Jailed Activists: Debate and Charges Grow

San Francisco authorities last Friday filed nine more criminal threat charges against jailed AIDS activist David Pasquarelli and raised his bail from $500,000 to $600,000. Pasquarelli, a member of ACT UP/San Francisco who claims that HIV does not cause AIDS, received an additional four felony and five misdemeanor charges related to alleged threats and harassment against employees and researchers at the University of California at San Francisco. Pasquarelli, 34, was arrested Nov. 28 with fellow activist Michael Petrelis, 42, who is being held on $500,000 bail. While Petrelis does not share Pasquarelli's beliefs about the cause of AIDS, both face several felony and misdemeanor counts, including violating restraining orders, criminal conspiracy and stalking. Along with members of ACT UP/San Francisco, both men have had visible and sometimes violent clashes with public health officials, journalists and AIDS service providers, harassing them and their families in public and on the phone.

More than 120 people, including writers, activists and academics, have signed an "open letter of concern" about the matter, circulated by New York-based civil libertarian Bill Dobbs. The letter questions the number of charges against the men and calls for "reasonable bail."

Catherine Hanssens, AIDS project director for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, also questioned the bail amount. "I would compare their situation to protesters of abortion clinics or spouses and domestic partners who violate restraining orders against them. Generally, one can threaten violence against a spouse or domestic partner and rarely get such a high bail." A spokesperson for the district attorney said the bail was warranted not by risk of flight but rather by the men's ongoing "degree of danger to the community."

Brenda Lein, director of information and advocacy for Project Inform, recalled an incident in which a treatment forum was disrupted by Pasquarelli and other ACT UP/San Francisco members screaming "You faggots need to die." She said she has no doubt that the men are violent and dangerous, and she takes issue with those who signed Dobbs' letter. "I don't think they know what they're signing. They're basically saying it's OK to be violent against people with AIDS and their advocates. I disagree fundamentally."

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