Federal Gov't Subpoenas College for Info on Peace Activists

On November 15 of last year, Drake University in Iowa hosted a forum titled "Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard Home!" 21 people attended.
At the time the forum received little attention anywhere outside of the school’s campus.

But that all changed last week, nearly three months after the fact.

That’s when the federal government issued a subpoena to Drake University asking for information on who attended the meeting and for detailed information on the local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild which sponsored the forum.

In addition, four anti-war protesters who attended the forum were also subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury which was originally scheduled to convene today.

The subpoenas have sent a chill through the activist movement.

Georgetown law professor David Cole told the New York Times "I've heard of such a thing, but not since the 1950's, the McCarthy era. It sends a very troubling message about government officials' attitudes toward basic liberties."

The government has said little about the inquiry but claims it is simply trying to learn more about an individual who they claimed tried to scale a security fence at an Iowa National Guard based in a protest a day after the forum.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/10/1516234