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Pro-Palestine Protestors Arrested for Blocking Boeing Gates in St. Charles

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Early yesterday morning a group of activists returned to St. Charles’ Boeing campus as part of a national protest. Seven were arrested by St. Charles Police.

Around 5:30 a.m. Monday, April 15, more than 35 people blocked three of the six gates at Boeing Manufacturing Plant 598 in St. Charles, Missouri. They carried banners and bike locks and eventually fastened themselves to the gates. 

This was “to make clear that if they won’t stop the bombs, we will, and that we’re willing to put our bodies on the line to convey that message and make it real,” says Sarah Nixon, who attended the protest.

It was at least the third time that activists have targeted Boeing in St. Charles. Previously, in November, they blockaded the entrance for about three hours before some protestors were arrested. A demonstration on site later that month also drew more than 100 protestors.

Israel stands accused of genocide in the International Court of Justice, which issued a provisional order calling on the country to stop any acts that violate the genocide convention, according to National Public Radio. Israel is not heeding the order, according to Human Rights Watch.

The seven activists who were arrested have since been released from jail, Nixon told RFT. A St. Charles Police spokesperson said they would be charged with trespassing and unlawful assembly and one would be charged with property damage for a chain link fence they were locked to. The spokesperson said protestors peacefully cooperated with the arrests. 

“We understand the St. Charles’ police force, and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) sort of emerged from the same impulse or the same drive by the ruling class to protect property,” Nixon said yesterday. “That’s what they were doing today. And that’s what they do every day.” click to enlarge COURTESY ST. LOUIS FOR PALESTINE Protestors sit in front of the gate to Boeing’s St. Charles plant while police huddle.

As of Monday afternoon Nixon was not sure what court support would be organized for the arrested activists.

The group St. Louis for Palestine said in a release that they spoke out against Boeing because of its weapons programs that produce Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) and GBU-39 Small Diameter bombs.

Since October 7, more than 33,843 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Middle East Monitor. This number may be higher as the health ministry in Gaza struggles to locate and count the deaths and thousands remain unaccounted for. The conflict began after Hamas militants attacked Israel in October, killing around 1,200 people, according to National Public Radio.

“War profiteers like Boeing’s top executives continue to rake in millions of dollars. They might be beyond shame, but we know our neighbors want to side with humanity,” St. Louis for Palestine said in its release. “We will not sit idly by as we watch genocide unfold, and we invite our fellow workers to join us. We know genocide is a long-standing business in St. Louis, but we want a new future: humane jobs, a just economy, an end to colonialism everywhere, and a free Palestine.”

The demonstration was part of A15 action, a coordinated economic blockade set to occur on tax day in cities around the world.

“This is an effort to balance the scales of this moral debt that we have, especially considering the share of our taxes that go towards continuing to arm Israel and its assault on Gaza,” Nixon says.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword. 

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate. 

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault. 

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade. 

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection. 

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery. 

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.” 

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings. 

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said. 

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release. 

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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