Toronto's Anti-Racist Action spent 13 days of the summer in court in two trials, supporting 12 defendants arrested in connection with demonstrations against Toronto's neo-nazis. In the end, neither judge could bring himself to convict anyone on the flimsy evidence, and everyone got off! It wasn't that they wouldn't have gone along with a frame-up, but they were contrary enough to demand that the Crown [the prosecution - ed.] and the police at least do it competently.
Five defendants were charged with mischief in connection with a demonstration June 11, 1993, when ARA brought the struggle right to the doorstep of a Heritage Front propagandist, doing considerable damage to his home. Outnumbered and outwitted, cops were forced to stand by and made no arrests at the time. But in the hysteria that followed, the police force made four arrests to cover their asses, picking people up at other anti-racist events. A fifth arrest was made six months later. The other group of seven was arrested at a November 1993 demonstration outside the bunker of Ernst Zundel, an internationally-known nazi propagandist/organizer and Holocaust-denier. (Among those charged was a member of the Bulldozer collective.)
The intention of the Crown and the cops was to handle both cases as simple criminal matters: "You have the right to demonstrate but this time you broke the law." However, the defendants insisted on collective trials and a more political strategy. Beginning in May 1994, when the June 11 group went on trial, defense lawyers emphasized the role of police "intelligence" in making the arrests - a role which the Crown had minimized in the interests of keeping politics out of the trial. In particular, they exposed the collaboration between a senior intelligence officer and Heritage Front leaders in identifying anti-racists.
Other significant political points were made. Both judges accepted that wearing disguises at an anti-fascist demonstrations is a reasonable precaution to take, rejecting the Crown argument that masking proves a defendants' criminal intentions. In the June 11 case the judge also resisted falling into the Crown's trap of holding demonstration organizers responsible for the actions of everyone at the event, without compelling evidence tying them to so-called criminal acts. The Zundel demo judge went even further, challenging police credibility and asking why arrests had been made at all. Basically, people were acquitted because the collective strategy allowed defense lawyers to totally destroy the fabricated and twisted cop evidence by exposing its internal contradictions. The collective defense also allowed the group to bring a more political flavour to the trials, making straight-up criminalization of the accused more difficult, in the media and in the community. (For example, defendants were referred to as "anti-racist activists" rather than "hooligans".) Because the charges were relatively minor in comparison with the repression experienced at the hands of police by so many communities, ARA did not run high-profile defense campaigns. But the organization did make sure that people in Toronto knew about the cases and the courtroom was always full of folks ready to show their support and to face nazis if necessary. (None showed up.)
Undeniably, 14 arrests over less than a year and a half of organizing has had its intended effect of disrupting the youth-based, activist group. But after a summer of trials ARA remains intact, a victory in itself. Hopefully, the acquittals will build some confidence that the community can organize street actions successfully and effectively, and can defend itself against police reprisals. Most importantly, energy directed inwards during the course of the trials can now be redirected outside against the common enemies.
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