We're a bit late on this story about #LandBack activist and NDNCollective leader Nick Tilsen, but it's still in play.
Back in March, Bluestem had posted Charges against Nick Tilsen, Land Defenders for July 3 Mount Rushmore protest dropped.
Apparently the Pennington County Attorney’s Office is breaking its agreement with Tilsen and intends to move forward with the case. A brief digest of this development.
So yeah the Pennington County Prosecutors office has BACKED OUT! on their deal in my case. In this process they have violated my constitutional rights to free speech and a speedy trial. Today we filed a motion to dismiss charges indefinitely #LandBack https://t.co/23AsT1fX2Z
— Nick Tilsen (@NickTilsen) July 2, 2021
In the Friday July 2 Rapid City Journal article, Tilsen files motion to dismiss charges from last year's Mount Rushmore protest, Abby Wargo reports:
One year following NDN Collective President/CEO Nick Tilsen's arrest during a protest near Keystone, his attorneys filed court documents Friday requesting dismissal of all charges against him.
Three motions to dismiss were filed in Pennington County Court, through Tilsen’s attorneys, Brendan Johnson and Bruce Ellison. According to court documents, one of the motions claims prosecutorial misconduct and two claim constitutional violations — one alleging the right to a speedy trial was violated and the other alleges Tilsen’s First Amendment rights were violated.
At a Friday afternoon press conference outside the Pennington County Courthouse, Tilsen said his case has been politically and racially motivated from the beginning.
“The prosecutor has abused their position of power and privilege to try to silence myself. These are all grounds for dismissal,” Tilsen said. “Here we are, another lie made to our people by another white man in power. And we’re tired of that.”
Tilsen has kept his end of the agreement. Wargo reports:
Tilsen was arrested July 3, 2020 along with other protesters during former President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July visit to Mount Rushmore. He initially faced 17 years in prison, but in March he accepted an offer to participate in a diversion program, and if he remained on good behavior for a year following the completion of the diversion contract, his record would be sealed and expunged. . . .
Tilsen said he had already started the work as part of his diversion program by volunteering for Wambli Ska to help develop cultural programs for at-risk youth and building a new teen center. The center opened June 20, and the motion submitted to court Friday noted that Vargo was in attendance for the grand opening. . . .
Read the entire article at the Rapid City Journal.
Saturday, the Journal carried the Associated Press report on the story, Oglala Lakota leader seeks dismissal of protest charges.
The NDN Collective issued a press release, NICK TILSEN FILES MOTION TO DISMISS CASE, CITING PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT AND CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS:
On Friday, July 2, Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of NDN Collective, filed a motion to dismiss charges filed against him by the Pennington County Attorney’s Office (PCAO). This motion comes in response to PCAO’s recent statement that it intends to prosecute Tilsen again, after initially saying it would dismiss the charges against Tilsen in exchange for his participation in a pre-trial diversion program, retreating from this initial offer in a retaliatory response to Tilsen exercising his right to free speech, and then delaying any further response for three months.
“This entire prosecution has been motivated to limit my First Amendment rights, to limit First Amendment Rights of Native people in this community when we speak out,” said Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of NDN Collective at a press conference on Friday. “It was immediately following the diversion meeting that I expressed my feelings to the media about this prosecution. The State Prosecutor didn’t like what I said to the media. He did not like the tone I used in the media and he didn’t like the way I communicated my message to the media.”
The motion filed by Tilsen states that the PCAO’s actions to punish Tilsen for his constitutionally-protected free speech violated his rights to due process and equal protection, chilled his First Amendment rights, and violated his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. The motion argues for dismissal of all charges against Tilsen on the basis of the PCAO violating Tilsen’s constitutional rights throughout the negotiation process.
“It has been a year since I was incarcerated and I have not seen a day in Court,” said Tilsen. “I have not actually went to trial here in this community.”
The original charges against Tilsen were filed last summer, when 21 Indigenous people and allies — including Tilsen — were met with force by the state police and arrested for protesting Trump’s rally at Mt. Rushmore. Though Trump and his group were violating multiple treaties with their presence, including one through the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the land defenders faced multiple charges. Tilsen himself was facing the harshest charges, including a felony and up to 17 years in prison.
“The prosecutor has abused their position of power and privilege to try to silence myself and try to silence others,” said Tilsen. “As we were combing through the details we found several violations that were not only Constitutional violations, but ethical violations, things that prosecutors shouldn’t do. Prosecutors are not allowed to engage in vindictive prosecution.”
Also speaking at the press conference, Hermus Bettelyoun, Oglala Lakota community member, announced a solidarity rally and march on Sunday, July 4, in Rapid City, protesting law enforcement’s treatment of all Native people. Bettelyoun decried all local law enforcement agencies for their treatment of the Native population, “from unhoused relatives to our defenseless on the streets getting picked on, all the way up to people like Nick, who take a political stance,” Hermus said. “Let’s take a stand against the way police department and law enforcement agencies target and criminalize our communities.”
The rally will start at 5:30 pm at Hailey park on Sunday, July 4, in Rapid City, and the march will commence there at the park and conclude at the Pennington County Jail.
Here's the NDNCollective's video of the press conference:
Related post:
Photo: "In July of 2020, Tilsen and NDN Collective publicly denounced the Fourth of July holiday and Mount Rushmore to the media. Screenshot from Tilsen interview on MSNBC, July 2, 2020." Via NDN Collective.
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