Charges 'most serious' yet levied against any convention protester

A former UA student is being held on $200,000 bail in New York City following a fight that erupted Sunday between police and protesters near the site of the Republican National Convention.

Yusuke Banno, 21, is charged with assault in the first degree, assault on a police officer, reckless endangerment, riot in the first degree, resisting arrest, and hindering riot resistance and obstruction.

Banno completed the spring 2004 semester at the UA as a political science junior before transferring to Prescott Community College. Banno was also a member of the Daily Wildcat staff during his freshman and sophomore years.

An estimated 250,000 protesters were in the streets of New York on Sunday, the day before the RNC started.

Of all the charges leveled against the approximately 500 RNC protesters arrested, those against Banno are "the most serious," said Barbara Thompson, spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Though Banno isn't charged with arson, Thompson said Banno and others set fire to a giant papier-mâché dragon she said they were marching with on Sunday. When police officers threw smoke grenades and tried to arrest the arsonists, she said the group blocked police officers.

Thompson said Banno fought with the police officer who attempted to arrest him and the officer's hand got caught in the burning float, resulting in third-degree burns and possible nerve damage.

After his arraignment Monday, Banno's bail was set at $200,000 bond or $100,000 cash.

Newsday reported that the two others arrested with Banno, Nicholas Klinovski and Nathan Eberts, are being held on $20,000 and $10,000 bond, respectively.

But those who know Banno, who also goes by Josh, and were with him at the protest said he's being unfairly accused for his political beliefs.

"Basically, it's a case of the cops criminalizing political dissent," said Patrick Bigger, a geography junior and longtime friend of Banno. "Josh is a good guy and he does really good things for communities; he fights to make communities better, not set them on fire."

Banno's friend, Eric Richardson, 32, said he was with Banno when he was arrested.

Far from fighting with police near the fire, Richardson said Banno raised his hands when an officer told him he was under arrest.

Richardson said he, Banno, and other Tucsonans teamed up in small groups with people they knew to keep safe and had been following the papier-mâché dragon as a reference point so that they wouldn't get lost in the crowd of a quarter million people.

Richardson said he and Banno were at the end of the dragon's tail when the fire started at the head.

"As we started to run around it, it had a burst," he said. "I could feel the heat."

Richardson said the two went through an opening in the street barricade to avoid getting burned.

After they reached the sidewalk, a police officer grabbed Banno by his backpack straps and told him he was under arrest. "Josh never struggled," he said. "He just stood there."

Banno's friends said they didn't expect the police to levy such serious charges against him and hold him on such high bail.

"We didn't think anything of it," Richardson said. "Josh was very calm, it seemed to be one of those situations of 'they're going to take him in and charge him with unlawful assembly.'"

Walt Staton, a UA alumnus, former Wildcat reporter and a friend of Banno, said he was at Banno's arraignment Monday.

He said the attorney "made things up" and tried to paint Banno as an anarchist from Arizona and chief orchestrator of the fire.

But Staton said police picked Banno randomly.

"They didn't know who did it and just grabbed people running away because they had no one to pin it on," he said.

Chad Wellins, a political science senior, Wildcat delivery driver and friend of Banno's since high school said police might be trying to blame Banno for the fire because he's been politically active in the past.

Wellins, who was in New York on Sunday said Banno was arrested three to five times before, but always for minor offenses like failure to obey or disturbance of the peace.

In March 2003, Banno and two other students were arrested at the UA when they locked themselves to the railing of the Administration building to protest the news of a $1,000 tuition hike.

Charges against the three were later dropped.

Wellins said he and Banno were arrested for stepping off the sidewalk at an anti-capitalist march at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., in 2002.

Wellins said the RNC protest was "insane."

"I'd never been in a crowd so big in my life," he said.

The dragon, Wellins said, was a good idea in theory. He said it was painted with words like "Iraq," "Afghanistan" and "women's reproductive rights," before going up in flames.

"It's an act of political speech," he said. "But it should have been done in a way that doesn't put anyone in danger."

Wellins said he went to protest Republicans' "neoconservative plans and the elitist ideologies behind them and the lack of accountability and degradation of democratic principles of public officials."

Thompson said Banno will go to court Friday.

Banno's friends said they've started a Josh Banno Defense Fund to help him pay for legal counsel and bail.

- Andrea Kelly and Caitlin Hall contributed to this report.