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Viola Plummer

Released
Date of death:11. 03. 2024
Gender:Female
Race:Black
Era:1980s
State:New York
Support
Black Liberation Pan-Africanism Anti-Imperialism New York 8+ December 12th Movement Black Liberation Movement
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Biography

Black liberation organizer and co-founder of the December 12th Movement, charged as a New York 8+ defendant in the October 17-18, 1984 federal RICO indictment alleging a conspiracy to free Sundiata Acoli, commit armed bank expropriations, and bomb federal buildings. Arrested in a predawn FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force raid and held without bail under the 1984 Bail Reform Act before being released pending trial in early 1985. Trial began May 13, 1985 before Judge Kevin Thomas Duffy in the Southern District of New York; in August 1985 she was acquitted of every RICO and conspiracy count, convicted only of one minor count of falsely identifying herself to gain admittance to the MCC. After release, she became one of New York City's most prominent Black liberation organizers, co-chair of the December 12th Movement, and a leader of the international human-rights coalition WBAI Pacifica defenders; she also served as chief of staff to New York City Councilman Charles Barron until her death on March 11, 2024.

Case

Metropolitan Correctional Center
Charges: RICO conspiracy; conspiracy to commit armed bank robberies, bombings, and prison escape; one count of false identification to gain admittance to MCC
Arrested: Oct 17, 1984
Incarcerated: Oct 17, 1984
Sentence: Verdict as recorded: Acquitted of all RICO / conspiracy counts (Aug 1985); convicted of one minor false-ID count
Judge: Kevin Thomas Duffy
Convicted: No — acquitted
Institution State: New York