Members of the Anti-Bully Crusader Project at Flint Northwestern High School. (Exec. Director Lauren Washington at center.)

INTERVIEW WITH LEROY WASHINGTON, CO-FOUNDER ABC PROJECT

Project founded by 23-year MDOC prisoner and daughter goes national, wants to make all schools “Bully-Free Safe Zones”

GOAL: to make all schools “Bully-Free Safe Zones”

Ricardo Ferrell

2 out of 9 teens who commit suicide do so as a result of “bullying”

By Ricardo Ferrell

July 5, 2019

LeRoy Washington, an inmate within the Michigan Department of Corrections, has spent the last 23 years of his life behind bars. His time served has not been wasted.

LeRoy has been involved in the field of personal development for over two decades. Since his incarceration he has earned a MBA in Business Administration-Management from California Coast University’s Distant Learning Program and is currently working on a Doctorate’s in Education. Upon completion he will become the first MDOC inmate to earn such honors from an accredited school while incarcerated.

Leroy Washington, co-founder of Anti-Bullying Project

As an aspiring author, cutting-edge teacher, mentor, motivational speaker, and peace advocate, he spreads his energy-filled message of power, potential, and positive change in prisons to younger inmates and vicariously through others to schools, youth centers, churches, and nonprofit organizations.

In his personal and professional pursuit of coaching and developing young people, he has created an unique approach to address one of the most pressing and fundamental issues involving young people today –Bullying.

In a program he calls the Anti-Bullying Crusaders Project (ABC), LeRoy dynamically and effortlessly imparts the most thought-provoking and profound truths of the human bullying experience. Prepare to be inspired, entertained, transformed by this close encounter interview:

Q & A: with VOD reporter Ricardo Ferrell and ABC Co-founder LeRoy Washington.

Q – RICARDO: WHAT IS THE ANTI-BULLYING CRUSADERS PROJECT?

A- LeRoy: The Anti-Bullying Crusaders (ABC) Project is a social movement that takes a realistic approach towards the growing epidemic of bullying in America. Our goal is to eradicate bullying and to start by making all our learning institutions “Bully Free Safe Zones.”

Q – RICARDO: HOW DO YOU DO IT?

Lauren Washington,, Exec. Director Anti-Bullying Crusaders Project

A – LeRoy: ABC has created an effective model and mechanism for teaching and learning. Our hope is to provide educational opportunities and support systems that enhance the future and impact the lives of our young people. Our therapeutic self-help course provides participants with instructions on how to curtail intimidation, crush cruelty, and reduce violence. This groundbreaking interactive program equips young people with the personal life skills and tools necessary to develop positive thinking, attitude, and behavior toward peace, acceptance and tolerance.

Q – RICARDO: WHAT INSPIRED THE ABC INITIATIVE?

A – LeRoy: It was actually my daughter’s idea. During her freshman year she was working on a research paper and came across some startling information about bully related suicides. Did you know according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) that upwards of 4,400 teenagers commit suicide annually and 2 out of 9 as a result of an act of bullying? The statistics are startling, she said.

“Dad, acts of violence and cruelty among my peers are at an all time high. We gotta do something!”

I didn’t know what to do! But she was determined and reminded me of a value I imparted upon her before she went off to college. “Dad, don’t you remember what you said to me? Each of us has a moral obligation to make the world a little bit better than we inherited it for the next generation…. When we live life righteously we not only increase the quality of our own lives, but the value of life increases for everyone we encounter.”

So I asked her, “What you want to do?” Back then I was working in a program mentoring youth offenders and HYTA’s (Holmes Youthful Training Act) prisoners in Lapeer at the Thumb Correctional Facility. She suggested that I bundle my experiences into a curriculum and she and her fellow students would create a platform to reach the masses. Thus ABC was founded (http://www.antibullyingcrusaders.org.) The rest is history.

Being incarcerated, the MDOC won’t let me be a major part of ABC or anything positive in the real world. So, I just write corrective curriculums and provide a little advice here and there. Of course, all free of charge. This is my way of giving back, somewhat of a partial repayment to society.

Q – RICARDO: WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT WHAT ABC DOES FROM OTHER ANTI-BULLYING ORGANIZATIONS?

A- LeRoy: We owe that opportunity to many of the Michigan Community Leaders. In Flint, Michigan, Principal Kelly Fields and Tracey Fountain of DHHS had a group of young men and women whom they thought would benefit from participating in the anti-bullying workshop. Ms. Fountain reached out to ABC. Tracy Palmer of Trendsetters did a wonderful job of training the facilitators, teaching and overseeing the sessions.

In Detroit, Michigan, we worked with a dynamic young man Shawn T. Blanchard and his brother Doug Little to host a seminar at the Martin Luther King High School. In Pontiac, Michigan, we worked with Sandra Rolle, the founder of Great Lakes Charter School.

In Detroit, Michigan, we worked with a dynamic young man Shawn T. Blanchard and his brother Doug Little to host a seminar at the Martin Luther King High School. In Pontiac, Michigan, we worked with Sandra Rolle, the founder of Great Lakes Charter School.

I have to thank the ABC staff. None of this would have been possible without you. I didn’t know educating is so expensive. Someone has to absorb the cost. After some creative fundraising by the ABC girls they were able to provide these opportunities to Michigan schools. This up and coming year we hope to expand our base to Michigan full time. This effort will be spearheaded by a Lansing Public School Teacher Patricia Reed and her group out of Lansing.

Q – RICARDO: WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST REWARDING PART OF THE PROGRAM AND PROCESS FOR YOU?

A – LeRoy: I am not going to lie to you big brah. Being in prison you know I get a kick out of working with beautiful educated diverse women, LOL. Working with all these dynamic women was a fringe benefit and has been both educating and validating. I learned so much. Each of them are unique and phenomenal. They all bring something to the table and have a great passion to do their part to help change and save young people lives. But I guess the most rewarding part has been in seeing my work in action, helping others.

Getting bullied is not always an easy conversation for a child or young adult to have with a parent, teacher, or person of authority. Sometimes it takes an expert to shed light on the subject. Over the years, what I’ve learned is that once we are able to break down the walls and build trust, the magic of transformation begins. You’d be amazed at what you see when you get an objective glimpse of the world from their (young participants’) perspectives. When I read their journal entries…their expressions are a cry and plea for help. Many of our young people are saying, “I want to be different, I want to change, but I don’t know how!” Its our job to give them the tools and teach them HOW! Its no better feeling knowing that you have impacted the lives of our young people in a positive way.

Q – RICARDO: WHAT’S COMING IN THE FUTURE FOR YOU AND ABC?

Tracy Palmer of Trendsetters (r) facilitates ABC graduation.

A – LeRoy: My immediate personal goals are to finish up my schooling. I’m looking forward to earning my Ph.D. I’m also working on a biography, another corrective behavior curriculum, publishing my children’s nursery rhyme book, and helping scale ABC nationally… all that on top of my responsibility of teaching in here. Yeah, my plate is full, but I’ve always been taught that “Where more is given, more is expected in return.” So, I’m grateful to God for all that I have been blessed with, including the responsibilities that I’ve been entrusted with.

As far as ABC goes. . . .Our aim is to challenge people to change for the better by giving them tools and resources to do so and to create bully free safe zones in all schools. No child should have to go to school and be bullied. This culture has to change and it’s up to us (the people) to change it.

Dr. Pepper Arena in Dallas, Texas

ABC’s next big project is the “Bullying Stops Here!” with a fundraising rally during the National Anti-Bullying Awareness Month of October in Dallas, Texas.

This year we are hosting a free Anti-Bullying Seminar and Celebrity Basketball Game at the Dr. Pepper Arena. Our goal this year is to raise $2 million to reach and teach 10,000 students during the 2020 school year. So, we are calling on all individuals, corporations, small businesses, schools, religious organizations, and other nonprofits to support this effort. What could be a better cause than saving the lives of our young people?

Q – RICARDO: ONE LAST QUESTION AND THIS ONE IS FOR ME… WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?

A – LeRoy: Interesting. I just finished a book by the phenomenal young man I mentioned earlier: “HOW ‘BOUT THAT FOR A ‘CRACK BABY’ KEYS TO MENTORSHIP AND SUCCESS” by Shawn T. Blanchard. His humble beginnings depict a similar story faced by so many of our urban city youth. Many of us are born into or live in an environment of poverty, drugs, thieves, violence, death, loneliness, and a lack of guidance. In spite of all this he chose to rise above his conditions and circumstances. He chose success.

And beyond that he has used his education and experiences to create a platform to do what I aspire to do…save the lives of our youth. After reading his book, I have that much more admiration for him as a young black man who has chosen to empower himself as well as others. While I have worked with him and vicariously through him I’ve never met him personally. I look forward to that day…just to say thank you young man for your works and for being a great example to our youth.

RICARDO’s FINAL NOTES: Thanks for chopping it up with VOD. Man you been busy! Congrats on all your accomplishments. We like what you are doing in the community, keep up the good work and we wish you and ABC much success with the program. i’d like to get an interview with your daughter. Can you hook me up? And last but not least, would you care to leave us with one last wise thought?

ABC student and facilitator

LeRoy’s response: All Praises be to God! Through Him all things are possible. Thanks to you and Voice of Detroit for having me. Of course I can hook you up with that interview. It would be my pleasure and an honor. I’ll leave you with this, “Our parenting is literally a fight for the lives of our children. It is a noble fight that must be fought hard and relentlessly. It’s not always easy, but when you can touch the lives of a few in a positive way, it is so rewarding. If we can help a few of these young people realize their potential and give them the tools to become change agents, we would have made a difference. Prevention is the way, because damage control is far more costly.”

Ricardo: There you heard it from the man himself. The ABC project is an evolving set of projects that provide educational opportunities and creative strategies that curtail intimidation, crush cruelty, and help to reduce violence. The program demonstrates the potential for dynamic collaborations between students, facilitators, and other prominent figures of the community. Most importantly, through this unique exchange, the ABC Project seeks to deepen the dialogue – transform ways of thinking about being a bully, victim, or witness in society as a whole. ABC needs our support!!

For more information about how you can support, donate, become an independent fundraiser for ABC’s “Bullying Stops Here” Campaign or if you would like to bring a workshop or seminar to your school or community visit ABC’s website at: http://www.antibullycrusaders.org or Facebook/AntibullyCrusaders or Instagram@Antibullycrusaders.

ABC hosts forum-rally at Martin Luther King, Sr. High School in Detroit.

RELATED STORIES:

https://www.abc12.com/content/news/Northwestern-graduates-14-8th-graders-as-Anti-Bully-Crusaders–483077551.html

https://rollingout.com/2018/03/04/lauren-washington-speaks-out-against-bullying/

https://www.thehubflint.com/flint-business-owner-offers-youth-entrepreneurial-experience-and-inspiration/

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) holds a news conference to discuss major college affordability legislation in Washington on Monday June 24, 2019. Co-sponsors, Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) flank Sanders (Photo: Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)

“In the face of this crisis, nothing short of a complete overhaul of our public higher education system will suffice.”

“We must treat education as the public good that it is. That means making public colleges and universities tuition-free, just as public K-12 schools are today. It also means hitting the ‘reset button’ on student loan debt.”—letter

 By Jake Johnson, staff writer

June 26, 2019

More than 100 academics endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders’s tuition-free college and debt cancellation proposal on Wednesday, hailing the plan as the kind of ambitious solution that is needed to tackle soaring higher education costs and provide relief to the millions of Americans drowning in student loans.

In a letter to Congress first obtained by The American Prospect, a mix of education, economic, and legal experts said Sanders’s College for All Act “would benefit the entire economy, improving life not only for those who will feel immediate relief as borrowers, current students, and their loved ones.”

“To some, this will appear too radical. To us, it is the bold solution we need,” the academics said of the bill, which Sanders—a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate—introduced in the Senate Monday alongside Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who unveiled similar legislation in the House.

The group of experts—which included Columbia University economics professor Jeffrey Sachs, Stony Brook University economics professor Stephanie Kelton, and Ohio University public affairs professor Darrick Hamilton—said the “unimaginable 3,819 percent” rise in the annual cost of attending a four-year public college over the past five decades calls for immediate and far-reaching government action.

“While it did not begin in 2008, the student debt problem grew significantly in the decade following the financial crisis, as millions of young people graduated into an economy that was spiraling into the worse economic downturn since the Great Depression,” the academics wrote. “In the face of this crisis, nothing short of a complete overhaul of our public higher education system will suffice. We must treat education as the public good that it is.”

Chicago students call for free college for all.

As Common Dreams reported on Monday, Sanders’s plan would wipe out the $1.6 trillion of student loan debt that is held by 45 million Americans.

To finance his legislation, Sanders proposed a new tax on speculative Wall Street transactions.

In a statement on Thursday, Sanders thanked the academics for backing his legislation.

“These scholars are saying what millions of young people already know from their own experience: the Wall Street crash of 2008 devastated the economic prospects of an entire generation,” Sanders said. “If we do not act boldly and decisively, these young people will face lower living standards than their parents enjoyed. Our College for All Act will boost our economy and offer real opportunity for our people. And the cost will be borne entirely by speculators on Wall Street.”

Read the full letter:

Dear senators and representatives:

We are academics and researchers who strongly endorse legislation to provide tuition-free public higher education and cancel all student debt. Here’s why.

1964 and 2019, the average annual cost of attending a four-year public college or university soared by an unimaginable 3,819 percent. This disastrous trend reflects a broad array of policy failures. The current situation undermines economic security and tears at the fabric of social justice in America. It must not be allowed to continue. By failing to adequately invest in higher education, governments have shifted a greater share of the financial burden onto those trying to advance their studies. Many young people were priced out of higher education altogether, forcing them to abandon their dreams of getting the education they want and need. More than 45 million others took on student loan debt that now stands near a staggering $1.6 trillion. Continue reading →

Demands closure of historic 140-yr.-0ld Benton Harbor High School, students state funds sent to outlying white districts, or will dissolve BHAS

Cites BH district’s alleged $16-18 million debt, overseen by state school bond loan fund; half of state budget also devoted to debt service 

1,800 students Benton Harbor students are 92% Black, 81% poor; student video calls for state to forgive district debt

Dems including MEA, AFT teachers urge legislature to approve Whitmer’s discriminatory budget in historic betrayal

By Diane Bukowski

June 21, 2019

Students rally outside Benton Harbor High School June 11, 2019 Photo: Herald-Palladium

BENTON HARBOR, MI — “We did not realize Gov. Snyder was going to get a third term under the Whitmer administration,” Rev. David Bullock of the Change Agent Consortium said at a press conference in Lansing on June 11, 2019.

“We’ve seen the destruction of public education in Highland Park, Inkster, Detroit, and in Benton Harbor. Something seems to suggest that it’s not just about destroying public education, but also about hindering the forward education and progress of African-American students.”

Despite her campaign promise that she would prioritize funding for education, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer demanded last month that the Benton Harbor School Board either close the city’s venerable 140-year old, ONLY public high school, or face the state’s dissolution of the entire school district, and its conversion into charter schools.

If the high school is closed, Whitmer said BHHS students would be bused to largely white outlying school districts miles away, if those school districts agree to accept them.

Those districts include  St. Joseph, Lakeshore, Berrien Springs, Niles, Au Claire, Colomba, Bridgman, Watervliet, and one charter school as shown in the map below.

Distances BHHS students would be forced to travel to other districts/Map ABC57

Whitmer cited the district’s alleged $18.2 million debt, involving loans from the state school loan fund. She claimed the district was failing and cited figures regarding rates of graduation and student scores on state tests. Benton Harbor officials have challenged her figures, and a recent report on problems with the state’s computer monitoring of such scores supports their position.

Gov. Whitmer meets with skeptical Benton Harbor residents and students June 12. Bridge photo

After the school board voted resoundingly not to close the high school, Whitmer responded June 18, “I think we all know that doing nothing is not an option for the children of Benton Harbor. As we move forward, we must focus our efforts on finding a solution that is attainable and puts students and families first.

“Given substantial efforts by the Board to begin crafting a plan, I look forward to working in partnership towards a solution that includes clear benchmarks, accountability, and more serious measures if these benchmarks are not satisfied.” See http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Whitmer-Letter-Governor-to-BHAS-Board.pdf.

Whitmer is thus demanding the board create a deficit elimination plan that will in essence eliminate education for Benton Harbor’s students, as such plans have done for cities and school districts across Michigan under the administrations of Govs. Snyder, Jennifer Granholm, and John Engler. In fact, it was under Granholm’s administration that Detroit experienced its highest rate of school closings.

But as happened in Detroit’s phony bankruptcy, the state has estimated debt figures for Benton Harbor Area Schools that are based on a total amount over coming decades. Detroit EM Orr said Detroit was $18 billion in debt, when in fact its cash deficit from the previous year, 2013, was only $138,000,000 and was expected to be paid from future incoming revenues.

Sheila A. Alles, Interim State Superintendent, issued a quarterly report on district deficits across the state May 1, 2019, which includes the charts above.  Benton Harbor is shown with a reduction in its last cash fund balance of $4.6 million, not $18.2 million. The same is true of other cities listed. The cardinal sin committed by these cities is that the state paid them per pupil funds out of its General Fund that exceeded their revenues.

The question this chart raises is: why has Whitmer targeted Benton Harbor schools, when Macomb Academy, a charter school for students with disabilities in Clinton Township, has the highest deficit?  Why not any of the other school districts in the pink rows, which have largely white student populations?

Is Michigan bleeding cities, school districts dry to pay off ITS outrageous debt to the banks?

Why ANY AT ALL, when the state allocates per-pupil funding at its highest levels to well-to-do districts that pay the highest property taxes? Is this apartheid education based both on race and economic prosperity?

Bridge Magazine reported, “Nationally, school district debt has grown substantially, from nearly $323 billion in 2006 to $443 billion in 2016, according to U.S. Census data. In Michigan, school districts’ long-term debt is just over $13 billion, according to the state’s Treasury Department.

“And unlike an individual — who can default if their finances change — once a district has taken out a school bond, it must pay it back, even if the community falls on hard times.

“Districts can’t default, and declaring bankruptcy is rarely an option; nationally, only six have done so in the last 60 years. Instead, school officials have to find the dollars somewhere, either by extracting it from local taxpayers or taking away resources from kids.”

Graph showing educational levels of Benton Harbor population.

A recent study identifying a serious computer miscalculation by the Power School system of Michigan’s students grades also challenges Whitmer’s allegations that Benton Harbor schools are failing.

An audit allegedly finding that only one-third of Benton Harbor students were on track to graduate was found to be seriously flawed due to a Power Schools glitch that has caused problems nationwide. But while investigating this glitch, the state claimed that it found Benton Harbor had overcounted its student population and therefore CUT BACK state per-pupil funding to the district.

In fact, census figures on education in Benton Harbor paint a much brighter picture of academic accomplishment in the district. (See graph at right). Video on Power Schools program flaw below.

Senior De;Aundre Henderson told ABC 57 that students do  not want to see their high school close.

Benton Harbor High School Senior De’Aundre Henderson

“I joined the band at the high school and I became the drum major, learned how to play the piano, tuba, all the wind instruments, drums; there’s something about what music does to me that just clicks,” Henderson said.

“Most of the students live in this area; we don’t have another school in this area to go to. Many don’t have transportation, this is like our landmark. There should be some other solution. People want to carry on the legacy.”

In a recent video rap video, Benton Harbor students, who are playing a leading role in the battle to save their schools,  raised a logical solution: forgive the district debt to the banks, which is governed by the state’s school loan board.

MISSION MUSIC – GET UP (featuring De’Asha Spencer-Kyle, 2Tru, Cam G & QueenBarzz)

With a poverty rate of 48 percent, Benton Harbor is one of the poorest cities in the U.S. It is situated across the river from St. Joseph, a mostly white, prosperous enclave.

Whirlpool, previously its major employer, moved all its plants out of the city. Then it took advantage of former Gov. Rick Snyder’s appointment of an emergency manager to seize most of the city’s public land, including its beautiful lakefront properties. Now corporate forces who funded Whitmer’s campaign want its schools.

March against EM takeover of Benton Harbor May 7, 2011: Tax the rich!

Gov. Snyder targeted Benton Harbor first for the EM appointments under Public Act 436. Most of the other cities were also a majority Black. EM’s everywhere gutted public assets, institutions, services, jobs, and pensions, allegedly to pay back debts to the banks, but in fact to provide megaprofits for Wall Street. 

Using a technicality, that Act violated a state-wide public referendum in which 82 out of 84 counties in the State voted “NO” to EM laws. (The two which voted YES where Oakland and Macomb Counties.)

Band from Benton Harbor High School marched proudly  in city’s annual Flower Day Parade May 7, 2011.

Benton Harbor leaders, students and residents say they have finally had enough. They are warning the rest of the state that, just as they were the first city targeted by Snyder, an attack on other public school districts and cities will follow.

Teachers’ unions including MEA and the AFT march in Lansing June 18 to support Whitmer’s budget, which proposes to eliminate Benton Harbor’s public schools.

However, the state’s union leadership and other forces associated with the Democratic Party are hailing Whitmer, a strategy that failed with two referendums in 2016. Proposal 1 demanded the dissolution of Public Act 4 and was supported financially by only one union, which represented public workers, AFSCME Council 25. The movement against PA 4 was fueled by Gov. Snyder’s attack on the state’s majority-Black cities.

Proposal 1 passed resoundingly, underlining the need for the labor movement to line up with the oppressed Black population of this state and country.

Proposal 2, which would have written the right to organize unions into the State constitution, was broadly funded by virtually every other union in the state, who withheld funding from Proposal 1. It failed resoundingly, turning Michigan, into a “Right-to-Work” state.

On June 18, the Detroit News reported,  “Thousands of Michigan educators rallied Tuesday outside the state Capitol, wearing “red for ed” as they called on the Republican-led Legislature to ‘fund our schools’ and adopt Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget plan.

“[Whitmer] was hailed by union leaders as a key ally in the battle against charter schools and privatization pushed by national GOP leaders like Betsy DeVos.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and civil rights supporters including UAW Pres. Walter Reuther (l) march in Detroit in 1963.

“It’s a new day in Lansing, and we have a fighter on our side who understands that we have to stop short-changing students and we have to invest in our future,” said David Hecker, president of the Michigan chapter of the American Federation of Teachers.”

When will they ever learn? The leadership of the UAW, Teamsters and other unions marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960’s in support of the Black-led civil rights movement.

‘As Angela Davis said, “If they come for me in the morning, they will come for you at night!” It is clearly time that the people of Michigan and of the U.S. begin to organize their own broad, militant grass roots movements against attacks like those from Whitmer, and from President Donald Trump, as opposed to depending on the Democratic Party.

Various related stories from VOD (many more on school closings, Benton Harbor and Public Act 4–put these terms in search engine)

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2016/07/07/wall-street-greed-death-of-detroit-public-schools-fight-back-in-court-on-streets/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2016/05/06/genocidal-snyderrhodes-plan-harms-detroit-public-school-children-workers-residents/

DETROIT JOINS NAT’L COALITION TO CALL FOR MORATORIUM ON SCHOOL CLOSINGS; RALLY WED. AUG. 28 @ 3 PM/ DPS HQ FISHER BLDG.

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/05/31/benton-harbor-march-demands-25-of-pga-profits-to-residents-boycott-whirlpool-kitchen-aid-repeal-pa4/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/05/12/benton-harbor-blossom-time-‘recall-rick’/

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DONATE TO VOD at

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(L to r) Marcie Griffin, attorney Todd Flood, attorney Suzanne Kostovski, George Rider, and Eric Griffin during trial. Photo: Macomb Daily

Flawed MSP forensic evidence casts doubt on identity of true killer; lab focus of controversy for decades

In separate federal case, Johnson’s boyfriend Lattner pled guilty to possession of Ruger also examined in murder case, lab originally ID’d Gibson’s DNA on it

Jury mostly white; current census figures show large increases in Black population in Eastpointe (nearly 50%), Warren, other Macomb Cty. cities

 Role of federal government agents in pointing prosecution towards Rider, et. al. questioned

By Diane Bukowski

June 12, 2019  Updated June 14, 2019

Add for benefit held for Julii Johnson family after her murder. She had 2 children.

UPDATES/ CORRECTIONS:

VOD spoke with defendant George Rider today, who called from the Macomb County Jail after his June 7 conviction of first-degree murder in the slaying of Julii Johnson.

Mr. Rider disputed information that has been published in the mainstream media as well as the Voice of Detroit regarding several matters. 

“Neither I nor Eric Gibson ever knew [co-defendant] Marcie Griffin,” Rider said emphatically, referring to published reports that he and Griffin were lovers. Those reports claimed  that Griffin hired Gibson through Rider to kill Johnson, the girlfriend of J. Terrell Lattner. Lattner is the father of two of Griffin’s children.

The mainstream media has sensationalized the case, portraying it as a lover’s triangle with Rider doing the bidding of a scorned Griffin. She is portrayed unflatteringly in published photos.  VOD was able to cover the trial in person one day, and noted that Griffin is actually an attractive, well-groomed and composed woman.

One website called Lipstick Alley headlined a YouTube video from Channel 7 News:

Boyfriend’s Baby Momma executed a hit on his NEW GIRLFRIEND

This WXYZ news coverage is typical of many mainstream media stories, using unsubstantiated police comments, such as the one regarding an unidentified person leaving a vehicle (Warren police SAID he was George Rider), rumors and innuendo, to convict the defendants TWO YEARS before they were actually tried. Also typical are statements from relatives of victims who say they are “so happy” the murderers have been caught, without any proof yet presented.

“Judge [Joseph] Toia should never have allowed text messages from an unknown person sent to Griffin into testimony,” Rider said. “When they seized Marcie Griffin’s phone, the phone number I had was in her phone, but I did not have possession of that phone at the time of those messages. Police seized that phone from me later when they arrested me Feb. 4 in Roseville.”

Mainstream media reports also claimed that Rider was an owner of the cell phone company involved, without naming it.  However, Rider said that one Charles Luckett is the resident agent of Midtown Entertainment, LLC, the company in question, which is confirmed by State of Michigan records. He said the mother of one of his children IS associated with the company, and that Eric Gibson at times ran errands for her.

VOD has contacted Suzanna Kostovski, Rider’s lawyer, for further comment. Rider said an appeal of the convictions is definitely in the works.

CONVICTION OF GEORGE RIDER, MARCIE GRIFFIN, ERIC GIBSON IN MURDER OF JULII JOHNSON JUNE 7

(Includes excerpts and information from stories by Jameson Cook of the Macomb Daily, Scott Burnstein of the Gangster Report, and VOD reporter Ricardo Ferrell. VOD was not able to be present for most of this trial.)

Mostly white jury; generic, not jury in this case.

DETROIT – A majority-white Macomb County jury on June 7 convicted George Rider, 61, of Huntington Woods, Marcie Griffin, 48, of Eastpointe, and Eric Gibson, 26, of Detroit, of first-degree murder in the Jan. 13, 2017 slaying of Julii Larrie Johnson, 34.

The defendants, all of whom are Black as was the victim, will be sentenced to mandatory life-without-parole terms in front of Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Toia, also white, on July 31. Gibson was also convicted of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony.

“Sadly, the system is rigged in a way that common everyday citizens can be swept up, arrested, and thrown in jail for two years and four months with numerous delays and postponements before having their day in court, only to be railroaded through a process replete with constitutional violations and obvious injustices,” noted Ricardo Ferrell, a VOD reporter who has been following the story.

VOD staff writer Ricardo Ferrell

*Currently there is a probe by authorities looking into illegal activities by Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith,” Ferrell added. “The level of corruption that exists in this racist county leads me to conclude that justice will never prevail for these three defendants unless a fair and impartial judge is assigned to preside over a new trial, in a different county.”

Reporter Scott Burnstein of the Gangster Report wrote, “The only evidence connecting the 60-year old Rider and the 26-year old Gibson [the alleged shooter] are ‘pings’ from cell phone towers in the Metro Detroit area placing them in the same vicinity on the day Johnson was murdered. Nonetheless, Rider, Griffin and Gibson were indicted together on February 24, 2017 and have been held without bail ever since.”

Warren and Roseville police first arrested Rider Feb. 4, 2017 in Roseville, and subjected him to a warrant-less search and seizure of his vehicle and two cell phones. 

Rider is well-known in Detroit as a long-time property owner and entrepreneur in the former Paradise Valley/Cass Corridor/Brush Park district. That area is now called “Midtown” and largely owned by whites, including billionaire Dan Gilbert and the Illitch family. It features the Red Wings, Comerica Park, and Ford Field sports arenas, along with “gentrified” shops, restaurants, and retail stores.

Rider has also been in the sights of the federal government for years, having served two stints for narcotics trafficking. He was last released in 2003. Mainstream media reports continually say he is “suspected” in other murders. But they give no specifics, other than the unsolved murders of three former owners of the Fine Arts Theater on Woodward, which community activists have long attributed to white corporate gentrifiers.

Boyfriend Lattner pleads guilty in federal court to possession of one of two guns examined in murder; MSP crime lab mixed up DNA tests on both

J. Terrell Lattner with atty. John Royal appears before USDC Judge Mark Goldsmith June 3, 2019

Johnson was found shot seven times in the head and torso to death outside a Warren condo owned by her boyfriend Jim T. Lattner Jr., 44, early on the morning of Jan. 13, 2017.

Allegedly, the bullets found in her body at the morgue were “unidentifiable.” 

Lattner, who was home at the time, was the first suspect police identified in Johnson’s murder. They seized large amounts of drugs and guns from Lattner’s condo and his vehicle, which was outfitted with hidden compartments commonly used by drug dealers.      

Burnstein wrote, “Lattner, 44, has two drug dealing convictions on his rap sheet from when he was the leader of the World Domination Gang in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He did six years in prison and got out in 2010.” 

According to sources, agents from the federal government ATF, FBI and Violent Crime Task Forces intervened to point the prosecution in the direction of Rider. They allegedly met June 23 at Warren Police headquarters with Warren police and other entities.

The Johnson murder trial jury never heard that Lattner had pled guilty on June 3 in a separate federal court case to felon-in-possession of the .44 caliber Ruger found by Warren police in his truck parked outside the condo the morning of Johnson’s death. He earlier took the Fifth Amendment at the murder trial, refusing to answer any questions at all, or acknowledge his relationship with Johnson. He is facing up to 10 years in prison on the federal weapons charge.

Smith and Wesson handgun shown at trial as murder weapon. Original photo by Warren Police.

Two days after Johnson’s death. a separate team of Warren police found a Smith & Wesson handgun in fields near the condo, on a path ending at a nearby L.A. Fitness Center on Mound Rd. They turned it over to the state police for testing to see if it was the murder weapon.

The team of police first on scene the day of the murder conducted a canine search of the area for an entire day, according to a Fox 2 news report Jan. 13, 2017. Fox 2 reported that they were unsuccessful in producing any gun, or any other physical evidence.

A police team later found “work” gloves on the same path that allegedly had Gibson’s DNA on them. Police also reported they examined a video of a white Nissan Pathfinder parking in the LA Fitness lot and reported that an individual inside emerged on the day of Johnson’s murder. They did not conclusively identify that individual, though they claimed it was George Rider. 

“A possible mix-up of DNA samples by Michigan State Police forensic scientists took center stage Wednesday at the trial of three defendants accused of murdering an Oak Park woman in Warren.” Jameson Cook of the Macomb Daily reported May 30.

He went on, “Initial analysis of DNA collected from the Smith & Wesson handgun show[ed] Lattner’s DNA on the trigger/slide and no DNA from Gibson, while the same gun’s grip showed Gibson’s DNA and none from Lattner.”

Ruger pistol found in Lattner’s truck the day of Johnson’s murder. He pled guilty June 3 to felon in possession of this firearm in separate federal case.

He added later, “The initial analysis of the Ruger showed Gibson’s DNA on “grip” or handle, and none of Lattner’s DNA . . . .The possible switch of DNA samples taken from the two guns prompted MSP Crime Lab officials to recollect and re-examine samples. The DNA analysis of the second set of samples provided different results that are more in line with law enforcement’s theory of the case.”

According to Cook, defense attorneys were in an uproar after three employees of the crime lab at various locations testified about the alleged mix-up.

“The potential mistake at either the MSP Sterling Heights or Northville lab has prompted incredulity from defense attorneys who contend that perhaps a mistake was not made because the initial test results point to Lattner as having a role in the incident, shifting blame from their clients,” Cook wrote. “They say it also throws into question all of the DNA testing in the case.

Cook continued, “MSP Forensic Scientist [Jennifer Jones] said that didn’t make sense because the results were “inconsistent with the case facts as described by the agent (Warren police),” Jones wrote in her report. The results didn’t jive because because Warren police were “trying to place the suspect on this weapon (the Ruger),” a superior to Jones wrote in an email received by Jones.

Jennifer Jones, MSP forensic biologist

Jones also noted that the gun was owned by Lattner and was in his vehicle, so more likely to have his DNA on it.

The Michigan State Police Crime Lab has been the focus of controversy over falsified tests for decades, resulting in part from its employment of State Troopers instead of qualified forensic scientists. A coalition of defense attorneys filed suit against the Lab in 2015. See https://www.theoaklandpress.com/news/nation-world-news/southfield-attorneys-accuse-msp-crime-lab-of-negligence-and-incompetence/article_e14da3c6-0de3-50f9-bf51-836fae65beae.html

Michael Harris, co-founder of People’s Crime Lab Task Force

In 2011, a coalition of prisoners and their families formed The People’s Crime Lab Task Force to fight results from both the Detroit Police Crime Lab, closed in 2009, and the MSP lab. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy hijacked what was supposed to have been an independent investigation of 147 cases from the Detroit lab. Only four defendants’ cases were examined, and all were re-tried and found guilty again.

One of the founding members of the Crime Lab Task Force, Michael Harris, remains in prison convicted of the rape-murders of three women in the Lansing area during the 1980’s. The MSP lab originally handled the forensics including fingerprinting.

Harris’ lawyer suggested the lab had planted the print. Updated DNA testing of a sample from one of the murders, done by the MSP lab, subsequently identified another man as the perpetrator. Since then, Harris has not been exonerated of that murder, and the other man has not been charged. See: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/10/20/michael-harris-print-muder-case/92452236/

Racial composition of jury challenged by defense: only 3 Blacks in county where cities like Eastpointe are approaching majority Black populations

Judge Toia maintained an outwardly patient and respectful demeanor as defense attorneys brought forward various motions, during the trial, but denied all of them.

MCCC Judge Joseph Toia

In particular, attorneys for Rider and Gibson disputed the racial make-up of the jury in a special session. They pointed out that the percentage of jury questionnaires returned from predominantly white areas of Macomb County was 70 percent, while cities with larger populations of color returned only 50 percent of their questionnaires.

Prosecutors at this murder trial claimed Toia had no authority to deal with the jury selection problem. However, two judges in the Third Judicial Circuit Court of Wayne County did deal with it.

The Michigan legislature had abolished Detroit’s Recorder’s Court, with jurors and judges drawn only from Detroit, in reaction to the conviction of white police officers Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn for murdering a Black Detroiter, Malice Green. 

They replaced it with the Third Judicial Circuit Court, covering all of Wayne County, which was not a majority Black, although most defendants in that court to this day are Black.

Sapala ordered additional questionnaires sent to zip codes in Wayne County with predominantly Black populations to balance the matter. However, the problem re-emerged later when most Black potential jurors were assigned to 36th District Court, shorting the venire of Black jurors for the Third Judicial Court. Judge Deborah Thomas waged a determined years-long campaign in an attempt to correct that situation

Graph showing 2019 population of Eastpointe/WorldPopulationReview.com

The omission of Black jurors was especially glaring for Marcie Griffin, a resident of Eastpointe, where residents of color now exceed the number of white residents. 

“The jury, comprised of nine whites and three blacks had the appearance of a deck already stacked against the defendants,” Ferrell noted.

“During the voir dire the prosecution utilized his preemptory challenges to exclude potential Black jurors. Assistant Prosecutor Jurij Fedorak during an impromptu hearing in the middle of trial claimed that the jury pool in Macomb County doesn’t have enough Blacks in it . . . but that is a blatant untruth because in the City of Eastpointe alone there [are nearly 50 percent] of  African-Americans residing there, so why not choose from that demographic?”

Toia excused two jurors, whose race was not noted in the Macomb Daily coverage, one for “scheduling reasons” and the other for allegedly having “non-verbal contact” with witnesses, leaving only 12 on the jury panel.

Defendants alleged violations of U.S. Constitution governing right to speedy trial, fair jury, due process

Early on, both Rider and Gibson unsuccessfully filed motions for dismissal of the charges based on state and federal constitutional violations, particularly of the U.S. Fourth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, relating to illegal search and seizure, and denial of a speedy trial, a fair jury, and due process.

MCCC Judge Jennifer Faunce (l) was finally removed from Rider’s case due to conflicts of interest including the involvement of her sister 37th DC Judge Suzanne Faunce (r) in Rider’s bindover.

Rider’s first Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Faunce repeatedly postponed hearings on his motions for dismissal, until she was finally recused by the Chief Judge due to her ties with Rider’s District Court Judge Suzanne Faunce, her sister, who belatedly signed warrants after Warren police seized Rider’s vehicle and cell phones.

This writer, VOD’s editor, has noted a similar pattern in other cases in Macomb County’s courts. In one case, a Black teen defendant was arraigned on June 6, 2017. The arraignment was sensationalized by mainstream media the next day, clearly showing the defendant’s image. No subsequent public hearings were held in court until his date of sentencing two years later.  He pled guilty on the advice of counsel despite the existence of alibi witnesses who never testified, and the fact that other witnesses who claimed to have identified him said his head was covered with a hood.

Related stories:

https://gangsterreport.com/they-finally-got-their-man-detroit-drug-don-turned-real-estate-mogul-g-g-rider-others-convicted-of-murder/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Murder-Trial-Ends-With-Conviction-Ferrell.pdf

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2019/05/26/who-killed-julii-johnson-in-2017-george-rider-harassed-by-feds-or-boyfriend-drug-associates/

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2018/11/26/george-rider-evidentiary-hearing-finally-held-wnew-judge-but-ruling-delayed-until-dec-19/ 

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2018/11/10/george-rider-case-shows-corruption-runs-deep-within-macomb-county-mi-courts-police/

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Gabriela Hernandez, executive director of the nonprofit New Mexico Dream Team, holds up an image Wednesday, June 6, 2018, in Albuquerque, N.M, of a Honduran transgender woman who died while in U.S. custody. Immigrant and LGBT advocates gathered outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Albuquerque to protest migrant Roxsana Hernandez’s death, which authorities say came after she developed symptoms of pneumonia, dehydration and complications associated with HIV. (AP Photo/Mary Hudetz).

Rick Jervis

June 4, 2019

Two more migrants, a Salvadoran man and a woman from Honduras, died recently while in federal immigration custody, marking at least seven migrant deaths since October and raising concerns of how federal agents care for those in their custody.

U.S. authorities announced the death of the 40-year-old Honduran woman who crossed into the U.S. without documentation early Monday in Eagle Pass, Texas. The woman collapsed at a Border Patrol station and later died at a local hospital, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol. CBP has not released her name, pending notification of her family.

In another case, a 33-year-old Salvadoran man died on Sunday near Roma, Texas, after suffering a seizure while in CBP custody. The agency is also withholding his name pending notification of his family.

These deaths come on the heels of the death of Johana Medina Leon, 25, a transgender asylum-seeker from El Salvador, whose passing Saturday at an El Paso hospital rekindled fears that transgender migrants are being mistreated at federal holding facilities. 

Medina Leon had asked for asylum at a border crossing in April and was detained at a detention facility in Chaparral, New Mexico. She was taken to an El Paso hospital after complaining of chest pains and later died at the facility. She had been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Last week, Medina Leon had requested an HIV test, which came back positive, according to ICE. 

“This is yet another unfortunate example of an individual who illegally enters the United States with an untreated, unscreened medical condition,” Corey A. Price, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in El Paso, said in a statement.

“There is a crisis at our southern border with a mass influx of aliens lured by the lies of human smugglers who profit without regard for human life or well-being. Many of these aliens attempt to enter the United States with untreated or unknown diseases, which are not diagnosed until they are examined while in detention.”

Roxsana Rodriquez Hernandez

Medina Leon’s death comes days after the one-year anniversary of the death of Roxsana Hernandez, 33, a transgender woman from Honduras who died on May 25, 2018, while in ICE custody. Her death was attributed to a rare disorder that developed quickly due to AIDS and sparked protests and calls for an investigation.

The New York Times reported additionally, “Other detainees cited in the autopsy report recall that Ms. Hernandez experienced the symptoms of severe dehydration “over multiple days with no medical evaluation or treatment, until she was gravely ill,” the report says.

The Transgender Law Center, an Oakland-based advocacy group, filed suit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security alleging mistreatment and that the agencies withheld information about Hernandez’s death, allegations ICE denies.

“A few days after marking the anniversary of Roxsana Hernandez’s death, we are devastated and outraged by reports that Johana Medina, a transgender woman and refugee from El Salvador, has died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody,” Kris Hayashi, the center’s executive director, said in a statement.

ICE has faced scrutiny for its detainee health care for years. The agency has reported five in-custody deaths since October.

But ICE officials say the agency is committed to providing medical care to everyone in its custody. It says it spends $250 million each year on health care for detainees, including medical, dental and mental health intake screenings within 12 hours of arrival and round-the-clock emergency care.

Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, N. M. Allegations of rampant abuse here continue.

Still, migrant advocates say federal agencies are not doing enough to treat and protect at-risk immigrants in their custody. 

In March, the ACLU of New Mexico issued a letter calling for an investigation into allegations that transgender women and gay men fleeing persecution were met with abuse and degrading treatment at the same New Mexico facility where Medina Leon had been held.

The letter complained about rampant sexual harassment, medical neglect and retaliation from guards and medical staff.

Contributing: Associated Press and Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times.

Follow Jervis on Twitter: @MrRJervis.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Two more migrants die in US custody after crossing Mexico border 

Overall, U.S. military spending has already increased from $586 billion in 2015 to $716 billion in 2019

U.S. military spending dwarfs the budget of the #2 country – China. For every dollar China spends on its military, the U.S. spends $2.77 

SIGN THE PETITION AND DEMAND CONGRESS CUT $200 BILLION FROM THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT BUDGET: PUT PEOPLE BEFORE THE PENTAGON!

SIGN THE PETITION

When it comes to military spending, the United States’ defense budget is astronomical. The U.S. spends as much as the next seven countries combined on the military. The staggering amount of money available has resulted in wasteful military spending. Military spending should be reduced by at least $200 billion annually, freeing up $2 trillion or more over the next decade for domestic and human needs priorities. With those spending cuts, the Pentagon’s budget would remain more than enough to keep America safe at a level well above our nation’s post-World War II historical average. Sign the petition: Congress must address the plain truth about Pentagon excesses and waste.

SIGN THE PETITION

It’s time to stop misdirecting hundreds of billions of dollars away from domestic and human needs to pad unnecessary budget lines for endless wars, failed weapons and the Pentagon’s corporate handouts.

Hundreds of billions of dollars annually should be shifted away from the Pentagon and towards pressing needs like education, health care, and averting catastrophic climate change.

Doing so will make our country safer and more just.

Sign the petition: Demand Congress cut the military budget and put domestic needs ahead of wasteful spending.

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“SHOCK AND AWE” U.S. STARTED CURRENT ERA OF ENDLESS WAR BY BOMBING IRAQ.

Thanks for all you do, Erin Tulley, Daily Kos

Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612.

OPINION By Pyotr Kortunov and Abdolrasool Divsallar

May 28, 2019

VOD: This story from the Moscow Times sheds an entirely different perspective on what passes for “news” from the U.S. corporate-controlled media. We would be well-advised to see how the rest of the world views our country. The map at left shows the miniscule size of the U.S. when compared to the former Soviet Union, China, India, Africa, Latin America, and others.

Russia’s Middle East policy is marked with balancing acts that secure the country’s role as an agile and effective balancing power. The fall of the Islamic Republic could undermine Moscow’s capacity for balancing in the Middle Eastern region. It has the potential to cripple Russia’s policy in Syria by giving more freedom of action to U.S.-allied groups, further weakening the recovering Assad government.

At the same time, Russia and Iran have created a major security convergence for responding to shared threats and adapting strategies to gain required international recognitions by revising the U.S.-led order. Issues that Russia rarely shares with other Middle Eastern powers.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei /U.S Pres. Donald Trump

And most significantly, a U.S.-led attack on Iran would pave the way for U.S.-led security architecture in the Middle East, providing Washington with major leverage. All these developments provide ground for speculation about the degree of Moscow’s involvement in a possible military confrontation between Iran and the United States.

Although Moscow could financially gain from a politically isolated and less economically competitive Iran, the geopolitical fallout from a regime change in Teheran will significantly outweigh the potential economic benefits.

Particularly, a direct confrontation between Tehran and Washington that could bring back major U.S. military build-up is a geopolitical challenge that threatens Russia’s interests in the Middle East. Moscow has already blamed the U.S. for provoking Iran and has shown its opposition to the U.S. tightening pressure on Tehran’s defense program by recognizing Iran’s legitimate defense interests.

U.S. Sanctions Russian Arms Makers Over Alleged Iran, N. Korea and Syria Dealings

Read more

Moreover, Russia’s active involvement in the global politics that has been demonstrated in recent years is a far cry from the relative passivism that marked Moscow’s reaction to the Yugoslav War or the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Therefore, it will not come as a surprise if Russia decides to make a step beyond mere diplomatic support to protect her interests in the Middle East, including militarily assisting Iran.

Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping last year.

Over the past years, Moscow and Tehran have institutionalized their military coordination through an unprecedented amount of regular high-level military and intelligence contacts. This could also contribute to Moscow’s willingness to expand her assistance to Iran beyond diplomatic measures.

Furthermore, the global ambition Russia is acting on today demands that Moscow makes an appropriate response to any radical U.S. policy towards Iran. One of Putin’s key aspirations in regard to foreign policy is asserting Russia as a globally recognized superpower.

In order to achieve that Moscow has to demonstrate the amount of influence she possesses globally, especially when a major international security crisis is in question.

Failure to show significant degree of involvement in the unfolding crisis will seriously hurt Russia’s prestige and undermine her status as a superpower, which Russia claims to be.

Putin has made a clear message that Iran should keep its own expectations of potential Russian help soberly modest. However, it could be speculated that Putin’s reaction in the wake of a full-scale conflict between Iran and the U.S. might be different.

Russia’s direct involvement in the U.S.-Iran conflict, should such a confrontation take place, is highly improbable.

However, Moscow may take certain cautious steps in order to strengthen Iran’s deterrence capacities. It is doubtful that Moscow will make any radical changes to her policy of not supplying Tehran with offensive weapons, but that doesn’t mean Russia cannot enhance Iran’s defense capabilities.

(See video below: Remember that Iran is an ally of Russia and numerous other countries. Russia has a vested interest in protecting Iran from an attack by the U.S.)

https://youtu.be/8Nn5duWNN4Q

opinion

Syria and Now Iran: How the U.S. Is Driving Russia South

Read more

Recent years’ military-to-military ties between Tehran and Moscow could provide a picture of what pragmatic steps Moscow may take to assist Tehran. Since 2011 Russian-Iranian cooperation evolved around three main categories. Arms sales, highlighted by the delivery of S-300PMU2 systems; intelligence sharing focused on IS and Syrian battles; and operational cooperation mainly in the form of battle coordination and joint military operations in Syria. These unique pillars of the interplay between the two countries, accompanied by joint commissions to facilitate them have institutionalized the military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran far beyond Syria.

Russian made S 300 long range air defense missiles at site in Iran.

Russian involvement in the U.S.-Iran conflict is likely to be broadly based on this threefold pattern.

Moscow’s first option of responding to the escalation between Iran and the U.S. could be the fortification of Iran’s air defense system capacities to suppress U.S. air superiority. Russian involvement in Syria has demonstrated that Kremlin is confident about using advanced air defense systems to change the balance of forces amid ongoing battles.

See: https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-missile-defense-draws-a-new-iron-curtain-against-u-s-military-11548255438

Moscow’s decision to provide the Syrian Army with S-300 units in Syria in response to a Russian reconnaissance plane being mistakenly shot down by the Syrian military is a clear example of that. It showed Russian willingness to readjust the military balance through the swift supply of arms.

Part of Russia’s extensive electronic air defense warfare system, which surpasses U.S. capabilities.

Thus Russia may reserve the option to improve Iran’s defensive capabilities via the supply of more advanced units, should such a necessity arise. Providing S-400 batteries or the ground-based Electronic Warfare systems including Borisoglebsk-2 and Krasukha-4S which have the potential to hamper US air superiority could constitute a part of Russia’s response.

One of the other forms of Russian response can potentially take is a deployment of Russian military assets to Iran. Russia has recently demonstrated that it is ready to deploy limited military units to contested countries in order to combat threats to her interests.

Russian Air Force personnel in front of supersonic bomber aircraft outside of Caracas 12 10 18

The case of Tu-160 and limited force deployment in Venezuela to deter US threat in support of Maduro’s government is the latest example, putting forward strategic military deployments as a possible option. Tehran is also likely to support Russian troops being stationed on Iranian territories.

news

Iran Says It Is Planning Naval Drills With Russia in Caspian Sea

Read more

During the peak of the Syrian war in 2016, news broke out that Russian Tu-22M3 bombers have used an Iranian airbase in Hamadan to conduct attacks on targets in Syria. Despite the revolutionary “No East, No West” slogan, the incident revealed that the Islamic Republic has become pragmatic enough to shift her policy when national security issues are at stake.

These developments raise the possibility that Russia may be willing to apply the same model to support the Iranian government. The move will have limited operational value, though it sends a strong signal of political support to Washington.

Russian military engineers in Syria. The Syrian government has just defeated ISIS and U.S.-supported rebels with strategic Russian assistance.

However, this policy could work only as a prevention tool, discouraging a potential opponent from engagement in a military conflict. The moment violence escalates, stationing troops will no longer be an option for Russia.

Finally, Russia may provide Iran with operational intelligence prior to or during the break-out of the war with the U.S.

It will not be the first time that Russia provides her allies with this kind of assistance. In 2003, Pentagon report claimed Russia funneled intelligence on American troop movements in Iraq to Saddam Hussein during the early days of the war. When it comes to Iran and Russia, the two countries’ experience in sharing sensitive counterterrorism intelligence on the Islamic State in Afghanistan and the setup of a joint intelligence center in 2015 have facilitated systematic intelligence sharing.

Protesters in U.S. after stand-off against U.S. pipeline through Native American land. The U.S. was founded on the genocide of Native and African people.

Although the extent of this cooperation is not yet clear, frequent visits of the countries’ security officials imply that they have established reliable channels to sustain it. It is hard to assume that Russia will provide extensive surveillance and reconnaissance (SR) data to Iran. However, even limited access to information about U.S. troop deployments, equipment and locations could play an important role in improving Iran’s defensive capabilities.

Moscow clearly isn’t intending to get caught up in a military conflict between Iran and the U.S. and thus will employ every measure possible to minimize the risks of a direct confrontation between the two powers.

However, this does not mean that Russia has no other options but to remain inactive or limit her support to mere diplomatic assistance. On the contrary, Moscow has no desire for a major power shift in the Middle East in favor of the U.S. Thus, opposite to what American administration wishes, it is not likely that Moscow takes a completely neutral stance on the looming crisis.

Russia still maintains quite a number of options in her sleeve to influence the balance of military capabilities between Iran and the United States. They are far from being a game-changer, or necessarily capable of turning the tides of war, but they can certainly create sizable obstacles to Washington’s war efforts.

These options make U.S. adventure in Iran far more complicated.

This article was originally published by RIAC.

The views expressed in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the position of The Moscow Times.

Pyotr Kortunov

Pyotr Kortunov is a Program Assistant at the Russian International Affairs Council

Abdolrasool Divsallar

Dr. Divsallar holds Ph.D. of Iranian Studies from the University of Tehran. He is a Senior research fellow at the Institute for Middle East Strategic Studies (IMESS) in Tehran where he works on Security-Development Nexus and defense policies. Divsallar has been a former research fellow at Center for Strategic Studies (2006-2012).