MD: Judge Koch sentences "Colesville 13" Beltway blockaders to 4 days jail

On Sep 30th in a Rockville, MD courtroom, Judge Koch ignored recommendations for prosecutors and sentenced 13 Declare Emergency activists to 4 days in jail for blockading the Capitol Beltway on July 4. That's right-the judge gave them jail time prosecutors were NOT asking for, on his own initiative.

Prosecutors should consider that when protesters consider a public emergency to exist, any attempt to make civil disobedience impossible may result in further escalation. In the wake of Hurricane Ian's devastation in Florida it is no longer possible to argue that there is no public emergency!

There is a scientific consensus that climate change is making hurricanes more powerful, and Ian hit in the Ft Myers area just 2 mph short of Cat 5 strength and was one of the 5 most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the US. Tampa (a MAJOR city) barely missed complete destruction,saved by the storm hitting further south. Waist-high floodwaters were reported as far in land as Orlando.

Perhaps Judge Koch should try to drive to Sanabel Island, and determine in person whether climate change is now a public emergency. Oh that's right-the causeway is down in multiple locations. Maybe try Ft Myer's Beach instead, where a storm surge put houses in open water with waves on it. That is, if the judge can even navigate the gas lines, closed roads, and widespread power outages. Oh yeah: I-75 on Florida's Gulf Coast was closed for flooding far longer than Declare Emergency could ever have kept the Beltway shut down.

Here is Declare Emergency's press release:

ROCKVILLE, MD (September 30, 2022) 13 Declare Emergency supporters are serving four days in jail, following an unprecedented ruling.

In the hearing for the “Colesville 13” — the 13 defendants arrested for stopping traffic at the Colesville Road exit of the Beltway during a climate emergency demonstration on July 4th — the State recommended a community service sentence without jail time. Despite the State’s recommendation, the presiding Judge Koch sentenced the defendants to four days in jail, explaining the ruling as a way to deter future disobedience. The judge added, since many of the defendants are already doing community service, a community service sentence would not be enough. According to legal sources, for a judge to rule against State recommendations in this way is unprecedented.

“As a law-abiding retired public servant, I am not risking my life on a whim,” says Virginia defendant Donna Shaunesey. “This is a climate emergency. Petitions, helping with political campaigns, and symbolic protests have not worked.”

Before sentencing, the defendants presented a statement to Judge Koch, admitting to stopping traffic on the Beltway on July 4th. The defendants said, “we’re ordinary citizens,” and noted their jobs include architect, computer programmer, structural engineer, furniture maker, nurse, retiree, combat Vietnam War veteran, systems engineer, mental health worker, and teacher.

In their statement, the defendants referred to the $700 billion world banks invested in fossil fuel corporations. They noted that more than $20 billion was spent by the US in 2019 on subsidies for fossil fuel corporations, and the cost of damage to social and ecological systems as a result of these US subsidies is over $600 billion.

The "Colesville 13" said they believe our collective responsibility is to live with balance, respect and gratitude for nature, which we are a part of and which provides humanity with its only life support system.

The statement also included an apology from the defendants for disrupting the lives of their fellow citizens, and their fear that the disruption to everyone’s lives will be dramatically worse if the climate emergency is not addressed immediately.

“The science is clear; humanity is facing widespread famine, flooding, forest fires, heatwaves and drought. I just can’t sit idly by while our world goes down in flames,” says Shaunesey.

Supporters of the Declare Emergency campaign are raising legal funds to support the “Colesville 13." If you would like to donate, you can do so here: https://www.declareemergency.org/donate