Fulton County Drops Case Against Tim Franzen

Almost four years ago Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, now rebranded as the Housing Justice League, launched an ambitious campaign to liberate vacant homes in Atlanta. The first campaign we launched was led by Michelene Meusa, Renika Wheeler, and their two amazing children Dillon and Jahla.

After occupying the house for seven days M&T bank flew down executives from New York and worked with Atlanta Police to evict the family despite community support. Renika and Michelene refused to leave and several other supporters, including myself, refused to leave as well. We knew that arrests were very likely but we also knew that half of the homes in the neighborhood were bank owned vacants that had been sitting empty for years while the Atlanta homeless populations was multiplying. It was a time for drastic measures. 

In the end four of us were arrested but we managed to bring a lot of media attention to Michelene and Renika's struggle and the housing crisis facing thousands of Atlantans. I'm happy to report that many people in the movement stepped up to support Michelene and Renika and they have been living in a home with their children, totally self sufficent, for years.


After that campaign we quickly won our next two home liberations and we started to see more people around the country use that model.

The four of us arrested were charged with criminal trespass. Eventually everyone's charges, except mine, were dropped. Over the years I've had countless court dates related to this charge, some of which I showed up to and no judge was present. There have been two separate occasions in which I was arrested on a failure to appear warrant, both times were extremely suspicious as they were right in the middle of protests or organizing meetings. Another time I was detained for over an hour after being followed by police after an organizing meeting. The officer claimed I didn't appear at a court proceeding related to the charge, thankfully I was able to call my lawyer and a friend from the back seat of the officers car before they attempted to book me.

Today I had to go to court, it was time to set a trail date. It's rare that I get any kind of pleasant surprise from the state but today I did; they decided to drop the case all together! In the paper work they cited: " An assessment has been made by the prosecutor and it's determined that in the best interest of justice the prosecution should be terminated"

I have no doubt that a major factor in this outcome is the fact the cities best movement lawyer, Mawuli Mel Davis of the Davis/Bozeman lawfirm represented me.

Despite the difficulties this specific arrest has brought me over the years I want to be clear that it was 100% worth all the trouble. Doing the right thing can never be wrong and the positive outcomes radically outweigh the personal issues I have endured. That being said I'm grateful to close the book on this one. Thanks to everyone that supported me through the process!

Love and Service,

Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Fannie Mae Wastes Taxpayer Money Prosecuting Nonviolent Home Defense of Veteran Mark Harris

Yesterday former congressman Mel Watt took office as the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Today, Fannie Mae is taking four people to court with charges of criminal trespassing for working peacefully and nonviolently  to keep Desert Storm veteran Mark Harris in his Avondale Estates home of 16 years.

Under the direction of Ed DeMarco, the former interim director of the FHFA, Fannie Mae refused principle reduction to current market value for many struggling homeowners like Mark, resulting in an unprecedented rate of foreclosures across the nation. Instead of helping struggling homeowners, Fannie Mae chose to waste public tax dollars on expensive eviction procedures. In August, Fannie Mae had Mark Harris evicted at gunpoint at spent tens of thousands on 24/7 private security. This money could have gone to helping Mark work out a deal he could afford. Fannie Mae is now set to spend even more taxpayer money to prosecute four people that, along with over ten thousand people who have signed petitions supporting Mark Harris, didn't want to see another veteran on the streets.

In court today, the four arrestees plead not guilty to charges of criminal trespassing levied against them by Fannie Mae, forcing Fannie Mae to justify their actions in a court of law.

Fannie Mae, under the direction of Mel Watt's FHFA, has a choice to make. We ask that Mel Watt direct Fannie Mae to drop the charges against our peaceful and nonviolent arrestess who fought to keep a veteran housed and save American taxpayers and homeowners billions by correcting mortgages to current market value.

We are grateful for the legal assistance from the Davis/Boazman law firm who continues to tirelessly step up for the Atlanta community good over and over again.

Sign Mark Harris' online petion