On Firedoglake, I wrote about the latest developments in the Gulf Port 7 trial, where occupiers from Austin, Dallas and Houston face felonies for using lockboxes at the Gulf Port Shutdown last December. Though the trial will continue in January, this also means the release of more documents and photos detailing the infiltration of Occupy Austin by undercover officers:
As a consequence, the Austin Police Department were forced to turn photos, emails and documents relating to their investigation over to Judge Joan Campbell. Since APD insists the undercover investigation into Occupy Austin is ongoing, they asked her to suppress the release of the information to the defense. After review by Campbell, a portion of the documents have been released to defense and are making their way to the media.
Campbell’s release reveals that a total of six undercover officers were assigned to monitor Occupy Austin, but three were apparently not involved directly in the lockbox incident where undercover Austin police built lockbox devices. Made from PVC pipes and also known as sleeping dragons or dragon sleeves, lockboxes linked seven protesters together at the December 12, 2011 Port of Houston shutdown. The use of these devices resulted in these occupiers from Austin, Dallas and Houston facing felony charges instead of the misdemeanors brought against those who simply linked their arms and legs.
The first undercover revealed was Shannon G Dowell, who had been forced to testify in the trial’s discovery phase. But now we’ve learned the names of two more.
I will be live tonight on Speaking In Tongues on 90.3 KDVS Radio from the University of California at Davis. I’ll discuss Burning Man, the death of Paul Addis and the Occupy movement. Tune in at 5:30pm Pacific Time / 7:30pm Central Time (Austin local). You’ll be able to listen live online.
