Our friend, neighbor, and ally, Rebecca Kemble, water protector, and crusader for economic justice, was arrested in October 2016 while serving as a legal observer at Standing Rock.
At the time of her arrest, she was serving with the National Lawyers Guild as an observer, filming police interactions with people who were exiting a peaceful prayer ritual that was disrupted and broken up by police personnel.
Rebecca was:
- grabbed by police personnel and her camera was thrown to the ground
- handcuffed and taken to jail
- strip searched and held for 24 hours along with ten other women arrested at the prayer ritual.
- charged with criminal trespass, inciting a riot, resisting arrest, and destruction of evidence.
The charges made against Rebecca are bogus, but serious, and Rebecca now must make repeated trips to North Dakota to contest them. She has to pay her attorney, court fees, travel expenses, and also will lose significant income.
Rebecca and her husband Adam own a small business doing snow removal, and Rebecca is a long-time owner/driver member of the Union Cab cooperative. She dedicates untold hours to our community, our world, and our planet. The unexpected costs for her service at Standing Rock on our behalf, as a water protector and representative of the Madison community, are likely to be $15,000 - a large sum of money that Rebecca cannot handle on her own.
Please contribute all that you can!
