At arraignment of anti-war activists: Supporters say ‘Free Ahlam Mohsen and Max Kantar!’

By Kris Hamel
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Jan 29, 2011

The courtroom was packed with supporters when anti-war activists Ahlam Mohsen and Max Kantar were arraigned on Jan. 24 in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph G. Scoville. Both pleaded not guilty and were released on personal bond until trial.

Ahlam Mohsen

Members of the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice in Detroit were there in solidarity with Mohsen and Kantar, as were student activists from the Coalition Against Sexual Violence at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Mohsen is a leading organizer in the coalition. Other supporters from Grand Rapids also attended.

The two face eight years in federal prison on felony charges for an anti-imperialist solidarity action on Aug. 16 in Big Rapids, Mich. There they confronted U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, for his complicity and participation in crimes against the peoples of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and other victims of U.S. wars, including the poor and homeless in Detroit.

At the event Kantar read a detailed statement, backed up with five pages of substantiating documentation. (The statement and references can be found at www.mecawi.org.) After that Mohsen allegedly placed a de-crusted apple pie in the senator’s face.

Max Kantar

Mohsen and Kantar are both 23 years old. Mohsen is a senior at Michigan State University majoring in anthropology. Kantar graduated from Ferris State University in 2010. Both are anti-imperialists and staunch supporters of the Palestinian people’s struggle against U.S.-backed Israeli occupation and war.

Mohsen spent more than a week locked up in the Mecosta County Jail for her “crime.” She was held on a quarter-million-dollar bond requiring $50,000 in bail. While incarcerated, Mohsen, a Yemeni-American, was reportedly subjected to ethnic slurs and her vegetarian dietary requirements were disregarded by jail authorities.

MECAWI came immediately to Mohsen’s defense and organized a protest Aug. 20 outside the federal building in Detroit where Sen. Levin has his offices. Levin’s staff received calls and emails demanding the senator use his weighty influence and stature to get the bond reduced and charges dropped against the pair. He maintained it was out of his hands to do so.

Mohsen was released from Mecosta County Jail on Aug. 24 on a reduced bond, while the state “suspended” their case because the FBI took over the investigation. On Dec. 30 Mohsen and Kantar were indicted by a grand jury on two counts each of “forcible assault on a Federal Officer” and “assault on a Member of Congress.”

These outrageous charges include a reference to Section 1114 of U.S. Code Title 18, alleging the case of Mohsen and Kantar falls under the guidelines of “whoever kills or attempts to kill any officer or employee of the United States.”

The Jan. 24 MECAWI release states: “This railroading of Mohsen and Kantar must cease immediately. It is an outrage that taxpayers’ money is being spent investigating and prosecuting these young people for an act of free speech when there are right-wing thugs and murderers attempting to assassinate elected officials and carrying out massacres (Tucson), bombs are being placed at MLK Day marches (Spokane), the Tea Party and its racist vitriol are being cheered in the media, and trillions are spent on wars, military occupations and bailing out the banks while the needs of society are greatly unmet.”