The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 76/No. 37      October 15, 2012

 
Activists fight FBI probes,
refuse grand jury subpoenas
 
BY EMMA JOHNSON  
Matthew Duran—one of four anarchists in the Northwest who have refused to testify before a grand jury and maintain they are being targeted for their political beliefs—was jailed Sept. 13. Supporters of political rights have linked the case to the ongoing fight against nearly two dozen grand jury subpoenas of political activists in the Midwest.

A total of five people in Seattle and Olympia, Wash.; and Portland, Ore., have been subpoenaed. One has agreed to testify at a grand jury hearing, in which the secret judicial body decides whether to file indictments in the absence of defense attorneys. In July, homes of the five were raided by agents of the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force. They seized computers, clothing and literature.

The FBI claims the arrest and subpoenas are part of “an ongoing investigation involving a violent crime” related to May Day protests in Seattle this year.

Leah-Lynn Plante, of Portland, Ore., is among those who have refused to testify. Plante was called to hearings Aug. 2 and then again Sept. 13. She gave her name and date of birth, but would not say anything further.

The case is similar to what happened in the Midwest in September 2010. FBI agents searched homes in Minneapolis and Chicago as part of “an ongoing Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation into activities concerning the material support of terrorism,” said FBI spokesman Steve Warfield to the Associated Press.

Among records the FBI specified it was seeking were payments made to Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the Chicago-based Arab American Action Network. Agents spent most of a whole day in the home of Joe Isobaker and Stephanie Weiner and left with cellphones and 30 boxes of papers dating back to the 1970s. Weiner and Isobaker have for many years been active in anti-war protests and support for labor.

In Minneapolis, one of those whose home was searched was Mick Kelly. The FBI’s stated goal was to document any travel he might have done to the Middle East and Colombia in connection with his work for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Twenty-three activists were subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury in Chicago. All have refused to testify.

The investigation is ongoing as of September 2012. Many documents relating to the case are under seal and will remain unavailable to the defendants’ attorneys pending completion of the investigation, Bruce Nestor, one of the lawyers, told the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

More than 200 community organizations and activist groups have signed a letter of support for those targeted by the FBI in the Midwest and Northwest. Protests took place on the two-year anniversary of the Midwest raids in several cities. A demonstration outside FBI’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C., was held Sept. 24 calling for an end to the probes.  
 
 
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