Bail Hearing Rally for Jeremy Hammond on 7/23/2012

The following is a 1:1 copy from the Free Jeremy Hammond support network, source: http://www.facebook.com/notes/free-jeremy-hammond-support-network/bail-hearing-rally-for-jeremy-hammond-on-7232012/364598860279282

Bail Hearing Rally for Jeremy Hammond on 7/23/2012
by Free Jeremy Hammond support network on Wednesday, July 25, 2012 at 10:22am ·

We began our journey to New York on Saturday morning, stopping on the way to pick up a friend.  We had this great idea that we would make a stop in Atlantic City for the night and try to win enough money to be able to offer any amount of money to get Jeremy out of jail.  It would be safe to say that idea was a total failure!



On Sunday morning, we made our way to New York, picking up another friend on the way and we checked into the hotel  about 6 hours behind schedule due to the incredible amount of traffic.  Because we were late, we thought we would get something to eat and then see where we could pass out fliers for the rally.  We ate dinner right next to the hotel and walked right around the corner to find a little bar called Jeremy's Ale House.  Thinking it was  some kind of Omen, we felt it was the  proper place to start more pre-rally rallying.   We sat there the rest of the evening with friends talking about Jeremy and our plan for Monday.



Monday morning came earlier than my brain was allowing but nonetheless, it was up, dressed and ready to head to Foley Square to start gathering more support for the rally.  While sitting just outside of Foley Square, I met two men from the Netherlands, one of which was very interested in Jeremy's case and also interested in hearing more about Wikileaks.  We were happy to explain all that we could.  Both took a flier and said they would be following Jeremy's case when they returned home.  Jeremy's twin brother Jason arrived shortly after us along with some of Jeremy's friends who drove from Chicago to show support for their friend and family.  I have to admit, seeing Jason standing next to a picture of Jeremy was sort of chilling but in Jason's usual happy spirit, he suggested that we take the picture and tweet it saying that "Jeremy was out of jail".   Jeremy's friends who live in NY were also there to get the rally started.  The ABC were there to show their support along with other friends who were kind enough to do all of the video streaming and pictures.  Pamela Drew graced us with her incredible presence and energy.  Janet Reitman from Rolling Stone Magazine and Emily Kunstler from Jeremy's Legal team also joined us in Foley Square.



Jason was given a message that Jeremy had written to all  who had joined the rally and to those who were not able to attend.  Jason began to announce the contents of the letter through a small amp that he had brought with him until one of New York's finest put an end to that plan.  We resorted to a mic check and when that failed, we moved on to getting Jason to Yell.  He was awesome.  We gathered together and made our way to the courthouse a mere short walk down the street.  We entered the courthouse and turned over our cell phones, cameras, wrenches and any other item not deemed appropriate for the courtroom to the local guards and made our way to the courtroom.



Together we sat and waited our turn to enter the courtroom with Jason taking the lead so that he could sit right behind Jeremy.  It was great to see his entire legal team present for this bail hearing along with other members of the NLG as well.  We entered the courtroom and took our seats quietly so as not to upset the courtroom proceedings.  It was only a few minutes before Jeremy entered the courtroom and to say he was beaming was an understatement.  He looked at all of us sitting there and raised a hand and said "power to the people".  At that point, the courtroom visitors were either going to start to make noise or behave and we chose the latter of the two options.  Jeremy took his seat smiling and happy to see everyone.  He made hand gestures that he had been working out.  Next, there was a friend of Jeremy's who made the comment "what's with the mullet"  which then again brought about some laughter in the courtroom.



The Prosecuting attorney then advised the judge that they had not completed their discovery and a motion was made to delay the case until September to allow them to complete their investigation and possibly add more charges to the case than were already in place.  Liz Fink, one of Jeremy's lawyers advised the court that they needed Jeremy out of jail so that he could help with his defense due to the large amounts of information involved and also advised that they would be submitting a bail package in the next week to two weeks.  Liz Fink advised that it was unrealistic to attempt to sit with Jeremy for 30 hours per week while in jail going over information submitted by the prosecutor.  It was noted that the delay in the case was not to go against Jeremy's right to speedy trial "In the interest of justice" .  How interesting is that??  Shortly after all proceedings concluded, Jeremy stood from his chair in an almost militant stance with hands behind his back and legs spread apart and was lead out of the courtroom by guards.  The supporters made their way out of the courthouse, collecting their seized property on the way and then back out to the streets.  We then made our way, dancing to the music that Jason was playing through his amplifier back to Jeremy's Ale House where we sat together and got to know each other.



In looking back a couple of days now, the support shown by each of the attendees of the rally was not only  for Jeremy but  for Jason who loved the support and helped him to get through the events of the day.  As Jason put it to me "He's my brother in there".  All of the support from so many people made for a very successful day for Jeremy.  He was so thrilled to see everyone there and I know we were all pleased to see him.  I'll keep everyone up to date on the next court date and bail proposal.  On Behalf of Jeremy's family and friends, thank you to all of you who were at the rally and also to those who were not able to come to the rally but shared the rally information on their Facebook and Twitter sites.  You are all the reason there is a support network and we are all here for the same reason and that is to support Jeremy.  Pictures are coming in from several areas and I will post them as I get them.



One final note...As reported by Jeremy's legal staff, the letters are pouring in and Jeremy is loving all of them and trying to respond to all of them.  Keep the letters coming.  He is also enjoying all of the books and is reading and teaching English in jail.  Keep up the great work everyone.  The common goal of support for Jeremy is all we want.