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RED HOT: TRAYVON MARTIN
CHINA,
AFGHANISTAN, FIGHTING RACISM, OCCUPY WALL STREET,
PEOPLE'S POWER, SAVE OUR POST OFFICES, WOMEN, AFRICA,
LIBYA, WISCONSIN WORKERS FIGHT BACK, SUPPORT STATE & LOCAL WORKERS,
EGYPT, NORTH AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST,
STOP FBI REPRESSION, RESIST ARIZONA RACISM, NO TO FRACKING, DEFEND PUBLIC EDUCATION, ANTI-WAR,
HEALTH CARE,
CUBA, CLIMATE CHANGE,
JOBS JOBS JOBS,
STOP FORECLOSURES, IRAN,
IRAQ, CAPITALIST CRISIS,
IMMIGRANTS, LGBT, POLITICAL PRISONERS,
KOREA,
HONDURAS, HAITI,
SOCIALISM,
GAZA
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MTA foiled: The shoe didn’t fit
By
Workers World New York bureau
Published Mar 5, 2009 7:38 PM
Subway-fare activist Stephen Millies created a stir—and got arrested and
charged with disorderly conduct—when he reached for his shoe at a
December hearing to protest what he and many others considered outrageous New
York Metropolitan Transportation Authority fare hikes. On Feb. 23 Millies had a
victory in court when the judge threw out the case against him.
Steve Millies promises to continue his fight
against a fare increase.
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Julie Fry, his lawyer, said the charges were “ridiculous” and
violated Millies’ right to freedom of speech. “When you’re
speaking at a public hearing and they grab you from behind, that’s going
to intimidate others,” she told the court. She added that Millies
intended “a symbolic gesture” that’s considered an insult in
the Middle East especially.
The specific ticket against Millies was that he disrupted “a religious
ceremony.” Judge Marc Whiten made it clear that he considered the MTA to
be no religious institution.
“We’re in a recession. This is the worst time to raise
fares,” Millies said at a news conference after his acquittal. He called
the increase “a tax on working people.” Millies had said in
December that the Iraqi journalist, Muntadar al-Zaidi, who threw both of his
shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush during Bush’s last visit to Iraq,
inspired his action.
Millies promises to continue to protest the MTA’s plans to raise fares.
His group, the Bail Out the People Movement, is currently planning protests of
the bailout of the banks. It has called for national demonstrations on April 3
and 4 targeting Wall Street in New York City.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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