On the House Raids and Grand Jury Subpoenas

Wed, 07/25/2012 - 9:54pm

As has been reported elsewhere, police, FBI, and Joint Terrorism Task Force agents raided three houses in Portland this morning, dressed like paramilitaries and using flash bang grenades. No arrests were made, but electronics--presumably cell phones and computers--were confiscated.

In addition, today five subpoenas were served throughout the Northwest: two in Portland, two in Olympia, and one in Seattle. These subpoenas demand that the recipients appear before a grand jury that will convene in Seattle at the Federal Courthouse on August 2nd.

Grand juries exist to coerce civilians into providing information about themselves and others to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They operate in secret; no judges or defense attorneys are present, and neither Constitutional rights nor conventional evidence-gathering protocol apply. Grand juries are frequently used to harass activists and dissidents; for example, a grand jury forced independent journalist Josh Wolf to serve 226 days in a federal prison simply for refusing to turn over a videotape he had shot at a demonstration.

That being said, it is critical to understand that the best strategy for defeating a grand jury involves coordinated non-cooperation. In many cases of federal repression of activists and anarchists, cooperators have even wound up with similar sentences to those who have stood their ground. To put it simply: nobody talks, everybody walks.

There are also reports that law enforcement agents are still searching for specific individuals. If you are served with a subpoena, call the NLG National Hotline at 888-NLG-ECOL (888-654-3265) or call a criminal defense attorney immediately.

A support committee is forming and will soon announce how to get involved or donate to support funds.

Little else is known at this time, but updates will be posted as we receive them. It is best that in this stressful time, we resist the temptation to speculate and gossip.

Learn more and stay safe:
About grand juries
Great National Lawyer's Guild literature on grand juries, your rights and FBI harassment
How to crush a Grand Jury

Comments

k

"The FBI search warrant states that they are looking to seize items which may be evidence regarding the crimes of conspiracy to destroy government property, interstate travel with intent to riot, and conspiracy to travel interstate with intent to riot. Those items include: Clothing and related items work during commission of offenses; paint; sticks and flags similar to those used or carried during the commission of the offenses, and material for making flags; anti-government or anarchist literature, documentation or communications related to the offenses, flares, computers or electronic storage media of any kind."

From: http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2012/07/27/brea...

chaplin

Persons arrested in acts of civil disobedience on May 1st in Seattle are facing trial on the 27th in superior courthouse in downtown Seattle, 12th floor. The day after the bookfair. Pack the room. Both of the charged face felonies, one faces 1-5 years in prison. He was beaten while in the jail several times, resulting in hospitalization(confirm by multiple sources). The media will be there. Come dressed for a funeral.

"I am not a political man and I have no political convictions. I am an individual and a believer in liberty. That's all."

k

If you want to make a callout for court solidarity you can click the "create content" link on the left bar to make a story for the main column. It might be helpful to clarify what you mean about "funeral;" I didn't understand why people would dress that way.

chaplin

Edited and reposted. Please delete this thread. Thank you.

"I am not a political man and I have no political convictions. I am an individual and a believer in liberty. That's all."