Chicano activist’s supporters mobilize for May 15 trial

Longtime Los Angeles Chicano activist and organizer Carlos Montes will go on trial May 15 on trumped-up charges that amount to political persecution. Montes’ supporters are mobilizing for his legal and popular defense.

Superior Court Judge George Lomeli ordered Montes’ trial at an April 26 hearing, after 40 of the defendant’s supporters rallied outside the courthouse in the rain. The trial will start at 8 a.m. at the Criminal Courts Building, 13th floor, Department 100 at 210 West Temple Ave. in Los Angeles.

According to his defense committee, “Montes was singled out for prosecution because of his activism. He is being targeted as part of larger proceedings against anti-war and international solidarity activists.” (stopfbi.net, April 27)

The charges stem from a 42-year-old legal case, the outcome of which is under dispute. Montes’ lawyers have argued that the indictment was a clear example of selective prosecution. At a prior hearing, two of the six charges against Montes were dropped. His upcoming trial will take up the other four felony charges, dealing with the purchase of a gun in 2009.

A founding member of the Southern California Immigration Coalition, Montes is also active in support of public education in East L.A. Like other political activists whose homes were raided in September 2010 by the FBI, Montes helped organize protests against the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

“On May 17, 2011, at 5 a.m., the FBI, along with the L.A. Sheriff’s SWAT team, carrying automatic weapons, busted down Montes’ door and raided his home, seizing his computer, cell phones, and files documenting decades of political work. Montes was arrested and released on bail the next morning.” (stopfbi.net, April 27)

John Parker, West Coast regional coordinator of the International Action Center, who was at the April 26 rally, told Workers World, “We recognize that the case against Montes is political persecution. It is an attack targeting Montes but aimed at intimidating the entire progressive movement. And that makes it all the more imperative that the entire movement come out to support Montes at his trial.”

For more information on the case, including how to make financial contributions, see stopfbi.net.