Arrests target I-69 resistance
In what appears to be the culmination of a several year long case the state has been building against I-69 resistance, two Indiana residents, Gina 'Tiga' Wertz and Hugh Farrell, were arrested Friday afternoon, April 24th. Although the charges against the two include individual acts, for the majority they are trumped up charges of conspiracy - fairly explicitly, conspiracy to collectively organize, to attempt to challenge environmental and social devastation perpetrated by the state and capital - leveled against any (not easily recuperative) movement against I-69. Although it appears that no other warrants have been issued, that for now no other individuals will be facing the severe penalties these charges carry, it must be noted that this brash move by the state is a most blatant affront to any initiative towards social organization.
Tiga, a long time Indiana resident, was arrested early in the afternoon as she appeared in Gibson County court on charges stemming from anti-I-69 actions this past summer. Tiga was taken to the Pike County jail, where she was held for 11 days while the $10000 needed for her bail was raised. Her arrest warrant details five charges: 2 counts of intimidation, 2 counts of conversion (all misdemeanors) and 1 count of corrupt business influence (a class C felony).
A couple hours after Tiga was accosted at the courthouse, Hugh was arrested in northern Indiana by a US marshal driving an unmarked vehicle. Rather than pulling over the vehicle Hugh was traveling in, the cop trailed the car for some unknown duration waiting for it to stop, then arrested Hugh outside of a gas station. He was then taken to join Tiga in the Pike County jail, where he was held on $20,000 cash bond for 4 days. His charges are the same as Tiga’s, though many of the details of their warrants differ. Maximally, their charges carry 12 year sentences.
These arrests are an obvious continuance and escalation of the harassment of anti-I-69 activities in southern Indiana over the past two decades. Recently, I-69 resistance in both Evansville and Bloomington has been systematically targeted by myriad law enforcement agencies from throughout the state as well as by federal agencies. To varying degrees, nearly 20 people now are held captive by the court system on the basis of their alleged involvement in various anti-I-69 protests occuring last summer. Chad Frazier of Evansville is currently serving a 2 month sentence for alleged events surrounding a tree-sit eviction by the police. As the state tries to squash its opposition by ensnaring individuals in isolating court cases, by monitoring and threatening individuals to try to pinpoint 'leaders’ or groups responsible, it is important to recognize how any such instance of individual repression might easily and effectively become supportive of repression in general. To counter such repression with honest reflection on its functioning and on how we might challenge rather than support it, is to stand in solidarity with Tiga and Hugh.