Press room ... 2001 archive

Jury Rules In Favor of Project Inform Against
ACT UP/San Francisco Violence at Criminal Trial

March 16, 2001

San Francisco—A San Francisco jury returned guilty verdicts today on a total of seven of twelve criminal charges against three members of the group known as ACT-UP San Francisco (not affiliated with other ACT-UP charters or organizations) stemming from the disruption of an HIV treatment education event co-sponsored by Project Inform and Survive AIDS in April 2000. The program featured nationally respected researchers from the University of California at San Francisco who were presenting recent AIDS research findings to the audience HIV-infected people, educators and advocates. The jury found defendant Michael Bellfontaine guilty of unlawful assembly, and defendants Jason Todd Swindell and David Pasquerelli guilty of unlawful assembly, disturbing the peace, and riot. Bellfountaine was acquitted of disturbing the peace and riot, and Swindell and Pasquerelli were acquitted of battery.

"We commend the jury for its thoughtful deliberation, and we are pleased that it reached the correct conclusion in this case," said Joseph Garrett, President of the Board of Directors of Project Inform. "The verdicts represent a victory for all people living with HIV/AIDS who seek to educate themselves and make their own decisions about potentially lifesaving treatments for HIV disease in a safe environment."

"Project Inform will not remain passive while people living with HIV/AIDS and their advocates and caregivers are terrorized by the actions of the defendants," stated Martin Delaney, Project Inform's Founding Director. "People have a right to expect a safe, secure environment at educational forums, and dedicated AIDS workers deserve to feel safe on the streets, in stores, and in their places of work and residence. We simply will not tolerate violence in our communities."

"It's really a shame that this group has taken the name of ACT-UP," added Michael Lauro of Survive AIDS and AIDS Activists Against Violence and Lies (AAAVL), a city-wide coalition formed to respond to the AIDS denialist messages and ACT-UP/SF's disruptive tactics. "Most of us were once proud to be ACT-UP members ourselves. We've all tried to be patient, to be reasonable in hopes that ACT-UP San Francisco might eventually mature and abandon these tactics, but nothing seems to have helped. All of our efforts to resolve our differences through constructive dialogue to date have failed. If working through the courts and the legal system is the only way to contain them, then so be it."

Criminal charges were filed against Pasquerelli, Swindell, and Bellefontaine after they stormed into the April 2000 educational event, screaming and throwing fliers, magazines, and pills. A number of people sustained minor injuries, and one Project Inform employee received treatment at a hospital emergency room.

"Violence against people living with AIDS and their advocates should not be tolerated. It doesn't matter if a group hides behind a respected name like ACT UP, or if they call themselves terrorists. If the end results of a group's tactics are hate crimes, threats, intimidation and violence, then the legal consequences should be the same. Judge Gyemant in the Proposed Decision and Order has tentatively agreed. We are hopeful that her final Decision and Order will not be diluted and that the criminal cases will result in appropriate sanctions," notes Project Inform's Delaney.