Protest for Marc Wisecarver May 14, 2010

A protest in support of Marc Wisecarver was held in front of the federal building in Rapid City, South Dakota, on May 14, 2010. Members of the news media were invited and there were almost as many reporters present as there were protestors. Mitch Wisecarver and his mother spoke to the reporters and they gave out information packets to help inform the reporters and observers about Marc’s situation.

Video clips, pictures, and short articles about the protest appeared on news casts and in the local papers. However, as it is with most news reports, the whole story is still a mystery to the general public. The protesters displayed signs that called for an investigation of the judiciary in west river South Dakota area. Other signs called for the release from incarceration of Wisecarver. At least one placard implied that racism could be a cause for the injustice the protesters were trying to bring to light. The reality of the situation is that the protesters don’t know why this situation has evolved the way it has and they are asking for an answer to that question as well as the release of Marc Wisecarver.

The protesters and the Wisecarver family point out the constitutional issues of Marc’s legal case. The incident that the case is based on occurred on Wisecarver’s horse ranch. Wisecarver does not dispute the facts of the incident, but stands fast in his assertion that he was protecting himself and his property, as allowed by tribal, state, and federal law. The case was dismissed from tribal court on the basis of self defense. In federal court, Wisecarver was found not guilty of an assault charge levied against him for this incident. Apparently, on an additional charge the court instructed the jury to find Marc guilty of depredation of government property if the jury agreed that he had used justifiable force. The conviction based on that instruction was reversed on appeal and the case has been remanded back to the lower court.

This is the third attempt to convict Marc of an alleged crime associated with his act that it appears the jury agrees was self defense, using justifiable force. Marc has been incarcerated for fifteen months. In the meantime, the BIA agent that Marc says was trespassing has not been charged or investigated. The situation inspires more questions than it provides answers for. Currently, there are numerous groups that assert that certain portions of our United States Constitutional rights are under attack, one specifically, the right to bear arms in defense of our persons and our property. Equal justice under the law is also hard to identify in certain elements of this case.