An article detailing the case of three anarchists in the Pacific Northwest who are in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury.
"I do not look forward to what inevitably awaits me today, but I accept it...My convictions are unwavering and will not be shaken by their harassment. Today is October 10, 2012, and I'm ready to go to prison."
Thus wrote 24-year old Leah-Lynn Plante in a statement as she prepared to be jailed. Plante is the third anarchist activist in the Pacific Northwest to be put behind bars for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury. She could spend as much as 18 months in prison--the full length of the grand jury term.
Plante, along with Matthew Kyle Duran and Katherine "KteeO" Olejnik, have been imprisoned as part of the fallout from a series of raids on July 25 conducted by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force--supposedly in response to instances of vandalism during this year's May Day protests in Seattle. The Task Force's warrant allowed agents to raid the homes of activists in three cities. The FBI insisted that residents hand over any "anti-government or anarchist literature," along with flags, black clothing, cell phones, hard-drives and address books.
"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," wrote Plante.
Furthering the government fishing expedition, the three activists received subpoenas requiring them to testify in front of a grand jury, where they were asked questions regarding their political opinions and the political circles and individuals they associate with. This is a clear case of political leanings being used as proof of criminality. As Plante wrote, "They are trying to investigate anarchists and persecute them for their beliefs. This is a fishing expedition. This is a witch-hunt."
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MATT DURAN was the first activist to be imprisoned. On September 12, after refusing to testify, Duran was held in contempt of court and taken into federal custody, where he would spend the next three weeks in isolation at the Sea-Tac Federal Detention Center.
Before refusing a second attempt to force him to testify on September 26, Duran reportedly experienced what is "normal" for dissenting activists under today's Obama administration: little access to a phone, no access to sunlight or fresh air, and no contact with visitors, fellow inmates or an attorney.
The presiding judge and prosecuting attorneys have complied with Duran's request to not set another grand jury hearing date until he requests one. On October 3, Duran finally was moved from isolation and into the general population section of the prison, where he is able to make phone calls and socialize with other inmates.
"Whatever happens, I want you to know that you are not alone and are more than capable of handling whatever is thrown at you," said Duran, in a public statement released on September 12. "Do not stop the struggle, keep organizing and fighting, or they will have won."
Katherine "KteeO" Olejnik was the second target of the state, and she also responded by refusing to testify.
On September 27, in the morning before her grand jury hearing, Olejnik and her attorney, Jennifer Kaplan, made a motion challenging the legality of the subpoenas. They argued that the government's subpoenas not only violate the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, but also breached the right to judicial oversight in an abuse of power. But Olejnik was still placed into federal custody and isolation, where she remains.
In a statement before her latest hearing, Olejnik explained:
For me choosing to resist a grand jury is about humanity--I cannot and will not say something that could greatly harm a person's life, and providing information that could lead to long-term incarceration would be doing that. For me choosing to resist a grand jury is about freedom of speech and association--I cannot and will not be a party to a McCarthyist policy that is asking individuals to condemn each other based on political beliefs.
Duran, Plante and Olejnik have not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing, but they have been held in contempt and jailed after refusing to testify, because the government offered them immunity from prosecution--stripping them of their legal right to refuse to testify.
Describing her opposition to the government's fishing expedition, Plante noted that a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that that the grand jury was convened on March 2, 2012--two months before the actual protests.
The initial search warrants, first shown to activists in July, cited evidence linked to "destruction of federal property"--leading activists to believe that the FBI was looking for "evidence" about recent May Day protests. However, this new information reveals the extent to which the FBI have been investigating and monitoring political activists. Meanwhile, the grand jury subpoenas confirm the intent of the FBI: to attack, disrupt and neutralize political dissent.
As Plante stated after her second appearance and refusal to answer questions before the federal grand jury, "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."
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THE PERSECUTION of this new generation of radicals fits squarely into the U.S. government's tradition of squashing dissent through force and intimidation. With door-busting tactics that span generations, the U.S. government has made a habit of using the legal system against "supposed threats" to national security--from the Palmer Raids of the early 20th century to the McCarthyite witch-hunts and COINTELPRO spying and dirty tricks of the 1950s,'60s and '70s.
Recent raids have specifically targeted the Arab and Muslim, as well as antiwar activists. In late September of 2010, the FBI raided eight homes and offices of antiwar activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. Search warrants indicate the agents were looking for connections between activists and groups in Colombia and the Middle East. The warrants authorized agents to seize items such as electronics, videos, photographs, address books and mail.
Despite a Justice Department probe finding that the FBI improperly monitored activist groups and individuals from 2001 to 2006 ,these raids continued. Eight people were issued subpoenas to appear before a federal grand jury in Chicago. All have refused to testify.
While those activists haven't faced jail time for their refusal to testify, the jailing of Plante, Duran and Olejnik is a troubling indication of the ongoing erosion of civil liberties.
And of course, this disregard for civil liberties comes courtesy of the Obama administration, the same administration responsible for the National Defense Authorization Act, which allows the president to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens without trial.
Thankfully, activists have responded to each and every grand jury hearing with demonstrations across the country--locally in Seattle and Portland, and in cities as far as away as Oakland, Calif., and Minneapolis, Minn. In Seattle, four marathon vigils spanning 24 or 48 hours each were held in solidarity with the targeted activists just outside the federal courthouse.
One participant, Travis C., remarked upon the resilience of the grand jury resisters and the implications for future organizing:
I would say that those three activists are extremely brave individuals who aren't deserving of the treatment they are receiving from the state. Obviously it doesn't seem likely that we'll be able to spring them from prison, but I think the next best thing is that we as a larger community can spread information about this.
If secret grand juries keep crushing social movements--because we forget about this history every time a new generation emerges--the next best thing would be to build a culture...of teaching about these grand juries. Solidarity forever to those three.
As Matthew Kyle Duran said in a statement before beginning his prison sentence in early September, the fight is not over:
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.
Originally appeared: October 17, 2012 at Socialist Worker
Comments
Before anyone rags on me for
Before anyone rags on me for posting something from the ISO's mouthpiece....this is basically the only decent summary I could find.
Quote: OFFICIAL: LEAH HAS
http://freeleah.tumblr.com/post/33896448680/official-leah-has-been-released
Quote: I went against the
http://leahxvx.tumblr.com/post/33900366954
I hope all three are
I hope all three are released, I wouldn't wish martyrdom on anybody.
As far as I understand it you
As far as I understand it you can go to jail for lying to a Grand Jury and you can refuse to testify under the fifth amendment on the grounds that you may incriminate yourself. So there is no way out of this apart from informing or going to prison. This is a horrible situation, solidarity to our comrades.
Joseph Kay wrote: Quote: I
Joseph Kay
I am of a similar mind
exactly. if you refuse to
exactly. if you refuse to testify, they'll just give you imunity.
I have the most up most
I have the most up most respect and hold down anyone who stands up against Grand Juries. Not saying anything has become the most powerful weapon for us all when the feds come knocking. We have learned that in this day and age we are our own worst enemy and only ourselves can lock us up.
Stand Strong!
Being found in contempt, you could be facing up to 18 months in custody until the Grand Jury investigation is over. If you are lucky you lawyer will be able to provide evidence that no matter how long you are locked up you do not plan to say anything and therefore your detention is punitive and you could be released before the investigation is done. Talking during a Grand Jury investigation only guarantees you to become more deeply involved in the entire process and potential trial against your friends, family, and comrades. Safe to say, if you are ever subpoenaed prepare for 18 months and take comfort knowing that it will probably go away after, at most, 18 months, for you at least.
There is a really good pamphlet out there about Grand Jury investigations and anecdotal pieces from people who endured.
You can show your support for
You can show your support for Matt and KteeO by writing our sending books at the addresses given in the following post. Also good news is that they have been released from solitary and put into prison general population, where they have been greeted like the heroes they are
http://funologist.org/2012/10/23/who-are-matt-duran-and-kteeo-and-why-are-they-so-important/
CAPR suspends support for
CAPR suspends support for Leah
http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/capr-suspends-support-for-leah/
You know, that had me
You know, that had me wondering for a while, I just didn't want to jump the gun and say anything that I was going to regret later. I found it real suspect that she was just released out of nowhere and the only thing she had to say to those supporting her before skipping town was "don't comment on my appearance" and "don't try to contact me".... And now we come to find out that she DID in fact go in front of the GJ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctdn9xVXSo8
So much for refusing to testify. Even if she lied to the feds, or just said "idk" or "i don't remember" to everything we will never know exactly what was said. I thought the whole point of GJ resistance was to NOT go in front of the GJ so no one is left speculating and we can maintain some level of trust between us?
I hope for the best for you folks in the PNW.
Juan Conatz wrote: CAPR
Juan Conatz
I see from that blog that another person has been subpoenaed.
http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/matthew-maddy-pfeiffer-subpoenaed-for-grand-jury/
Fuck. :(
So from the information
So from the information available, Leah appeared before the grand jury on October 17th and was released. Since then she hasn't made a statement on what was exactly said. It also seems that she hasn't been in contact with the support team, who decided to suspend support of her pending an explanation. Since then there have been a number of mostly anonymous articles published in the anarcho-internet realm saying/implying that she did talk. Although right now there's no proof that she did. The only proof it seems is that she appeared in front of the grand jury, *something happened*, she was released, made a statement (posted above) that didn't really say the circumstances of her release, and the support team suspended support 2 weeks later. Doesn't look good, but who knows? Also, someone else has been subpoenaed in the last week and a half.
Here's some of the articles popping up
Leah-Lynn Plante cooperates.
http://notyrcisterpress.tumblr.com/post/34625748003/leah-lynn-plante-cooperates#notes
Notes on ambiguity of Leah, and excerpt from upcoming text
http://anarchistnews.org/content/notes-ambiguity-leah-and-excerpt-upcoming-text
Seattle's Non-Resisting Resistors
http://anarchistnews.org/content/seattles-non-resisting-resistors
True Facts, Keep it Silent, Never Sweat Or Bend: Notes on Leah Lynn-Plante From a Resister
http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/2228
An update: Matt Duran, Kteeo
An update: Matt Duran, Kteeo Olejnik, and Maddy Pfeifer are still in prison and have been moved into solitary confinement. A forth anarchist has been subpoenaed.
:lol:
Any news on Matt Duran and Maddy Pfeifer and how they're coping?