Indybay Propaganda

Much of the activist crap is pushed via indybay. This is no exception.

What happened to Eric Schatz at the hands of the activists, and thier complicit DA Paul Gallegos is nothing short of despicable. After getting their hands on the video-cam footage of the tree-sitter extractions through the discovery process of a court proceeding, the activists took the tapes out of the courthouse and proceeded to edit it to suit their purposes. Then it was broadcast across the planet via the internet, repeated over and over and over again. With no regard for the truth.

The tapes were played in court. The full tapes clearly show the kindness exhibited by Eric and his crew, and the taunting actions of the protestors down below, the use of dialog to try to skew the footage.

Even the LA Times remarked on how calm and kind he was when they viewed them.

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http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/01/1668586_comment.php#1668776

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Tree-sit Extractions: Rescue or Battery?
by so sue me Friday, Jan. 23, 2004 at 5:53 PM

After Maxxam/Pacific Lumber fired "Climber Dan" in 1998 or 1999, they retained wife beater Eric Schatz, of Schatz Tree Service, to extract tree-sitters, providing him with side work to enhance his tree butchering business.


april1003_clips.jpg, image/jpeg, 640x240

After Maxxam/Pacific Lumber fired "Climber Dan" in 1998 or 1999, they retained wife beater Eric Schatz, of Schatz Tree Service, to extract tree-sitters, providing him with side work to enhance his tree butchering business. Eric's debut on the tree-sitter extraction scene left a sitter atop of a tree with no harness, no ropes, and no way to safely get out of the tree on Gypsy mountain following David Chain's murder. Schatz Tree Service recieved roughly $60,000 dollars to evict the tree-sitters in the impaired Freshwater drainage March 17-21, 2003. Schatz Tree Service has recieved additional monies for the other extractions which took place in Freshwater during April and June of 2003.

The video illustrates a tree-sit eviction in the old growth redwood named Allah by those who attempted to defend it from being cut-down. Allah was more than 800 years old and about 125 yards from Jerry, the tree occupied by Remedy for 361 days before she was forcibly removed three weeks earlier. Much of the footage is taken from a hidden camera mounted on Eric Schatz's hardhat. An activist, Marcus, is locked into a lock-box around an outstretch branch. Another activist, Phoenix, attempts to climb to the top of the tree. Climber Eric and his fellow extractor, Micheal Oxman, pounce on Phoenix and an hour-long struggle takes place at 160 feet above the ground. After removing the forest activists, the tree was felled.

Phoenix was charged with assault with a deadily weapon with a strike enhancement(California Felony Three Strike's law) and misdemeanor trespass. Phoenix's case is scheduled for preliminary hearing in early March 2004. No charges have been filed against Micheal Oxman for jumping on Phoenix's chest/throat or for the strangulation Oxman perpetrated on this non-violent protester on April 10, 2003.

R. ERIC SCHATZ Has a History of Violence

Eric Schatz fractured the hyoid bone in his ex-wife’s throat on November 28, 1992. The hyoid is a U-shaped bone at the base of the tongue that supports the tongue muscles. Eric was initially charged with two counts, count one was Felony Infliction of Corporal Injury on spouse/co-habitant(PC273.5) and the other count was a misdemeanor equivalent to the felony charge. He pled no contest and a guilty plea was entered by the court to the lesser offense on Dec. 31, 1992. Eric recieved a one-year suspended sentence beginning on January 23, 1993 and ending on January 24, 1994. Eric spent a total of one night in jail for this occurance before being bailed out and given a sweet deal by the District Attorney's office. Additionally, court documents state that previous to the 1992 incident, Eric's ex-wife, Vicky Schatz, appeared with a split lip at the District Attorney's Office around Christmas time. That same year Eric's ex-wife and kids recieved a Sheriff's escort to the local woman's shelter. Court documents also state that Eric used a coat hanger to discipline his daughter. His daughter stated in the court documents that she can remember a time when Eric held a gun to her mother's head. Eric's daughter also remembers times when Vicky Schatz would appear from the bedroom after an argument with a bloody nose and that following the divorce his daughter quit speaking to him and couldn't stand to look at him. In 1994, R. Eric and Vicky Schatz' divorce was finalized. Eric has since remarried.
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Video Clip
by so sue me Friday, Jan. 23, 2004 at 5:53 PM


video: windows media at 34.7 mebibytes

The video is in .wmv format. It will need to be viewed with a recent version of a newer codec in Windows Media Player.
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that much money
by jared Sunday, Jan. 25, 2004 at 9:55 PM


60,000 dollars in four days? they get paid that much money?
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please let me help you publish that
by anticapitalismo Monday, Jan. 26, 2004 at 6:02 PM


Please let me know if I can help you publish this film in a better format, I can help you get this out, I know who you are and you may know who I am, the windows format is a poorly used one and this video needs to be posted to every IMC site in the galaxy, I have been frustrated that this has been kept in the closet since last march. I live in Humboldt and want to help, http://www.globaljusticemedia.org
antcapitalismo@riseup.net
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Pacifist
by Tree lovin redneck Saturday, Feb. 14, 2004 at 7:07 PM


That's right Erik! Not all tree lovers are pacifists. It's kind of like Russian Roulette.
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They sould have cut down the tree with the jackass in it
by Ryan Stanoszek Sunday, Apr. 04, 2004 at 1:10 PM
rws11@humboldt.edu

Why both to get the guy out of thee tree if u cut it down he well come down with it. So u kill two birds with one stone. If u dont like that stop using paper products and move out of your wood house.
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Phoenix rocks
by Abby and Tobin Friday, Apr. 16, 2004 at 3:58 PM
amr54@humboldt.edu

By the way, the "jackass" you referred to in your post is a fellow HSU student...one with a good head on his shoulders who knew what he was getting into when he climbed Allah.
Your comments represent the mentality of brutal extractors such as those witnessed in the video. By making such callous comments, you are only perpetuating this harsh and ineffective means of dealing with people whose only "crime" is their passion for wilderness.
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Start Using Legal Tools
by Ethan Wednesday, May. 12, 2004 at 1:30 PM
cyranoei@hotmail.com

If you really want to drive the Maxxam folks up the wall, start using existing legal tools in your favor. Tree sitters should carry their own cameras so that they can document violence and provide their own court evidence. Batteries for said cameras can be exchanged & recharged by sitter ground support teams. Secondly, I would recommend quoting law - i.e., have the sitter warn 'rescue specialists' that touching him/her without consent is considered assault - and follow up with charges and/or countersuits where applicable. Many techniques of forcible removal (i.e. strangulation, use of pepper spray) are actually illegal - the law states that employment of force must match the level of threat. Going beyond the level of force appropriate to the threat is aggravated assault (see legal arguments used by the familes of catburglars to successfully sue homeowners who use inappropriate lethal or crippling force). Use of pepper spray is only one step below the use of lethal force, and is therefore illegal when used against a nonviolent activist. Arm yourself with knowledge - obtain your own copies of police regulations and legal information regarding assault & battery. Guys, victimhood & martyrdom only goes so far; be proactive rather than reactive and do what you can to put the loggers on the defensive for a change.
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Old News
by Smokey Thursday, May. 13, 2004 at 4:25 PM


This happened over a year ago!!! You guy run this same story over and over . Please come up with something new, this site is getting real boring.
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person
by Jimmy Sunday, Oct. 17, 2004 at 3:51 PM


I don't believe in wife or daughter abuse but, the demonstrator certainly got what he deserved. There is a system to go through, trespass or mess with other peoples lives, even if you don't agree with them means you should at least walk with a limp the rest of your life. Just as those that got pepper spray should have to do. They got off easy.
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