[CIMC-work] FW: [Imc-legal] the Urbana mayor physically assaulted me this morning -- we need legal help!

Sat May 10 13:02:33 PDT 2003

----------
From: Sascha Meinrath <sascha@ucimc.org>
Date: Fri, 9 May 2003 11:54:39 -0500 (CDT)
To: Sheri Herndon <sheri@speakeasy.org>
Cc: cindy@eff.org, David Burman <burmd@perkinscoie.com>, Lee Tien
<tien@eff.org>, <imc-legal@indymedia.org>, <imc-emergency@ucimc.org>
Subject: [Imc-legal] the Urbana mayor physically assaulted me this morning
-- we need legal help!

hi all,

i met with the urbana mayor this morning. attached is the account that i
sent out to city councilmembers after our meeting.  briefly, the mayor
screamed at me, was physically intimidating, and then threw a chair at me
hitting me in the leg.

needless to say, i have no idea how to proceed.

--sascha

***

This morning after I sat down in Tod's office [the Urbana mayor], he
opened our meeting by screaming, "What the fuck is wrong with you!"  He
then proceeded to slam his fist on the table in a threatening way, he then
grabbed his tea mug and slammed that on the table with enough force to
launch the tea strainer clear off the table.  By this time I was quite
concerned for my physical safety; as it turns out, I had very good reason
to be.

He then grabbed the chair at the end of the table and threw it too.  As I
was seated at the table already, the chair hit me in the leg.  So, what do
you think I should do?  I have been threatened and physically assaulted by
the mayor in his office in the city building.  I certainly was fearful for
my safety throughout the meeting -- his secretary was in the other room
and heard both his yelling and the commotion of his slamming and throwing
things.

This is so far beyond what is acceptible behavior -- physical assault is a
serious criminal offense -- that I feel quite out of my league as to how
to proceed.  I can be reached via phone at (217) 328-3856.  The IMC's
Emergency Response Team will be going to the national media beginning this
evening, so plese be in contact before then.

Sorry to burden you all with this, but I really have no idea how to
proceed.

--Sascha

On Fri, 9 May 2003, Sheri Herndon wrote:

> hi friends,
>
> can someone please advise us?  urbana is the imc who is the conduit for all
> funds in the network, is the only imc with nonprofit status, has one of the
most
> organized collectives (semi-professional you might even say), have a vital
> physical space, are active in funding imcs all over the world, and play a
> significant role in the network.
>
> thanks everyone,
> peace,
> sheri
>
>
> ====== Forwarded Message ======
> Date: 5/9/03 1:34 AM
> Received: 5/9/03 6:38 AM
> From: sascha@ucimc.org (Sascha Meinrath)
> To: imc-legal@indymedia.org
>
> Hi all,
>
> The Urbana-Champaign IMC was shut down this evening by fire inspectors.
> They claim that the violations are an incredible danger to public safety
> -- however, the same space was inspected last year without incident.
> Basically, we're still piecing together what is going on, but there was a
> secret meeting this afternoon between the mayor, fire chief, and building
> inspectors and they decided to shut down the Urbana-Champaign IMC.
>
> This is breaking _right now_ -- we have a group of folks that have had an
> emergency meeting this evening and will be working over the next 48 hours
> to get the word out.  We're still attempting to work with local
> politicians -- I talked with the mayor this evening, but he ended up
> screaming at me on the phone; the fire marshall stated he was willing to
> meet with me (several city councilmembers have been calling city officials
> on our behalf), but he cancelled at 9p.m. (one hour before our scheduled
> 10p.m. meeting).
>
> So, it's looking like there's a concerted effort being made to shut down
> the Urbana-Champaign IMC and we're trying to figure out a way to fight
> this.  I'll have more information tomorrow after I meet with various city
> officials.
>
> We're holding off releasing the story throughout the Global Network until
> we get a chance to meet face-to-face with local officials, but it's not
> looking likely.  Below is a copy of our initial press release.
>
> --Sascha Meinrath
> Urbana-Champaign IMC
>
> Press Release
>
> Community Center Unexpectedly Shut Down by City of Urbana
>
> On Thursday, May 8, 2003, at approximately 6 PM, the performance space at
> the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) at 218 W. Main St.
> was closed by the City of Urbana under highly irregular circumstances.
>
> The UCIMC was first inspected three days earlier, on Monday, May 5. At
> that time, the UCIMC was given notice of six violations of the Urbana fire
> code and informed that a follow-up inspection would be conducted on May
> 29, 2003.
>
> On Thursday evening after business hours, the Division Chief of the Fire
> Rescue Services Department returned unannounced with a building official
> to close the performance space.  It is extremely unusual for an inspection
> to occur after business hours and with little notice. Furthermore, the
> city has thus far given no reason why the space was suddenly shut down
> instead of reinspected on May 29, as stated in the original notice.
>
> The UCIMC has already made significant progress in addressing the
> violations listed by the Fire Department, and plans to continue addressing
> these concerns. It is unclear why the decision to close the performance
> space was made after it was determined at the initial inspection that the
> organization would have 24 days to fix the problems.
>
> The performance space at the UCIMC is Champaign-Urbana's only all ages,
> volunteer operated, not-for-profit, non-smoking venue for regularly
> scheduled touring and local music performances.
>
> FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
>
> Zach Miller         Meghan Krausch
> 217-367-4678        217-390-6051
> 217-265-8458        217-244-4682
> zach@ucimc.org      meghan@ucimc.org
>
>
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>
> ====== End Forwarded Message ======
>

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