by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Donald Trump's quest for a purely white, English-speaking United States suffered another setback this week when a federal court in Arizona failed to convict a radical humanitarian who stood accused of giving aid and comfort to immigrants. Scott Daniel Warren, a professor of geography at Arizona State University, was arrested in January of 2018 and charged with two counts of felony harboring and one count of federal conspiracy for giving food, water, clean clothes, and beds to two undocumented men in the border community of Ajo, Arizona.
In closing arguments, a prosecutor tried to vilify Dr. Warren by proclaiming: "He gave them food, he gave them water, he gave them a place to stay. He did a bad thing." If convicted, Warren could have served up to twenty years in prison. Four jurors bought that tortured logic and voted to convict, but the eight others could not find that the good professor had committed a crime.
Now prosecutors and Trump's border Nazi's have crawled off into a corner where they are licking their wounds and trying to decide whether or not to retry the heinous criminal who defied his government by giving aid to people seeking sanctuary and a better life in the United States.
Dr. Warren is a member of a humanitarian group called "No More Deaths" or "No Mas Muertes." It was founded in Arizona in 2004 with the stated aim of helping to save the lives of border-crossers. In 2009 I used this space to tell the story of Daniel Millis, also a teacher and member of "No More Deaths" who was arrested by our government for "littering" after he was found to be placing plastic jugs of water in the desert. Ironically, Millis was picking up litter as he placed the life-saving jugs along trails used by the illegal border-crossers. A federal judge found Millis guilty of the crime of littering, but declined to give him any punishment for his actions.
Earlier this year, I wrote about four young women in the group who were also arrested for providing aid to migrants who had illegally crossed the border.
All of those individuals had one thing in common: they put themselves at great risk in order to help others - and to our government, that constituted a crime.
Thank you "No More Deaths" for your strength, determination, and humanity!
Citizen Journalist
Donald Trump's quest for a purely white, English-speaking United States suffered another setback this week when a federal court in Arizona failed to convict a radical humanitarian who stood accused of giving aid and comfort to immigrants. Scott Daniel Warren, a professor of geography at Arizona State University, was arrested in January of 2018 and charged with two counts of felony harboring and one count of federal conspiracy for giving food, water, clean clothes, and beds to two undocumented men in the border community of Ajo, Arizona.
In closing arguments, a prosecutor tried to vilify Dr. Warren by proclaiming: "He gave them food, he gave them water, he gave them a place to stay. He did a bad thing." If convicted, Warren could have served up to twenty years in prison. Four jurors bought that tortured logic and voted to convict, but the eight others could not find that the good professor had committed a crime.
Now prosecutors and Trump's border Nazi's have crawled off into a corner where they are licking their wounds and trying to decide whether or not to retry the heinous criminal who defied his government by giving aid to people seeking sanctuary and a better life in the United States.
Dr. Warren is a member of a humanitarian group called "No More Deaths" or "No Mas Muertes." It was founded in Arizona in 2004 with the stated aim of helping to save the lives of border-crossers. In 2009 I used this space to tell the story of Daniel Millis, also a teacher and member of "No More Deaths" who was arrested by our government for "littering" after he was found to be placing plastic jugs of water in the desert. Ironically, Millis was picking up litter as he placed the life-saving jugs along trails used by the illegal border-crossers. A federal judge found Millis guilty of the crime of littering, but declined to give him any punishment for his actions.
Earlier this year, I wrote about four young women in the group who were also arrested for providing aid to migrants who had illegally crossed the border.
All of those individuals had one thing in common: they put themselves at great risk in order to help others - and to our government, that constituted a crime.
Thank you "No More Deaths" for your strength, determination, and humanity!
1 comment:
Who does this Doctor Warren think he is? A Christian? How dare he?
34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[a] you did it to me.’
[a] Matthew 25:40 Gk "these my brothers"
Matthew 25: 34-40 NRSV
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