It's come to this. The FBI which as you may remember is now under the control of our noted "progressive" President has raided six homes in Minneapolis and two more in Chicago. Other reports say houses in Michigan and North Carolina were also visited. The targets of the raids are a number of activists from a variety of local and national organizations. The Feds describe the raids as part of "investigation into activities concerning the material support of terrorism."
The FBI issued subpoenas for the activists to appear before a Grand Jury in Chicago on Oct. 12.
This is no small potatoes, folks.
Various capitalist media outlets report, among the homes raided were the apartments of Jessica Sundin, who was a principal leader of the mass antiwar march of 10,000 on the opening day of the Republican National Convention two years ago, and Mick Kelly, who was prominent in that protest and among those who announced plans to march on the Democratic National Convention in Minneapolis, if the city is selected to host it in 2012. Neither has been arrested.
Above the Hard Times Cafe in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, The Uptake reports, the FBI allegedly kicked in doors and entered Mick Kelly’s second-floor apartment this morning with guns drawn. Hours later, as many as half a dozen agents began carrying boxes down to their vehicles: a grey Chevy Impala on the street and two black SUVs parked behind the cafe.
The warrant sought information on "Kelly's travel to and from and presence in MN, and other foreign countries [sic] to which Kelly has taveleled as part of his work in FRSO [Freedom Road Socialist Organization", as well as materials related to his finances and the finances of FRSO, and all computer and electronic devices.
Before agents confiscated his cell phone, Kelly told the Associated Press: "The FBI is harassing anti-war organizers and leaders, folks who opposed U.S. intervention in the Middle East and Latin America."
Kelly said in an interview this morning he had "absolutely not" been involved in illegal activities.
Jess Sundin is another well-known activist whose home was searched. She says an FBI SWAT team entered first "and looked for pointy things. And then they left and the FBI agents came in and looked through everything in the house," she told the Associated Press.
Sundin says agents took computers, several boxes of papers, everything related to data like discs.
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| Pictured here: One of the suspected commie terrorists in Minneapolis |
Sundin called the suggestion they were connected with terrorism "pretty hilarious and ridiculous.
A raid was also in progress at the home of Meredith Aby, another local antiwar leader who was frequently the spokeswoman for the march on the GOP convention. Sundin and another source said that a fourth raid took place at the home of Tracy Molm, a leading activist in Students for a Democratic Society, an organization at the University of Minnesota. The source said raids occurred at the addresses of two other activists whose names he did not disclose.
The raids were conducted by theF BI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Steff Yorek, whose house was one of those searched, said she was still half-asleep at 7 a.m. when eight FBI agents came to her South Minneapolis home brandishing battering rams. Quoted in CityPages, Yorek said the searches constitute harassment of people involved in anti-war and international solidarity work. She and some of the other people whose homes were searched are associated with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
"I think this is about our opposition to U.S.-funded war and death squads in Columbia and our solidarity with Palestine," she said.
According to Reuters, Chicago antiwar activist (and longtime gay rights activist) Andy Thayer was also targeted, which he attributed to “solidarity work, for speaking out on the issues of the day.”
"I have no idea what all this is about," Kelly's attorney Ted Dooley said. "Mr. Kelly is an activist, he's a socialist or perhaps a communist and has been forever. He never hides his political views. They're fishing. They're casting big nets into the sea of political activism."
Dooley said the agents were also "looking for everything related to Kelly's potential co-conspirators, including Kelly's personal contacts in the United States and abroad, which means absolutely everybody that Kelly's ever been in contact with, anywhere. I'd say it's kind of unconstitutional and hideous, myself. It's very broad. It's disgusting."
Attorney Bruce Nestor said he's not representing any of the people in Minnesota whose homes were searched, but he has in the past.
"I'm really profoundly troubled by it," he said of the searches. "Overwhelmingly they're people who are doing public political organizing, so I think it's shocking to have heavily armed federal agents show up at their homes. ... It's all people involved in anti-war activity and it appears to be focused largely on opposition to the U.S. policy in Colombia and Palestine."
The federal law about material support of terrorism dates to 1996 and "has been interpreted so broadly to really endanger the rights of U.S. citizens to oppose the military and foreign policies of the United States," Nestor said.
"This is a direct attack on people who are strong, dedicated advocates of freedom, of the right of people to be free from U.S. domination," Nestor said. "It is an attack upon anybody who organizes against U.S. imperialism and U.S. militarism abroad."
Keep on alert! Know your rights! Don't talk to the FBI!
Is this what Obama meant when he said, "We are the people we've been waiting for."
The following is from Fight Back News.
ACTIVISTS DENOUNCE FBI RAIDS ON ANTI-WAR AND SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS HOMES
We denounce the Federal Bureau of Investigation harassment of anti-war and solidarity activists in several states across the country. The FBI began turning over six houses in Chicago and Minneapolis this morning, Friday, September 24, 2010, at 8:00 am central time. The FBI handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to about a dozen activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. They also attempted to intimidate activists in California and North Carolina.
"The government hopes to use a grand jury to frame up activists. The goal of these raids is to harass and try to intimidate the movement against U.S. wars and occupations, and those who oppose U.S. support for repressive regimes," said Colombia solidarity activist Tom Burke, one of those handed a subpoena by the FBI. "They are designed to suppress dissent and free speech, to divide the peace movement, and to pave the way for more U.S. military intervention in the Middle East and Latin America."
This suppression of democratic rights is aimed towards those who dedicate much of their time and energy to supporting the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funded occupation and war. The activists are involved with well-known anti-war groups including many of the leaders of the huge protest against the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN in September 2008. The FBI agents emphasized that the grand jury was going to investigate the activists for possible terrorism charges. This is a U.S. government attempt to silence those who support resistance to oppression in the Middle East and Latin America.
The activists involved have done nothing wrong and are refusing to be pulled into conversations with the FBI about their political views or organizing against war and occupation. The activists are involved with many groups, including: the Palestine Solidarity Group, Students for a Democratic Society, the Twin-Cities Anti-War Committee, the Colombia Action Network, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera (a Colombian Political Prisoner).
Steff Yorek, a long-time antiwar activist and one of the activists whose homes was searched, called the raids “An outrageous fishing expedition.”
We urge all progressive activists to show solidarity with those individuals targeted by the U.S. Government. Activists have the right not to speak with the FBI and are encouraged to politely refuse, just say “No”.
Please contact info@colombiasolidarity.org or info@fightbacknews.org if you would like to provide support to the targeted activists.
This is one of the most weirdest thing I ever know why in the world that human race could do this on his own..?
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