Aaron Patterson supporters strategizing at his sentencing hearing July 24 include Mos Def (second from left) and Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. (second from right).

He was then unleashed and, upon hitting the ground, he hooked up with Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. and the POCC. On this latest case, Aaron is facing over 25 years on some trumped up narcotics and drugs charges. We'll get an update from the Chairman to see what is really going on.

MOI JR: What went on with Minister of Defense Aaron Patterson after his July 20 sentencing hearing?

Ch. Fred: On July 20, 2007, is one of the days that Judge Rebecca Palmeyer had set for Minister of Defense Aaron Patterson to be sentenced in federal court. The same court building, as I pointed out previously, that 38 years prior, then Chairman of the Black Panther Party Bobby Seale was actually chained and gagged in the same court building.

This past July 20, which fell on a Friday, was the beginning of [Aaron's] sentencing hearing. The prosecutors at one point made a reference to Aaron Patterson as a "career criminal," after which our attorney, Attorney Gambino, objected to this reference.

The judge's response was that she understands the issue with the people putting forth the objection, but however they are going to go on and allow this anyway. Aaron Patterson refused to go for this. In fact, he said, "No, we're going to object to this. The fact is that I am a servant of the people, a servant of the community. I will not sit by as you refer to me as a career criminal."

Then basically, the judge retorted back that, "If Mr. Patterson speaks out in court, he'll be removed from the courtroom." And Patterson's position was, "Nah, the fact is that it should be you as well as your representatives that should leave the courtroom with all these phrases and terms of justice that is written all around this courtroom. This is a whole facade, this is a front that y'all putting out that this is a trial and that there is some kind of interest in finding justice. The fact is that you as well as your representative should leave the courtroom."

Immediately then, about eight to nine U.S. Marshals attacked Aaron Patterson, threw him on the floor in the courtroom. Some put their knees in his face. Aaron Patterson was making a point, and we believe that the court reporters got this down. He pointed out, "Yeah, I'm familiar with this here, these type of beatings, this type of torture tactics, and how the courts and the police in general operate."

So Patterson was taken out of court, and the prosecutors brought their specialists that was basically set to do a character assassination on Aaron Patterson, and they got up there and had nothing relevant to the case of Aaron Patterson. This representative of the FBI, based on no facts, threw out a slander campaign on Aaron Patterson, in which again our attorney objected to all these references.

So the following date was set for that Monday, which fell on July 23. People from all walks of life are continuously coming in providing testimony to the positive contributions that Aaron Patterson made to his community, to the people and to humanity in general. In fact, he had Mos Def, a world renowned Hip Hop artist as well as actor, come in. Let me point out first that the prosecutors abruptly objected to the fact that Mos Def was coming in to attest to the character of Aaron Patterson ...

MOI JR: Whom he personally knows.

Ch. Fred: Whom he personally knows. Exactly. And Mos Def had specifically pointed out the whole thing about the impact of the POCC Code of Culture - the impact that it had on him as well as other artists, the positive work that Aaron Patterson has been doing out there in the community, and again how it far and wide affected not only artists, but people in general, whether it be in the United States or abroad.

So this was done on that Monday, July 23. After that, several more witnesses - I mean the people - just kept coming in. The more that the word was getting out, we're continuously getting calls from youth, elders and again all walks of life have been coming in to talk about the campaigns that Aaron Patterson participated in addressing the police terrorism in our community to resolving conflict in the community, to 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning aiding and assisting people, even with the POCC Patrols that we had with different elementary schools in our community, walking youth back and forth to school. All of this tied in for the record.

That July 24, I myself was called to the stand to give a character statement for our brotha and our comrade. We're clear on the role that the courts play, and we're clear that they already have their decision made exactly on how they want to move on our comrade.

Aaron Patterson greets fellow deathrow prisoner Nathson Fields after bonding him out of prison with a $100,000 loan – the restitution Aaron had received from the state.

So I went to the stand. We actually showed some video footage from the Dave Chapelle Block Party, in which you see different people wit' Aaron Patterson posters. We showed footage of the Aaron Patterson dvd. Let me remind you that the prosecutors were objecting all of this time that the footage not be showed. They were fighting intensely that the people not be able to see for themselves the love that the people had and still have for Aaron Patterson.

So we seized the time. We talked about the African Anti-Terrorism Bill. We talked about how Aaron Patterson literally took the African Anti-Terrorism Bill to then presidential candidate John Kerry, how he took it to one-time Senate candidate but now presidential candidate Barack Obama, how he upped the ante at the Hip Hop Summit, when a lot of these forces were coming to do some trivial music, to address the issues ...

MOI JR: And also how he upped the ante on the Oprah Winfrey show promoting freedom for political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal.

Ch. Fred: Yes, indeed. How this brotha seized the time, was able to go into this arena, into this safe venue, and as soon as he got on the Oprah Winfrey panel, he placed a Chairman Fred button on his lapel and tied in the cases of Mumia Abu Jamal, tied in the cases of political prisoners, whether they're held in Illinois or held in Pennsylvania, Attica or whatever the case.

He made it very clear how he was targeted, and that he was clear that he was being targeted, and he even tied in how other people who was on the Oprah Winfrey show wit' him that had been released from deathrow, how they also had been targeted. But in particular how Patterson, being the most vocal one, when he got out after serving 17 years, the first thing coming out of his mouth - that was on national TV - he came out the door saying, "I'm at this system. I'm gonna reach back for the rest of those held captive."

We talked about how Aaron Patterson was an extraordinary example of the POCC Harriet Tubman Code, how in one example this same individual who the government is alleging attempted to purchase weapons and narcotics, this individual took the money that the state was supposed to allot him for restitution for being locked up - $100,000 cash money - and went back and bonded out another brotha by the name of Nason Fields, who had been locked up for 18 years on deathrow for a trumped up case.

This is the type of brotha that the community knows about. This is the type of brotha that was seizing the time inside the government's own arena we were exposing, not in some attempt to win them to understand who Aaron Patterson really is. They know who he is; that's why they're attacking him.

They know that he's not a career criminal. They know that he is a servant of the people, and that is why they are coming at this brotha the way that they are doing. And we will not idly sit back and let this go down.

MOI JR: I know that he has a continuance on his sentencing hearing, which is unique in itself, until Aug. 14. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Ch. Fred: Aug. 14 is the next date set for the sentencing hearing. We're bringing in more and more forces. This government is calling in for reinforcements; the people are calling for reinforcements. At this time we're looking forward for the Minister of Confrontation for the MOVE organization and international representative for the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Campaign, Sista Pam Africa, to be coming in as well as yourself, our Minister of Information for the POCC, to be coming in, and a number of different artists and supporters, and again the people in general.

The more that this word is getting out, the people from the Cabrini Greens are coming to us talking about testimonies and how they want to make sure they can take the stand, and they want to make sure how the record reflects that the people stood in defense of Aaron Patterson, how the people stood in defense of our Minister of Defense, and the people have not forgotten; the people are clear why he has been under attack. And again, we will not sit idly back while this legal lynching goes down.

So Aug. 14, we're going to be packing the courtroom at 219 South Dearborn, Courtroom 2119. For those who can't make it, we're calling for forces to send video statements and audio statements as well to the P.O. Box. It's P.O. Box 368255, Chicago, Illinois 60636. Get those statements in ASAP; we're seizing the time.

We're letting the world know, as Fidel Castro said, if nothing else, "History will absolve me." And again, we will not let this attack go down silently. Our position is, we say, man: "Free Aaron Patterson! Free Imam Jamil Al-Amin! Free Mumia Abu Jamal! Free Troy Davis!" In fact, we say: "What's our call? Free 'em all!"

For more information on Aaron Patterson, you could hit up myspace.com/freeaaronpatterson. Email POCC Minister of Information JR at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , and listen to the Block Report at hiphopwarreport.com or myspace.com/blockreportfilm.

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