Prosecutors Plan to Offer Dismissals to Land Claim Demonstrator

By Andy Gardner.

MASSENA – Prosecutors will offer to dismiss charges against the Akwesasne demonstrators who were arrested during a May demonstration opposing a proposed Mohawk land claim settlement.

Meanwhile, two of them had their cases adjourned on Tuesday following an objection from the prosecutor as they were about to undergo a hearing to determine their competency to represent themselves. A third had his case adjourned, pending his ability to review videos that are part of the discovery materials.

The three who appeared Tuesday in Massena Town Court in front of Town Justice Joseph Brown were Dana L. Thompson, 67; Brent Maracle, 48; and Isaac White, 42. They were among eight people arrested on Barnhart Island on May 21 during a demonstration opposing a proposed Mohawk land claim settlement. The arrests happened after one of the demonstrators started digging with an excavator. All eight are charged with sixth-degree conspiracy, a misdemeanor, and trespass, which is a violation.

One person, 69-year-old Larry V. Thompson, was charged with a felony count of criminal mischief for allegedly digging the hole and causing damage to New York Power Authority property valued over $1,500. He’s made previous statements saying the digging was the beginning of building a foundation for Native housing.

White was at the demonstration covering it as a reporter for the Akwesasne newspaper Indian Time. He plans to seek dismissal of his charges on First Amendment grounds.

The demonstrators are rejecting attorneys and opting to represent themselves. They maintain that the court has no authority over them because they are Native people, Onkwehonweh in their language, and were arrested on land that rightfully belongs to them.

During proceedings on Tuesday afternoon, St. Lawrence County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Abbruzzese said the county prosecutor’s office intends to offer each of them a six-month adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, often referred to as an ACD, “with no strings attached.” That means they would not have to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. They simply have to stay out of legal trouble for six months and their respective charges are dismissed with the case files ordered sealed.

Abbruzzese made the comment during objections he made as Brown was about to start asking Dana Thompson a series of prescribed questions to determine if she can move forward as her own legal representation. The ADA said Thompson must have an attorney standing beside her, even if the attorney is not brought on as formal legal counsel.

“The people have made a valid request,” Brown said in response to Abbruzzese’s objection.

“I don’t need an attorney,” Thompson said.

“You can’t waive right to counsel without counsel there in some sort,” Abbruzzese said.

“If they were protecting the rights of our people, I wouldn’t be standing here,” Thompson said.

After the three continued the argument for another couple of minutes, Brown adjourned Thompson’s case until Oct. 22.

Next on the docket was Maracle. He began by addressing the judge and introducing himself in the Mohawk language. Brown then asked him to approach the bench and stand in the area where defendants typically stand, and Maracle refused.

“I’m not going up there. I’m going to stand here,” Maracle said standing just in front of the public gallery. “This is a political matter already resolved at the federal level and I shouldn’t be here in the first place.”

“I’m not part of your jurisdiction in this matter,” he added. “We’re here out of respect for you and this process, nothing more.”

Abbruzzese repeated the prosecution’s offer to Maracle.

“I’ll place on record an offer of a six-month ACD,” he said, which Maracle neither accepted nor rejected.

Brown said he’d grant Maracle a “one-time adjournment” to Oct. 22.

“I’ll show up out of respect for your process, so you don’t get in trouble,” Maracle replied.

White made his second appearance following his arraignment a month ago. He said he had not had a chance to review discovery videos that include footage from the arresting state troopers’ body-worn cameras. He added that he wants the district attorney’s office to also provide title to Barnhart Island as part of discovery materials, which Abbruzzese said they would provide.

White doesn’t have a lawyer but said he has been informally speaking with legal counsel in private. Brown adjourned his case also to Nov. 22.

In 2022, a judge ruled New York state unlawfully took thousands of acres of Mohawk land in the 1800s. Negotiations for a settlement have been ongoing between Albany and U.S., Canadian and traditional Mohawk councils. The federal government also sold large swaths of the reservation without congressional approval, in violation of the Indian Non-Intercourse Act of 1796. It stands as the American law today. It says Native land cannot be sold without an affirmative vote of Congress. Those disputed lands include Barnhart Island.

The protesters demand fair compensation for Barnhart Island, integral to the Moses-Saunders power dam, which has generated billions of dollars in electricity for the U.S. and Canada.

They also seek redress for generations of pollution-related illnesses caused by upstream industrial activities by Alcoa, Reynolds Metals and General Motors, which for decades used large amounts of PCBs – known carcinogens – in their operations. PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, were used in industrial products before being banned in the United States in 1976.