AEGiS-BAR: ACT UP/SF trials begin, end

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

ACT UP/SF trials begin, end

Bay Area Reporter - November 16, 2000
Katie Szymanski

The AIDS dissident group ACT UP/San Francisco was recently dealt two blows: a court decision barring its members from the vicinity of the AIDS service organization Project Inform, and the beginning of a criminal trial for spraying Silly String on Department of Public Health Director Dr. Mitchell Katz.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ina Levin Gyemant last week granted a permanent injunction against five members of ACT UP/SF for their alleged actions at an HIV treatment forum in April that resulted in the injury of Project Inform's Judy Leahy. Testimony from the plaintiffs during this civil trial indicated that members of ACT UP/SF barged into the forum and threw hard pills at the crowd; Leahy was injured when she was allegedly pushed out of the way by ACT UP member David Pasquarelli, a charge he denies. ACT UP denounced the injunction, saying it was granted due to false testimony by Project Inform. But Judge Gyemant's ruling seems to indicate that past incidences -- like the infamous 1996 kitty litter dumping on the head of San Francisco AIDS Foundation Executive Director Pat Christen -- played a large role in her decision to prohibit ACT UP from coming within 100 yards of Project Inform employees.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, jury selection began on Monday, November 13 for the Silly String attack against Katz that occurred in July when the DPH director was offering an explanation for his department's inaccurate HIV information. ACT UP members face criminal charges for assault for their role in the colorful explosion.

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