-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Why are Eugene anarchists so angry? Rob Los Ricos
I think Rob's situation explains a small part of it.
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Anarchist Rob los Ricos Sentenced to 7 Years In Prison For Throwing Rock At Cop
Sentence for rioter: 7 years in prison
October 14, 1999 By ERIC MORTENSON The Register-Guard
Amid the fury of the June 18 riot in downtown Eugene, Robert Lee Thaxton threw a softball-sized rock that hit a police officer in the upper right chest and nearly broke his clavicle.
On Wednesday, a judge dropped the hammer on Thaxton.
The self-described anarchist was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison, a surprisingly stiff term that police and prosecutors said should be a clear signal that violent social protest won't be tolerated.
"That's about as strong a message as you can send, I would say," said Steven Skelton, chief deputy in the Lane County district attorney's office. "In our view, that's an appropriate message to send.
"Citizens have no more right to commit crimes during demonstrations than they do any other time," Skelton said. "This case is not about the expression of rights, it is about assaultive criminal behavior."
Meanwhile, the attorney who defended Thaxton during his trial, Charles Porter, predicted that Thaxton's conviction will be overturned on appeal. He said the district attorney's office did not disprove Thaxton's claim that he was acting in self-defense when he threw the rock.
But Sgt. Larry Blackwell, the officer who was hit by the rock, said the sentence imposed by Judge Mary Ann Bearden ought to send a message not only to Thaxton, but to other rioters who threw rocks, hurt officers and damaged property but didn't get caught.
"The main thing I wanted was some justice," Blackwell said. "I think I got justice. That was the whole thing; people think we were out for revenge, but I just wanted some justice."
Thaxton, 39 and a native of Texas, was convicted Sept. 3 of second-degree assault and rioting. The assault charge is a Measure 11 crime, carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 70 months - five years and 10 months in prison.
The surprise came in the sentence tacked on for the rioting charge. Given Thaxton's record - car theft, drug possession and a minor theft charge - the presumptive sentence under state guidelines was probation.
However, Bearden chose to depart from the guidelines and sentenced Thaxton to 18 months in prison on that charge. What's more, she chose to make the terms consecutive rather than fold in the rioting sentence with the assault term.
The total sentence adds up to 88 months, or seven years and four months.
Thaxton could have fared worse. Blackwell said he might have shot Thaxton if he'd had time to react to the rock attack.
"To him and the rioters, violence was a trivial part of this thing to them," Blackwell said. "It bothers me, it's pretty distressing; officers are put in situations where we could have used deadly force. Being put in that position is not a very pleasant one."
The June 18 riot sprang from an anarchists' protest downtown against global economic powers and other perceived oppressors. When the event heated up, rioters broke windows, pounded on cars, blocked traffic and threw rocks and bottles. Twenty people were arrested, eight officers were hurt, and one motorist who felt threatened hit an anarchist on the head with a wrench.
Blackwell, supervisor of the department's Rapid Deployment Unit, or RDU, had been chasing another man just before Thaxton threw the rock. The man darted into a crowd, and Blackwell was hit on the helmet by a thrown bottle. He paused, then approached Thaxton.
"Here, the evidence was uncontroverted," said Porter, the defense attorney. "It says in the (police) report: The sergeant moved first, then Rob threw the stone. It shows who the aggressor was."
Thaxton testified during his trial that he was afraid Blackwell would hit him, and that he tried to throw the rock over Blackwell's head as a diversion so he could escape. He also said he was afraid to leave the scene because he thought he would be singled out and beaten.
He admitted carrying the rock but said he had intended to smash the window of an unoccupied police car in retaliation for what he thought was police mistreatment of protesters.
The rock hit Blackwell in the chest with such force that it bent his RDU insignia into a V shape. The rock hit under his clavicle and skittered up over his shoulder. Although Blackwell was wearing a protective vest, he was badly bruised. He said a doctor told him that his clavicle would have been shattered if the rock hadn't hit his unit pin.
"The thing that bothered me the most was, when he testified he had a smile on his face," Blackwell said. "He said he was at the riot for four hours, he described it as festive, and he was afraid to leave.
"It's an insult to me as well as other police officers who were injured, and any of the citizens who were attacked that day. In reality, he was the person out there trying to hurt somebody."
-- Chuck0
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"A society is a healthy society only to the degree that it exhibits anarchistic traits."
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