Five Myths about the Asheville 11

Five Myths about the Asheville 11
or
Why eleven people are being demonized in the courts and the media and why it matters

On May first, 2010, shortly before midnight, police responded to reports that people were breaking windows in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. A few minutes later they arrested eleven people, sweeping them off the sidewalk at random several blocks from the scene of the vandalism.

Sensationalized coverage spread through news outlets all across the US, provoking shock and outrage. This outrage has been primarily directed against the arrestees, despite a lack of evidence connecting them to the vandalism. Why has this happened? And what’s really at stake here?