Cecily McMillan Sentenced to Three Months in Jail
The Occupy Wall Street activist who two weeks ago was found guilty of assaulting a police officer as he led her out of a protest in Zuccotti Park was sentenced Monday.
The Occupy Wall Street activist who two weeks ago was found guilty of assaulting a police officer as he led her out of a protest in Zuccotti Park was sentenced Monday to three months in jail.
The Guardian reports:
Cecily McMillan, who had been facing a maximum sentence of seven years, was told on Monday morning by Judge Ronald Zweibel that she “must take responsibility for her conduct”.
A civilised society must not allow an assault to be committed under the guise of civil disobedience,” said Zweibel at Manhattan criminal court. However, he added: “The court finds that a lengthy sentence would not serve the interests of justice in this case.”
McMillan, 25, received a three-month sentence to be followed by community service and five years of probation. Having been remanded at Riker’s Island jail for the past two weeks, she will receive credit for time served.
An outpouring of support for McMillan followed her conviction. Nine of the 12 jurors in her trial wrote to Judge Ronald Zweibel, asking him to show her leniency and forgo a jail sentence. Similar requests from members of the New York City Council and prominent pop musicians followed. Two members of the Russian punk activist group Pussy Riot visited McMillan in jail and also wrote to the judge.
Additionally, McMillan’s support team, Justice for Cecily, delivered to Zweibel what it said were 43,000 names of people asking that she not be sent to jail.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
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Every week the Truthdig editorial staff selects a Truthdigger of the Week, a group or person worthy of recognition for speaking truth to power, breaking the story or blowing the whistle. Here are 10 Truthdiggers from 2014 we think are worth reflecting upon at the end of the year.
Cecily McMillan could get up to seven years on her conviction of hitting a plainclothes policeman who grabbed her in Zuccotti Park. The persecution of the Occupy activist has become emblematic of the state's use of the courts to criminalize nonviolent dissent and try to crush new mass movements.The persecution of Occupy activist Cecily McMillan—facing up to seven years in prison—has become emblematic of the state's use of the courts to criminalize nonviolent dissent and try to crush new mass movements.
Occupy Wall Street organizer Cecily McMillan is paying with her time and body for our leaders' sins of unbridled power and extreme wealth.
The Occupy Wall Street organizer, whom Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges profiled last month, was convicted Monday on charges of "assaulting" an NYPD officer who grabbed her breast as he removed her from a protest. She faces up to seven years in prison.
Cecily McMillan—facing the possibility of seven years in prison for elbowing a plainclothes policeman in Zuccotti Park—is the latest victim of a cloaked offensive to destroy activist leaders.
As an Occupy Wall Street activist goes to trial on charges of assaulting a police officer, author and lawyer Chase Madar asks what the rights to freedom of assembly, freedom of the press and freedom from warrantless search are worth in the United States today.
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