Hello! My name is Eric and I am putting together this Fundrazr Campaign to help my friend John Amari to raise money to offset the injustice he suffered on December 3, 2015, at the hands of his local police in Terrytown, LA. This is a Mutual Aid project which seeks to cover legal fees and court costs resulting from his unjust arrest and conviction.
John is a primary caregiver for his disabled mother, which is quite literally his full-time job. He also does landscaping on weekends. Due to the tremendous amount of time and energy John focuses on taking care of his mother, and helping run his household. So, this legal problem and the money involved with his probation and ongoing court costs has put John in dire financial straights. If he falls behind or misses court mandated deadlines for payment, he will be violated by his probation officer and likely be sent to prison by the judge!
We met as members of a Libertarian group on Facebook and I've come to know him as a smart, funny and kind man, whose friendship I greatly value. If you are receiving notification of this Fundrazr, you may also be part of the Liberty community, or a friend or family member. John's story should be concerning to all Americans. It's a story we hear all too often, an American who happens to have cannabis being beaten and arrested in a town renowned for its predatory policing and the revenue such arrests make for the city. In the tradition of Mutual Aid which we libertarians follow, it is important for members of communities to take care of members in need. In this case, which the added pressure of the State being able to put John in a cage for possession of a plant, and trumped up charges of resisting arrest, it is a clarion call to action!
This is the story of the incident as related to me by John. On December 3th, 2015, John, his brother and sister in law had been spending family time together at Johns home which he shares with his mother and father. That evening John's brother and sister in law left the home in their car and were pulled over a short distance from the home. The police pulled the car over for questionable reasons and they decided they needed to search it. A small amount of cannabis was found and the police decided that since John's brother's license address was still their families address, they were going to get a warrant to search the family home. John had no idea that this had happened and was in his back yard when he heard banging on the front door. He went inside to answer the door and was confronted by a group of police, guns aimed at him. He stopped, followed their instructions to put his hand up and turn around. When he did so he was viciously assaulted by the police who beat him seriously enough to require a trip to the hospital. He was then charged with cannabis possession and most egregiously resisting arrest!
This is the kind of insult to injury that we see way too much in this failed and brutal War on Drugs. All for a plant that is legal in many states needs to be so at the Federal level immediately. John has already had to pay a bond and additional costs, lost work and had his life upended. So far John has used his money, and will continue to, but his means are modest and these sorts of criminal justice system cases drain money out of "defendants" while attempting to coerce them to plead guilty to charges instead of a trial by jury. Due to poor legal representation, John ended up pleading guilty and now faces 2 years of felony probation and a suspended 5-year prison sentence. John has a family to help run and a household to maintain. So he can use our help and I'm certainly happy to donate and help John. I ask for your help too. All donations will be used to help with legal expenses, probation costs, and fees. If you know John or interact with him in the Liberty movement, you know he's a good guy. If you don't, but you see how wrong this is, want to help fight back against the War on Drugs, and you can help, We would greatly appreciate your donation.
John's mugshot showing the results of the police brutality that John suffered, and some of his legal documents are included in the updates section.
Thank You!
