A Cowlitz County District Court judge has rejected motions from 45 union longshoremen and supporters to dismiss criminal trespassing charges stemming from two September protests at the EGT grain terminal at the Port of Longview.
Leal Sundet, the ILWU’s coast committeeman, said Marshall’s decision wasn’t surprising, but union attorneys think the two hearings exposed weaknesses in the prosectuors’ case.
“It’s unfortunate that the prosecutor is willing to waste taxpayer dollars prosecuting workers for exercising their free speech rights on land that was open to the public. We’re in this for the long haul and look forward to the trials, where we believe the workers will be cleared,” Sundet said in a written statement.
