Zoe Warren, Host of 2A For Today, edited and assistant directed this documentary in association with the Center for Self Governance that premiered on The New American Magazine on January 6th, 2023.
It featured a short introduction with the writer and directors of the series, a viewing of Episode 1, and then a Q&A with several of the defendants from both the Oregon and Nevada trials to discuss their experiences and criminal justice reform in America.
This video is the Intro and Q & A sections of the event.
During the Oregon Trial, the 2016 Malheur Refuge protesters were labeled domestic terrorists, subjected to brutal treatment in pretrial detainment, and thrown into solitary confinement in feces laden dungeon cells.
The prosecutors worked feverishly and in concert with the judges to deny the protesters’ witnesses, hide confidential human sources, and withhold exculpatory evidence from being presented to the jury. They did so while painting the accused as white domestic terrorists and racist, anti-government, right wing extremists – enemies of the Nation!
Several of the protesters go pro se (being their own attorney). They uncover an entrapment scheme that leads to their subsequent acquittal by the jury.
However, many of the other protesters succumb to immense pressures, such as horrendous prison conditions and threats of long sentences by the prosecutors, and accept plea deals.
Others are found guilty of various minor offenses related to their occupation of an empty and unkempt cluster of federal buildings on a bird refuge 30 miles outside of the town of Burns, in Harney County, Oregon.
Throughout the Governed V Governing series we have witnessed the political weaponization of labels and government. The Governed were labeled by the media domestic terrorists, right-wing extremists and white supremacists while the Governing weaponized the government to create a perceived enemy of the State.
What sort of justice do you want? Innocent until proven guilty or guilty until proven innocent? What’s your final verdict?
