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Two and a half years since their case first began - and almost a year to the day since the trial judge first decided on the motion in question - the LOVE Park 4 defendants finally received some positive news about their case. On December 1st, 2009, Common Pleas Court Judge Frank Palumbo re-affirmed a court order requiring prosecutors to disclose the names of the undercover narcotics officers involved in the 2007 altercation with protesters of a scheduled Ku Klux Klan rally in Center City that never actually happened. Palumbo denied the District Attorney's appeal of a ruling made Dec. 12, 2008 by Municipal Court President Judge Marsha H. Neifield. Palumbo gave prosecutors until Jan. 12 to decide if they will appeal to the state Superior Court. The city prosecutor argued last December that divulging the undercover officers' names would endanger them. But Neifield noted that even the prosecutor acknowledged that the officers' names had previously been disclosed when they testified in drug trials. Though concerned with the undercover officers' safety, Neifield said she was offended that police did not even anonymously mention the officers' presence in arrest reports for Schultz, Keenan, and Robbins. Without that information, which Neifield said was mandatory for prosecutors to disclose, it would be impossible for defense attorneys to prove their claim that undercover officers precipitated the confrontation. Cathie Abookire, spokesperson for the District Attorney's Office, said Palumbo's ruling was being reviewed, but a recent check to the defendant's dockets show that the Commonwealth has indeed appealed to the State Superior Court. An appeal to the State Superior Court means the defendants will need additional money to pay their lawyers and cover the cost of transcripts and other legal filings. The LOVE Park 4 defendants wish to thank all those who have provided support thus far, and are asking that people join them in their fight against state oppression. You can donate via paypal or write to the LOVE Park 4 defense committee at: lovepark4@gmail.com http://www.myspace.com/supportlovepark4 The three anti-racist activists - Jared Schultz, Thomas Keenan, and Jason Robbins- were arrested July 23, 2007, near LOVE Park after they followed undercover narcotics officers who presented themselves as neo-Nazis. When the officers got into a waiting SUV, a verbal confrontation ensued revealing that the "neo-Nazis" were undercover cops. More curious was that they were sitting in a vehicle with FBI Special Agent Stephen Powell and Philadelphia Police Detective Sean Brennan both attached to the Joint Terrorism Task Force. To defense attorneys, these events sounded too much like the case against neo-Nazi Hal Turner*, whose job it was as a paid FBI informant to incite both anti-racists and other neo-Nazis to violence. Paul Hetznecker posed the question on many people's minds - is the federal government using informants in situations like the one in LOVE Park all across the country? Is there an official program to engage in this sort of behavior? (See http://www.northjersey.com/news/Records_show_feds_used_ultra-right_radio_host_for_years.html for more info on Hal Turner's escapades).