Vol. 75/No. 27      July 25, 2011

Cops ransacked Montes’s home, taking his computer, cell phones, and documents related to his political activity.

Some 100 demonstrators picketed the Alhambra, California, courthouse June 16, the day of Montes’s arraignment. He was charged with six felony counts, including possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of ammunition, and perjury for lying on gun registration paperwork. He pled not guilty.

“This is not about having a gun or buying a gun, it’s about my political views and political activity,” Montes said at a protest and press conference outside the courtroom in Alhambra, California, July 6, a day before his hearing.

While he was sitting in the back seat of the sheriff’s car, Montes said, an FBI agent asked him questions about the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which he refused to answer.

On Sept. 24, 2010, the FBI raided the homes of antiwar, union, and political activists in Chicago, Minneapolis, and other cities. The Freedom Road Socialist Organization is among the targeted groups.

FBI spokesman Steve Warfield said at the time that the raids were part of an “ongoing Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation into activities concerning the material support of terrorism.” Montes was named in a subpoena left by the FBI in the office of the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee.

Subpoenas have now been issued to at least 23 individuals across the country to appear before grand juries. All 23 have refused to testify.

Montes represented himself at his arraignment, during which he requested and received a continuance to obtain legal representation.

Montes also requested copies of the affidavits for the search warrant and police report on his case. District Attorney Kathleen Gentry said no, but the judge finally agreed to turn over redacted versions with the stipulation they not be released to the media.

Montes is active in the fight for immigrant rights, as well as against U.S. wars and FBI repression. He was one of the founders of the Brown Berets and a leader of East Los Angeles walkouts in March 1968 by thousands of Chicano students protesting racist school conditions.

James Harris contributed to this article.
 
 
Related articles:
States push new ‘crime registry’ blacklists  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home