Today, the Antiwar Movement Goes on Trial

Leigh Saavedra provides a great synopsis of the St. Patrick 4 whose bogus trial started today.

THE CRIME: On March 17, 2003, Dan, Clare, Peter, and Teresa entered a military recruiting center in Lansing, N.Y., and poured a half cup of their own blood around the vestibule...
The following month the four were tried for criminal mischief. Nine of the 12 jurors voted to acquit them, and after 20 hours of deliberation, the judge declared a mistrial. At such declaration, the crowded courtroom gave the four a standing ovation. The district attorney said that he would not prosecute them again, expecting that another jury would yield the same verdict.
A year later, however, the U.S. government decided to retry the four peace activists, this time on the more serious charges of conspiracy.
The fact that these four pacifists are being tried again, even after the war has been shown to most people's satisfaction to have been a mistake, and worse, that they are not allowed to express their feelings or use the illegality of the war in their defense throws open doors and windows that even the most cynical weren't truly expecting two years ago.
Whether our constitutional right to freedom of speech will live or not is the point. What happens in Binghamton in the coming week or weeks will probably be a barometer. If Daniel, Clare, Peter, and Teresa are found guilty of conspiracy, then all those who vocally support them are guilty.
And if we are, then our worst fears about the so-called PATRIOT Act have grown as real as a match held up to our Constitution.

A case to keep our eyes on. A case whose conclusion will say so much about this country's future/character/basis of freedom.