A federal judge in California threw out a racketeering claim against Chevron Corp. filed by Nigerians who claimed the oil company conspired with the military and police to gun down demonstrators protesting their operations... While the racketeering charge did not apply, [Judge] Illston acknowledged evidence showed that Chevron played a role in the subsidiary's security policies, approved payments to the military and attempted to cover up the subsidiary's involvement in the attacks. The ruling did not affect other pending accusations that...Chevron committed crimes against humanity under international law and eight related offenses under California law... Chevron lawyers have said the protesters were armed youths who demanded money and took more than 200 workers hostage. They were shot during an attempt to rescue the hostages.