How did this start?

There was no court for us today, but an article came out about the past week’s proceedings that has defendants and attorneys in it: “2 felony littering defendants to start trial in Asheville; Jury selection April 17” by Sarah Honosky, Asheville Citizen Times. Here also is a very detailed account of the motions and proceedings by Matilda Bliss in the Asheville Blade. Matilda is one of two journalists who were arrested in Aston Park on December 25, 2021.

One of our attorneys is quoted in the Citizen Times reminding everyone what this legal nonsense started with: a protest against the city’s brutal series of camp evictions in 2021. Here’s some thorough reporting on that: “Asheville Officials Removed More Than 20 Homeless Camps in 2021” by Ursula Wren, Asheville Free Press.

And it certainly wasn’t just 2021; we don’t yet have numbers for 2022, but camp evictions are constantly displacing small communities that look out for each other, and a way folks often lose all their belongings. This piece: Whose Space is Public Space?” by Pip Flickinger in the Mountain Xpress is a beautiful one for connecting what’s happening in this legal case to the much bigger issue that gave rise to it: “the people we exclude from public spaces, and the things we refer to as worthless, say a lot about what we value as a community.”

Please really read these! We are so grateful for the support of y’all who stand with us, and we also know that what’s happening with us has more to do with the city’s unwillingness to reckon with the human suffering caused by their policy choices than it has to do with… littering.

Also, a reminder that jury selection is set to start Monday afternoon, and we will be in touch about when supportive courtroom presence is requested. Thanks so much, y’all!