I am writing to ask your support for Bari vs. Held, our lawsuit against the FBI for their outrageous false arrest of Darryl Cherney and me in the 1990 car bombing. Enclosed is a brochure that outlines our major findings in the case so far, and an update with some more recent info. As we reported to you in our earlier mailings, we have uncovered shocking proof that the FBI and police knowingly lied about the evidence when they arrested Darryl and me for the bombing. We have also heard disturbing testimony about an FBI "bomb school," held shortly before I was car bombed, that may implicate the FBI in even greater misdeeds. (see brochure)
After two years of pre-trial testimony, the first full hearing of the evidence in this case has been set for Spring 1996. Because our case is so strong, we have high hope of winning in the courtroom. But the FBI has virtually unlimited resources, while we have been operating on a shoestring budget. Fresh from their recent cover-ups at Ruby Ridge and Waco, the FBI has woven a tangled web of lies, alibis, and memory failures in this case, that we must now debunk in court. So in the next few months, we have to hire high-priced expert witnesses, and finance massive legal and paralegal work to sort through 10,000 pages of documents and testimony and prepare our case.
The only way we can do this is with your help. We have gotten this far with a relatively low level of funding, and we have certainly established the legitimacy of our case. But to take the next step into the courtroom, we have to meet a new level of expenses. Citizen lawsuits such as ours often collapse at this stage, due to the difficulty for ordinary people to raise the kind of money you need to operate in America's court system.
Please donate whatever amount you can, large or small, to help us continue our struggle for justice. Checks should be made out to Redwood Summer Justice Project, and mailed to P.O. Box 14720, Santa Rosa, CA 95402. All contributions are tax deductible. You can also help by obtaining our brochure from the address above or by calling 707-528-9043. After you've read it, pass the brochure on to a friend or media contact, to help us spread the word.
The chill cast over the movement by the bombing and false arrest in 1990 was felt far and wide. Similarly, a victory in this case will have broad benefits, helping to reign in the FBI and protect the rights of all activists.
Thank you for your contributions, both past and present.
Sincerely,
Judi Bari
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1997
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited