PNW Grand Jury Resistance

[Ele'ill]

BREAKING: FBI and JTTF Raid Multiple Homes, Grand Jury Subpoenas in Portland, Olympia, Seattle

As I’ve been reporting on Twitter, there have been multiple homes raided and grand jury subpoenas issued in Portland, Olympia, and Seattle.

Three homes were raided in Portland, by approximately 60-80 police including FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force. Individuals at the homes say police used flash grenades during the raid.

Grand jury subpoenas have been served to individuals in all three cities: 2 in Olympia, 1 in Seattle, and 2 in Portland. The grand jury is scheduled to convene on August 2nd at the federal courthouse in Seattle.

No arrests have been made. Electronics were confiscated along with additional personal items.

All legal documents related to the searches and grand jury are sealed, and the FBI will only say it is related to an “ongoing violent crime” investigation. But based on interviews with residents, and what police told them at the scene, this is clearly related to the ongoing demonization of anarchists and the Occupy movement.

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/breaking-fbi-and-jttf-raid-multiple-homes-grand-jury-subpoenas-in-portland-olympia-seattle/

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/ne-portland-nopo-photos-of-fbi-jttf-raid-this-morning/



The FBI served search warrants at three North and Northeast Portland homes early Wednesday as part of an "ongoing violent crime" investigation, said Beth Anne Steele, a spokeswoman for the agency.

The warrants were served at 4820 N.E. 31st Ave., 7129 N.E. Eighth Ave., and 6846 N. Greenwich.

No arrests were made.

"The warrants are sealed, and I anticipate they will remain sealed," Steele said.

Some residents in the area of Northeast Alberta Street awakened to the sound of a helicopter circling overhead.

The home at Northeast 31st Avenue, a block from Alberta, is a two-story purple home with purple trim. It was raided around 6 a.m., FBI agents were still at the location as of 10:15 a.m.

Rosa Aguilar, who owns the home and rents it out, said she believed that agents were not looking for the current tenants but a group that moved out more than a year ago. Aguilar said she did not renew the group's lease because she had received so many complaints about them.


Puanani Leal, who has lived in the neighborhood three years, described the former tenants as "anarchists" who ran an information booth at Alberta Street's Last Thursday event. She said large numbers of people were in and out of the house while the group was living there.

She was home when the FBI arrived this morning.

"I just heard lots of pounding at 6 o'clock, and I got up and I saw the whole thing," Leal said. "I saw them screaming to get in. They were using the battering ram, and then finally the door just opened."

She said the current occupants came out and agents very quickly let them go.

Near the 7129 N.E. Eighth Ave., home neighbors said no one has lived in the house for several years. In recent months, neighbors noticed activity -- a light on inside, groups of people in their early 20s coming and going. They didn't cause any trouble but seemed to be living in the house.

Then, a month ago, an officer in a patrol car was seen checking out the home.

Neighbors said they heard multiple loud bangs around 6 a.m. this morning, followed by yelling.

By 10:30 a.m., the FBI had left. The rundown home appeared to be empty but for a chair and a desk and a roll of paper towels visible from a window. The grass was overgrown, but the grass in a side yard looked trampled down.

At the location on North Greenwich, the FBI was finishing up processing evidence around 11 a.m. At the one-story blue gray home, agents carted out paper evidence bags sealed in red tape.

Agents examined yard debris. They took pictures inside the house and photographed a white van parked in the driveway.


http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/07/fbi_raids_three_homes_in_north.html

[Ele'ill]

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/regional-call-out-for-solidarity-demo-aug-2-at-the-federal-courthouse-solidarity-with-subpoenaed-comrades-resist-grand-juries/

Solidarity demo Aug 2nd


This is a regional call-out for a solidarity demo at the Seattle federal courthouse, 700 Stuart St., starting at 7:30am and going throughout the day, to show support for the comrades being stripped of any sembalence of rights in what is known as a grand jury. Comrades from the cities targeted and beyond should make the trip to Seattle so we can show the state how we feel about grand juries. We need as many people to come out as we can, to not only show the people facing the grand jury that we support them in their struggle against state oppression but to show the state that we will always resist their attempts at co-optation and destruction of our movements of social revolution.As reported in ‘Green is the new red’:

“…there have been multiple homes raided and grand jury subpoenas issued in Portland, Olympia, and Seattle.

Three homes were raided in Portland, by approximately 60-80 police including FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force. Individuals at the homes say police used flash grenades during the raid.



Grand jury subpoenas have been served to individuals in all three cities: 2 in Olympia, 1 in Seattle, and 2 in Portland. The grand jury is scheduled to convene on August 2nd at the federal courthouse in Seattle.

No arrests have been made. Electronics were confiscated along with additional personal items.

All legal documents related to the searches and grand jury are sealed, and the FBI will only say it is related to an “ongoing violent crime” investigation. But based on interviews with residents, and what police told them at the scene, this is clearly related to the ongoing demonization of anarchists and the Occupy movement.”

[#FF0000]

Kinda surprised no one's talking about this.

Activists getting raided by the fucking JOINT TERRORISM TASK FORCE is a pretty massive deal, I'd figure.

[Sasha]

slog (the stranger blog) is reporting on it; http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/07/26/fbi-raids-homes-across-northwestlooks-like-they-might-be-targeting-anarchists

[Ele'ill]

http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/

Anti repression solidarity group on top of this

[Sasha]

some extensive background on these raids and one brave lady willing to go to jail rather than snitch

initial;
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/08/02/the-secret-grand-jury-proceedings-about-the-may-day-smashup-begin-todaythere-will-be-protests
follow up
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/08/02/re-the-secret-grand-jury-proceedings-about-the-may-day-smashup-begin-todaythere-will-be-protests

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/1928

Oakland: Banner Drop in Solidarity with the Pacific Northwest Grand Jury Resistors

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/1931

Municipal Court Attacked in Solidarity with Grand Jury Witnesses

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/1933

San Francisco: Attack on SFPD Vehicles in Solidarity with Grand Jury Resisters

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/1935

Oakland: Attack on OPD Vehicles in Solidarity with Grand Jury Resisters

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/1936

Oakland: Police sub-station attack in solidarity with the Pacific North West

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/1937

Minneapolis: Solidarity Demonstration in Support of Grand Jury Resisters




Report from the August 2nd Grand Jury in Seattle
Thu, 08/02/2012 - 2:23pm — k
from Say Nothing
Leah read the statement posted below on the courthouse steps. 80 or so supporters cheered her on as she entered the courthouse. She returned to us less than an hour later to more ecstatic cheers. The prosecutor issued her a new subpoena for August 30, 2012, at 1pm.
The remaining recipients of subpoenas either elected not to show up to the grand jury, had August 30 or another date on their subpoena, or have not been served.

[Ele'ill]

Here's an updated list of solidarity actions

http://saynothing.noblogs.org/


Solidarity actions and statements to date
Posted on 08/03/2012 by Saynothing Tothejudge
Many thanks and love to everyone striking and speaking against the grand jury. They are far from finished in their campaign of repression, but, given this flurry of activity, I have no doubt there are many who are not finished coming at them.

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN – a solidarity demonstration
East St. Louis – an attack on a courthouse
Oakland, CA – an attack on a police substation
Oakland, CA – an attack on 2 police vehicles and a police recruitment center
Kirkland, WA – an attack on a courthouse
San Francisco, CA – an attack on 9 police vehicles
Seattle, WA – a banner drop
Oakland, CA – a banner drop
San Francisco, CA – a banner drop
San Francisco Bay Area, CA – a beautiful statement of solidarity
East St. Louis, IL – an attack on police vehicles
Bloomington, IN – a noise demonstration outside of a jail
Portland, OR -a popular statement of solidarity has been signed by dozens of organizations

[Jimmie Higgins]

Yeah, wow why isn't there more discussion about this. Someone in my group mentioned it offhand like I should know about it and so I assumed it was some small cop action until I read this. And there wasn't anything even on Indybay until a day or so ago and even that's not very clear and only has like one or two responses.

I'm worried about the solidarity responses so far though - anonymous actions from graffiti to banner drops (I haven't gone through all the links so if there is organizing in conjunction to these things, that's good) just increase our marginalization - or at least don't humanize us and just allow the courts to paint us anyway they want. Red-scares have always been successful if radicals can be isolated and separated from the broader issues and forces we organize with. I hope people up north can bring together any networks developed around defending arabs, immigrants, or against police brutality to draw the connections about these kids of raids and the demonetization of people that allows the cops/feds to get away with it and for it to be swept under the rug or ignored.

Edit: and ANSWER, people may have their differences, but they have a lot of resources and also just got attacked - though informally - so folks should try and draw the parallels so that we can make a case that an injury to one is an injury to all.

[The Douche]

Yeah, wow why isn't there more discussion about this. Someone in my group mentioned it offhand like I should know about it and so I assumed it was some small cop action until I read this. And there wasn't anything even on Indybay until a day or so ago and even that's not very clear and only has like one or two responses.

I'm worried about the solidarity responses so far though - anonymous actions from graffiti to banner drops (I haven't gone through all the links so if there is organizing in conjunction to these things, that's good) just increase our marginalization - or at least don't humanize us and just allow the courts to paint us anyway they want. Red-scares have always been successful if radicals can be isolated and separated from the broader issues and forces we organize with. I hope people up north can bring together any networks developed around defending arabs, immigrants, or against police brutality to draw the connections about these kids of raids and the demonetization of people that allows the cops/feds to get away with it and for it to be swept under the rug or ignored.I'm on my phone so I can't really flesh out a good response, but I was talking to my friends in Oakland about this last night.

To be communists or anarchists or whatever means that we're at war, right, like, whether we accept that idea or use that language or not is irrelevant. We're here to destroy the existing social order by force, and its what we spend our time working on. So let's not feign surprise or indignation at the state when they act in a manner that accepts the reality of the situation (war).

To organize effectively around this is not to oppose repression (afterall, we support the repression of our political opponents). The effective and honest way to organize is within the mindset or the combatant, ee don't oppose repression, we oppose the capitalist state and its institutions, and so I think that attack is one of the best ways we can react to the state.

[Ele'ill]

I'm on my phone so I can't really flesh out a good response, but I was talking to my friends in Oakland about this last night.

To be communists or anarchists or whatever means that we're at war, right, like, whether we accept that idea or use that language or not is irrelevant. We're here to destroy the existing social order by force, and its what we spend our time working on. So let's not feign surprise or indignation at the state when they act in a manner that accepts the reality of the situation (war).
To organize effectively around this is not to oppose repression (afterall, we support the repression of our political opponents). The effective and honest way to organize is within the mindset or the combatant, ee don't oppose repression, we oppose the capitalist state and its institutions, and so I think that attack is one of the best ways we can react to the state.

I'm confused as to what this is a response to I think.

[Ele'ill]

More solidarity banner drops, this time in NYC

[Os Cangaceiros]

I read (recently on anarchist news.org) about the two people who have refused to testify in this case, citing their principles. I have a hell of a lot of respect for those folks, wish I could do something to help them...

[Ele'ill]

wish I could do something to help them...


http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/08/05/thanks-and-continued-solidarity/

[Ele'ill]

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/call-for-coordinated-action-solidarity-with-grand-jury-resistors/


Grand juries and the repression surrounding them are focused specifically on isolation in an attempt to strike fear into the hearts of anarchists and all those associated with them. Whether you are close to those involved in the recent wave of Pacific Northwest anarchist repression or not, its impact has most likely touched your region.

In an attempt to counter that fear and isolation the days of August 24th to August 31st are being called as a week of solidarity with anarchists in the Pacific Northwest. Lets turn that fear back toward our common enemies and drive the impact of their repression into expressions of solidarity. Consider acting in ways that communicate the passion for freedom that those in the Northwest have continued to express by their refusal to cooperate with the State’s witch hunt.

Remember that the next grand jury hearing is on Thursday August 30th at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Seattle. If you live in the area, please come to the Courthouse on 700 Stewart St. at 12noon for a demonstration outside. If you live outside the area, consider planning a solidarity demonstration in your city or an event about grand jury resistance.

May their attempts at repression only make our aim that much clear!

[Sasha]

Political Convictions?

Federal Prosecutors in Seattle Are Dragging Activists into Grand Juries, Citing Their Social Circles and Anarchist Reading Materials

by Brendan Kiley (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/brendan-kiley/Author?oid=1124)

http://www.thestranger.com/binary/2a6e/news-lead-570.jpg
ROBERT ULLMAN

On Thursday, August 2, at roughly 12:45 p.m., a small woman with long black hair and a red cardigan sweater stood on the lawn of Seattle's federal courthouse, surrounded by a few friends and around 75 protesters. On the steps behind her, a few dozen law-enforcement officers watched as she nervously spoke into a megaphone, announcing that she would not cooperate with the federal grand jury proceedings taking place inside. She said she would go into the courthouse, give the jury only her name and date of birth, and refuse to answer any further questions. "Under no circumstances," she said, speaking for herself and another recipient of a subpoena, "will we talk about other people."
The woman, a 24-year-old from Portland named Leah-Lynn Plante, was prepared to go to jail for refusing to talk about who may have been involved in the politically motivated vandalism in downtown Seattle on May Day, when activists smashed out the windows of several banks and stores—including Wells Fargo and Niketown—as well as a federal courthouse door.
Refusal to testify at a federal grand jury, especially on political grounds, can result in jail time for contempt of court. (Video journalist Josh Wolf, for example, served seven and a half months in 2006 and 2007 for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury and turn over his footage of a protest in San Francisco.)
In a follow-up interview with The Stranger, Plante said she wasn't even in Seattle on May 1 and is neither a witness to nor a perpetrator of any related crimes. She is, however, a self-declared anarchist and thinks the FBI singled her out because of her political beliefs and social affiliations.
"We support the efforts of all those who will be resisting this grand jury," she said quietly into the megaphone on the courthouse lawn. The crowd cheered.
"We love you, Leah!" somebody shouted. Plante smiled wanly. Then she walked up the courthouse steps past the line of officers, hugged two friends, wiped some tears from her eyes, and pushed her way through the revolving glass door. She was headed to a courtroom where she was not allowed to have an attorney to represent her or a judge to mediate—just a jury listening to a prosecutor who is looking for an indictment. (Because grand jury proceedings are secret, the US Department of Justice was unable to comment on any elements of this story.)
Plante had been summoned to Seattle by a federal subpoena, delivered to her in the early hours of July 25, when the FBI raided her home—one of several raids in Seattle, Olympia, and Portland in the past couple of months. FBI agents, she said, smashed through her front door with a battering ram with assault rifles drawn, "looking paramilitary." According to a copy of the warrant, agents were looking for black clothing, paint, sticks, flags, computers and cell phones, and "anti-government or anarchist literature."
The warrants for the related raids used similar language. One warrant for an early morning raid at a Seattle home also listed black clothing, electronics, and "paperwork—anarchists in the Occupy movement." In effect, witnesses in Portland and Seattle say, federal and local police burst into people's homes while they were sleeping and held them at gunpoint while rummaging through their bookshelves, looking for evidence of political leanings instead of evidence of a crime. (For the record, I executed a quick search of my home early this morning and found black clothing, cans of paint, sticks, cloth, electronics, and "anarchist literature.")
"When I see a search warrant that targets political literature, I get nervous," said attorney Neil Fox, president of the Seattle chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. (The Seattle chapter released a statement urging the FBI and the US Attorney to end the raids and drop the grand jury subpoenas.) Raids like those can have a chilling effect on free speech, he said, and a long-term "negative effect on the country—you want to have robust discussions about political issues without fear." He also has concerns about the scope of the warrants: "'Anti- government literature' is so broad," he said. "What does that include? Does that include the writings of Karl Marx? Will that subject me to having my door kicked in and being dragged in front of a grand jury?"
Grand juries, Fox explained, were originally conceived as a protection for citizens against overzealous prosecutors and are enshrined in the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. A petite jury—the more familiar kind, from 6 to 12 people—determines innocence or guilt during a trial. A grand jury is larger, from 16 to 23 people, meets with a prosecutor but no defense attorneys, and determines whether there's enough evidence to indict someone for a federal crime.
Nowadays, Fox said, grand juries are often used by prosecutors and investigators who have run out of leads. But grand juries are secret, so it's difficult to know what the prosecutor is really doing. And the effects of raids and subpoenas like the ones in Seattle and Portland may be more about putting on the dramatic public spectacle of dragging people through the mud than investigating a crime.
Doug Honig, communications director at ACLU of Washington, echoed Fox's concerns: "If it's not carefully conducted, it can end up becoming a fishing expedition looking into people's political views and political associations."
Journalist Will Potter, author of Green Is the New Red, who has written extensively about US law enforcement and its relationships with political dissidents from the 1990s onward, said such investigations don't just incidentally chill free speech—in some cases, he believes, they're trying to do that.
"Sometimes, law enforcement believes this knocking-down-the-door, boot-on-the-throat intimidation is part of a crime-prevention strategy," he said. But a more pernicious goal may be social mapping. The anarchist books and cans of spray paint can be sexy items to wave around a courtroom, he said, but "address books, cell phones, hard drives—that's the real gold."
During the raid at her home, Plante said, some of the agents were initially hyperaggressive, but seemed "confused" by finding nothing more sinister than five sleepy young people. "It seemed like what they expected was some armed stronghold," she said. "But it's just a normal house, with normal stuff in the pantry, lots of cute animals, and everyone here was docile and polite."
"That's a really important point," Potter said when I mentioned that detail. "There's a huge disconnect between what the FBI and local police are being told and trained for, and what the reality is. There are presentations about ominous, nihilistic, black-clad, bomb-throwing, turn-of-the-century caricatures—the reality is that many anarchists are just organizing gathering spaces, free libraries, free neighborhood kitchens."
He directed me to a 2011 PowerPoint presentation from the FBI's "domestic terrorism operations unit"—posted on his blog—that described the current anarchist movement as "criminals seeking an ideology to justify their activities." Following that logic, the very presence of anarchist literature could be construed as evidence that someone has motivations to commit a crime. And it makes attorneys, journalists, and others who care about First Amendment protections nervous about a law-enforcement practice that conflates political beliefs with criminal activity.
Forty-five minutes after Plante pushed through the revolving door at the courthouse, she reemerged. She smiled shyly while the crowd of protesters cheered. Plante told the crowd that she gave the grand jury her name and her date of birth, refused to answer any other questions, and was released.

But Plante's ordeal isn't over—the court issued another subpoena for her to return on August 30. Whether she cooperates, and whether she faces jail time for noncooperation, remains to be seen.

This article has been updated since its original publication.source: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/political-convictions/Content?oid=14397498

[Sasha]

offtopic discussion split to here; http://www.revleft.com/vb/attack-unions-party-t174220/index.html?t=174220

[Sasha]

FBI raids homes of Occupy protesters in Oregon and Washington



Over the last month, heavily armed “domestic terrorism” units of the FBI used battering rams and stun grenades to conduct early-morning raids on the homes of political protesters in Seattle and Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. On July 25, three homes were raided in Portland alone and, since July 10, as many as six homes have been raided.
These raids are only the latest in an emerging pattern of similar raids conducted by the Obama administration in order to terrorize, suppress and chill political dissent, in flagrant violation of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.
“The warrants are sealed,” FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele told the Oregonian newspaper, “and I anticipate they will remain sealed.” Steele described the raids as part of an “ongoing violent crime” investigation, which is related to the recent Occupy May Day protests, during which a number of minor acts of vandalism allegedly took place.
At 6:00 a.m. on July 25, Dennison Williams was asleep in his Portland home when FBI agents smashed down his door without warning with a battering ram and threw flash or stun grenades into the building. FBI agents armed with assault rifles then stormed into Williams’ bedroom, pointed their rifles at him while they handcuffed him, and forced him to sit in a chair for a half an hour without pants on while they searched his apartment.
Williams, a 33-year-old self-described anarchist who helped run an information booth at recent protests and events, reported that FBI agents boxed up and removed his laptop computer, political literature, his cell phone, thumb drives, and various pieces of clothing bearing political slogans.
Neighbors described yelling and multiple loud bangs and saw swarms of agents in body armor using a battering ram against the front door of Williams’ home. Similarly disproportionate displays of force and violence were involved in the other raids.
According to the Oregonian, a search warrant was left behind during one of the raids (available here). The warrant indicates that the agents were seeking, among other items, “anti-government or anarchist literature or material” and “documentation and communications related to the offenses, including but not limited to notes, diagrams, letters, diary and journal entries, address books, and other documentation in written or electronic form.”
In one of the raids, eyewitnesses reported as many as 80 agents in body armor, wearing military fatigues, and armed with assault rifles participating in the raid. No arrests were made in any of the raids, but as many as six protesters have been subpoenaed to appear before grand juries.
Two of the subpoenaed protesters, Williams and Leah Plante, 24, read a statement outside the courthouse on August 1: “This grand jury is a tool of political repression. It is attempting to turn individuals against each other by coercing those subpoenaed to testify against their communities. The secret nature of grand jury proceedings creates mistrust and can undermine solidarity. And imprisoning us takes us from our loved ones and our responsibilities.”
Williams and Plante declared their intentions to refuse to answer questions on the basis of their constitutional rights.
The “Pure Pop” record store, where Ms. Plante worked, issued a statement on its web site: “We at Pure Pop are unaware of the specifics of Leah’s current legal troubles but in her time at Pure Pop Records she demonstrated high character and integrity. We wish her luck, safety and perseverance.”
While a vast gulf separates the various middle-class anarchist elements active in the Occupy protests from the World Socialist Web Site, we unreservedly defend the democratic rights of these groups and individuals, and we demand an end to the campaign of intimidation and repression against them.
This is not the first of such raids that has been carried out by the Obama administration. In September 2010, the administration ordered raids on the homes of leaders of the Anti-War Committee (AWC) and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) in Minneapolis and Chicago, and subpoenaed 23 people to testify before grand juries.
The Minneapolis and Chicago raids were similar in form to the recent raids in Oregon and Washington: doors smashed in without warning by agents with assault rifles and body armor, inhabitants terrorized, and property scooped up and confiscated. The Obama administration justified raids using the “material support for terrorism” provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.
In the period leading up to the recent NATO protests in Chicago in May, similar trumped-up “terror” charges were leveled against three young anti-war protesters. Also in May, five young men described as “anarchists” were ensnared in a so-called “terrorist plot” in Cleveland, Ohio.
The question arises whether the recent FBI raids in Oregon and Washington were prepared by undercover police infiltration of groups around the Occupy May Day protests earlier in the year. In the cases of the Minneapolis and Chicago raids in 2010, at least one undercover FBI spy active in preparing the raids was subsequently exposed. (See “FBI infiltrator prepared government raid on antiwar groups in Minneapolis and Chicago”) The “terror plots” in Chicago and Cleveland also involved undercover provocateurs, who convinced the protesters to carry out the plot and even supplied them with dummy equipment to carry it out. (See “Chicago police frame antiwar activists on ‘terrorism’ charges” and “FBI provocateur ensnares Cleveland protesters in ‘bomb plot’”)
The gravity and seriousness of the Obama administration’s issuance of warrants to search homes for “anti-government literature or material” cannot be understated. It suggests that possession of such literature is now being considered evidence of criminal activity or “terrorism.”
The Obama administration’s decision to target political protesters for “anti-terror” operations signals that the police-state measures implemented in the so-called “war on terror,” ostensibly to fight Al Qaeda, are actually being utilized against domestic political dissenters, labeled “terrorists.” In the years since the launch of the endless so-called “war on terror,” all legal restraints have been removed on what can be done to someone labeled a “terrorist.” The Obama administration has openly asserted the power to unilaterally assassinate such individuals.
The American ruling class knows that its policies of brutal austerity, unending attacks on wages and living standards, and continual wars and occupations abroad will eventually encounter popular resistance. But the ruling class is determined to continue to pile up fantastic fortunes at the expense of the rest of society no matter the cost. As far as this layer is concerned, no form of political repression is too abominable to be used to protect the privileges and obscene wealth of the tiny few at the top.
For Obama (advertised as a “constitutional lawyer”) and the rest of his regime, elementary, centuries-old democratic protections—such as the First Amendment right to free speech and the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures—count for nothing. With the unconditional backing of the ruling class, the Obama government routinely imprisons, tortures, and murders its opponents abroad; asserts the unlimited power to do the same to US citizens; and conducts illegal warrantless spying against millions of ordinary Americans on a daily basis.
The ramped-up raids on the homes of Occupy protesters are further refutation of the conception, advanced during the Occupy protests, that the Obama administration and the Democratic Party can be “pressured” by popular demonstrations into reversing their policies. The response of the ruling class and both of its political parties to popular demonstrations is not reform, but dictatorship and repression.


source: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/aug2012/fbir-a13.shtml

[Ele'ill]

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/learn-from-this-court-documents-detail-searches-for-may-day-riot-suspects/


A bandana, a pair of Nikes, a sex offender's chat with his corrections officer and tips from the public.

All have led police to narrow the search for those they say are responsible for the Seattle May Day violence.

Recently released police reports detail the investigation thus far. The detectives' statements also show just the cost of the May 1 riot.

Niketown repairs totaled $52,825.74; the Wells Fargo bank at Fourth Avenue and Seneca Street had at least $25,978.13 in damage and a Verizon Wireless store had $1,905.30 in damage.

Several other businesses, including American Apparel, Home Street Bank and Bank of America had thousands of dollars in damage. Damage to city property and the old federal courthouse also cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Police say one suspect was identified after her sex offender boyfriend admitted to his corrections officer he was at the protest.


Investigators said the pair was photographed during the demonstration, though prosecutors have yet to charge either. Because the sex offender acknowledged being at the protest as a street medic and because he had red paint spatter on his clothing, "it is reasonable to believe he was either present or involved with the property damage," a detective wrote in a search warrant affidavit.

An initial search of their bedroom turned up a bandana and backpack matching the description of the one worn by the girlfriend during the May Day riot, according the recently released search documents. A bandana and backpack were among items taken later that day after Seattle police received the warrant.

A separate suspect who had his residence searched weeks later – a man who allegedly wore Nikes while shattering a Niketown window – was identified after two people who knew details about him called police on the May Day tip line, according to the recently released public documents.

With that information, investigators say they verified his address from previous contacts with the suspect.

During a search of his residence, police say they confiscated a pair of Nikes they suspect the 27-year-old man wore while damaging the downtown Seattle Niketown. It was one of at least three searches in Seattle related to the May Day investigation.

Though some of the May Day vandalism suspects have been charged in federal court King County Superior Court, none of the suspects affiliated with three recent searches have had their cases forwarded to prosecutors.

"This is still very much an active and ongoing investigation," Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said Thursday, noting there are additional suspects police are investigating. "Our task force with several detectives is still in place and we are working diligently to identify all those responsible for crimes during May Day and hold them responsible."

The first of the three known Seattle police searches was May 24 at the sex offender's Shoreline home, where his girlfriend also was. The second search was June 15 in Ballard at the Niketown suspect's residence, and the third was July 10 at the Judkins Park rental home of at least one other suspect.

While some details of those searches have been reported, several details of what exactly led police to those homes and how specifically they gained authorization for the searches have not been.

Corrections officer helped identify suspect

During the first search on May 24, police were looking for clothing and clear plastic goggles they think the registered sex offender wore during the May Day violence.

That man pleaded guilty to communications with a minor for immoral purposes in September.

Investigators say footage reviewed by the May Day Task Force shows his girlfriend throwing a projectile at police, which hits an officer in the head before deflecting onto the head of another officer.

Law enforcement officers familiar with the sex offender's case recognized that 21-year-old woman, police documents show.

The man's corrections officer reported searching a bedroom dresser and finding a black bandana that appeared to be the one worn by the woman during the officer attack. A backpack the girlfriend also wore that day was also inside the home, according to police.

Detectives took their case to a Superior Court judge who reviewed police statements and photos of both the sex offender and his girlfriend allegedly at the May Day protest before authorizing the search. Police seized a black jacket, a backpack, black pants with red paint, two pair of goggles, two bandanas and a green sweatshirt.

Police: Vandalism suspect wore Nikes at Niketown

The 27-year-old man who police say wore a pair of Nike's while vandalizing Niketown was known to officers for multiple previous contacts, according to investigation documents.

On July 12, 2011, he was suspected of shoplifting from a Ballard 7-Eleven, but was never charged. The following September, the man was a passenger in a young woman's BMW when it was involved in a Magnolia crash.

The third incident was Oct. 16 when police say the man, who was with other Occupy Seattle protestors at Westlake Park, shoved an officer in the chest and fled. He also was not charged in that incident.

But investigation documents show two people spoke to Seattle police on the May Day tip line, giving the man's name and details about his home.

Investigators say video shows the suspect, who wore a purple undershirt and black jeans, running from the crowd to damage a Niketown window. They also report having footage of him jumping on the rear window of a car during the riot, frightening the driver.

"Multiple photographs of (the suspect) were obtained using various databases/sources and after reviewing the images I can say with certainty (he) is the subject seen in the video and still images located by the May Day task force damaging property throughout the downtown shopping district of Seattle," Detective Wes Friesen wrote in an investigation document.

Detectives say he also was seen striking a Bank of America window with a garbage can lid. The suspect failed to break that window, but another person spray painted an anarchist symbol on the bank. Later footage shows the Nike-clad suspect shattering a window at the Verizon Wireless store near Sixth Avenue and Olive Way, police say.

A King County Superior Court judge approved a search of his three-bedroom Ballard home.

Police seized a purple shirt form his bedroom, black jeans, two purple scarves, alleged anarchist solidarity paperwork, a backpack, two belts, a notebook, a Washington driver's license and an envelope with the suspect's address.

Police say they also took the pair of black Nike's with red spots he's suspected of wearing while vandalizing Niketown.

Third search

During the May Day riots, the third suspect who had his home searched kicked an officer in the way "that someone would do when trying to blow out a knee," Friesen wrote in an investigation document. The 23-year-old man allegedly kicked the officer as his attention was directed to a hostile crowd and investigators believe it was done to cause significant injury.

"There are multiple images of (the suspect) throughout the day's events on 05-01-2012 attempting to change/alter his identity by using different variations of his clothing," Friesen wrote. "It should be noted that multiple detectives reviewed a very large quantity of footage and at no time was any other subject seen wearing the unique clothing that (the suspect) was seen wearing."

That 23-year-old is believed to have fled from American Apparel wearing black goggles, police said.

Police authorized surveillance from outside the suspect's home in Judkins Park more than two weeks before their June search.

Investigation documents show the items seized during the July 10 search were: black goggles, a black sweatshirt with white strings, a pink scarf, a notebook, a black bandana, a back stocking hat, paperwork about anarchists in the occupy movement, a black glove and paperwork about a strike on May 1.

A blog report about the search by The Dissenter said the sweatshirt belonged to the suspect's girlfriend and a pamphlet taken was something that could have been picked up at any Occupy action. That blog also reported a pair of sunglasses was taken, but that is not listed in the search warrant return, which is a public document.

The Stranger spoke to one of the men at the Judkins Park residence when it was searched, and the search warrant return shows four people were present that day. Read the Stranger account here.

As noted in the comment section of @news most of this is slop journalism for special favors later on and fuck them for it. Here's the original article, and as with the tradition of the Toronto summit shenanigans, local news is basically acting as an extension of the Police departments instead of just covering the story but no surprises there of course http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Court-documents-detail-searches-for-May-Day-riot-3776977.php

[Ele'ill]

Although this photo from and that whole Seattle police press conference video makes me pee my pants every time I see it surface

http://greycoast.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/police_poop.jpg?w=640

[Ele'ill]

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/seattle-charges-dropped-against-another-may-day-arrestee/


Seattle: Charges dropped against another May Day arrestee



After reviewing YouTube video of the May Day riot, King County prosecutors dismissed all charges against a protestor accused of punching a bike cop.

Maria Jannett Morales, 30, was charged with assault in the fourth degree, a felony, for an incident that occurred near the intersection of First Avenue and Pike Street a few minutes before 6 p.m. on May 1, just as the day’s rioting was starting to simmer down.

According to a probable cause statement statement submitted to prosecutors by Seattle police, bike cop Sonya Fry was ordering a crowd to move back when Morales walked up, said “okay *****,” and punched the female officer in the chest with a closed fist. Morales then allegedly kicked another cop in the leg.

SPD’s version of events was called into question by amateur video from the scene uploaded to YouTube. The footage seems to show Morales walking past Fry, obeying orders. Then, after a brief verbal exchange, Fry grabs Morales by the shoulders and hair and pulls her down.On August 17, the charge was abruptly dropped. Dan Donahoe, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, says the video was a factor.

“We reviewed video of the alleged incident and felt that we could no longer prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt so the charge was dismissed,” Donohoe says.

Aaron Pelley, Morales’ attorney, says prosecutors had no business filing charges in the first place.

“Maria didn’t really hit that officer,” Pelley says. “There’s nothing in my mind that thinks somebody didn’t yell at that officer, or she didn’t feel somebody hit her. But as far as I can tell, it wasn’t my client.”

Morales has no criminal record aside from a few traffic tickets. Nevertheless, Pelley says she lost her job as an emergency room technician in Bellevue because of the arrest.

“I don’t know that she comes out ahead on all of this,” Pelley says. “But we’re certainly glad the prosecutors looked at the evidence and decided to dismiss.”

Morales is the second May Day protestor to have charges dismissed because of YouTube video. Joshua Garland was similarly cleared of wrongdoing on May 15.

Two others have pleaded guilty. Robert Ditrani pleaded guilty on June 22 to disorderly conduct. He was sentenced July 6 and received a 90-day suspended sentence and 12 months of probation. Paul Campiche pleaded guilty on August 22 to attempted assault in the third degree. He will be sentenced October 5.

[Ele'ill]

Grand Jury POSTPONED for September 13

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/grand-jury-postponed-for-september-13/


Rally at the Courthouse Support Grand Jury Resistors



Thursday, September 13 @ 12pm
Federal Courthouse: 700 Stewart St. Seattle


August 2nd was the first hearing of the Seattle grand jury that has been formed to investigate Northwest anarchists. Leah-Lynn Plante read a statement that detailed her non-cooperation and then proceeded to go inside the court house to refuse to answer their questions.

The remaining recipients of subpoenas either elected not to show up to the grand jury, had August 30 or another date on their subpoena, or have not been officially served; however now all the dates have been pushed back to the 13th of September.

Please come out on Thursday September 13th to express your solidarity with the resistors and show your stance against the State’s witch hunt.

BRING: Banners, fliers, NOISE makers, signs, and anything else to make this rally energetic and supportive.

Please check saynothing.info or nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com for updates.

[Ele'ill]

http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/updates-as-of-400-pm/


Updates as of 4:40 PM
Posted on September 13, 2012
Around 3:00 PM today, Matt was taken to a contempt of court hearing. The judge decided to make the hearing private instead of public. It is our understanding that this action is unprecedented since the McCarthy Era of political witch hunts. The entire 2nd floor of the Federal Court House in Seattle where the grand jury itself was taking place was closed off to the public as well as the 13th floor where the contempt hearings were taking place. As of this writing, Leah has not been taken to her contempt hearing yet.

As of 4:00 PM, Matt is now in federal custody. He has another hearing scheduled on Wednesday, September 26th. We do not know where is being taken yet, but supporters are still at the court house to support him.

As of 4:30 PM, Leah was released and re-subpoenaed. She does not know the date of her next subpoena.

[Ele'ill]

I don't know if this has been posted in full or not but relating to the above news, the grand jury resistor's statements


Matt Duran’s “Statement in opposition to state, grand juries, and in support of its resisters” from Committee Against Political Repression:

Friends and comrades,

My name is Matt Duran and I will do everything I can to resist this Grand Jury. I’m releasing this as it’s come to my attention that the strategy my lawyer and I have been working under will more than likely not work; the prosecution wants to grant me immunity before I even have a chance to testify. I want to make it clear that I am in no way ever cooperating with the state now or ever. Anyone who knows me well enough to be a close friend knows that I will fight with my political allies and for them with every fiber of my being. If I ever did cooperate, it would bring an immeasurable amount of shame upon myself, my community, and my family as they have risked more in resistance than I have in my life so far.

This is not the first time that the State has attempted to kidnap me, extort money from me, and take me away from my family, loved ones, and comrades. The last time, the State even went so far as to create lies in order to put me away. Bearing this in mind as well as the institutional racism I face every day, I have long ago accepted that I am going to go to prison at some point in my lifetime. This compounded with the fact that I have such an amazing amount of support, to the degree that I don’t even know what to do with it, allows me to know that I am going to make it no matter what is thrown at me.

People should know that this is more than likely not the end of this, the State will continue this Grand Jury well after my comrades and I locked up. Whatever happens, I want you to know that you are not alone and are more than capable of handling whatever is thrown at you. They would not be doing this if we were not successful in any respect; if we kept to our ivory towers debating what is more revolutionary and not actively creating conflict, we would not be facing this repression. Do not stop the struggle, keep organizing and fighting or they will have won. When the Haymarket massacre took place all those years ago and the martyrs were hung for their desire for a better life, the State attempted to crush all radicals. Clearly, this did not work then and it won’t work now. If this was their desire, they have failed in every aspect of it as I have not seen anything other than flagrant disregard for them across the globe. Keep the struggle in your hearts and minds and do not bend to their will. They will never be able to destroy us no matter how hard they try.

In solidarity,

Matt Duran

***** *****

Leah-Lynn Plante’s “Statement and Demonstrations in Support of Grand Jury Resisters” from Committee Against Political Repression

My name is Leah-Lynn Plante, and I am one of the people who has been subpoenaed to a secret grand jury, meeting in Seattle on September 13th, 2012.

This will be the second time I have appeared before the grand jury, and the second time I have refused to testify. The first time was on August 2nd. I appeared as ordered and identified myself. I was asked if I would be willing to answer any questions. I said, “No,” and was dismissed after being served a second subpoena.

Over a month later, my answer is still the same. No, I will not answer their questions. I believe that these hearings are politically motivated. The government wants to use them to collect information that it can use in a campaign of repression. I refuse to have any part of it, I will never answer their questions, I will never speak.

It is likely that the government will put me in jail for that refusal.

While I hate the very idea of prison, I am ready to face it in order to stay true to my personal beliefs. I know that they want to kidnap me and isolate me from my friends and my loved ones in an effort to coerce me to speak. It will not work. I know that if I am taken away, I will not be alone. We have friends and comrades all around the world standing behind us, and even though this has been one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life, I have never felt so supported or loved. I can only speak for myself, but I have every faith that the others subpoenaed to these hearings will likewise refuse. And I know that hundreds of people have called the US Attorney demanding that they end this tribunal. Hundreds of organizations, representing thousands of people, signed onto a statement expressing solidarity with those of us under attack and demanding an end to this sort of repression.

I know that those people will continue to support me, the others subpoenaed, and the targets of the investigation. That spirit of solidarity is exactly what the state fears. It is the source of our strength, yours and mine. And that strength shows itself in every act of resistance.

Forever in silence,
Leah-Lynn Plante

[Il Medico]

Mainly for just being anarchist.


Just a few weeks ago, an FBI task force raided a home (http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2012/07/27/breaking-interview-and-documents-from-fbi-raid-show-feds-are-targeting-anarchists)* in Portland, Oregon very early in the morning. They broke down the front door with a battering ram and threw in a stun grenade, which is non-lethal but produces a very loud and disorienting noise and a blinding bright light. The team locked down the building and secured the sleepy, compliant occupants. The operation was one of several which also occurred in Olympia, WA and Seattle, WA, involving some 60-80 officers (http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/07/27/grand-juries-the-fbis-targeting-of-anarchists-in-the-occupy-movement/).
Just who were these dangerous criminals, these domestic terrorists whose threat level is so high that an FBI team with stun grenades, battering rams, and assault rifles needed to burst into their homes in the wee hours of the morning?
Why, it’s these two young folks,
Leah-Lynn Plante: http://soundandnoise.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/leah-lynn-plante.jpg?w=300&h=225 (http://soundandnoise.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/leah-lynn-plante.jpg)
and Matt Duran:http://soundandnoise.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/matts_press-photos.jpeg?w=300&h=255 (http://soundandnoise.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/matts_press-photos.jpeg)
Reportedly, the FBI search warrant was for black clothing, paint, sticks, computers and cell phones, and ‘anarchist materials or literature.’ According to an FBI Domestic Terrorism (http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/wp-content/Images/ACLURM026485-anarchist.pdf) guide published by greenisthenewred.com (http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/fbi-domestic-terrorism-training-anarchists-eco/6199/), “anarchists are criminals seeking an ideology to justify their actions,” and are “not dedicated to a particular issue.” Common meeting places are “college campuses, underground clubs, coffee houses/ internet cafes.” The implication is that owning “anarchist” literature is enough to indicate to the FBI that one is a criminal – even if that person happens to be a student studying political thought. Or maybe particularly if you are a student – the FBI document states that anarchists are “educated persons of various backgrounds, often students.”
What even counts as anarchist material? Given the vitriolic US political rhetoric of anti-socialism, you might think a book by Karl Marx or about Tommy Douglas would count. What about someone like Shulamith Firestone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shulamith_Firestone)? Hell, what about Walt Whitman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_whitman)?
Leah-Lynn and Matt have since been subpoenaed (http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/topic/seattle-chapter-of-the-national-lawyers-guild/) and ordered before a Grand Jury (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_jury) hearing, which is a private hearing used to determine if there is sufficient evidence to indict someone with a federal crime. During the proceedings of a Grand Jury, the defendant is not allowed an attorney to represent her or him. This means that a Grand Jury is essentially a group of twenty-four jurors, a prosecutor looking to indict someone with a felony, and Leah-Lynn Plante, vegan. A Grand Jury is also secret, so we do not know and are not allowed to know what is going on in the courtroom.
Leah was first called before a Grand Jury back on August 2. She refused to co-operate with the jury proceedings, giving them only her name and date of birth. She refused to answer any other questions and explicitly stated she would not talk about any other people. Historically, the Grand Jury process was intended to protect citizens from slanderous or malicious prosecution. However, Grand Juries (http://www.onlisareinsradar.com/archives/mccarthyism_-_past_and_present/) have been used to isolate members (http://www.stopfbi.net/about/timeline) of political activist groups (http://www.opednews.com/articles/Profiles-of-the-Targeted--by-Kevin-Gosztola-110219-463.html) and use the fear of imprisonment to gain information about other groups and persons. Leah was re-subpoenaed, and returned to court yesterday, where she again refused to co-operate. She has been re-re-subpoenaed without yet receiving a date for her next hearing.
All this is because someone vandalized a Seattle courthouse on May Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day). Leah has publicly stated that she does not endorse (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/09/13/activists-summoned-once-again-before-a-federal-grand-jury) what happened on May Day (http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2018127795_suspects03m.html), and that she was not in Seattle during that time. She has made it clear that her refusal to co-operate is not a strategy to protect criminals, but is rather a protest against a legal system which is unconcerned with the civil rights of citizens. Considering that she could be held in contempt of court and sentenced to jail time, we should take what she says seriously. Matt Duran, also subpoenaed and brought before a Grand Jury, has already been held in contempt of court and is currently in U.S. Federal custody. His contempt hearing was made private by the presiding Judge, a move unprecedented since the McCarthy era.
You know, they arrested Emma Goldman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldman) a couple times. I learned that from reading about her. In a book I own.
click here (http://thesoundandnoise.com/2012/09/17/interview-young-persons-called-to-private-grand-jury-for-owning-books/) for an audio interview on the history of dissent, political repression, and punk in the Pacific Northwest!
You can read Leah-Lynn’s statement here (http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/leah-lynn-plantes-statement-and-demonstrations-in-support-of-grand-jury-resisters/),
and you can read Matt Duran’s statement here (http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/statement-in-opposition-to-state-grand-juries-and-in-support-of-its-resisters/).
For ongoing information from the source, check in with http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/

Source (http://thesoundandnoise.com/2012/09/14/young-persons-called-to-private-grand-jury-for-owning-books/)

Another article about the raid. (http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2012/07/27/breaking-interview-and-documents-from-fbi-raid-show-feds-are-targeting-anarchists)

[Jesus Saves Gretzky Scores]

Yikes.

[Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant']

Better chuck out any anarcho-related texts you got and buy some Freidrick Hayem or maybe Reagans's bio? What text would the state prefer you have? Which political ideology, or the writings realted to them, aren't potentially criminal? Help us help you Federal Bureau.
I mean...fuck sake guys

[x-punk]

Quite a worrying story. 60-80 officers with stun grenades, battering rams and assault rifles for two people is ridiculous. The secret grand jury stuff is equally worrying.

They are really sending out a strong signal that dissent against the current system will not be tolerated and will be met with extreme measures.

I dont see how anyone, regardless of their political persuasion, can find these actions acceptable.

[The_Red_Spark]

This is an attempt to coerce these people who were raided into giving testimony against the actual perpetrator of the May Day incident. It is reminiscent of the raids conducted by J Edgar Hoover and company after the anarchist bombings in 1919. Coercion like this is a form of police state tactics.

The Pacific North West worries the Federal government so much that they are trying to physically seed it with right wing extremists by promoting the 'Pioneer Little Europe' fantasy among the radical right. In this G-man spawned scenario they are all supposed to move to the Pacific NW and overtake the local communities there by concentrating their members.

It is sad that our government is responsible for racist rallies, using stooges like federal informant Hal Turner or David Gletty, and fostering programs that are designed to counterbalance leftist areas like the Pacific North West. They do this on one hand and at the same time raid and arrest people of the left to control the region. So much for the land of the free right? Political dissent and dissidence is not acceptable here in the good old USA.

[Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant']

I dont see how anyone, regardless of their political persuasion, can find these actions acceptable.

No doubt the hysterical Right (watchers of FOX News) would find some justification ("See, these guys want to blow stuff up. They're crazy lefty vandals. They hate America!")

[Il Medico]

Quite a worrying story. 60-80 officers with stun grenades, battering rams and assault rifles for two people is ridiculous.
There were more homes raided than just those two's, there was only like fifteen pigs per house, still pretty fucking worrying.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

I think I've read that British police also have that "Anarchism is a bunch of criminals seeking to justify their actions with ideology" bullshit.

I wonder if they really believe that, or if it's just bullshit to be fed to the goons so as they don't get ideas?

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

Well from the state's point of view anarchists really are criminals.

[leftistman]

"Those who do not move do not notice their chains." - Rosa Luxemburg

[Os Cangaceiros]

Well, as long as they don't turn state's evidence (which from all appearances they do not intend to do), I guess the feds will just have to sit and spin. People have successfully resisted these thuggish attempts before...one case I remember reading about on @news was Scott DeMuth's case (suspected of eco-terrorist related activity), he refused to cooperate with the federal prosecutor and did a six month tour of federal prison because of it. But he never testified against anyone.

Also, from the website about that case:


At DeMuth’s pretrial hearings, federal prosecutor Cliff Cronk argued that DeMuth is “an anarchist and therefore a domestic terrorist,”

sounds about right

[Ele'ill]

There is already a thread about this here

http://www.revleft.com/vb/pnw-fbi-jttf-t173808/index.html

[Rugged Collectivist]

I don't know if this has been posted in full or not but relating to the above news, the grand jury resistor's statements

Thank you for posting that. I guess repression is something we all have to be prepared for. Their behavior under these circumstances is nothing less than inspiring.

Solidarity :hammersickle:

[Il Medico]

There is already a thread about this here

http://www.revleft.com/vb/pnw-fbi-jttf-t173808/index.html
Sorry, didn't see it. Merge the threads perhaps?

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

sounds about right

Don't you have to like, terrorise people in order to actually be a terrorist?

Or is logic for terrorists?

[Ele'ill]

Threads merged

[Ele'ill]

In case anyone was wondering what was up with all the potential solidarity actions I just haven't been able to keep up with them. There have been actions like this one all over the country once or twice a week, sometimes more frequently, since page one of this thread-

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/seattle-attack-on-bank-of-america-in-george-town/


AnarchistNews.org. Sept 20:

During the night of September 19th we attacked a Bank of America. One ATMs card slot was glued and screen smashed, and 3 windows of the bank smashed.

This was done in solidarity with Matt Duran and the other grand jury resistors, and those currently facing repression in Italy.

Now is the time to attack.
Always a step forward, never a step back.
No compromise with the state and capital.

- anarchists

[Ele'ill]

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/seattle-phone-system-shutdown-at-federal-courthouse-in-solidarity-with-grand-jury-resisters/


Seattle: Phone System Shutdown at Federal Courthouse in Solidarity with Grand Jury Resisters
Posted on September 22, 2012 by nostrasquatus
Committee Against Political Repression. Sept 21:

We cannot confirm this but we received this last email:

“Grand Jury Resisters,

Anonymous’ very own telecommunications division shut down the phone network at the Seattle US District attorney’s office. We will run this attack until later this afternoon.

Yours in the lulz,
Anon-ops Telecommunications”


http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/vancouver-bc-yuppy-restaurant-smashed-in-solidarity-with-pnw-grand-jury-resisters-and-others/


Vancouver Anti- Gentrification Action

Last night an Italian yuppie restaurant had several of its windows liberated.
This action was done is solidarity with all those fighting gentrification in Vancouver,the Cleveland 4,Grand Jury Resisters and Anti-Capitalist Comrades everywhere.

You can’t stop us.

Yuppies you can dine in hell. (A)

[Ele'ill]

According to a fairly popular news feed, the grand jury was impaneled on March 2nd making the events in Seattle a non-issue which means this is an even bigger witch hunt.

[Ele'ill]

http://portlandradicle.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/grand-jury-investigation-targeting-pacific-northwest-anarchists-dates-back-to-march-2/


Breaking News: Grand Jury Investigation Targeting Pacific Northwest Anarchists Dates Back to March 2
by Mike
New information has emerged about the grand jury targeting Pacific Northwest anarchists. Documents provided to Eugene, Oregon’s Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC) indicate that the grand jury, which many had guessed had been convened as a result of May Day protests in Seattle this year, actually began in March.
In an e-mail obtained by The Portland Radicle, the federal district court which issued subpoenas that resulted in military-style raids and seizures of property in Portland said they empaneled the grand jury on March 2, 2012. The raids and subpoenas did not occur until July 25.
This would suggest that the scope of the grand jury is larger than previously thought.
“There’s some form of investigation that’s larger in scope than simply May Day vandalism. What the true nature of that investigation is, we don’t know,” said Lauren Regan, the executive director of the CLDC.
After the raids, the only comment given by the FBI is that the raids were part of an “ongoing violent crime” investigation. Federal agents seized electronics, clothing and political literature. A copy of a search warrant shared with The Portland Mercury showed that the federal warrants were in connection to crimes such as conspiracy to destroy government property, interstate travel with intent to riot and conspiracy to travel interstate with intent to riot. No affidavits or other any other documents have been made public by the government thus far.
Regan said the government will mislead the public while in pursuit of information.
“It is very common for the federal government to put out information that they want the general public to know either because it’s a red herring, a smokescreen for what they’re actually doing, or they want to hit the hive and watch the buzz,” she said. “Sometimes the government will intentionally set a trap. They’ll hold up their left hand and say ‘Look over here! This is what we’re investigating.’ Meanwhile, they’re holding up their right hand saying ‘Haha, this is what we’re really going after.’ The feds are sitting back collecting information that we’re not aware they’re collecting, then that can almost entrap people in other, different federal crimes.”
Regan said that one purpose of casting such a wide net is to map political movements using broad surveillance.
“In a lot of these grand juries that we’re seeing recently, one of the big things that they’re doing is they will contact someone and they will watch who that person goes to talk to, whose house they go to, what phone numbers they dial.”
Regan noted that, unlike the applicable rules for a normal jury trial, hearsay, for example, can be used by prosecutors before a grand jury. People targeted by the grand jury must usually withdraw from ongoing projects or be watchful of their public statements.
“There’s a reason grand juries are usually characterized as witch-hunts. They can start off investigating one thing and they can end up tapped into nine other things, in particular because grand jurors themselves can inquire into other areas of investigation. There’s no telling the full breadth of what a grand jury could investigate,” Regan said.
For this reason, Regan said it’s unwise for communities targeted by a grand jury to openly speculate as to what it is investigating.
“One of the worst things that activists can do under these circumstances is to sit around and speculate as to what the real investigation might be, because the government loves it when we do their work for them,” Regan said.
Regan said that the federal government was largely successful in targeting radical environmentalists around the nation with their Operation Backfire investigations, which led to the capture and prosecution of numerous individuals involved with property destruction in defiance of deforestation or fur-farming, an ongoing period generally referred to as “The Green Scare.” Numerous activists informed on one another or were scared into taking plea deals and, Regan said, it emboldens the government to try the same tactics until they’re proven ineffective.
“I think that we’re seeing repetitious investigations of the same types of things, quote-unquote ‘anarchists, socialists, communists, environmentalists, terrorists.’ They’re all being thrown into one pot at this point. The government is using broad and ambiguous definitions to try to target those political movements and philosophies,” Regan said.
Referring to the U.S. government’s 1960s and 70s Counterintelligence Program, which FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ordered to “expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize” civil rights and numerous radical political movements, Regan said, “We only have to look back at the COINTELPRO era to recall that the government is not really focused on investigating and solving crimes in order to make the public safer. When they’re going after political groups like this, the goal is to scare people into submission, they want to scare people away from being active. That’s their primary goal.”
Regan said that to resist a grand jury, people should not be intimidated.
“The most effective way to counteract that is to do the opposite; not be scared into submission and not disassociate yourself from people based on their political beliefs,” she said.
When asked if the proceedings were “Kafkaesque,” Regan laughed.
“If I started using that word, I’d probably be using it every single day,” she said.
The CLDC will be posting digital copies of the documents they obtained on their website.

[Sasha]

There are still people held in contempt: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/10/09/twenty-six-days-and-counting

[Ele'ill]

There are still people held in contempt: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/10/09/twenty-six-days-and-counting

Possibly for 18-24 months (I forget) which will be the duration of the grand jury which was assembled in March

[Ele'ill]

http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/statement-by-leah-lynn-plante-for-her-grand-jury-appearance-october-10th-2012/




Statement by Leah-Lynn Plante for her Grand Jury appearance October 10th, 2012
Posted on October 10, 2012 |


On the morning of July 25th, 2012, my life was turned upside down in a matter of hours. FBI agents from around Washington and Oregon and Joint Terrorism Task Force agents from Washington busted down the front door of my house with a battering ram, handcuffed my house mates and me at gunpoint, and held us hostage in our backyard while they read us a search warrant and ransacked our home. They said it was in connection to May Day vandalism that occurred in Seattle, Washington earlier this year.
However, we suspected that this was not really about broken windows. As if they had taken pointers from Orwell’s 1984, they took books, artwork and other various literature as “evidence” as well as many other personal belongings even though they seemed to know that nobody there was even in Seattle on May Day. While we know that knowledge is powerful, we suspected that nobody used rolled up copies of the Stumptown Wobbly to commit property damage. We saw this for what it was. They are trying to investigate anarchists and persecute them for their beliefs. This is a fishing expedition. This is a witch hunt. Since then, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request, we have learned that this Grand jury was convened on March 2nd, 2012, two months before the May Day vandalism even took place.

I was served a subpoena to testify before a Grand Jury on August 2nd, a week later. I hastily packed my life up into boxes, got rid of almost all of my personal belongings in preparation of incarceration. I was dismissed that day after refusing to testify and re-subpoenaed for August 30th, which was pushed back to September 13th. In that time I did a lot of self care, got my affairs in order and got advice from other people who have either resisted Grand Juries, gone to prison or both. I returned to the Grand Jury on September 13th where I was granted immunity. When you are granted immunity, you lose your right to remain silent and can be thrown into prison for civil contempt. Between consulting with my attorney and an hour long recess, I narrowly avoided a contempt hearing simply because they ran out of time. I was dismissed and was told I would receive my 4th subpoena. I walked out of the courthouse just in time to witness Matthew Kyle Duran, my fellow resister, being taken away to prison in a police van. It broke my heart to watch them kidnap an amazing and strong person and take him away from his friends and loved ones. Katherine “Kteeo” Olejnik has met a similar fate for refusing to testify on September 27th. Right now, Matt and Kteeo are both sitting in prison cells for doing nothing but remaining silent. I have nothing but love and admiration for them both and I know that thousands of others feel the same. On the drive home that night my brain felt like it was short circuiting. A few days later, I received notice that my next subpoena was for October 10th. They also notified my lawyer that they were preparing for a contempt hearing.

Court dates aside, my life has been a roller coaster. Thanks to unrelated events, I have suffered with severe depression and PTSD for many years. These are now much worse and new things trigger me. For a while after the raid, I was in a constant state of panic and I could barely eat. Every time someone knocked on the door, every time I heard any sort of loud sound in my house, my heart sank and I thought “they’ve come for me.” To the day of this writing, I haven’t slept a full night since that cold July morning thanks to nausea inducing anxiety that wakes me up between 4:00 and 7:00 every single morning. After a couple months, the initial panic has faded into grim acceptance. Despite my mental health issues, I never once considered co-operation and never would. It is against everything I believe in. On my right arm I have a tattoo reading “strive to survive causing least suffering possible.” This is something I live by every single day and will continue to live by whether I am in a cage or not.

I cannot express in words how grateful I am to all those who have shown us support and solidarity, especially our friends, partners and loved ones. We will all get through this together. I know I am a broken record with the following sentiment, but I feel like it’s worth repeating. They want us to feel isolated, alone and scared. I know that even though Kteeo has been held in what is essentially solitary confinement, she does not feel alone. I know that Matt does not feel alone. I know that I will not feel alone. When they try to mercilessly gut communities, we do not scatter, we grow stronger, we thrive. I view this State repression like this: The State thinks it is a black hole that can destroy whatever it wants. In reality, it is much more like a stellar nursery, wherein it unintentionally creates new, strong anarchist stars.

I do not look forward to what inevitably awaits me today, but I accept it. I ask that people continue to support us throughout this process by writing us letters, sending us books, donating and spreading awareness.

My convictions are unwavering and will not be shaken by their harassment. Today is October 10th, 2012 and I am ready to go to prison.

Love and solidarity to all those who resist,
Forever in silence.

Leah-Lynn Plante

also

http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/leah-plante-grand-jury-seattle-anarchist/6448/#more-6448

[Sasha]

she got send down to jail; http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/10/11/and-then-there-were-three-third-grand-jury-refuser-goes-to-prison

assholes :cursing:

[Ele'ill]

http://www.freeleah.org/

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/freeleah-org/


Hello all.

I thought it best to keep a public journal for all to read while I am incarcerated. More things will be added to this website as folks have time to manage it. This website will feature my journal entries from prison, updates about my situation, my well being, letters and books, etc.

Please keep an eye on this page for updates about me.

It looks like all other support/jail mailing addresses/needs/requests for the other resisters is on the greycoast site on the right hand side.

[Ele'ill]

a response happened on the first day of the rainy season

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/portland-another-reportback-from-grand-jury-resister-solidarity-march/


PSA. Oct 12:

If the Portland Police thought they could stop people from breaking shit by making an example of Pax, they were WRONG!

Last night, with only 12 hours notice, a crowd of about 50 people assembled for a march in solidarity with Leah and the other grand jury resisters. We gathered in a park between Belmont and Hawthorne around 8:30pm. Someone unfurled a banner that read “BURN PRISONS – HUG CATS – YOLO (A) ACAB,” then someone else shouted “Leah, Matt, and KteeO are in prison. That’s fucked! Let’s show the state what happens when they put our friends in prison!”

With that, we were off. We took a left onto Hawthorne and as soon as we rounded the corner, BANG. Rocks through windows of Umpqua Bank. We easily held the two eastbound lanes and continued marching. Newspaper boxes, trash cans, and sandwich boards alike were thrown in the street. Someone repurposed a metal chair sitting outside a cafe, and sent it flying through a large window of Wells Fargo Bank. It was truly a glorious sight to behold. With every broken window came applause and cheering.

At Cesar Chavez Boulevard, rocks went through Chase Bank windows and we took a left, now holding the two northbound lanes. Two more rocks went through the street-side windows of US Bank, making this the third time since February that this location has been attacked.

We took a right onto Belmont and the motion-activated sliding front door of Walgreens was smashed. The opening and closing broken door was pretty funny.

A few blocks from there, we heard police sirens in the distance and decided to disperse on our own terms to claim a small victory, rather than wait for the pigs to bust us up. When the cops finally reached the area everyone had scattered. They detained a few people they managed to find, but had no reason to arrest anyone.

Solidarity with all of the grand jury resisters; comrades arrested in San Francisco this past weekend; and Amazon and Cat, two trans women imprisoned in California on hunger strike for an end to single-celling of trans women, and ultimately the destruction of all of civilization. We’ll see you at the barricades!

In times of repression we find joy in revolt! Portland has been slumbering for far too long; the time to attack is now!

http://greycoast.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/portland-the-story-last-night-wasnt-the-broken-windows/


Portland: “The Story, Last Night, Wasn’t the Broken Windows”
Posted on October 12, 2012 by anonaminita
This passerby has awesome interviews.

###########

Facebook Article. Oct 12:

By Jess E. Hadden

Yesterday afternoon, via Facebook, I heard about a solidarity march, being organized by an autonomous group. The reason: Leah from the Red & Black Cafe was being imprisoned for refusing to testify before a Grand Jury. I didn’t personally know Leah, but philosophically I supported the stand she was taking against the Federal government’s witch-hunt, targeting activists.

So, I hit “share,” passing the invitation along.

I observed the march as it approached SE Hawthorne Blvd, via 35th Ave. Since I did not recognize the people in the march (it’s hard to recognize a black bloc, especially at night, without my glasses) — and since I myself wear very bright colors — I decided to watch while maintaining a distance. Technical difficulties prevented me from livestreaming, but I still wanted to be able to report the real story.

As the marchers took the east-bound lanes of Hawthorne, I watched a growing crowd of curious people, in regular attire, following the march along the sidewalk, and inquiring about this unexpected sight.

Then, I heard, rather than saw, the sound of glass shattering. Immediately, the disastrous anti-police brutality march of last February 6th came to mind, when Occupy Portland and an autonomous group mixed like oil & water. I expected to see marchers, locals, and lookie-loos arguing and fighting with one another over tactics, and the definition of “violence.”

But that’s not what I saw. I saw the windows of Umpqua Bank — a bank that tries to present a local image, but really isn’t — smashed. And to my astonishment, I saw regular people, watching from sidewalks & bars, cheering. I found myself no longer observing the march, so much as I was observing the people observing the march.

Smash. Wells Fargo. Smash. Chase Bank. Smash. US Bank. Cheers, each time, from regular people, watching. As I passed the tables outside of the Hawthorne Theater, across the street from the Chase Bank at SE Caesar Chavez & Hawthorne, I heard people laughing and talking about how much they hated that bank. One man stood up and yelled, “Yeah! Smash that up!”

The Walgreens, at Caesar Chavez Blvd. & Belmont, appeared to be the last target, before I lost sight of the march. I heard sirens in the distance, but as far as I could tell, the march had already dispersed, almost as quickly as it had begun.

Contrasted with the march from last February 6th, there was a noticeable lack of contention about the targets of this black bloc. The only contention that appeared to exist was in regard to some marchers dragging items like recycling bins & newspaper dispensers into the streets — ostensibly, to block traffic and slow a police response. Other people, not necessarily marchers themselves, quickly removed the items from the streets. The point ultimately was moot; police vehicles came from multiple directions, and were remarkably slow to arrive.

Local corporate media and Portland Police later reported that the marchers were also attacking passers-by with glass bottles. This is, in fact, not true.

To me, the story really wasn’t about the smashed windows. I headed back to Hawthorne, to put my ear to the ground.

People were still buzzing about what had just happened. Absent, was a sense of anger regarding the vandalism. It is curious, how astonishing the absence of something can be. Inner SE Portland is, after all, a sleepy urban community.

I stopped in at Nick’s Coney Island for a drink. Police arrived, and questioned the bartender. I asked her what that was all about, to which she replied, “Some protesters took one of our chairs and threw it through the Wells Fargo window.”

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “That’s awesome.”

She leaned in, smiling, and replied, “I know! Fuck Wells Fargo.”

[Ele'ill]

http://anarchistnews.org/content/nov-12th-nov-19th-international-solidarity-grand-jury-resisters

Nov-12th-Nov 19th: International Solidarity with Grand Jury Resisters!



Against the State, the repression of anarchists, and against all prisons!
Solidarity with all those who resist!

Free Kteeo, Matt & Leah! Free all prisoners!

Since July 25th 2012, there have been multiple house raids and the imprisonment of 3 anarchists in the Northwest (U.S.A.) in relation to an "ongoing violent crime investigation". The State has referenced the Seattle May Day disruptions, vandalism, and demonstrations as a cause, particularly the heavy vandalism of a Federal Courthouse. However, it has since been discovered that the Grand Jury, which was called to question those named as potential witnesses, was actually convened in March 2012-two months prior to May Day.


Three people received subpoenas to testify before the Grand Jury in what became August, September, and October. Three people refused to testify and sent to prison, where they remain today. They can be held till at least March 2014. Three other people were somehow made aware of their subpoenas but were never physically served and therefore did not have to attend their hearings and have since avoided being served. Although it is unknown what has become of those three people it is easy to assume that their lives are also stressful and that they may not be able to live the way they had or where they had prior to July 25th. For that reason, this solidarity call is for everyone affected by the Grand Jury.

If you live outside of the United States, consider visiting a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your city. If you don't have one, consider visiting an American company, or really anything that capitalism and the State manifest themselves into.

Spread the news of the repression and the rebellion of the comrades who resist it.

SOLIDARITY WITH ALL THOSE RESISTING THE GRAND JURY & THE FBI!

FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF ALL PRISONS AND THE SOCIETY THAT "NEEDS" THEM!

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

19 October 2012
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

Solidarity with Grand Jury Resisters

The Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America stand in
solidarity with three anarchist activists who have been incarcerated
in a United States federal detention center in SeaTac, Washington for
refusing to provide testimony about fellow activists before a federal
grand jury.

The three activists--Matt Duran, KteeO Olejnik, and Leah-Lynn Plante--
have refused to provide testimony, and for this they have been
incarcerated, and could be held up to eighteen months. They have been
found guilty of no crime, but are being punished only to coerce their
testimony. This is 21st century McCarthyism.

Federal grand juries have a long history of being used to attack and
disrupt political movements and activists. They are secret
proceedings, and those subpoenaed to testify have no right to legal
counsel in the grand jury room with them. The government can thus use
the proceedings to gather intelligence, an abuse of their original
purpose of being a protection against prosecutorial misconduct.

Subpoenas were served to activists in July, when the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and a Joint Terrorist Task Force conducted a series
of raids on activists' homes in several cities in the Pacific
Northwest. Warrants were issued seeking computers, phones, black
clothing and "anarchist literature." In essence, political literature
in the homes of political activists is deemed suspicious.

These events were likely triggered by property damage during this
year's May Day protest in Seattle, Washington, when a door at the
federal courthouse was damaged. Out of this, the federal authorities
spun a web of "terrorism" to justify heavy-handed tactics against
activists in order to gather intelligence.

We believe that it is clear that the government is using the grand
jury process to coerce political activists to give names and provide
intelligence, and punishing them with incarceration when they refuse.
We demand that these grand jury with hunts end, and that the
activists be released immediately.

An injury to one is an injury to all. Today it's anarchists, but
tomorrow it may be some other radical current victimized by the power
of the capitalist state. Solidarity must be our weapon against the
state.

We stand in solidarity with the imprisoned activists and all others
who refuse to provide information to the grand jury, and we salute
the courage of activists who would rather go to prison than cooperate
with a government witch hunt.

For more information about the activists and their cases, go here:
http://www.supportresist.net/

###

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 5174
Champaign IL 61825
USA
[email protected]
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsp.ie/irscna.html

[Ele'ill]

http://anarchistnews.org/content/official-leah-has-been-released


OFFICIAL: LEAH HAS BEEN RELEASED
anon - Fri, 2012-10-19 09:23
Tags: Blog PNW Prisoners
From Free Leah
Statement Concerning Leah-Lynn Plante's Release

First and foremost, do not panic.

Leah wanted for us to express these points to you with this news:

She is extremely traumatized and experienced a lot of very, very bad things, but she is alive. The state of her mental health is also very bad.
She asks that people do not jump to wild conclusions about her release because they do not apply.
She spent her whole time in SHU / Administrative Detention (solitary confinement) and was told that that is where she would stay for the duration of her incarceration, up to 18 months. She was classified as “different” from Matt and Kteeo.


She received probably near 200 pieces of mail, books, postcards in 4 days (mail was not delivered to her every day) and was glad for it, and knows probably a similar amount is being returned to sender right now. She urges people to step up support for Matt and Kteeo on all fronts. Books that didn’t get to her probably go into the prison library, which is still a good thing because from what we heard their selection is limited to romance novels and religious literature.
More information is going to be released. At this time, Leah needs space from media. She is overwhelmed by all the publicity. Regardless of who you are, if you have her personal information, PLEASE do not call her, email her, or try to locate her in order to question her. Give her space until she asks otherwise.
She was released the night of 10/17. She did not make it public immediately because she did not want the “media shitstorm” to jump down her throat yet.
She is very moved by the amount of support and solidarity there has been for her, she expressed concern that Matt and Kteeo were not getting as much publicity. Please write them, support them, send them books.

Again, to reiterate, more information is going to be released in a few days.

Thank you all for keeping an ear to the ground and for supporting these people.

[Ele'ill]

Books and letters


WRITE TO GRAND JURY RESISTERS
Matthew Kyle Duran
#42565-086
FDC SeaTac,
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198

Katherine Olejnik
#42592-086
FDC SeaTac,
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198

[Os Cangaceiros]

http://anarchistnews.org/content/official-leah-has-been-released

After four days in the clink, she gets released? Did the state get her to flip?

Hard to imagine given her statements and all, but...

[Ele'ill]

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Agent-FBI-tailed-Portland-anarchists-headed-to-3961543.php



Agent: FBI tailed Portland anarchists headed to May Day riot

[Ele'ill]

After four days in the clink, she gets released? Did the state get her to flip?

Hard to imagine given her statements and all, but...

I don't think so.

[Ele'ill]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-anarchists-grand-jury-seattle-20121019,0,4998921.story


SEATTLE—The federal detention center near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is usually home to suspected bank robbers and drug dealers awaiting trial, or perhaps illegal immigrants fighting deportation. These days, though, it’s taken on an air of political intrigue, as three activists who’ve refused to testify before a federal grand jury engage in an extended war of nerves with authorities.

The federal probe, detailed in an examination of the case in the Los Angeles Times, is looking at the activities of anarchists in the Pacific Northwest and damage to a federal appeals courthouse during May Day protests in Seattle on May 1.

It has apparently become a hot topic of discussion at the detention center, where Matthew Duran, 24, a computer technician and self-described anarchist from Olympia, Wash., has been jailed since a federal judge found him in contempt for refusing to answer questions posed to him by a federal prosecutor.

"They took me down to...my unit, which is the general population area," Duran recalled in a recent interview at the detention center. "I get in there and people ran up to me and they're like, 'What's your race? Who do you roll with?' And I'm like, 'I'm not in a gang. I'm Chicano.' 'What are you here for?' 'I'm here for not snitching on people.' They're like, 'That's ... awesome.'

“In like five minutes they came back with this grocery bag full of food and toiletries, and they’re like, ‘Here, we take care of our own.’”

[Ele'ill]

uh, fuck hysteria but apparently the grand jury resistor, Leah, 'may have cooperated with the Grand Jury process.'


CAPR suspends support for Leah-Lynn Plante

The Committee Against Political Repression will be suspending support for Leah-Lynn Plante.

Leah was released from prison on October 17 after appearing before the grand jury investigating anarchists. We do not know what was said at that hearing. In the time since her release, Leah has not offered details regarding the subjects of the hearing, her response, or about her release. CAPR is withdrawing support for Leah until we get information regarding her grand jury hearing.

Meanwhile, Matt Duran and Kteeo Olejnik remain in prison, steadfast in their refusal to aid the government in its persecution of anarchists. CAPR will continue to do everything we can to support them, and we urge everyone who wants a more free, equal, humane society to do the same.


1) Write to them or send them books
Katherine Olejnik #42592-086
FDC SeaTac,
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198

Matthew Kyle Duran #42565-086
FDC SeaTac
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198

2) Donate funds for legal and material support

3) Have a solidarity action in your community


With this said there are a lot of 'absolute truths' coming out of this little bit of info and a lot of people talking trash.

[o well this is ok I guess]

http://fade-from-existence.tumblr.com/post/34628089539/leah-lynn-plante-cooperates

“Leah Lynn Plante cooperated with the grand jury. The first time she cooperated was in her first grand jury appearance. She confirmed that she knows Dennison, another grand jury subpoenut. Dennison released a statement noting this was insignificant knowledge, as they had posed together for resister press photos.
Leah delayed the grand jury long enough that day that she could not have a contempt hearing before the courthouse closed. She was re-subpoenaed. At her next court date, she declined to answer any questions and was taken into custody. Less than a week after she was incarcerated, Leah requested a way out of prison from her lawyer. Her lawyer returned with a subpoena for October 17, 2012. She entered that grand jury, spoke, and was released from prison that day.
The exact content of what Leah said is unknown. After leaving prison, she told very few people she was out. Leah did not inform known targets of the investigation of her release. When she did let people know that she was free, she asked for space from any questions. Those who did ask questions were rebuffed and told that she needed to recover before she could talk about what happened.
After delaying giving any answers to people, Leah left Portland. Most people do not know where she went. She has since made one statement to CAPR, in which she said safety concerns prevented her from saying what happened during the grand jury at which she appeared.
Leah did tell people that she answered “an anarchy sign” when asked what a circle-A means and described some man as “a neo-Nazi” who had attempted to infiltrate anarchist circles before being outed. According to Leah, when the prosecutor asked her about various things, she answered “I don’t know,” or “I don’t remember.” Beyond those questions, what Leah said remains unknown. Due to the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, short of information coming out in discovery, there is no definitive way of knowing what was said in the grand jury chamber.
Whether or not Leah provided information substantial to indictments, her cooperation facilitated the grand jury investigation. Frequently stated in grand jury resistance trainings is that answering even “harmless” seeming questions can have highly damaging outcomes. What appears insignificant could be an essential link in the prosecutor’s case. Further, stating “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember” could potentially open you up to perjury charges. Finally, the State had, until October 17, encountered a mostly solid wall of resistance. Their strategy had failed to break solidarity among anarchists. In coercing testimony from Leah, the State damaged the credibility of those who publicly resist.
This point—that even limited cooperation is harmful—cannot be emphasized enough. Saying anything to a grand jury is a problem. Say nothing.
According to @news commentators this is a repost of an article that was put up and then taken down shortly after.
But I mean getting info from anarchistnews comments is about a reliable as getting it from /b/, so I'd take this with a grain of salt.

[Ele'ill]

http://fade-from-existence.tumblr.com/post/34628089539/leah-lynn-plante-cooperates

According to @news commentators this is a repost of an article that was put up and then taken down shortly after.
But I mean getting info from anarchistnews comments is about a reliable as getting it from /b/, so I'd take this with a grain of salt.

I think this is where a lot of people got their info from which is where a lot of the talk is coming from.

[Sasha]

Christmas in Prison

Katherine Olejnik and Matt Duran Have Not Been Charged with Any Crime, and Yet They Have Been Locked Up for Three Months and Counting

by Brendan Kiley (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/brendan-kiley/Author?oid=1124)
http://www.thestranger.com/binary/30dd/feature-570.jpg Brian Taylor

Tools



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The visiting room of the SeaTac Federal Detention Center is bleak. Prison is supposed to be bleak, but it's difficult to appreciate how bleak it is until you've walked inside—past the grim security checkpoint, the sallow-faced chaplain with the giant keys hanging from his pants, the many heavy doors that slam shut behind you like a metal thunderclap, the off-white walls and institutional lighting that seem to suck the color out of everyone's hair and clothes, the frosted-over windows to block any view of the outside world, and into the visiting room with its plastic chairs arranged in sets of four with a guard sitting in a high booth, presiding over the room like a bored judge.
And the waiting. Lots and lots of waiting.


The large visiting room, with many doors leading off to other places, also serves as a transit point in the prison. Men (and the occasional woman) wearing prison khakis sit, staring into the middle distance with flat expressions, waiting until a guard, sometimes wearing latex gloves, opens a door and barks out names. Then the inmates get up, sometimes eagerly and sometimes hesitantly, and walk into some other chamber of the federal fortress.
Amid all the bleakness, inmate Katherine Olejnik seems surprisingly smiley and optimistic. She is one of two inmates I've come to visit—the other is Matt Duran—who have been sitting in this prison for around three months. (Duran a few days more than that, Olejnik a few days less.)
They haven't been accused of a crime. They haven't even been arrested for a crime. They're here because they refused to answer questions for a federal prosecutor, in front of a grand jury, about people they may (or may not) know: who those people are, who those people hang out with, and what political opinions those people hold.
Supposedly, that federal prosecutor is interested in the smashup in Seattle on May Day and finding the demonstrators who broke the windows of a federal courthouse. But Olejnik says the prosecutor only asked her four questions about May Day, which she answered truthfully: Was she in Seattle on May Day? (No.) Where was she? (Working at her waitress/bartending job in Olympia.) Had she been in Seattle a week before or a week after May Day? (No.) Had anybody talked to her about May Day? (No. In fact, she says she learned most of what she knows about the smashup while she was in court.)
That was all he asked about the May Day vandalism.
Then, she says, the prosecutor began rattling off names and showing photographs of people, asking about their social contacts and political opinions. Olejnik guesses he asked "at least 50 questions" in that vein, compared to the four about May Day. That's when she shut down, refused to answer, was found in contempt of court, and was sent to SeaTac FDC.
She doesn't regret it. "I truly believe that people have the right to believe whatever they want politically," Olejnik says, sitting in a chair beside me in her prison khakis. "And it's none of the government's business."
As far as she can tell, she's not in prison because she couldn't help with a vandalism investigation. She's there because she refused, on principle, to help the federal government draw a social map of radicals and leftists in the Northwest.
Grand juries are secret—prosecutors are the only attorneys allowed in the room—but people who've been subpoenaed to appear before them are allowed to talk afterward about what happened. The two attorneys for Olejnik and Duran, who sit with us during the interviews in the SeaTac FDC, vaguely say the versions of events described by their clients are consistent with what they read in the transcripts. The US Attorney's Office has repeatedly said it cannot comment on anything related to a grand jury, because grand juries are secret. So we have to rely on Duran and Olejnik and their attorneys' vague corroboration.
I have to interview Duran separately, because the guards don't want him and Olejnik—close friends and roommates at the time they got the subpoenas—to see each other. (They say they passed each other once in the visiting area and waved at each other, and the guards grumbled about that.) How, I ask Duran, would you explain why you're here to people on the outside?
"Not everyone will understand," Duran says in a soft voice. "You have to be in a different state of mind to be willing to go to jail to protect someone you basically have no knowledge of." He talks about his years as a young student in the Army ROTC, when veterans would come and talk about serving their country because they felt a sense of duty. Not answering questions about other people, he says, "is the duty I can perform."
Duran, like Olejnik, believes that when the FBI comes knocking, handing out subpoenas, legally compelling them to tell a federal prosecutor about their fellow citizens' private lives and political beliefs, they have a duty to object. And, like Bartleby the Scrivener, their most powerful tool of protest against a force like the federal government is to simply and politely say: "I would prefer not to." (It's worth remembering that Bartleby's quiet, stubborn "I would prefer not to" eventually lands him in prison.)
And that's why they're spending the holidays in prison.
Both Duran and Olejnik say other inmates, and even the guards, are baffled about them—and especially why they're there. The two grand-jury refusers are fairly normal people with fairly normal jobs. Until the incarceration, Olejnik worked as a bartender and waitress at King Solomon's Reef, a diner in Olympia. Duran worked for a computer-security company and was pleasantly surprised when his employer said the company would hold his job for him, as long as he wasn't charged with anything. (Having a criminal on the computer-security payroll might be bad for business.) "I didn't expect them to understand what was going on," he says, then chuckles softly. "But even I don't understand what's going on!"
More to the point, they haven't actually been charged with anything, and they have no idea how long they'll be there. Technically, they can leave whenever they decide to cooperate with the federal prosecutor, but both say they're firmly resolved against that.
"It's not even an option in my mind," Olejnik says. "They've already made me walk away from my job, my family, my home—there's nothing they could legally do to make me give them information." Or, as Duran puts it: "Everyone's here because they did something. But I'm here because I'm still doing it."
Duran says he's explained his situation to inquisitive prisoners and guards, and it usually comes down to the same exchange: "So you're just here because you wouldn't talk?" "Yeah." "That's messed up."
The FDC bureaucracy doesn't seem to know what to do with them either. They haven't been accused and they haven't been sentenced, so they're stuck in the pretrial units, where the prisoners don't have access to the usual prison programs: education classes to work on GEDs, kitchen or janitorial jobs, Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous (which is a heavy burden on some of the prisoners), or regular exercise equipment. If the SeaTac detention center is a boring limbo, its pretrial units are a limbo within limbo.
Olejnik says she and her fellow pretrial inmates are "super-jealous" of the Zumba dance-aerobics classes that the other prisoners get. Her unit exercises in "the yard," which isn't really a yard, but a large cell with a metal grate 20 feet high on one wall that allows in some fresh air. You can sometimes see a sliver of the moon, she says, or feel the rain coming in. That's as close as it gets to being outside. (Duran says in his unit, a plane flying past the grate in the yard is the highlight of the day.) For their workouts, the women mostly run in circles around the cell, or do what yoga or Pilates moves other prisoners can remember. And they get to play volleyball.
The first question in the women's unit, Olejnik says, isn't what a prisoner is in for—it's whether she has children. If the answer is yes, the second question is always whether she has custody of the kids. "Since it's a pretrial unit," Olejnik says, "most people still have custody of their children and are working incredibly hard to keep it. You get 300 phone minutes a month—for people who can afford it." If someone gets stuck in solitary confinement (called the Special Housing Until, aka "the SHU"), Olejnik says, she gets one phone call a month. She's seen women in solitary spending their monthly phone call helping kids with homework—trying to be as motherly as possible under the circumstances.
Both Duran and Olejnik were put in solitary confinement as soon as they arrived, without much explanation. (Both of their attorneys, who have represented other inmates at the SeaTac FDC, say starting the prisoners off in solitary confinement isn't typical in their experience.) Olejnik says she wasn't told she could ask for a cup or a spork, so she spent her week in the SHU drinking water out of her hands. She depicts the SHU as "intense psychological torture" that's difficult to describe—you don't know what's going on, you can't talk to anyone, and the lights come on and off without your control. "I was only in for a week," she says, and can't imagine what it would be like to be in there for months. Then, one day, she was let out into her unit.
Both Duran and Olejnik wonder if they were immediately shoved into solitary in the hopes that it would freak them out and convince them to answer the grand jury's questions. If so, it didn't work.
"We do each other's hair a lot," Olejnik says of the women's unit. The prisoners pull their chairs out of their cells, and fuss over each other with a blow dryer and curling and straightening irons (they aren't allowed to have scissors), trying to replicate the casual beauty-salon conversations they had in the outside world. When we talk in the visiting room, Olejnik's hair looks like it spent some quality time with the straightening iron.
The prisoners also fuss over Olejnik's mail. Both she and Duran get a lot of mail from all over the world, several letters a day, sometimes from anarchist supporters and sometimes from strangers who say they've never been involved with political activism but feel like this grand jury situation is beyond the pale. (The outpouring of support was a surprise—both say they did what they thought they had to do, went to prison, and fully expected to be forgotten.) The other prisoners don't get so much mail. Olejnik pulls all hers into a pile, and the women read it together, sometimes aloud, smelling the paper for any scent from the outside world—a flower pressed in the pages, cologne, incense—and help Olejnik work through her return letters.
Olejnik also shares the books people send her. She helped one prisoner read the first volume of the Harry Potter series. Olejnik and the prisoner would read every night, going paragraph by paragraph, sounding out the big words and discussing what happened in each passage. "She got to the point of reading a whole page on her own," Olejnik says. When they finished, the other prisoner told Olejnik that was the first book she'd ever read. "She called her mom to tell her," Olejnik says. "And her mom cried."
Olejnik says having your period in prison "really sucks." The commissary, apparently, isn't carrying tampons these days, and strip-searches while you're on your period are deeply humiliating. "People on their period," she says, "mostly stay in their rooms all day."
But the prisoners laugh sometimes, teasing and joking. "And I have so little to complain about compared to other people in here," Olejnik says. "That's not to say I don't have bad times. We all cry in here. But I try to keep those days to a minimum."
While Olejnik is robust and incongruously cheerful in the bleakness of the visiting room, Duran is more subdued. He's slight and bookish, wears glasses, and tries to keep his head down. His unit sounds tenser, with more jealousy and prisoners quick to take offense. "It's like a microcosm of the real world," he says, but magnified by the confinement. "Race politics, class politics—one cellie [cellmate] was mad at the other for being really rich. He didn't pay something like a million dollars in back taxes." In most conversations, he says, "I try to stay as neutral as possible."
His mail, unlike Olejnik's, is not a community event. He says some of his fellow prisoners joke, "Hey, save some mail for us," but it's starting to overflow in his locker. He can afford the postage to forward it on to friends for safekeeping, because fundraising efforts for the grand-jury refusers help pay his commissary bills. "But," he says, "I don't want to flaunt my wealth in front of the others." Mail to prisoners is a big deal, he says. "It can make or break a prisoner's day." One guy has been depressed for weeks because some books he was supposed to get around Thanksgiving haven't arrived yet.
Despite the tensions, Duran says the fact that he's there because he refused to talk has given him some currency, even across the usual racial lines. "A lot of people in my unit are there because somebody snitched on them," he says. "One guy I hang out with was in a group of people charged with conspiracy." Conspiracy is a common charge to loop in bunches of people who have a peripheral relationship to the central crime. "They all said they wouldn't snitch. He's here now because he's the only one who wouldn't snitch!"
But because Duran is Latino and speaks Spanish, he's a de facto member of the Latino clique. They measured his thin biceps when he first came in, which—to their chagrin—measured only 13 inches around. Now they call him "El Trece" (Spanish for 13) and hector him to work out more, like doing pull-ups when he'd rather be reading. He thanks me during our long interview for saving him from the afternoon workout. "I'm really sore from yesterday," he says, smiling slightly while rubbing his arm.
Conversation among his fellow prisoners centers on four topics: their cases, how bad the food is, how cold the prison is, and, as Duran puts it, "I did this thing once five years ago, and it was cool."
"It is," he says, "extremely monotonous."
Duran says he's in a protective custody unit for people who aren't supposed to be in the general population—that includes snitches, alleged cartel affiliates, high-profile prisoners with well-publicized cases (his situation, so he's told), and sex criminals. Duran's face goes dark. "I really," he says slowly, looking down, "don't want to be associated with those people."
Prisoners who've done time in that unit, he says, usually don't mention it on the outside, even to other people who've done time at the SeaTac FDC. It's not a reputable unit, even among fellow prisoners. Duran says that for him, it's just "study, keep your head down, do your time."
Still, he seems as resolved as Olejnik to refuse to capitulate. Does doing his time feel different than somebody who has a concrete sentence? "Yes," he says. "I'm not gonna be here for 10 years, but I don't know how long I'm gonna be here... could be a day, could be six months, could be two years, could be longer." But, as he said earlier, he feels he's doing his duty. "Even most of the inmates I talk to say: 'Why don't you lie? Why don't you put the rap on somebody else?'" Duran says. "I don't want to be part of the process that puts anyone here. Here is really bad... The government wants me here out of pure frustration—for an entity with worlds of power, they don't want resistance at any point."
He says sticking to his guns means he has "a more satisfying life... I'm here because I'm doing something."
Duran and Olejnik are in prison for civil contempt of court, which is supposed to be a coercive measure—to get them to change their minds—and not punitive. It's as if the government has sent them into a corner, telling them to come back when they're ready to start answering those questions about other people and their politics. Both Duran and Olejnik say that's bullshit. As Duran puts it: "In prison, it's all punitive." They could be in detention for civil contempt until this grand jury dissolves in 2014.
Or they could be released if either the federal prosecutor or Judge Richard A. Jones—who presided over their civil contempt hearings—files a motion to end their incarceration. Olejnik's attorney says it's highly unlikely the prosecutor will take this step. He is, she says, "pretty resolute that this is a path he should be pursuing." But the ultimate authority rests with Judge Jones. Why has he favored the prosecutor in this case and not Duran and Olejnik? It's hard to say. (Judge Jones did not respond to a request for comment.)
But even if the government and Judge Jones force them to run down that clock, they could be further charged with criminal contempt of court, meaning even more time. Limbo within limbo. (A third grand-jury refuser named Maddy Pfeiffer, 23, will soon join Duran and Olejnik. At a contempt hearing last Friday, Judge Jones ordered Pfeiffer to report to the SeaTac FDC at 9 a.m. on December 26.)
As a Thanksgiving treat this year, Duran says, the prisoners got a can of soda, an extra helping of food, and the chance to watch a movie: Spider-Man.
I didn't ask him what he thought they'd get for Christmas. http://www.thestranger.com/images/rec_star.gif



source; http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/christmas-in-prison/Content?oid=15565849

[TheRedAnarchist23]

I may have said this many times before, but this reminds me of fascist Portugal, without the physical torture.

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/never-surrender-kerry-cunneen-subpoenaed-nw-grand-jury


Portland anarchist Kerry Cunneen has announced their refusal to cooperate with the grand jury investigating the May Day attack on the Nakamura federal courthouse in Seattle. Kerry’s subpoena, which was delivered on December 14th, stated that they were required to appear just 5 days later on the 19th. Their lawyer successfully got the date pushed back until January 3rd, when Kerry declined to even enter the grand jury room. Kerry has stated that they will never under any circumstance cooperate with this or any state in persecuting themself or others:

I have been subpoenaed to the grand jury in Seattle investigating Anarchists in the Pacific Northwest. I was called to testify on January 3rd at 9am. I did not appear before the grand jury. I will not cooperate with this grand jury nor will I in any way aid the state in its efforts to imprison people.
I stand firmly in solidarity with the actions taken against the Nakamura Federal court house during the May Day demonstration and all action taken against the state and capital towards the goal of a more liberated society.
I am in solidarity with the May Day 5, with Maddy, Matt and Kteeo, and everyone else who has met repression with resilience. To all whose solidarity has come in some form of action, it is inspiring and must continue.
never surrender,
Kerry Cunneen

[Art Vandelay]

How is this not bigger news? Such a blatant violation of their rights; but then again 'rights' aren't 'rights' if they can be taken away. This isn't news to anyone here, however. I'm guessing that since there anti-capitalists, the majority of the population doesn't have as much sympathy.

[Ele'ill]

How is this not bigger news? Such a blatant violation of their rights; but then again 'rights' aren't 'rights' if they can be taken away. This isn't news to anyone here, however. I'm guessing that since there anti-capitalists, the majority of the population doesn't have as much sympathy.

What kind of bigger news? I don't think most people see radical action or organizing as being relevant right now. Perhaps it's increasing, I dunno. News to radicals? There has probably been what's close to a hundred actions of varying intensity following a similar theme of insurrectionary play since the raids back in early May, all over the country and elsewhere.

[Art Vandelay]

What kind of bigger news? I don't think most people see radical action or organizing as being relevant right now. Perhaps it's increasing, I dunno. News to radicals? There has probably been what's close to a hundred actions of varying intensity following a similar theme of insurrectionary play since the raids back in early May, all over the country and elsewhere.

I meant bigger news in the mainstream media that these people are being detained without being charged. I guess post 9/11 this is completely legal, still seems like there would be some liberal types up in arms over this.

[Ele'ill]

I meant bigger news in the mainstream media that these people are being detained without being charged. I guess post 9/11 this is completely legal, still seems like there would be some liberal types up in arms over this.


They're being 'charged' with not cooperating with a grand jury and are being held in detention until the grand jury has run its course which is like 18 months. It's pretty typical grand jury process used to intimidate and divide. If you do a google search you'll see some mainstream media has picked it up.


Also


http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/




http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/various-authors-grand-jury-investigations-fbi-harassment-and-your-rights

[Os Cangaceiros]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/never-surrender-kerry-cunneen-subpoenaed-nw-grand-jury




I have been subpoenaed to the grand jury in Seattle investigating Anarchists in the Pacific Northwest. I was called to testify on January 3rd at 9am. I did not appear before the grand jury. I will not cooperate with this grand jury nor will I in any way aid the state in its efforts to imprison people.
I stand firmly in solidarity with the actions taken against the Nakamura Federal court house during the May Day demonstration and all action taken against the state and capital towards the goal of a more liberated society.
I am in solidarity with the May Day 5, with Maddy, Matt and Kteeo, and everyone else who has met repression with resilience. To all whose solidarity has come in some form of action, it is inspiring and must continue.
never surrender,
Kerry Cunneen

Hahaha, that's such a great statement :lol: I especially like the "I stand firmly in solidarity with the actions taken against the Nakamura Federal court house during the May Day demonstration" part.

[black magick hustla]

How is this not bigger news? Such a blatant violation of their rights; but then again 'rights' aren't 'rights' if they can be taken away. This isn't news to anyone here, however. I'm guessing that since there anti-capitalists, the majority of the population doesn't have as much sympathy.

Because it's not a violation of their rights. In fact it is perfectly legal. Refusing to testify before a grand jury will get you shitcanned.

[Ele'ill]

http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/repression-against-anarchists-intensifies/


Repression Against Anarchists Intensifies

Posted on January 8, 2013 (http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/repression-against-anarchists-intensifies/) | 4 Comments (http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/repression-against-anarchists-intensifies/#comments)

Two recent developments indicate an intensification of the government’s campaign against the anarchist movement in the Pacific Northwest.
In late December, the three grand jury resisters being held at the Sea-Tac Detention Center for their refusal to testify were moved into solitary confinement. No explanation has been given for why they were moved.
In a letter describing the situation, Kteeo wrote:
“Prison is incredibly fucked up even at the best of times, but that doesn’t mean people can’t create community within these circumstances. We do. When I was in my unit I was part of a community. I gave support and received support. I learned from people and I taught. My unit doesn’t have educational opportunities so we created our own. I taught math, reading, and lead a workout group. I was part of something, part of laughter and part of tears; part of a shared experience (not that any of us want to be part of a this). I was a part of growth, part of a community that comes together again and again as our units make up changes. But I am no longer in that unit, no longer in that community.”
Read full letter here (http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/kteeos-letter-from-solitary/).
The Committee Against Political Repression is calling for the discontinuation of the use of solitary confinement for any purpose, and for the immediate release of Matt Duran, Kteeo Olejnik, and Maddy Pfeifer.
In an unrelated case, in Portland, a young man accused of firebombing an empty police car was released on bail, under the condition that he have no contact with any anarchist organizations. He was specifically ordered not to have contact with Resist the NW Grand Jury or the prisoner support group Anarchist Black Cross, clearly indicating that prosecutors want to prevent him from receiving legal, political, or personal support that would aid in his defense.
These developments come after a year which has seen, in addition to the grand jury hearings, SWAT raids against activists in Portland and Seattle, a grotesque inflation of charges in a Portland case involving small-scale vandalism, and indictments against five people accused of participating in a Seattle May Day demonstration where government and corporate property was attacked. Similar events have played out simultaneously in the Bay Area, and elsewhere in the country, forming what critics have called a Federal anti-anarchist witch hunt.
CAPR believes that the governments most recent actions confirm what we have said all along: The state is using the legal system to target the anarchist movement, in the process criminalizing a set of political beliefs and associations. We decry the use of inquisitorial tactics such as secret hearings, coerced testimony, guilt-by-association, and torture in the form of solitary confinement.

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/interview-grand-jury-resister-kerry-cunneen



Interview with Grand Jury Resister Kerry Cunneen

From: Committe Against Political Repression (https://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/radio-interview-with-kerry-cunneen/)
Grand Jury resister Kerry Cunneen gave an interview to Finn’s Revolution radio show. (http://wusb.fm/station/playlists/11) Here is a rough transcript of the interview:


Question: What is anarchism and how did anarchists find themselves at May Day in Seattle?
Kerry: Anarchism is a political philosophy centered on the idea that a society without domination is better suited to foster the wellbeing of its members. Anarchists are necessarily anti-capitalists because capitalism hinges on exploitation and economic division in society. We also oppose the concentration of power that we refer to as the state. These various bodies of law, force, and control seek to contain the possibilities for society and compel us all to perpetuate capitalism. There are many other forms of social domination that anarchists will fight to abolish, such as racism and patriarchy, that are also deeply entwined with capitalism.
As for May Day, it is, among other things, an anarchist holiday. It is a day that commemorates the militant labor struggle for the eight hour work day and the anarchists who were killed or imprisoned by the state for participating in this struggle. In Chicago, where the labor struggle was particularly militant, the police opened fire on a picket, killing and wounding picketers. The next day a demonstration was called and a bomb was thrown at the police line, killing an officer and wounding others. The state tried eight anarchists for the murder, and regardless of whether they were at the demonstration or not, all eight were sentenced to death or life in prison. We take May Day as a chance to remember these militant struggles and to inspire us to keep fighting against the state that wants us submissive or dead. Every year there are demonstrations and other events in cities all over. In the Pacific Northwest, Seattle was calling out to anarchists to come together and have a really massive anti-capitalist march. Many anarchists answered the call and showed up in Seattle that day.


Question: What was May 1, Seattle all about? Were there progressive groups involved? What was your involvement? Were you arrested or investigated? If so, how were you treated?
Kerry: There were a lot of events and marches scheduled for May Day in Seattle this past year. A lot of them were related to occupy. I can’t say much about the organizing of Seattle’s May Day because I don’t live there and was not part of the organizing. I can say that May Day demonstrations have in many places become somewhat placid, not resembling the spirit of resistance to state control. They often get city permits, and designate peace police to
make sure the march is whatever the organizers want it to be. The anti-capitalist march in Seattle was organized to be different. This march was meant to be a disruption of capital. It was unpermitted and there was no leadership in the march or expectation of abiding laws.
I was in Seattle at the anti-capitalist march on May Day. It was a glorious day for anarchists, in my opinion. We effectively disrupted the goings on of downtown Seattle. I was not arrested or anything, but clearly I have become involved in the investigation somehow. But, with secret investigations it is difficult to glean much information.


Question: Some people are appalled when property damage and injury occur in these kinds of events. What can you say regarding that?
Kerry: I would say that property destruction is an important tactic in the fight against capitalism. I think property destruction does a number of things that further the struggle against domination. For one, it solidifies for us and reminds us that the powers we fight are not abstract and insurmountable. They are vulnerable to attack. I think also that when an institution which forcibly maintains power over us is targeted by property destruction, this will often resonate with others who experience the violence of that institution. It makes us feel less alone and less like victims. I think that property destruction has a good effect on those who carry it out as well. I think most people need to unlearn submission and show themselves that they have the capacity to act for their own liberation. I think that when people burn cop cars, break bank windows, or blockade a road (thwarting the transfer of goods and or law
enforcement) they are also demonstrating to themself some of the magnitude of their ability to resist. I think too that in some cases the economic damage of property destruction can be effective against the state and capital. It is not as though breaking windows is an end goal, but it is a
tactic that people shouldn’t thoughtlessly cast aside as if it were the introduction of violence into the fight against the state, instead of the response to endless state sponsored violence.
There are many flawed arguments against property destruction, but without a specific one to debunk, I would only extrapolate on this point that in general people are accustomed to experiencing and absorbing state
violence as normal. There is a desensitization and sometimes a blame shifting that goes on to justify state violence against people. But, when people fight back against these concentrated powers it is sensationalized and often viewed as unprovoked or illegitimate. In the case of a demonstration in the streets, it is really awful to hear someone criticize the breaking of windows as they gloss over the acute violence at the hands of the state. Demonstrations are often brutally repressed, people are beaten, pepper sprayed, arrested and imprisoned and this is expected and often accepted by witnesses and people in general. How can a rational person deny efforts of resistance the use of violence against those who hold it in a monopoly? We want to win, we really mean to destroy capital, and for that
we will need to be open to the idea of property destruction. We have to strip capital of its power over society. This is not an easy or voluntary occurrence but one that is achieved by force. Property after all, is a farce.




Question: Kerry, you, Maddy, Matt & Kteeo are currently refusing to cooperate with a Grand Jury in Seattle which is investigating events which occurred during May Day protests last year. First, why do you think the government has subpoenaed you and has decided to pressure you to testify? And why are all of you refusing to appear?
Kerry: I don’t know why I was subpoenaed to the grand jury. I am an Anarchist, I am known to have been in Seattle on May Day and the Feds are grasping at straws trying to make a case against Anarchists in whatever way they can. I doubt they have any idea who broke the courthouse windows nor do they care. I think they are using the attack on the courthouse as a pretext to bring down a heavy hand and try to scare Anarchists away from militant resistance. It isn’t working and I am glad to think that this is frustrating to the state.
I refuse to appear because I despise the state. They are working to undo everything that Anarchists stand for. I refuse to help them on the principle that prisons should be abolished. I refuse them because I am in complete support of the crimes they are investigating. I refuse them with a visceral hatred for the law and all of the lives they ruin. I am glad for the little bit of resistance I can provide in denying them information. I respect and admire Matt, Kteeo and Maddy for making the sacrifice that is involved in sitting for and undetermined jail sentence. I just am not personally willing to take a step in the direction of my own jail cell.




Question: Clearly the government is attempting to intimidate you and anarchists and activists in general. First by calling you to testify in a Grand Jury setting thereby trying to force you give up your right to remain silent which exists in standard judicial courts, and then by jailing some of you to wear you down. Can they legally keep any of you in jail indefinitely until you testify, and just how long do all of you think this can last? Can you talk about what legal actions are being taken on your behalf?
Kerry: The state has the power to do lots of things, legal or not. Legally though, people can be held in civil contempt for not testifying for a period up to 18 months or whenever the grand jury ends, whichever comes first. The grand jury is slated to end by March of 2014 so there could be a lot of people in jail for a long time over this. There are currently no legal actions being taken on my behalf that I know of. I am not in need of any legal help unless I am arrested. There doesn’t seem to be much that lawyers can do to help people who are subpoenaed. All of the attempts to get the subpoenas thrown out have been laughed out of the courts. They are going to do all they can to turn people against their principles. I don’t see it working with most anarchists though.




Question: Kerry, where can listeners find out more about all this, and what can they do to get involved and help?
Kerry: So, the support group for the subpoenaed folks has a website. It is nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com. That is where you can go for news and updates about the grand jury in the Pacific Northwest. It is also where you can donate some much needed money which will help us fill the commissary of the folks in jail so they can continue to write letters, eat and such things.
We also need money for lawyers fees and in case of indictments coming from the grand jury. There is a support site for the 5 people recently indicted for alleged crimes during the various marches of May Day in Seattle. The site is seattleantirepression.wordpress.com. There is also a
site, saynothing.info which is cataloging the numerous actions of property destruction which are being carried out in solidarity with those resisting the grand jury and its targets.
I would say that people can help by holding fundraisers and other events to raise money and awareness about what is happening. You can contact either support groups to figure out how to set something up in your area. Probably the most important thing though, is that people continue to
struggle in the spirit of the anti-capitalist march on May Day. People need to attack, in whatever way they feel they can, the institutions that hold us down. We are all inspired by resistance and it helps those of us facing repression to know that we don’t struggle alone.

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/anonymous-announces-operation-grand-jury-resisters




Anonymous Announces Operation Grand Jury Resisters


From: Anon Relations (http://anonrelations.net/opgjresisters-971/)
Greetings, we are anonymous. It has recently come to our attention that the FBI, local police and the department of homeland security are now and have been engaged in acts of espionage against US citizens. Their only reasoning for doing this is they feel threatened by their own citizens. It is clear that they would not feel this way if they were acting appropriately in the first place. With so many new laws enacted in the past 10 years that slowly but surely eat away at our rights and freedoms as human beings such as NDAA and the USA Patriot Act it should be no surprise that there has been a rise in activism within the citizenship. That in itself is a right protected by our constitution and bill of rights that they so callously spit upon every day.
On May Day, 2012; in the city of Seattle there was a large demonstration as there is every year supporting workers rights. As usual, there were supporters of other causes on scene and a large contigency of Black Bloc. They caused the usual destruction to banks, store fronts and also to an old federal court house building. This story of course, was blown way out of proportion. Even though there was a large amount of damage done, it was only done by a small group within the Black Bloc. While anonymous does not inherently condone destruction and violence we also do not speak against it. It is up to the individual and or groups to decide upon tactics that they use to get across the point that they are trying to voice. We understand that many of us in the world today feel powerless against the machine and railing against it with words can feel ineffectual. It is then that many turn to “violence”. Though many will say smashing out a window is not exactly an act of violence as there is no harm done or directed toward any people.
There were many individuals targeted by the police and federal officials following that day for the actions and an investigation and a Federal Secret Grand Jury was launched to find those responsible so they could be brought to justice… or so they say.
There is one big problem with the story that is being told regarding that though. That grand jury was already put together long before the May Day ‘riots’.
On Wednesday July 25th, the FBI conducted a series of coordinated raids against activists in Portland, Olympia, and Seattle. They subpoenaed several people to a special federal grand jury, and seized computers, black clothing and anarchist literature. This comes after similar raids in Seattle in July and earlier raids of squats in Portland. Though the FBI has said that the raids are part of a violent crime investigation, the truth is that the federal authorities are conducting a political witch-hunt against Anarchists and others working toward a more just, free, and equal society. The warrants served specifically listed anarchist literature as evidence to be seized, pointing to the fact that the FBI and police are targeting this group of people because of their political ideas. Pure and simple, these raids and the grand jury hearings are being used to intimidate people whose politics oppose the state’s agenda.
Additionally… THIS EMAIL PROVES (http://www.anonpaste.me/anonpaste2/index.php?23cfab127e018789#D3Cfp8YbFyeYnGGdTqSXxNT 2eBvD2tgzA1pP9fvwxDc=), THEY HAD THIS PLANNED BEFORE THE ACTIONS IN SEATTLE MAYDAY.
For all of these reasons and others, including this quote:
“An FBI surveillance team, followed five of the suspects north from Portland when they drove to Olympia the day before the May first riots.” the FBI agent told the court.
Anonymous has created Operation Grand Jury Resisters. #OpGJResisters We shall do what we do in support of these brave individuals who are standing up so strongly against a corrupt system they are willing to sit in a federal prison in solitary confinement. we call on the hive to attack two websites every Monday morning from 9am until noon pacific standard time.
First:: www.wawd.uscourts.gov (http://www.wawd.uscourts.gov)
Second:: www.bop.gov (http://www.bop.gov)
It is highly important that these sites are rendered inaccessible, firstly each Monday and secondly each additional day that OpGJResisters makes an announcement that there is another court date, or, that there is an action planned by other activists in that area.
We are anonymous.
We are legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/newly-unsealed-information-may-day-investigation


This pdf (http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/system/files/search_affadavit.pdf) is the full (although including redactions) unsealed search warrant. It includes a thorough explanation from an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force agent of his investigation into anarchist activity on May Day and the potential targets of indictment. This document is a limited but important glimpse into how the state mounts a repression campaign against anarchists and thus should be carefully studied.

[Os Cangaceiros]

^that PDF is well worth reading. It's a bit embarrassing...these individuals were not caught up because of some kind of elaborate case concocted by the authorities, they appear to have been busted through basic police work. For instance, the issue of the text messages. The text messages were retrieved when one suspect's phone was physically intercepted by police during a raid on her residence. Why did she allow that to happen?! Why did she leave incriminating evidence around after she knew she could possibly be sought in connection with a crime? :ohmy: Also, the clothing. This is another thing that boggles the mind! It's not like it's unknown that police try and match distinctive articles of clothing with suspects in crimes caught on surveillance video. If you're going to commit a crime that's possibly going to be caught on camera, you shouldn't wear or bring anything that you won't be comfortable with stuffing in a trash bag and disposing in a dumpster behind a gas station somewhere far from the scene of the crime.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Although I guess the text messages are really a moot point, as they were really only incriminating in that they put certain people in western Washington during May Day, when in fact the FBI already knew that these individuals were in that area through prior surveillance.

[Ele'ill]

^that PDF is well worth reading. It's a bit embarrassing...these individuals were not caught up because of some kind of elaborate case concocted by the authorities, they appear to have been busted through basic police work. For instance, the issue of the text messages. The text messages were retrieved when one suspect's phone was physically intercepted by police during a raid on her residence. Why did she allow that to happen?! Why did she leave incriminating evidence around after she knew she could possibly be sought in connection with a crime? :ohmy: Also, the clothing. This is another thing that boggles the mind! It's not like it's unknown that police try and match distinctive articles of clothing with suspects in crimes caught on surveillance video. If you're going to commit a crime that's possibly going to be caught on camera, you shouldn't wear or bring anything that you won't be comfortable with stuffing in a trash bag and disposing in a dumpster behind a gas station somewhere far from the scene of the crime.

It's to be expected during what was basically a public day time action with hundreds of private and news crew cameras capturing stills and video of the entire thing but I don't believe everything the cops and feds are presenting as evidence is legit. I think these folks are security conscious and it's probably the cop's and fed's interpretation of things they discovered despite how matter of fact the report in the pdf is presented. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part I certainly agree with you about how it all looks right now. I also didn't think that zip cars were that inexpensive, good information to know.

[Ele'ill]

people actually posting a few meaningful comments here which is even more mind boggling

http://anarchistnews.org/content/newly-unsealed-information-may-day-investigation#comments

[Sasha]

Grand Jury Refusers: Five Months and Counting, Plus Solitary Since December

Posted by Brendan Kiley (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/brendan-kiley/Author?oid=1124) on Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 9:59 AM

Remember these guys? (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/christmas-in-prison/Content?oid=15565849) Matthew Duran and Katherine Olejnik, who have been in prison since September without being charged—much less convicted—of a crime? Last fall, they were sent (not sentenced, just sent) to federal detention by Judge Richard A. Jones for declining to answer some questions in front of a federal prosecutor and a grand jury.
(To refresh your memory, some background below the jump.)
A few days after Christmas, and shortly after The Stranger's story about visiting them in prison (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/christmas-in-prison/Content?oid=15565849) ran, they were thrown into solitary confinement (aka the SHU, which stands for "special housing unit"). Their attorneys, Kim Gordon and Jenn Kaplan, are deeply frustrated because SeaTac officials have not given clear answers about why their clients are in the SHU. Have they broken some rule? Are they a threat to the general population?
Kaplan, Olejnik's attorney, says her client "is still in solitary, and the FDC has refused to give me an answer regarding why."
It is not hyperbole to say solitary confinement is a form of torture. Dr. Atul Gawande wrote an excellent and well-researched article (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande) about the psychological and physiological damage of solitary confinement—even for brief periods of time—in 2009.
Even John McCain, who suffered five and a half years of torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, wrote that solitary "crushes your spirit and weakens your resistance more effectively than any other form of mistreatment."
And, according to Dr. Gawande's article:

A U.S. military study of almost a hundred and fifty naval aviators returned from imprisonment in Vietnam, many of whom were treated even worse than McCain, reported that they found social isolation to be as torturous and agonizing as any physical abuse they suffered. And what happened to them was physical. EEG studies going back to the nineteen-sixties have shown diffuse slowing of brain waves in prisoners after a week or more of solitary confinement.
Duran and Olejnik have been in solitary since December 27—to repeat, they haven't been accused of any crime, they haven't been convicted of any crime, and the prison has failed to explain to their attorneys while they're in solitary.
This is what lawyers and reporters are talking about when they talk about a "chilling effect" on free speech. You can imagine, after this example, why people wouldn't want to hang out with other people who describe themselves as anarchists. Hanging out with anarchists isn't a crime. But even if you don't commit a crime—even if you are granted immunity from being prosecuted for a crime—you can find yourself in solitary confinement.
That's a problem.

* * *
The background: That grand jury and the federal prosecutor are ostensibly investigating the political vandalism in downtown Seattle on May Day. But Duran and Olejnik say the questions they refused to answer had little to do with actual crimes and more to do with social mapping—names and photographs, questions about who those people were, how they know each other, and their political beliefs.
Most of the questions centered around what search warrants (http://nopoliticalrepression.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/redacted-warrant.pdf) have described as "known anarchists." The 1950s had its Red Scare; we've got our Black Scare.
That's when the two shut down—on principle, not for their own protection, as they'd both already been granted immunity from prosecution—and declined to answer. They've been in prison since September and, since they haven't been sentenced for any crime, are there indefinitely.
On Dec 26, Duran and Olejnik were joined by Maddie Pfeiffer, another grand-jury refuser. (http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/maddy-pfeiffer-grand-jury-jail/6664/)



source; http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/08/grand-jury-refusers-five-months-and-counting-plus-solitary-since-december#more

[MP5]

Is it just me or does there seem to be a crackdown on both Anarchists and Communists on both sides of the border? Between the arrest of Communists in Montreal the other year as well as this story and a dozen others like it there seems to be more of a crackdown on the radical left now then there has been since perhaps the FLQ October crises.

There should be more people stick to their guns like this and refuse to testify in court. That and revolutionaries should really take more precautions in not getting themselves and their comrades caught. I was a criminal back in my younger and dumber days so i know how to dodge the coppers pretty good but what would some kid who has never had dealings with the law before know about dodging police surveillance? Not much id imagine.

Locking them up in solitary is just a way of getting them to break and spill their guts. I have seen some pretty hard bastards loose it after a few weeks of solitary (in the pen here throwing a prisoner in solitary seems to be the way of dealing with everything from a prisoner with a drug addiction to someone who is suicidal so it's rare not to spend atleast some time in solitary here) and i can only imagine what it would do to someone who has never even seen the inside of a prisoner cell before. If that's not torture i don't know what is and the only thing that ever scared me about the possibility of going to prison was being locked up staring at 4 walls all day. I was not afraid of the potential for violence at all but i was plenty scared of loosing it due to the constant boredom. The way most guys i know got through it was if they where lucky enough to have a prescription for a sedative/hypnotic so they could just sleep all day. Since you don't have access to the weight room in most prisons when your in solitary you can't even lift weights all day to take your mind off prison life.

[Ele'ill]

Is it just me or does there seem to be a crackdown on both Anarchists and Communists on both sides of the border? Between the arrest of Communists in Montreal the other year as well as this story and a dozen others like it there seems to be more of a crackdown on the radical left now then there has been since perhaps the FLQ October crises.

There should be more people stick to their guns like this and refuse to testify in court. That and revolutionaries should really take more precautions in not getting themselves and their comrades caught. I was a criminal back in my younger and dumber days so i know how to dodge the coppers pretty good but what would some kid who has never had dealings with the law before know about dodging police surveillance? Not much id imagine.

I think a lot relies more on people's understanding of the potential consequences for every level of action they take part in regardless of their experience in doing it. I think it's common sense that if you do something that will put you in local/federal custody that you knew this was possible going into it and that you are not going to snitch or breakdown from it. If you cannot handle confrontation there isn't anything wrong with that, everyone is different, but don't put yourself and others at risk by pretending to be able to handle a situation that you simply cannot. More so putting others at risk, if you act alone, even something easy without heavy repercussions like dropping a banner and you get caught and you break down from the stress that's your decision but don't do it knowing that you're gonna vomit everyone's personal bios that you've ever associated with.

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/affidavit-indicates-fbi-targeted-anarchists-being-anarchists


Affidavit indicates FBI targeted anarchists for being anarchists

Thu, 02/07/2013 - 9:07pm From: Committee Against Political Repression (https://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2013/02/07/affidavit-indicates-fbi-targeted-anarchists-for-being-anarchists/)
The newest document released in the Pacific Northwest Grand Jury case reveals the federal government’s criminalization of anarchists. On January 30, a redacted affidavit was unsealed by order of Judge Richard Jones. The affidavit can be found Redacted Warrant.
Throughout the document Geoffrey Maron, an FBI Special Agent assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, repeatedly refers to individuals under investigation as being “known anarchists,” as if the ideology alone is evidence of a crime. Maron admits that “many anarchists are law-abiding,” but continuously points to the “Oregon Conspirators” as being known as part of the anarchist community. Similarly, Maron notes that some of the Portland police had seen many of those individuals at squats in Portland — as if that had any relevance to the investigation other than that it might corroborate that the targeted individuals are, in fact, anarchists.
Likewise, in justifying a preemptive investigation of the May Day protests, Maron points to an article appearing in the anarchist magazine Tides of Flame, quoting that writers there “urge everyone there to skip out on school and work to take to the streets.” This passage indicates that, not only was the FBI monitoring the anarchist press in advance of the May Day protest, but the quote suggests that it was precisely the possibility of a popular mobilization under the anarchist banner that prompted law enforcement attention. Elsewhere, Maron also indicates that Portland-based anarchists were personally under surveillance before the may Day protests, and were followed by FBI agents when they left the city.
Furthermore, according to Maron’s statement, law enforcement used information gleaned from electronic records to identify “associates and conspirators” of the anarchists under investigation. By referring to “associates” (in addition to “conspirators”), Maron as much as admits that the FBI is casting its net over the entire anarchist movement, not narrowly investigating specific illegal acts.
The text of this affidavit further strengthens the argument that the FBI is targeting anarchists for being anarchists, not for any alleged crimes.
At present, three people are in jail for refusing to collaborate with the FBI/grand jury witch hunt. The Committee Against Political Repression urges everyone to support Matt Duran, Kteeo Olejnik, and Maddy Pfeiffer, and to demand that U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan end the investigation immediately.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Didn't Geoffrey Maron ever have a professor tell him not to use Wikipedia as a source? :ohmy:

[Sasha]

CRIME / POLITICS Grand Jury Refusers: So What Can I Do About It?
posted by BRENDAN KILEY on MON, FEB 11, 2013 at 11:38 AM

Since this post (about grand jury refusers who've been held without charges in federal detention for five months and solitary confinement since December) went up last Friday, people have been asking me variations on the question above: Who's in control of this situation and what can I do about it?

Answer to the first question: Judge Richard Jones sent Olejnik, Duran, and Pfeiffer to federal detention (and Leah-Lynn Plante, who's since been released) at the request of federal prosecutors and has the authority to end it. Warden Jack Fox is the boss over at SeaTac Federal Detention Center.

Answer to the second: I asked Jenn Kaplan and Kimberly Gordon, attorneys for Duran and Olejnik, what they thought people should do. They suggested writing letters to Judge Jones and Warden Fox.

"But (and this is important)," Gordon wrote, "we would ask that people not send their letters directly to the warden or the judge."

Instead, write letters to the warden and the judge, but send them to the attorneys. Their addresses—snail mail and email—are below the jump.

But first, Kaplan wrote an email describing what her client, Katherine Olejnik, is reporting from solitary:

Kim and I were just chatting with a Seattle Human Rights Commissioner about our clients being in the SHU ["special housing unit'], and it occurred to us that you and your readers might be interested in what conditions in the SHU are like.
It's pretty grim. My client reports being in a small cell constantly. She has a bed, a desk, and a chair. She is trying her best to exercise, but doesn't have enough space...
... and she bruised her back working out on the floor without a mat. She is offered exercise time once a week for an hour, but it's at 6 am, and she hasn't been given a jacket to wear in the yard, so it's too cold for her to be able to do it.
Besides that, she gets three showers a week. She is escorted to the shower in handcuffs with a two-person hold. She does not get to change her clothes between showers, so if she manages to exercise, she is stuck in sweaty clothes. She gets one ten-minute phone call per month. She has limited access to commissary items, and is only allowed to have two books in her cell at a time. She spends a lot of time pacing her cell because she runs out of reading material and doesn't have anything to do. It is a lonely, isolated, and frightening experience.
As for the letters, Gordon wrote: "We will be gathering the letters and when we approach the court and/or the warden, we will then be able to present them together."

Again, write letters to Judge Jones and Warden Fox but mail them to:

Counsel for Katherine Olejnik:
Jennifer Kaplan
2003 Western Avenue, Suite 330
Seattle, WA 98121
[email protected]
Counsel for Matt Duran:
Kimberly N. Gordon
Gordon & Saunders, PLLC
1111 Third Avenue, Suite 2220
Seattle, WA 98101
[email protected]
Gordon said it would also be helpful for people to cc:

Seattle Human Rights Commission
Attn: Catherine Moore
810 Third Avenue, Suite 750
Seattle, WA 98104-1627
[email protected]
I've emailed Pfeiffer's attorney, but haven't heard back yet.

One thing to remember if you write a letter—King County, with its relatively paltry resources (compared to the FBI) has managed to identify and indict five people for May Day-related vandalism.

What's taking the feds so long? And why do they need to grant immunity to Olejnik, Duran, and Pfeiffer, then throw them in prison, to finish an investigation that the county was able to pull off without this circus?

And why can't SeaTac FDC give the attorneys a satisfying explanation for why their clients are in solitary?

Just a few questions you might consider asking.



Source; http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/11/grand-jury-refusers-so-what-can-i-do-about-it

[Os Cangaceiros]

They're probably in solitary because someone realized that it'd be easier to put the screws to 'em that way.

[Ele'ill]

They're in solitary from what I understand because they were mingling with the general population and starting support groups and stuff

[ckaihatsu]

These cases are really egregious and overall is the kind of thing that tarnishes names for all of history, making those who participate in the persecution infamous.

With no sound legal basis for the ongoing detentions the only conclusion remaining is that the three are political prisoners, to state the obvious.

[MP5]

They're in solitary from what I understand because they were mingling with the general population and starting support groups and stuff

Yeah they always do that with political prisoners in most countries. The way they segregated the Provisional IRA, the INLA and other republican groups during the troubles in those living hells of prisons in the UK is one fairly recent example. Keeping Nelson Mandela and other members of the ANC segregated from the criminals is another example.

It's easier to torture prisoners when they are in solitary plus the last thing the administration wants is politicos converting other prisoners. Also having nothing but a cold slab to sleep on, a bucket to piss and shit in and food you would not feed to a dog is one way to punish people who dare try and challenge the order of things. Not to mention the psychological torture of sensory deprivation.

People neeed to get out and demonstrate against this type of political oppression. They are not criminals they are POW`s and should be treated as such if they are going to be locked up. I don't think letter writing or holding signs is going to work. Something akin to the civil rights marches of the 60's where violence was used as a last resort would probably get more people on board. Also some videos showing the world that these people are human beings and to be treated as such could be put up on youtube and such to spread awareness and show that these people are not just leftist radicals would help. News agencies like CNN can't be counted on but maybe Al-jazeera would show a NPOV story on them.

If we learned nothing from the occupy movement is that that type of protest does not work. Simply standing outside building holding signs ain't going to do shit. But peaceful protest and people only using violence when in self defense has worked in the past. It does not take the pigs long to start cracking heads but let them get the first hit in then go all out. Starting the violence first won't win you support but using self defense as a strategy especially if we started a propaganda machine of our own would probably win us public sympathy.

There is a fair bit of discontent with the police forces in the US now so it may be time to capitalize on it.

[Ele'ill]

I also posted this in the other camera thread but it goes here too

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/17-security-cameras-disabled-and-destroyed-puget-sound-region


In the opening weeks of February, 2013, we have removed and destroyed 17 security cameras throughout the Puget Sound region. This act is concrete sabotage against the system of surveillance and control. It is also a message of solidarity and a wish of strength to the Seattle Grand Jury Resisters, those currently incarcerated and those not. Finally, this act announces our participation in the game of CAMOVER (http://camover.noblogs.org/), called for by comrades in Germany. Barefoot Bandit Brigade, Puget Sound, USA

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/letter-maddy


Letter from Maddy


February 1st
I am a few days past my one-month mark as I write this. I am still isolated in the Special Housing Unit here at FDC SeaTac and I have not heard any word on how long I will remain here.
I want to thank everyone who has sent me a letter thus far. Your letters and warm gestures of support from all over the world have helped remind me that I am not alone. Especially wonderful are all of the people who supported me before going in as well as those who showed up for court dates. Your advice and embraces have helped me in so many ways. Thanks to CAPR and Denver ABC for keeping my commissary full. I think of y’all every morning when I drink my instant coffee.
I am using my time to read, listen to the radio and exercise. I have been sticking to a routine, which has helped me stay grounded. I am trying my best to respond to all of the letters I have received, but am limited by stamps and supplies. I apologize if you have not received a response. Though I really should also apologize to those who have received letters from me; I am practicing to improve my handwriting.
I have particularly enjoyed receiving letters with pictures of nature/cute animals, news/goings on and jokes. I have found great strength in laughter while in here.
My main frustration thus far has been that, despite my many requests, I have still not been able to call my lawyer. It has been more than a month and I have not even seen so much as a response to my requests.
Regardless of that, I am generally in good spirits and I am looking forward to the day when I can thank everyone, in person, for their support.
Love & Rage,
Maddy Pfeiffer

[Sasha]

Grand Jury Refusers: Attorneys Ask the Court to Let Them Go

Posted by Brendan Kiley (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/brendan-kiley/Author?oid=1124) on Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 2:20 PM

Item one: Matthew Duran, Katherine Olejnik, and Maddie Pfeiffer are still in solitary confinement at the SeaTac FDC. (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/08/grand-jury-refusers-five-months-and-counting-plus-solitary-since-december) And Kim Gordon and Jenn Kaplan, the attorneys for Duran and Olejnik, say they still haven't gotten a satisfactory answer about why. (In response to a request from The Stranger about the three, a spokesperson for the FDC replied: "Where inmates are housed within the confines of our facility is not public information.")
So Gordon and Kaplan have filed motions for their clients' release. Their full statement is below the jump, but their argument has two parts (prepare for legal wonkery!):
(a) They are being held for civil contempt, not criminal contempt. That means they (supposedly) aren't being punished for refusing to answer some questions. The government hopes that prison coerce them into talking. (That's also why they're in prison with no charges filed—they haven't been accused of anything, they're just being "convinced.")
Past courts have found that when it becomes clear a person isn't being successfully coerced, that person should be released.
The attorneys argue that Duran and Olejnik have shown they will not be coerced—the length of their stay, being in prison for the holidays (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/christmas-in-prison/Content?oid=15565849), the months in solitary confinement—so should be released. (Side note: Earlier this week, George Will wrote about the torture of solitary confinement. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-the-torture-of-solitary-confinement/2013/02/20/ae115d74-7ac9-11e2-9a75-dab0201670da_story.html))
(b) Public documents show that the government has all the information it needs to identify the vandals, so holding Duran and Olejnik for coercion is not only unproductive, but unnecessary.
The lawyers don't say this openly, but they imply that if the court wants to punish Duran and Olejnik , it should release them from civil contempt and charge them with criminal contempt (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-criminal-contempt.htm)—in other words, if the court is going to be punitive, it should be honest about it. (And perhaps go to trial.)
Item two: Yesterday, pugetsoundanarchists.org (http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/letter-maddy) posted a short letter from Pfeiffer written on Feb 1: "My main frustration thus far has been that, despite my many requests, I have still not been able to call my lawyer. It has been more than a month and I have not even seen so much as a response to my requests. Regardless of that, I am generally in good spirits and I am looking forward to the day when I can thank everyone, in person, for their support."
Item three: Last week, the Seattle Human Rights Commission sent a letter to Judge Richard Jones (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/22/pdflink) (that link is another pdf) about the grand jury refusers and "urge their immediate release" from solitary, citing studies by Harvard Medical School and the United Nations: "While even the critics of solitary confinement recognize that its use may be justified in an exceptional case where a strict monitoring protocol is followed, that is not the case here. There is no evidence that Katherine Olejnik, Matthew Duran, and Maddy Pfeiffer are the 'worst of the worst.'"

* * *
And here is Gordon and Kaplan's full statement about the reasons for and timing of their motions to terminate confinement. And here is the search-warrant affidavit (http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/02/22/1361570774-search_affadavit.pdf) that The Stranger, with the help of attorney Neil Fox, managed to get unsealed. (It's a pdf.)

As you know, Matt and Kteeo are in custody because they have been found in civil contempt. Generally, the idea is that they are not being punished for not testifying, but they are being held in an effort to coerce them into testifying. But the courts have held that if, in an individual case, it becomes clear that the confinement is not going to serve any coercive purpose and actually cause that person to testify, then it becomes "punitive." We believe that the confinement has now become "punitive" for two reasons.

First, our clients have suffered the worst conditions of confinement that the Federal Detention Center can lawfully impose upon inmates, and perhaps some that are not so lawful. Our clients have suffered under those conditions for a meaningful period of time. Our clients have also had very real personal losses—homes, jobs, just to name a few. But we can say without hesitation that our clients' resolve not to testify is stronger than ever. In fact, every day that our clients suffer under these conditions makes them more confident that their suffering should not be in vain.

Second, we have brought our motion now because we have obtained further, publicly available documents (the search warrant affidavit and supporting materials that The Stranger successfully fought to unseal) that show that the government has already identified, compellingly, who was responsible for the vandalism.
This suggests that the government does not need whatever tangential information our clients might have. The search-warrant affidavit also strongly suggests that the government still has other alternatives to investigation and do not need to rely on our clients. We believe that the law governing civil contempt compels a court to consider both of these things when making a decision about whether confinement has lost its coercive value.



source; http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/22/grand-jury-refusers-attorneys-ask-the-court-to-let-them-go#more

[Sasha]

Grand Jury Refusers: Attorneys Ask the Court to Let Them Go

Posted by Brendan Kiley (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/brendan-kiley/Author?oid=1124) on Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 2:20 PM

Item one: Matthew Duran, Katherine Olejnik, and Maddie Pfeiffer are still in solitary confinement at the SeaTac FDC. (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/08/grand-jury-refusers-five-months-and-counting-plus-solitary-since-december) And Kim Gordon and Jenn Kaplan, the attorneys for Duran and Olejnik, say they still haven't gotten a satisfactory answer about why. (In response to a request from The Stranger about the three, a spokesperson for the FDC replied: "Where inmates are housed within the confines of our facility is not public information.")
So Gordon and Kaplan have filed motions for their clients' release. Their full statement is below the jump, but their argument has two parts (prepare for legal wonkery!):
(a) They are being held for civil contempt, not criminal contempt. That means they (supposedly) aren't being punished for refusing to answer some questions. The government hopes that prison coerce them into talking. (That's also why they're in prison with no charges filed—they haven't been accused of anything, they're just being "convinced.")
Past courts have found that when it becomes clear a person isn't being successfully coerced, that person should be released.
The attorneys argue that Duran and Olejnik have shown they will not be coerced—the length of their stay, being in prison for the holidays (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/christmas-in-prison/Content?oid=15565849), the months in solitary confinement—so should be released. (Side note: Earlier this week, George Will wrote about the torture of solitary confinement. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-the-torture-of-solitary-confinement/2013/02/20/ae115d74-7ac9-11e2-9a75-dab0201670da_story.html))
(b) Public documents show that the government has all the information it needs to identify the vandals, so holding Duran and Olejnik for coercion is not only unproductive, but unnecessary.
The lawyers don't say this openly, but they imply that if the court wants to punish Duran and Olejnik , it should release them from civil contempt and charge them with criminal contempt (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-criminal-contempt.htm)—in other words, if the court is going to be punitive, it should be honest about it. (And perhaps go to trial.)
Item two: Yesterday, pugetsoundanarchists.org (http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/letter-maddy) posted a short letter from Pfeiffer written on Feb 1: "My main frustration thus far has been that, despite my many requests, I have still not been able to call my lawyer. It has been more than a month and I have not even seen so much as a response to my requests. Regardless of that, I am generally in good spirits and I am looking forward to the day when I can thank everyone, in person, for their support."
Item three: Last week, the Seattle Human Rights Commission sent a letter to Judge Richard Jones (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/22/pdflink) (that link is another pdf) about the grand jury refusers and "urge their immediate release" from solitary, citing studies by Harvard Medical School and the United Nations: "While even the critics of solitary confinement recognize that its use may be justified in an exceptional case where a strict monitoring protocol is followed, that is not the case here. There is no evidence that Katherine Olejnik, Matthew Duran, and Maddy Pfeiffer are the 'worst of the worst.'"

* * *
And here is Gordon and Kaplan's full statement about the reasons for and timing of their motions to terminate confinement. And here is the search-warrant affidavit (http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/02/22/1361570774-search_affadavit.pdf) that The Stranger, with the help of attorney Neil Fox, managed to get unsealed. (It's a pdf.)

As you know, Matt and Kteeo are in custody because they have been found in civil contempt. Generally, the idea is that they are not being punished for not testifying, but they are being held in an effort to coerce them into testifying. But the courts have held that if, in an individual case, it becomes clear that the confinement is not going to serve any coercive purpose and actually cause that person to testify, then it becomes "punitive." We believe that the confinement has now become "punitive" for two reasons.

First, our clients have suffered the worst conditions of confinement that the Federal Detention Center can lawfully impose upon inmates, and perhaps some that are not so lawful. Our clients have suffered under those conditions for a meaningful period of time. Our clients have also had very real personal losses—homes, jobs, just to name a few. But we can say without hesitation that our clients' resolve not to testify is stronger than ever. In fact, every day that our clients suffer under these conditions makes them more confident that their suffering should not be in vain.

Second, we have brought our motion now because we have obtained further, publicly available documents (the search warrant affidavit and supporting materials that The Stranger successfully fought to unseal) that show that the government has already identified, compellingly, who was responsible for the vandalism.
This suggests that the government does not need whatever tangential information our clients might have. The search-warrant affidavit also strongly suggests that the government still has other alternatives to investigation and do not need to rely on our clients. We believe that the law governing civil contempt compels a court to consider both of these things when making a decision about whether confinement has lost its coercive value.



source; http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/22/grand-jury-refusers-attorneys-ask-the-court-to-let-them-go#more

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/new-letter-kteeo-imprisoned-grand-jury-resistor


New letter from KteeO, imprisoned Grand Jury resistor

Mon, 02/25/2013 - 10:04am From: Committee Against Political Repression (https://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/new-letter-from-kteeo/)
Hey Everybody,
First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! Thank you for your incredible support, your kindness, and your strength! Ya’ll are the best.
So, today is my six week anniversary of being in the SHU. Yesterday was my first day with a pen (or pencil, or quill, or marker, or…) in a little over a week. (What? What?) That’s write (like my pun?). I haven’t had access to a writing utensil in over two weeks…Let me explain.
Ok, so in general population, you can order pens on commissary (if you have the funds to do so), and there are pencils provided by the institution (they run out…often), BUT in the SHU have to use special writing utensils, provided by the institution and they run out…ALL THE FUCKING TIME (I think this time they were out of SHU pens for 3 or 4 weeks. Luckily I got one right before they ran out, and it held out for a bit). So as I sit here with a pen in my hand I got to thinking about what I wanted to write to y’all about and I guess this is what’s on my mind…
So, in the SHU, you get one phone call a month (which I know I rambled on for a bit in my last public letter, but this will tie back to to the pen thing…I promise. Well, it should be noted that some people’s phone privileges get taken away completely so that they get zero phone calls a month. Or, because they can no longer make the minimum amount of money that they made at their prison job before life in the SHU,(you can’t work in SHU) then those folks have zero access to phone calls too. Phone time costs!! Any way, what I’, trying to get at is in the SHU the phone is not a consistent form of communication, so letters become even more essential than ever. They are our lifelines to our families and our family’s lifeline back to us. They are how we handle our responsibilities, and how we stay connected. When we are not allowed our writing utensils, (whether it be an oversight, budgetary, or intentional form of punishment, the result is the same and the implications are pretty similar. It is either more important that people are hurt, without communication, or that communication doesn’t matter). Our communication with the outside world; with our families and communities, drops to basically ZERO, which hurts and which hurts our loved ones.
PRISONS AND PUNISHMENT WITHIN THE PRISON DOES NOT JUST EFFECT THOSE WHO ARE INCARCERATED.
I don’t know…I don’t mean to continue to harp on that point, but almost everything here (at least in my head it seems) goes back to that. It’s why (again, in my head) a simple thing as a pen running out of ink has such larger consequences…and speaking of those consequences that are associated with this issue, there are more. (I hope y’all don’t mind if I ramble on a bit more)
It limits our creativity, our self-expression, and our academic pursuits. If we always have to worry about; “When is my pen gonna run out?” “I need to save my ink to write letters.”, or simply; “Shit, my pen ran out…wonder when I will get another.” (All three are regular musings in my brain), then the time our pens spend creating; drawings, verses, and prose; it becomes limited. Even if the primary use of your pen is academic and/or creative, when that pen runs out, one can become lost.
This was just something that I wanted to share with y’all. I know that before this experience, even in general population, I had never thought of pens when considering prisoner’s rights, now the two will be forever linked.
SO, the SHU is meant to punish, and it does…it totally DOES, but honestly y’all, I feel stronger than ever. After being in the SHU for six weeks, (five by myself, with a bunkie for weeks 3-4.) I now feel like there is nothing in the world that I can’t accomplish or do now. I wake up every morning with a smile on my face, and I know that they will never, no matter how hard they try, be able to take that; my smile, no one can take that away from me, and that knowledge makes me strong.
The knowledge that there are women in my unit (at least back when I was there), but women, who smile everyday, who laugh everyday, and who resist everyday by not allowing this place, this institution, to have complete control over their emotions makes me strong. Y’all make me strong! Your support, your kind words, your passion, our funny drawings of animal friends—knowing you’re out there, makes me strong, and with every letter I read, I grow stronger.
The amazing work that people are doing in support roles makes me strong. What I am doing would not be possible without the hard work of those awesome folks (this includes my lawyer, she is the raddest). The love of my families, both the one I was born into, and the beautiful ones that my friends and I have created makes me strong. The fact that every single one of those people have not let a second of this experience go by without making me feel their incredible love, that makes me strong.
Well, before I close this, I want to say I do have a pen now, but that is not a constant state. The ink issue, along with postage is going to make letter response time even longer, plus its taking longer for my mail to get through; both in and out. Please know how much I appreciate you all, and that the long response time is not due to a lack of gratitude, I cherish every single one of your letters. I truly hope everyone is doing well.
Keep smiling, keep struggling,
In solidarity and gratitude,
With Love,
Kteeo

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/crimethinc-support-nw-grand-jury-resisters


From: Crimethinc. (http://www.crimethinc.com/blog/2013/02/23/support-the-nw-grand-jury-resisters/)
For months now, three courageous individuals—Matt Duran, Katherine Olejnik, and Maddy Pfeiffer—have been held captive in the Federal Detention Center in Seatac, Washington for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury currently underway in Washington state. Another person, Kerry Cunneen, has been subpoenaed but declines to appear. Convened in March of 2012, the grand jury is clearly intended to discourage anarchist activity, which has proliferated on the West Coast over the past few years.
In the following statement, we emphasize the urgency of offensive as well as defensive strategies, and present new support materials to draw attention to the grand jury resisters. This situation has been going on for many months now, but it’s important to renew public awareness on a regular basis.
Support Material
http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/2b_0.jpg (http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/system/files/jury-resisters-postcard.pdf) Corina Dross has created a postcard to raise funds for the Committee Against Political Repression’s fund for material and legal support for Grand Jury resisters. We are offering pdfs of a handbill and of a color version of the poster, in order that supporters around the world might print them out and distribute them.
Postcard text:
Grand juries are used as a tool to coerce people to provide testimony to the authorities about their friends or acquaintances, whether or not they are involved in illegal activity. Those who refuse to testify may be held in jail for the duration of the grand jury—often a year or more—for choosing to protect their privacy and the privacy of others.
Recently, a grand jury has been convened in the northwest to investigate anarchist organizing. Three courageous young people are imprisoned for refusing to cooperate, while more subpoenas are forthcoming.
Let’s show the investigators that our lives and friendships are none of their business. Support the grand jury resisters!
Why Solidarity Means Attack
Until someone takes a step to oppose them, the tragedies that are heaped upon us daily cannot even be recognized as tragedies—they remain invisible, merging with a sea of other misfortunes, a few more threads in the grey fabric of existence. That’s life.
This is why it doesn’t make sense to premise the right to act on victimhood: today’s outrages will be taken for granted tomorrow. All it takes to cease being recognized as a victim is to suffer the same offense long enough that everyone gets used to it. Think of all the atrocities everyone is resigned to today! Justifying our actions as responses grounds them on an ever-receding foundation.
So it is always the right time to act out, to revolt against age-old tragedies as well as brand new ones—even if the news of the day offers no rationale for our actions. If we want evictions, incarceration, deforestation, and genocide to be recognized as tragic, we have to attack their perpetrators ceaselessly. It is too easy to become accustomed to our cramped conditions, the tiny bubbles of freedom that remain to the obedient. Only in straining against the walls of our cages can we rediscover in our bodies that we were made for forests and open fields.
Likewise, when new tragedies are forced on us, if we do not wish to be alone in our outrage, we have to act immediately: to show to others that these are not just reprehensible but intolerable. If we do this, others may feel entitled to do the same—and together, we will be able to feel something that would have been impossible otherwise: that we deserve better. We remember Alexis Grigoropoulos, but not the thousands of people shot by police since his murder. Tragically, a tragedy is not a tragedy unless we respond appropriately.
For these reasons, we applaud the anti-capitalist march that took place in Seattle on May Day 2012, during which hundreds of people cheered as a black bloc destroyed government and corporate property. Capitalism and the state are responsible for most of the needless suffering taking place on this earth, but this will remain invisible unless we strike against them openly. It is all too rare for people to take the offensive and give shape to the discontent seething below the surface of this society.
The empire always strikes back, and a large number of people have been subpoenaed to a Washington State grand jury intended to map anarchist activity and relationships. Six of these subpoenas have been served; several more subpoenas are known to exist, but have not been successfully served. The government has very little to show for this effort, as all but one of the subpoenaed have refused to cooperate in any way and the entire operation is proving to be a media debacle.
In addition to commending the resisters, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has acted out in solidarity with the people being held captive in Washington. This kidnapping might otherwise have passed unnoticed, like the imprisonments of nearly two and a half million more people in the United States—yet another blow to isolate and demoralize those who desire another world. Instead, it has become a rallying point for new acts of revolt. When we take practical steps against the injustices around us, we recognize ourselves in others’ attempts to do the same, and the state’s assault on them becomes an assault on us. Some of the most inspiring actions have been the ones that open space for revolt to spread, like the marches in Portland, Olympia, Atlanta, and Bloomington.
If you have not done anything yet to support the grand jury resisters, there is unfortunately still time. The more opposition this witch hunt generates, the more hesitant the state will be to use this tactic against others.
What You Can Do
-Write to the prisoners
-Donate to their legal support
-Organize solidarity actions
-Learn more about Matt Duran, Katherine Olejnik, and Maddy Pfeiffer
-Read the text of Kerry Cunneen’s powerful and defiant radio interview
…and strike against the system that kidnapped them!
Appendix: Solidarity Actions
As reported via saynothing.info, these are some of the actions to date that have been claimed in solidarity with the grand jury resisters.
1/28/13 – Guelph, ON – a development billboard paintbombed
1/24/13 – Anonymous announces Operation Grand Jury Resisters
1/15/13 – New York, NY – a bank attacked
1/11/13 – Portland, OR – luxury car tires slashed
1/8/13 – Rochester, NY – luxury car tires slashed and graffiti
1/2/13 – Portland, OR – a bank attacked
1/2/13 – a call-in to get Matt and Kteeo out of solitary
12/31/12 – SeaTac, WA – a noise demonstration at the resisters’ prison
12/31/12 – Bloomington, IN – a mischievous demonstration
12/28/12 – Cleveland, OH – solidarity graffiti
12/27/12 – Milwaukee, WI – luxury car tires slashed
12/26/12 – Bloomington, IN – a bank ATM and private security company attacked
12/26/12 – Berkeley, CA – a bank sabotaged
12/12/12 – Olympia, WA – state police car tires slashed
12/16/12 – Anonymous DOS attack of USDA office
11/28/12 – Vancouver, BC – a bank attacked
11/26/12 – Pittsburgh, PA – a banner drop
11/24/12 – Toronto, Ontario – a banner drop
11/19/12 – Hamilton, Ontario – a banner drop
11/19/12 – Denver, CO – a march
11/18/12 – Seatac, WA – a noise demonstration
11/17/12 – Attica, NY – cars sabotaged
11/17/12 – Tempe, AZ – a banner drop
11/17/12 – Melbourne, Australia – a protest at the US Consulate
11/17/12 – Melbourne, Australia – a banner drop
11/2/12 – Bloomington, IN – a march
10/23/12 – Bristol, UK – arson of private security vehicle
10/17/12 – Bloomington, IN – a demonstration
10/12/12 – Olympia, WA – a demonstration
10/12/12 – Vancouver, WA – a yuppie restaurant attacked
10/12/12 – Fox Valley, WI – ATMs sabotaged
10/11/12 – Portland, OR – a march wrecked banks and business
10/10/12 – Portland, OR – a banner drop
10/9/12 – Vancouver, BC – a community policing center attacked
10/8/12 – Atlanta, GA – a noise demo
10/4/12 – Vancouver, BC – a bank attacked for Pax and GJ resisters
9/25/12 – Canby, OR – Animal Liberation Front liberates pheasants
9/22/12 – Anonymous shuts down US District Attorney’s phone systems
9/20/12 – Seattle, WA – a bank attacked
9/18/12 – Vancouver, BC – a yuppie restaurant attacked
9/17/12 – San Francisco, CA – a banner drop
9/17/12 – New York City, NY – a railway sabotaged
9/13/12 – Vancouver, BC – a community police center attacked
9/13/12 – Seattle, WA – a solidarity demo as Matt Duran is imprisoned
9/12/12 – a fax-in to US attorney
9/9/12 – Vancouver, BC – a noise demo and grocery store expropriation
8/31/12 – New York, NY – a banner drop
8/29/12 – a call-in to US attorney
8/28/12 – Oakland, CA – a bank attacked
8/22/12 – San Francisco, CA – yuppies attacked
8/17/12 – Vancouver, BC – a banner drop
8/15/12 – Paris, France – car tires slashed
8/10/12 – East Vancouver, BC – a banner drop
8/7/12 – Athens, Greece – stenciling and graffiti
8/6/12 – Atlanta, GA – a banner drop
8/5/12 – St. Louis, MO – an attack on ATMs
8/5/12 – Atlanta, GA – an attack on parking meters
8/3/12 – Milwaukee, WI – an attack on an Obama campaign center
8/2/12 – Seattle, WA – a demonstration in front of the federal courthouse
8/2/12 – Milwaukee, WI – an attack on 4 police vehicles and a NYPD pizza shop
8/2/12 – New York City, NY – a banner drop
8/2/12 – Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN – a solidarity demonstration
8/2/12 – East St. Louis, IL – an attack on a courthouse
8/2/12 – Asheville, NC – a solidarity demonstration
8/2/12 – Oakland, CA – an attack on a police substation
8/2/12 – Oakland, CA – an attack on 2 police vehicles and a police recruitment center
8/2/12 – Kirkland, WA – an attack on a courthouse
8/2/12 – San Francisco, CA – an attack on 9 police vehicles
8/1/12 – a call-in to US attorney
7/31/12 – Seattle, WA – a banner drop
7/31/12 – Oakland, CA – a banner drop
7/31/12 – San Francisco, CA – a banner drop
7/27/12 – San Francisco Bay Area, CA – a beautiful statement of solidarity
7/27/12 – East St. Louis, IL – an attack on police vehicles
7/25/12 – Bloomington, IN – a noise demonstration outside of a jail
I refuse to appear because I despise the state. They are working to undo
 everything that Anarchists stand for. I refuse to help them on the principle 
that prisons should be abolished. I refuse them because I am in complete
support of the crimes they are investigating. I refuse them with a visceral
 hatred for the law and all of the lives they ruin. I am glad for the little bit of
 resistance I can provide in denying them information. I respect and admire
 Matt, Kteeo and Maddy for making the sacrifice that is involved in sitting for 
an undetermined jail sentence. I just am not personally willing to take a
 step in the direction of my own jail cell.
-Kerry Cunneen






One note on the quote at the end, I disagree that it's only a little bit of resistance. I think it's one of the most important forms and it's a big deal.

[Sasha]

two out of tree will be released tomorrow!


Grand Jury Refusers Katherine Olejnik and Matthew Duran Are Free

Posted by Brendan Kiley (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/brendan-kiley/Author?oid=1124) on Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 5:15 PM

This was originally posted at 4:19 pm.
Or they will be at 4 pm tomorrow afternoon. Judge Jones has granted Duran and Olejnik's attorneys' request to release their clients, who have been in prison—without convictions or charges—for five months and in solitary confinement for two months.
I wrote about visiting them in prison, and how they got there, in this story. (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/christmas-in-prison/Content?oid=15565849)
More details after I get Judge Jones's ruling—but this is happy, happy news. And it's a correction of a situation in the justice system that has seemed very, very far from just.
The third grand jury refuser, Maddie Pfeiffer, is still in prison, but his attorney did not join the motion to file for his release. That motion, I'm guessing, isn't far away.
Of course, they might eventually be charged with criminal contempt—but at least that would have a semblance of due process, an opportunity for a public trial, and a fixed term of incarceration instead of you-just-sit-in-this-cold-cell-until-you-tell-us-what-we-want-to-hear.
You know, the stuff most American citizens expect when dealing with judicial branch of American government.
UPDATE
Judge Jones's ruling is here (http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/02/27/1362013554-order_granting_release-1.pdf), with selected paragraphs after the jump. In short, it reiterates what we've (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/political-convictions/Content?oid=14397498) been (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/no-right-to-remain-silent/Content?oid=15031154) saying (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/10/11/and-then-there-were-three-third-grand-jury-refuser-goes-to-prison) for (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/christmas-in-prison/Content?oid=15565849) many (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/22/grand-jury-refusers-attorneys-ask-the-court-to-let-them-go) months (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/11/07/matthew-maddy-pfeiffer-another-grand-jury-resister): That they weren't there on May Day, that their confinement is looking awfully punitive even though it's not legally supposed to be, that they have shown their resolve to not testify, and that the feds are asking them for testimony that would be tangential at best. (Not who threw the brick through the window?, but who is this person and what are her political and social affiliations?)
Read it in Judge Jones's words below the jump:

Both Ms. Olejnik and Mr. Duran have provided extensive declarations explaining that although they wish to end their confinement, they will never end their confinement by testifying. The court finds their declarations persuasive. They have been submitted to five months of confinement. For a substantial portion of that confinement, they have been held in the special housing unit of the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, during which they have had no other contact with detainees, very little contact even with prison staff, and exceedingly limited ability to communicate with the outside world...
The government does dispute the witnesses' assertions that confinement in the special housing until entails 23 hours of solitary confinement in their cells and an hour of solitary time alone in a larger room each day, a single fifteen-minute phone call each month (as opposed to five hours of monthly phone time for detainees outside the special housing until), and exceedingly limited access to reading and writing material. Their physical health has deteriorated sharply and their mental health has also suffered from the effects of solitary confinement.
Their confinement has cost them; they have suffered the loss of jobs, income, and important personal relationships. They face the possibility of criminal convictions for contempt... both she and Mr. Duran have nonetheless refused to testify...
The court has observed both Ms. Olejnik and Mr. Duran in their prior appearances before the court. Whatever the merits of their choices not to testify, their demeanor has never given the court reason to doubt their sincerity or the strength of their convictions.
The witnesses and the government also invite the court to consider arguments specific to the grand jury investigation at issue. The witnesses argue, for example, that any testimony they could offer would be, at best, tangential to the investigation... Although they remain in contempt of court, the court finds no basis for their continued confinement.

[Ele'ill]

Great news!

Fuck you feds.

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/vancouver-solidarity-arson


Vancouver Solidarity Arson

Thu, 02/28/2013 - 2:29pm
The fire still burns. With the news of the release of two of the three Grand Jury Resistors ( Matt and it warmed our hearts but also filled them with anger. The state has taken parts of their life they will never get back. We also have not forgotten about the third resister (Maddy) and all the other nameless ones.
So last night, we decided to send a message that the release of our comrades will not stop our attacks on financial infrastructure, government and all others who oppress and take away our freedom. An unsuspecting bank, CIBC, had a Molotov cocktail thrown at it. The flames brought new life to our minds and destruction to the bank and a sense of insecurity to the Vancouver Police and the banks investors that they will never be able to stop us and that our attacks will increase.
The fire will always burn. Last night, we let that fire burn a financial institution that profits off the lives of the workers and foreclosures of families homes. Let this inspire anarchists and other radical elements of Vancouver, Coast Salish Territory, to attack and to attack now. We cannot be stopped.
Love, to all comrades from CST Vancouver

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/attack-seattle-green-development


Attack on Seattle "Green" Development

Sun, 03/03/2013 - 5:53pm

Just before midnight, Monday Feb 25, we strolled over to the townhouses under construction on 24th and Norman in the Central District. After slipping inside, we set one ablaze. Oh what ease! Oh what fun!
Sustainable development is a myth that makes us sick. By furthering gentrification and ecological destruction, these buildings dress disaster up as progress, promising a "green" future that will never be.
Our attack was just one more opportunity to joyously reject the status quo. It was another attempt to shed the subjugated subjectivity forced upon us by Capital and the State. We act against civil society and its attempts at domestication. Fuck that shit.
Solidarity with Maddy, Kerry, and all the silent ones still facing repression by the Federal Grand Jury. We will not cower in fear. We will not remain docile in the face of State terror.
Now is the time to attack! Enemies abound. Weapons are everywhere.
Join us?
Some Anarchists






mainstream news here http://centraldistrictnews.com/2013/03/fire-that-burned-townhouses-at-24th-and-norman-was-arson-some-anarchists-claim-credit/

about $30,000 in damage

[Ele'ill]

:)

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/call-coordinated-week-action-grand-jury-resisters-april-24-may-1st-2013


Call for Coordinated Week of Action for Grand Jury Resisters: April 24-May 1st 2013

Tue, 03/05/2013 - 7:37pm

Call for Coordinated Week of Action
April 24-May 1st 2013
Solidarity with Grand Jury Resisters
Remember that it was a year ago on May 1st, 2012 that anarchists so dramatically attacked Seattle, a city built on two hundred years of desecration. Anarchists organized with the clear and almost theatrical intent of acting on our disgust, sadness, and love of freedom. The holiday was to be a public display, in broad business daylight as part of the anti-capitalist march. We gave ourselves that arena for communal empowerment, a ritualized demonstration to exhibit our beliefs and attack our enemy. It was on that day that we evoked the spirit of our ancestors and comrades, risking the Everyday to give a tradition that lights our lives on fire room to play.
Then the grand jury emerged. We knew this was coming, or at least were not surprised when news arrived of raids, warrants, and subpoenas. This is what they do; and so while it is not necessarily a common place event, it is by no means exceptional. The federal grand jury convening in seattle merely illustrates the omnipotent presence of the State, its surveillance of our lives and activities, and its corrosive efforts to detail our intimacies and dissolve our intensity. The year since then has been a transitional time, changing from an ongoing and active public anarchist presence to a time to strengthen individual resolve, commitment, practice and projectuality. What ways are we to live out our contempt of this world and desires for a different one?
Society and its multitude of adherents -Politicians, Workers, Scientists, Students, Patriots, Priests, the list goes on- must know the bedrock of our beliefs to be on the reality of Everything, and that a world we desire is only possible through the destruction of this one, of this society. Things are not separate, but are related in causal and chaotic relationships. In May Day 2012's acts of destruction we found a joy so wholesome and liberating; in those moments the Spectacle was so entirely put to shame, laughed at for its very nature and absurdity. Attacking these somethings that both subtly and notoriously control and commodify our minds and bodies is, at times, the exact medicine we need.
What we believe is more ancient than the State and Society; their superficial ways crumble amidst the rumblings of our primordial calling. When we listen, as we have been doing in seattle and the pacific northwest, we hear the voices of our ancestors echoing in our ears, pulling us to unbending action and contempt. We know that when we fight, when we love and are conspiring, that we are doing so in ways that make sense with pre-colonial and uncivilized ways. The desire to have a life of integrated practice and ideology pushes us to great lengths. We do not feel absurd or perverse in our undertaking, as the media and politicians illustrate us to be. We are in this for real though and they are sorely mistaken to think otherwise.
The State's activity is, again, no surprise; they want to end our lives and to erase our ideas; if the Beautiful Idea spreads, Society would suffer, and they can't have that. The power of the State, concentrated and unnecessary in its expansive control, takes over the geography of our minds and bodies, and of our land. Society wants an end to wildness and freedom for it is specifically those things that cannot live in or alongside Society. Wildness and freedom, these longings that make us alive, that make us animal, that make us anarchist, are against Society. Society necessitates the domination of place, whereas wildness and freedom flourish in their place.
In this place, there is a lingering stench of History's repression against dissenters, anarchists and otherwise. We can still smell the green scare, and even most recently catch wafts of its affects with the reemerging of long time underground resister, rebecca rubin. The State has historically, again and again, used whatever judicial, political, economic, and cultural means necessary to both repress and recuperate any and all dissent, variation, rebellion, or social dis-ease. Anarchy comes through our bodies, brought about by its impulses of spontaneity, rebellion, disgust, and laughter. What a comedy this world is to suppress such great things!
Consider using the anger, pain, and sadness you've experienced because of this wave of repression or because of the State and its affects as momentum to express solidarity and continue on with the Beautiful Idea. Let's use this coordinated week of action for the much needed joy, perseverance, and defiance. Yatta Yatta Yatta, get out there, do something, it's easy to attack!
Solidarity with Grand Jury Defiance! Solidarity with the Silent Ones! May Our Resolve Against Repression of All Forms Strengthen Our Complicity.
If you live in the Pacific Northwest, please come to the Federal Detention Center in Sea-Tac for a demonstration outside from 9-10am and again from 6-7pm. Publicize, come out, and bring your friends, and noisemakers! Dress for the weather and festivity.
If you live outside the area, consider planning a solidarity demonstration in your place or an event about grand juries and resistance. Use this current wave of repression to build an ocean of dissent; this struggle is predictable and merely an entry point into anti-prison, anti-state, and anti-social ideas and action.

[Ele'ill]

I have what might be an unpopular opinion here but does anyone else feel there's a tension floating about amidst the dialogue on this (not necessarily coming from the resistors), where there's a tilt towards fear culture regarding arrests and prison and not necessarily an exaggeration of arrest and prison but an overemphasis on it as a consequence that's being presented to radicals? We should know that arrest and prison is a consequence, maybe even likely. I don't think it's something that we can let get into our heads to the extent that it controls and cripples our actions.

[Sasha]

Solidarity/information event in Amsterdam the 18th of march: https://www.indymedia.nl/node/13733

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/anonymous-shuts-down-city-seattle-site-solidarity-grand-jury-resisters


Anonymous Shuts Down City of Seattle Site in Solidarity with Grand Jury Resisters

Sun, 03/17/2013 - 2:02pm
Chaos Campaign - D0s of City of Seattle government website - Aka this is why we hate you
As of the hours 1640 on Saturday March 16th the City of Seattle website has been downed. From for one hour we conducted an easily reproducible D0s on the Seattle government website. This was done in solidarity with the Grand Jury Resisters Maddy and other known and unknown comrades. We decided to wreak a small instance of havoc on the web. We used anonymous computers outside of our typical browsing habits, change the mac address, used a free VPN service and launched multiple instances of pyloris. During this hour long attack we made sure to refresh the website of Seattle.gov to be sure it was working. Success!!!1
May Day is not a single day of confrontation, let every day be an attack on our enemies.
Whether physical or virtual!

[Sasha]

The Stranger Goes to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Whoopee!) (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/20/the-stranger-goes-to-the-ninth-circuit-court-of-appeals-whoopee)

Posted by Brendan Kiley (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/brendan-kiley/Author?oid=1124) on Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 8:14 AM

In the process of covering the grand jury (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/no-right-to-remain-silent/Content?oid=15031154), its refusers (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/christmas-in-prison/Content?oid=15565849), and the release of two of them (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/27/grand-jury-refusers-katherine-olejnik-and-matthew-duran-are-free), The Stranger has gotten involved in a months-long legal process of trying to push the federal government to be more transparent about its legal maneuverings.
From a recent news story: (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/what-are-they-hiding/Content?oid=16235426)

Throughout this process, The Stranger has been working with attorney Neil Fox, president of the local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, petitioning to unseal some of the documents in this case that prosecutors have reflexively shielded. Some of those motions, for example, aren't sensitive to the investigation, but merely cite precedent and case law. We have been successful in getting some made public (such as a copy of the government's search-warrant affidavit, which [attorneys] Gordon and Kaplan say was helpful in getting their clients released), but not others (such as the full civil contempt proceedings). If we can raise the funds—including a $450 filing fee and at least $300 for printing—Fox and The Stranger will push our case for greater government transparency to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. We plan to file soon.
The feds seems to be using a "seal-it-because-we-said-so" approach instead of a "seal-it-because-it's-actually-sensitive" approach. This is a problem because we, as citizens and as journalists, should have access to what our federal prosecutors are doing. Sealing motions should be the exception, not the rule. So we're taking this argument to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Our attorney, Neil Fox, is lending his expertise and drafting our motions pro bono, but the paperwork and filing fees ain't cheap. The Stranger will chip in some money, of course, and a few private donors have come forward. But we'll need a little help getting over the hump.
So we've started an Indiegogo campaign to make up the difference. If you want to show federal prosecutors that we are interested in how they do business in federal court, please donate here. (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-stranger-goes-to-the-ninth-circuit-court-of-appeals/x/2735853) (And remember: The more money we raise, the more nimble we can afford to be with our legal strategy.)
If we have money left over, neither Neil Fox nor I nor The Stranger will take a penny. You, dear Sloggers, will help us figure out what to do with it.



:)

[Ele'ill]

https://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/multiple-houses-in-olympia-and-seattle-visited-by-the-fbi-this-morning/


Multiple houses in Olympia and Seattle visited by the FBI this morning

Posted on April 25, 2013 (https://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/multiple-houses-in-olympia-and-seattle-visited-by-the-fbi-this-morning/) | 8 Comments (https://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/multiple-houses-in-olympia-and-seattle-visited-by-the-fbi-this-morning/#comments)
At least 2 houses in Olympia and 2 in Seattle were visited this morning by the FBI, looking for a few different people. At least one of the people is being sought because the FBI wants to interview them about May Day/ black bloc. At this point it is unclear whether there are subpoenas for either of the people the FBI is looking for, or whether they’re trying a more informal approach.
If the FBI comes to your house or stops you on the street you don’t have to talk to them. If they give you a subpoena, don’t talk to them – call your lawyer or the NLG. Shut the door in their faces or walk away. It is never a good idea to talk to the FBI. Instead, call the National Lawyers’ Guild immediately at (888) 654-3265.












http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/fbi-harassment-anarchists-pacific-northwest-continues


FBI Harassment of Anarchists in Pacific Northwest Continues

Thu, 04/25/2013 - 1:48pm

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872 reads

From: Say Nothing (http://saynothing.noblogs.org/the-feds-are-prowling-around-olympia-and-seattle-again/)
This post originally had a shorter write-up about the situation that was submitted to PSA. We have now chosen to replace the text with this more complete post from Saynothing.info. Sorry for any confusion.
They’ve visited a number of houses and The Evergreen State College looking for various people. Sometimes they’ve named names; other times they’ve just made their presence known and gone away. We have no firm indication that they are attempting to serve subpoenas.
What should we do on a day like today?
Foremost, do not panic. Take deep breaths, go for a walk (it is a beautiful sunny day in Washington), do whatever you need to do to stay focused and calm.
If your house is visited, do not open the door. Ask the feds who they are looking for, and tell them that you have nothing to say to them. Let people know that you have been visited. If they say someone’s name, make sure you notify that person.
Make a plan. What would you do if you were subpoenaed? Would you resist by appearing and refusing to testify? Are you prepared to go to prison?
If you are not prepared to go to prison, BE HONEST ABOUT IT.
A lesson to be learned from a prior debacle is this: those who feel unable to endure a possibly lengthy stay in prison, including segregation or solitary confinement, should find other options.
If you feel weak, then do what you must to feel strong. Forget any pressure to appear in any venue: you owe nothing to the media, you owe nothing to “the cause.” What you do, you should do for yourself and those you love. Reach into yourself, find a rock on which you can plant yourself. Get help from those close to you. Find your strength. As important as strength, is flexibility. Find that, as well. Bend when you need to, so that you do not break.
If prison is anathema to you, then avoid it. Flight is not easy, but it should be considered. There are numerous people on the run: Kerry and S. have publicly announced their noncooperation through flight, and others have left quietly. Talk with your closest friends about how you would handle that situation. Prepare a plan. Have cash on hand.
Stay safe. Stay loyal to each other. Remain, as always, in conflict.
Saynothing.info

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/montreal-qb-four-banks-attacked-solidarity-pnw


Montreal, QB: Four banks attacked in solidarity with PNW

Thu, 04/25/2013 - 8:25pm

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254 reads

From: Anarchist News (http://anarchistnews.org/content/four-banks-attacked-montreal)
During the last week, several of us decided to self-organize and pass to the attack.
Because capitalism is totalitarian.
Because financial institutions, Desjardins banks included, are agents of this domination. Because they are responsible for the financial crisis, yet always come out on top. Because the condition of their existence is the negation of ours.
Because the politicians, no matter the party, are also agents of this system. Because they accept the rules of a game in which we are first to lose. Because they blindly embrace the hegemonic ideology of zero deficit, of State austerity measures, of growth and profit at any price.
Because the banks are the pillars of this structure which objectifies us, trades us, commodifies us.
We attacked and smashed four banks with rocks, hammers, and paint in the neighborhoods of Hochelaga and Plateau-Mt-Royal. We also vandalized the ATMs.
We know that we only struck the symbols of this domination. But the conflict takes place everyday; when you have to pay to eat, pay to go to school (which is itself subsumed to the reproduction of Capital), when the landlord comes for the rent, when the repossession agency knocks at the door.
Solidarity with the Pacific Northwest Grand Jury resistors who, despite the risk of imprisonment, refuse to bow down to the demands of the State and Capital.
- some anarchists
Quatre banques attaquées à Montréal
Pendant la semaine passée, plusieurs d'entre nous ont décidé de s'organiser et de passer à l'attaque.
Parce que le capitalisme est totalitaire.
Parce que les institutions financières, les caisses Desjardins comprises, sont agents et protagonistes de cette domination. Parce qu'elles sont responsables des crises financières, mais en ressortent toujours gagnantes. Parce que la condition de leur existence, c'est la négation de la nôtre.
Parce que les politiciens et politiciennes, peu importe le parti, sont aussi agents de ce système, ils et elles acceptent les regles d'un jeu dont nous sommes les perdants. Parce qu'ils et elles embrassent aveuglément l'idéologie hégémonique du déficit zéro, de la réduction de la taille de l'État, de la croissance et du profit à tout prix.
Parce que les banques sont les piliers sur lesquels reposent cet édifice qui nous réifie, nous échange, nous marchandise.
Nous avons attaqué et vandalisé quatre succursales de diverses banques avec des pavés, de la peinture, des marteaux dans les quartiers Plateau-Mt-Royal et Hochelaga. Nous avons aussi vandalisé les guichets automatiques.
Nous savons que ce ne sont que les symboles de cette domination auxquels nous nous attaquons. Mais le conflit est quotidienne, quand il faut payer pour manger, pour s'instruire. Quand le proprio vient chercher le loyer, quand le huissier frappe à la porte.
Solidarité avec les résistants du Grand Jury du nord-ouest des USA qui, malgré les risques d'emprisonnement, refusent de se plier aux demandes de l'État et du Capital.
-des anarchistes

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/announcing-support-site-anarchist-grand-jury-resister-solidarity-steve


Announcing Support Site for Anarchist Grand Jury Resister! Solidarity with Steve!

Tue, 05/07/2013 - 12:13pm

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44 reads

From: Solidarity with Steve (https://solidaritywithsteve.noblogs.org/)
PLEASE CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO: SOLIDARITYWITHSTEVE.NOBLOGS.ORG
In late July of 2012 our friend Steve received a phone call from a man identifying himself as a FBI agent. He was told that a subpoena had been issued for him to appear before a federal Grand Jury investigating the vandalism of the Kenzo Nakamura Court of Appeals*. This phone call happened in conjunction with three other people being served subpoenas in Olympia and Portland, as well as house raids in Portland. Although Steve is a well known anarchist in the Northwest, who has been subjected to state harassment before, up until this moment he has not been served or indicated as a suspect of the ongoing investigation against anarchists.
However, his life has been severely impacted by the course of events. Hehas made the choice to leave his former life behind in order to reject the Grand Jury on his own terms. This means that Steve has gone without face-to-face contact with his family, friends, and loved ones for many months.
On that note, the investigation and subsequent repression is still very much alive even though former prisoners, Maddy, Matt and Kteeo are now free. The potential for criminal indictments is always a lingering and realistic possibility. Also, the effects of imprisonment and future threats of going back to prison are not something that ends once one has left the prison walls behind.
While Steve has been doing his best to adjust to life in a new place, it has not been an easy transition. He has already been physical and verbally harassed by the state forces in his new location, and without status and ability to use the local language, employment is very hard to come by. At the same time, he has been doing his best to keep his spirits high and is gracious for all the support and solidarity he has received from people thus far, and the new friends he has made. The fact remains that life inside capitalist society is expensive, and as of this point he has no income whatsoever. He is in a really rough spot right now, being thousands of miles away from his home and not knowing when he will be able to return. Please consider donating to Steve so he can take care of his rent, bills, transportation costs, and everything else this life forces us to pay for. As little or much as you can, anything helps.
*It is important to note that Steve stands in solidarity and complicity with all those accused of damaging the Kenzo Nakamura Court House.
Please donate whatever you can at:
wepay.com/donations/solidaritywithsteve

[Ele'ill]

http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/we-want-win-pdf


We Want To Win .pdf

Fri, 06/14/2013 - 6:25pm
Attached is the .pdf for printing of the zine "We Want To Win", which is a collection of texts by those who have chosen a clandestine path as resistance to the ongoing grand jury and texts and communiques by those in solidarity with them.
Please print and disseminate wildly. The least we can do is to help their words be heard far and wide.

[Ele'ill]

*posting this here because while this is an older thread this isn't over and likely won't ever entirely be over for a lot of folks, I hope they have 0 regrets, solidarity

http://www.pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/25


On 15 Apr, 2014 By Anonymous (not verified) 0 Comments Hi, my name is Steven Jablonski. I am anarchist and Grand Jury
Resister.
After living in exile in Canada for about a year and a half, I returned
to United States about a month ago. My return was not meant to be
secretive but I felt the need to take some time for myself to collect my
thoughts and decompress before I releasing an official statement. I now
feel ready to break the silence and clarify some of the confusion around
me being subpoenaed for the Seattle Grand Jury investigating May Day 2012
in Seattle.
In July of 2012 several people in the northwest received subpoenas
to testify for a Grand Jury investigating anarchist activity and property
destruction that occurred at the 2012 Seattle May Day Anti-Capitalist
Demo. In late July I received a phone call from someone claiming they
were an FBI agent who stated that I had been subpoenaed to testify in
front of Grand Jury and how they could deliver that subpoena to me. A
subpoena only goes into effect once it is “served” to a person, which
means the physical subpoena must be hand delivered to the person. I made
the decision to resist the grand jury by leaving the country rather than
risk being served and testifying in front of the Grand Jury.
I was and still continue to be firm in my belief of noncooperation
with the State. I was fairly certain that if I refused to answer the Grand
Jury's questions that I would be held in civil contempt and placed in
prison. Without passing any judgment on the decisions other Grand Jury
Resisters have made, I did not feel comfortable presenting myself to the
State for a prison sentence. I understand that jail and prison are a fact
of life for many people in this world and I also understand that by
engaging in anarchist activity one can also risk imprisonment. I want do
everything possible to resist cooperation with the state and I also
refuse to willingly walk into my own prison cell.
I arrived in Canada on August 4th, 2012. By November I had started
living in Montreal, Quebec. Throughout my time spent in Montreal I was fucked
with by both CSIS(Canadian Security Intelligence Service) and the SPVM
(Montreal City Police). Over the course of my time in Canada I was
routinely followed and approached by name on the street and outside of my
house. During these interactions I was told to go back to my home country
and that they were just waiting to deport me. I was placed in a SPVM car
multiples times including been picked up by cop car a block away from my
house at 2 in the morning and driven to the outskirts of the city where
they took my phone, cash, shoes and jacket. A couple months later I was
suspiciously jumped by two unknown people 2 blocks from my house that
made no effort to take any of my belongings, but kept calling me an
“American Faggot”. In each of these interactions it has been clear that
these people knew of my legal situation.
Despite all of the harassment I was also able to have the love and
friendship of great people in Montreal. I essentially showed up in
Montreal not knowing anybody and people made sure that I had everything
that I needed. Quickly through both highs and the lows these
relationships transformed into bonds that I am sure will be long lasting.
Clearly the State is not happy with my and others decisions to not
cooperate with this investigation. Despite this, all except one of the
people involved in the investigation have maintained strict
noncooperation with the investigation. But the investigation is now
coming to a close. The past year and a half has most certainly been the
most interesting and difficult year of my life. With the help of both old
friends and new friends, anarchists both near and far, and the
inspiration I have felt from my fellow Grand Jury Resisters and comrades,
some things are finally coming to a close.
My exile has also turned out to be rather expensive but due to the
financial support I received from a whole lot of people I was
taken care of very well. I want to specifically thank the
Committee Against Political Repression and comrades in Vancouver
BC and Guelph ON and friends in both the Bay Area and New York. I
also want to thank my friends in the Puget Sound, the closest
friends I have in the world. Their support and encouragement has
been insurmountable in my resistance, mental health and emotional
health. I also want to speak about how inspired I have been by the
countless solidarity actions that took place all over the world,
as well as anyone else who has offered any gesture of support.
I also want to be clear that I stand in full solidarity with those
anonymous vandals who attacked the William Kenzo Nakamura Courthouse in
Seattle on May 1st 2012. There are few things I desire more than to see
institutions of power targeted and attacked. I strongly identify with the
insurrectionary anarchist tendency and believe that those acts of crime
and rebellion that occurred on that day in Seattle serve as a small
example of how people can physically attack institutions of Capital in
their never-ending quest for liberation.
As excited as I am to be home, like most things in life the
experience is bitter-sweet. I have had some wonderful experiences
over the past year and a half and returning home has not been an
easy thing to do. As frustrating as the past nineteen months have
been, I know I am coming out of this experience as a stronger
person with stronger bonds, and clearer idea on what affinity,
friendship, and anarchy actually mean to me. But ultimately, I'm
just glad to finally be home.
Solidarity with all other Grand Jury Resisters and those in Exile!
Freedom for Amelie, Carlos, and Fallon! (The 5E3 Prisoners)
Long Live Anarchy!

[Sasha]

:)

and the verdict of the 9th circuit is in

In Legal Battle Over Grand-Jury Secrecy, Ninth Circuit Court Sides with The Stranger (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/09/08/in-legal-battle-over-grand-jury-secrecy-ninth-circuit-court-sides-with-the-stranger)

Posted by Brendan Kiley (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/brendan-kiley/Author?oid=1124) on Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 10:41 AM

http://www.thestranger.com/binary/c74c/1409945417-ninthcircuitdoors.jpg


The doors of the Ninth Circuit courthouse in downtown Seattle—the same courthouse that was vandalized on May Day 2012, sparking very aggressive law-enforcement activity over people's political beliefs.


Well, the court sided with The Stranger for the most part.
Last Friday, the Ninth Circuit published its opinion (http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/09/05/13-35243.pdf) about our ongoing fight with the federal government (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/02/05/the-strangers-day-in-court) over how secret its grand jury proceedings should be. The short version: They wanted automatic and almost total secrecy and opacity, we wanted transparency—or at least some clearly argued standards about why certain documents should be sealed and kept away from the public. On Friday, the court found in our favor. We won. Mostly.
The background: In the summer of 2012, law-enforcement officials began handing subpoenas to activists around the Northwest, ordering them to appear before a federal grand jury in Seattle. These weren't all polite knocks on the door—in some instances, agents battered their way into activists' homes before sunrise with guns drawn. The grand jury was supposedly investigating what happened on May Day, 2012 (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/you-know-a-may-day-protest-was-successful-when/Content?oid=16636009), when demonstrators in an anti-capitalist march smashed out the windows of stores, banks, and the Ninth Circuit Federal Courthouse downtown.
The investigation landed several political activists in jail for months. (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/christmas-in-prison/Content?oid=15565849) Some, like Matthew Duran and Katherine "Kteeo" Olejnik, spent a few of those months in solitary confinement (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/freedom-is-frustrating/Content?oid=16403520) for reasons the federal government and the detention facility still refuse to explain.
These activists weren't accused of any crime—prosecutors acknowledged they weren't even in town on May Day. They were imprisoned because they appeared before the grand jury as ordered but refused to answer troubling questions about other people's social habits and political opinions.
http://www.thestranger.com/binary/60fb/1409956712-olejnikandduran.jpg

Kelly O
Katherine Olejnik and Matthew Duran were kept in solitary confinement for months for refusing to answer questions about other people's politics.

(http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/christmas-in-prison/Content?oid=15565849)
In the course of reporting the story, it became clear that the federal government expected to keep as much of its proceedings as secret as possible. (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/02/04/tomorrow-morning-the-stranger-goes-to-the-ninth-circuit-court-of-appeals-to-fight-for-government-transparency) Nearly every document pertaining to the case was reflexively sealed, regardless of whether it contained any "secrets" from the grand jury investigation. Even the docket to the court file—essentially, its table of contents—was sealed, meaning that as far as the general public was concerned, the entire episode would be erased from legal history.
So Neil Fox of the National Lawyers Guild and I began a legal process to unseal some of those documents—or, if they weren't going to be unsealed, to at least make the government prove why the public should be kept in the dark about what was happening. Because we said so wasn't good enough. (As the case progressed, the government even began sealing its legal arguments about why it shouldn't have to unseal anything. It apparently wanted to keep the debate about secrecy a secret from the public as well.)
Fox argued the case up through the system until, one morning last February, he, Kimberly Gordon (Duran's defense attorney), and I walked up the steps of the Ninth Circuit Federal Courthouse (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/02/05/the-strangers-day-in-court)—the same courthouse demonstrators vandalized during May Day, kicking off this whole story.
Inside, we could hear the muffled roars of Seahawks fans cheering during their celebratory Superbowl parade as our side—and lawyers from the US Attorney's Office—made our arguments about reflexive grand-jury secrecy in front of the second-highest court in the land.
Last Friday morning—coincidentally, the day after the Seahawks resoundingly won their first game of the new season—the Ninth Circuit published its opinion (http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/09/05/13-35243.pdf).
In a nearly 50-page ruling (http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/09/05/13-35243.pdf) written by Judge Morgan Christen (who has the distinction of being supported by pro-choice advocates for her work with Planned Parenthood and for being selected by Sarah Palin for the Alaska Supreme Court), the court lays out the basics of the case:
(1) Nobody is arguing that there's a public right to transcripts of what happens in the grand jury room. For the purposes of this case, we all agree those are secret.
(2) Currently, all grand-jury related proceedings "are sealed as a matter of course," Judge Christen wrote, including documents about the activists' contempt proceedings that sent them to a federal detention facility. (Once Duran, Olejnik, and the rest demonstrated that they would not answer grand jury questions, they were found in contempt of court and put behind bars. In the course of reporting the story, Olejnik told me she was asked four questions about the vandalism on May Day, which she answered truthfully, but says she refused to answer around 50 "McCarthy-esque" questions about other people's political views.)
(3) When we appealed the government's reflexive secrecy to the district court, federal Judge Richard A. Jones said we could have access to the transcripts of open proceedings but nothing more—including the docket, making any unsealing of little use to the public.
(4) "Public disclosure of judicial records often enhances the public's trust in the process," Judge Christen wrote, and the public has some First Amendment "right of access" to what happens in its courts.
Given those four points, the big question was: How much should the government be able to keep secret and how much does the public have a right to know?
Judge Christen decided the government could keep three things under seal: (a) the documents related to witnesses' motions to quash their subpoenas to appear before the grand jury (the secrecy of the grand jury is supposed to protect witnesses, even when those witnesses want to quash their subpoenas), (b) parts of the contempt transcripts in which grand jury secrets are discussed, and (c) the government's motion to hold Duran in contempt.
Judge Christen held that these should be kept under seal because they tilt towards revealing what the grand jury is investigating, which is supposed to be secret.
But she argued that the rest of ancillary proceedings surrounding the grand jury (the docket, orders to hold witnesses in contempt, orders to put them behind bars, witnesses' requests to be released, and so on) should be unsealed.
That's the good news.
In effect, the Ninth Circuit has said that aside from actual grand jury secrets revealed in the grand jury room, and those that might spill into ancillary proceedings, the public has a right to know what's going on. (As Judge Christen put it in her discussion of our motion to unseal Duran's contempt file: "The public should be given an opportunity to engage in and follow the dialogue concerning whether the public will be excluded from a proceeding.") Now the question is whether the Western District of Washington will change its rules so it does not seal all documents related to the grand jury "as a matter of course," as it has done in the past.
Because, as of Friday, that is the new legal standard.
Judge Christen's opinion is good news for this particular grand jury case—but it's also a tiny part of a much larger, much longer story about what grand juries are for and who they serve.
There have been two broad, contradictory narratives about what grand juries do: first, that they protect individuals and minorities from the powerful; second, that they are just a way for the powerful to put pressure on individuals and minorities.
In defense of grand juries, Judge James Alger Fee wrote in an impassioned 1952 opinion (US vs. Symth): "... a criticism of the action of the grand jury is a criticism of democracy itself."
But as New York State Judge Sol Wachtler was famously quoted in The Bonfire of the Vanities: "A grand jury would indict a ham sandwich, if that's what you wanted."
The grand jury is an unusual and arcane institution where the prosecutor holds almost all the cards and all the power. If you are called before a grand jury, you are not allowed to have an attorney in the room or even a judge—it's just you, the prosecutor, and the grand jury. And it's all secret. (Only those summoned before the grand jury are allowed to talk about what happened in the room.)
As a 2002 article in the Harvard Journal of Law and Policy put it: "Operating outside the public eye, the grand jury is the most powerful investigative agency in the federal criminal justice system." Unlike the FBI or other law-enforcement organizations, a grand jury investigation can jail witnesses who refuse to talk and subpoena documents and other evidence without a search warrant. No search warrant means no probable cause—add in grand jury secrecy and you've got an extremely powerful investigative tool operating without much public oversight.
The whole idea of the grand jury was introduced by King Henry II at the Assizes of Clarendon as he was trying to extend the legal power of his crown over feudal lords scattered throughout his kingdom. Henry II's idea was to send justices through the land to keep "the King's Peace." When a justice arrived, he'd swear in some of the local men who could tell him—in secrecy—about the crimes that had been committed since the last time he was in town, even if they were committed by a local, feudal big-shot. Hence the idea of grand juries protecting the little guys.
But in the 1950s, at the time Judge Fee was writing about grand juries as sacred to democracy, they were becoming increasingly caught up in anti-communist hysteria—not evaluating evidence so much as trying to scare it up. A 1954 New York Times article titled "Senate Votes to Force Witnesses To Testify in Subversive Cases" (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C05E4DC113EE53BBC4A52DFBE66838F 649EDE)pinpoints one important moment in this history when Congress decided to force witnesses to testify in cases about "national security" and "subversive activities" by granting them immunity. If they're granted immunity, they can't plead the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination—then it's talk or go to jail, which is also what happened to the grand jury resisters in the May Day case.
"For years scores of witnesses have refused to talk," the NYT article reports. "The bill was one of the principal recommendations of the Eisenhower Administration in its fight on subversive activities" and was explicitly described in Washington, DC as a "device for 'getting around the Fifth Amendment.'" (Incidentally, that was only one of several actions along the "subversive" front that day in DC. The article also describes new prison penalties for those who harbor fugitives and stiffer penalties for bail-jumpers—inspired by communist fugitives such as Gerhard Eisler, who is mentioned in the article—and an "anti-subversive" bill pressuring unions to purge their ranks of communists.)
Once granting witnesses immunity was solid, investigatory bodies like the grand jury had incredible power. Immunity and contempt proceedings could pressure people to testify—and secrecy would severely restrict how much the public would know about it.
In 1984, legal scholar Michael E. Deutsch wrote a grim history of grand juries in the US (http://www.lawcollective.org/article.php?id=17), showing how they've been instrumental in persecuting abolitionists, labor organizers, civil-rights activists, the Puerto Rican independence movement, and dissident firebrands from Big Bill Haywood to Marcus Garvey. (Legendary IWW leader Eugene V. Debs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_V._Debs), Deutsch wrote, was indicted by a grand jury for giving a speech against World War I and for socialism—he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.)
"Rather than protecting the innocent from political persecution," Deutsch claimed, "the grand jury was the willing hand maiden of oppression." He identifies some of the final years of the Nixon administration as a higher-water mark for grand jury persecution: "Between 1970-1973, over one hundred grand juries were convened in 84 cities; they subpoenaed over 1,000 activists."
Even Deutsch admits exceptions, of course—in 1765, he reports, a grand jury in Boston refused to indict demonstrators accused of leading the Stamp Act riots, a case of mass vandalism that we now think of as heroic instead of threatening—but he generally takes a dim view of grand juries and how they've been used.
And while grand juries have gone just about everywhere English law has gone—Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, even France—they have either been abolished or fallen into disuse in each of those countries except the US.
In one sense, this Ninth Circuit opinion has its origins in the May Day smashup (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/05/02/why-all-the-smashy-smashy-a-beginners-guide-to-targeted-property-destruction) and The Stranger's reporting on its slow-motion fallout: doors being kicked down, subpoenas issued, and activists sitting in solitary.
But it's also part of a long and contentious struggle between everyday people and their governments—our lives are becoming increasingly transparent to them while their operations become increasingly opaque to us. “Since the grand jury operates in secret,” wrote the authors of the Harvard law journal in 2002, “there are no public checks on the scope of its investigations."
Hopefully, Judge Christen’s opinion puts a tiny grain of sand on the other side of the scales, taking a confrontational and intimidating moment that prosecutors were expecting would disappear from history and putting back on the books—where, hopefully, it will become a tool journalists, attorneys, and activists across the country can use to fight government opacity in the future.




sorry for the necro but i figured this wasnt big enough to start a new thread for.