 1999 and living under the name Sara Jane Olson, initially denied being Soliah or a member of the SLA. The upper-middle class doctor's wife was described by friends – several of whom were members of the state legislature – as an actress in community theater, a gourmet cook and a soccer mom who read books to the blind. People Magazine even did an article on her, featuring her well-appointed Highland Park home, and casting her as a Martha Stewart-type homemaker.
But as the long-forgotten story of the SLA was resurrected in the media and as the Los Angeles district attorney began to present the voluminous evidence, stored for over 25 years, Soliah-Olson shed the Martha Stewart image and presented herself as the victim of a politically motivated "witch hunt" and surrounded herself with SLA attorneys, '60s radicals and their sympathizers.
On Feb. 12, 2000, Soliah-Olson and her supporters held a forum and auction fundraiser for her defense in St. Paul. Among the speakers was Keith Ellison, a local criminal defense attorney, activist and radio talk-show host.
His speech is still preserved on an archived copy of the now-defunct Soliah-Olson defense website.
Ellison, who frequently defended black gang members in his practice, linked the prosecution of Soliah-Olson to notable radicals Geronimo Pratt and Mumia Abu Jamal.
"For the people who want to incarcerate Sara Jane Olson, ain't nothing changed," said Ellison. "As a matter of fact, they want to settle scores with Sara Jane Olson and others who were fighting for freedom in the '60s and '70s.
"... And like many of my clients, Sara Jane Olson has a public defender. Do you understand what I'm saying? Because she cannot afford to pay for her defense all by herself. Do you understand what I'm saying? I mean, the reality is, Sara Jane Olson, basically – is a black gang member – as far as I can see.
"... I think, just like the people who want to come together and lock up Sara, we need to come together and free Sara. And all the Saras, because she's not the only one."
Ellison, crediting the speech given by Dohrn earlier that evening, continued.
"This is not about justice," he said. "This is not about accountability, this is not about public safety. This is about symbolism. This is about making a point. This is about saying to you and to me that we are going to get you if you ever try to stand against what we're about. We're going to get you. And we're going to lock you up and we don't care how long it takes, we're going to get you."
Before finishing his speech, Ellison admitted his knowledge of the SLA was deficient:
THE REST:
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53796