May 14, 2014

Cecily McMillan, a leading activist in the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City, has been unjustly convicted of felony assault of a police officer who assaulted her during a March 2012 demonstration, when protesters attempted to reoccupy Zuccotti Park, the site of the Occupy encampment.

Police claim that Cecily elbowed an officer in the face during her arrest. But Cecily says she merely reacted when the officer--who was dressed in plain clothes and didn't identify himself--sexually assaulted her by grabbing her breast from behind. Far from the cop being assaulted, it was Cecily who was brutalized--she suffered a seizure while lying on the sidewalk, while the ring of police around her stood and watched.

Despite video evidence and eyewitness testimony corroborating her side of the story, a jury convicted Cecily of felony assault after a trial where a plainly biased judge tipped the balance for the prosecution. Cecily has been denied bail and now sits in the Rikers Island jail awaiting her sentencing, which could include imprisonment of up to seven years.

In a statement from Rikers, Cecily wrote: "Admittedly, I was shocked by the jury's verdict on Monday, but was not surprised by the events that followed. An overreaching prosecutor plus a biased judge logically adds up to my being remanded to Rikers. I was prepared then, as I am now, to stand by my convictions and face the consequences of my actions--namely that of refusing to forsake my values and what I know to be true in exchange for my 'freedom.'"

On May 13, the University Student Senate (USS) at The New School, where Cecily is a graduate student, passed the following statement of support.