Refusing to give in to fear

PEOPLE IN at least 50 cities across the U.S. and around the globe turned out January 25 to support a group of antiwar, pro-Palestinian and socialist activists who have been subpoenaed as part of a government witch-hunt.

Since September, at least 23 subpoenas have been issued to activists in Minneapolis, Chicago and other cities to appear before a federal grand jury as part of an investigation into supposed "material support" for groups on the State Department's list of "designated foreign terrorist organizations."

In a series of raids conducted last September on the homes and offices of members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Twin Cities Anti-War Committee and a Palestinian solidarity organization, FBI agents removed financial records, personal documents--even children's artwork. When all 14 of the activists who had been issued subpoenas refused to testify, the government escalated its attack--re-issuing subpoenas to three of those activists and handing out six more subpoenas to activists in the Chicago area in December.

In Chicago, where those nine activists had been told to appear to testify in front of the grand jury on January 25, some 300 people--including members of antiwar and socialist groups, the Puerto Rican independence movement, Palestinian rights groups and unions, including the Chicago Teachers Union and Service Employees International Union--turned out to denounce the witch-hunt and stand in solidarity as all nine activists all refused to testify.

Chanting "Solidarity is not a crime, from Iraq to Palestine" and "No grand jury! No witch-hunt!" protesters formed a picket line in front of the Dirksen Federal Building.

As Maureen Murphy, a member of the Palestine Solidarity Group in Chicago and editor of the Electronic Intifada Web site--and one of those who received a subpoenaed--said in an interview:

I'm in a good mood, because even though I was subpoenaed today, we're seeing the massive outpouring of people all over the country who are standing up for our rights. Everyone here understands that it's not just about the nine people who were summoned to testify today and who are refusing to participate, but that this is about the right of all of us to organize and to associate and exercise our First Amendment rights.

As Sarah Smith, another of the subpoenaed activists, explained when asked why she refused to testify:

One, the grand jury system--you're not allowed to bring a lawyer in. There's no judge, there's no one there to protect my rights as an American citizen.

The other reason is that I've done nothing wrong. I'm a Jewish-American who decided to go to Israel and Palestine to see what was going on there for myself. It's my tax money that's funding what's going on there--the whole Israeli occupation. I wanted to see it for myself. I didn't meet with any questionable groups. Everything I did was legal, and so I have nothing to testify about.

According to organizers, at least 160 organizations have issued calls in support of the targeted activists--including the Chicago Teachers Union, whose Vice President Jesse Sharkey announced at the rally that a resolution in support of the activists was passed by the union's House of Delegates with near-unanimous support of the 598 delegates in attendance.

"The first tragedy of this kind of FBI repression is the fear and the mistrust that it produces in our movements--in the labor movement, among people who want to fight for justice," Sharkey told the crowd. "We have to say, first of all, that we will not give into that fear--that our unity provides us with confidence and inspiration to continue standing for what we believe in."

OTHER CITIES around the U.S. saw supporters turn out in solidarity.

In New York City, at least 60 people showed up outside 26 Federal Plaza to stand up to the FBI repression.

Activists chanted "FBI! Stop the raids! Hands off the movement!" as numerous speakers discussed the long history of FBI repression of social movements inside the U.S. and the U.S. government's attempt to repress and intimidate those who speak out against the U.S. empire. Participating organizations included the Coney Island Avenue Project, Veterans for Peace of New York, the Pakistan-USA Freedom Forum, the May 1st Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights, Al Awda-New York and many others.

Ralph Poynter--the husband of civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart, who is herself a victim of political repression and currently imprisoned for having issued a press release on behalf of a client--shared a statement from Lynne with the crowd.

As one speaker noted, a recent Supreme Court ruling that broadens the definition of what constitutes "material support" for terrorism would have made supporting the South African freedom struggle during apartheid a crime, since the African National Congress at the time was designated a "terrorist" organization.

"I think the major reason this is happening is because the U.S. government is facing potential civil unrest greater than ever due to the economic crisis," stated Luke, an activist who attended the protest. "The government is concerned about this unrest so they are preparing for future protests and have begun to send the FBI in to intimidate communities. We need to increase activism to a level that doesn't currently exist. Once there is additional support and activism we can stop them, but if we don't have more people involved, it won't stop."

Protesters finished the evening with a short but spirited march and vowed to stand in solidarity with the activists facing subpoenas and stand up to FBI fear-mongering and repression.

In Los Angeles, 70 people gathered outside of the Westwood Federal Building for a mock "people's trial": The People v. the FBI.

The protest was called by the Committee to Stop FBI repression and included a variety of independent activists as well as organizations such as the MLK Coalition, Radical Women, International Action Center, ANSWER and International Socialist Organization. Protesters held signs saying "Hands Off Antiwar Activists!" "Stop FBI Repression" and "MLK=Targeted By the FBI."

The "trial" featured open mic testimony where activists drew the connection between police and FBI repression. Representatives of Todos Somos Arizona spoke about the harassment faced by immigrant communities, and a member of the Puerto Rican Alliance spoke of the history of the FBI and state agencies in perpetrating violence and colonialism. Palestinian solidarity activists held signs and Egyptian flags denouncing state repression both at home and abroad.

In the end, a vote was held that unanimously found the FBI guilty of harassment, infiltration and violations of human and civil rights.

In Boston, activists turned out for two rallies to voice opposition to FBI repression. Approximately 40 people gathered in front of the John F. Kennedy building at noon, while a second rally of similar size gathered at 5 p.m. at Park Street station, as rush-hour commuters passed by, with many applauding the demonstration.

In Providence, R.I., some 25 people came out to the Federal Building for a demonstration sponsored by the Rhode Island Mobilization Committee to Stop Wars and End Occupations. The crowd chanted, "FBI we're not afraid. Stop the wars. Stop the raids" and "Civil rights are under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back!"

Speakers highlighted the fact that the Obama administration has proposed a domestic spending freeze--but not a freeze for the military budget, despite the fact that a recent CBS poll shows that a majority of those surveyed support cuts to the military. The demonstration also demanded that alleged WikiLeaks leaker Bradley Manning be released, and that WikiLeaks be supported rather than prosecuted.