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Black Riders Liberation Party under fire

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Members of the grassroots community organization the Black  Riders Liberation Party  (BRLP) are outraged that the FBI and the LAPD  are slapping them with gang enhancement charges that may ultimately lead  to the dismantling of their organization.
At a press conference held  in Leimert Park Thursday, spokesmen for the group as well as several  members of the legal community gathered to decry what they claim is  ongoing harassment and intimidation by local law enforcement.
The  groups leader, Taco, and BRLP member Sechzwan White were recently  jailed on weapons charges.
Members of the group, who dress in black  clothing or in military fatigues are frequently seen on Crenshaw Blvd.  or in the Leimert Park area, where they often solicit money for their  programs.  Group members are also a familiar sight at black events where  they march in military style and deliver a Black Power salute.
Bloodhound,  BRLP supporter, said that the group is loosely based on the Black  Panther Party.  They have a 10-point platform which includes  redistribution of land and a large emphasis on self-defense and stopping  police abuse, said Bloodhound.  They talk about black-on-black crime,   violence and self-destructive behavior in the black community.
Bloodhound  said that the groups anti-police sentiment may have made them the  target of the gang injunction and police surveillance.
BRLP  supporter and CopWatch member DAngelo Jones agreed that the group has  become a target of the local police department. Under these gang  enhancement charges, a misdemeanor charge, like shoplifting or  trespassing, can be turned into a felony with consequences being hard  time in prison. How would you feel if you were walking down the street  and some cop can take pictures of you if you have a tattoo, braids, a  bald head or if youre just black? These gang injunctions which are  forced upon our communities are nothing more than a restriction of  movement and free association, said Jones.
Deputy Public Defender  Aaron Jansen, who is representing BRLP White, said, They (the police)  are trying to label the BRLP as a criminal street gang. They want to  enforce a gang injunction in order so that they cant meet in public  with more than two people at a time, meaning that they will have to  register as gang offenders.
Johnson said that the BRLP solicits  donations to keep the group going. The LAPD harass them. They try to  get them to resist or run away to get them arrested on trumped up  charges.  Basically, they are trying to get intelligence on this group  and place them in the CAL Gangs database.
Jon Huggins, a former  Black Panther, said, Most of you werent even alive when the Black  Panther Party was involved in the black liberation struggle.  This group  has been charged with bogus lies.  Theres a price you pay when you  take on the pigs, said Huggins.
A merchant on Degnan Boulevard in  Leimert Park who wanted to remain anonymous said that she has no  sympathy for the BRLP group.  Ive seen them waving big buckets and  aggressively panhandling on the streets, she said.  They scare away my  customers.

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