Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Federal Gov't Subpoenas College for Info on Peace Activists
The government has subpoenaed Drake University in Iowa to hand over information about who organized and who attended a National Lawyers Guild anti-war forum in November. Lawyers say they have not seen such subpoenas since the McCarthy era.
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
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
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
Prosecutors also delayed the grand jury appearances by a month, a move local civil liberties officials interpreted as a sign that the government might be backing away from the investigation.
"I'd say the prosecutors are recognizing the groundswell of reaction that has happened in the face of this extraordinary thing they've done," said R. Ben Stone, executive director of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union.
Still, the protesters, their lawyers and some national civil liberties advocates described the investigation into the attendance rolls and leadership lists of the lawyers' group as highly unusual in recent years. Some said it could send a chilling message far beyond Iowa, leaving those who consider voicing disapproval of the administration's policy in Iraq, or anywhere else, wondering whether they too might receive added scrutiny.
"I've heard of such a thing, but not since the 1950's, the McCarthy era," said David D. Cole, a Georgetown law professor. "It sends a very troubling message about government officials' attitudes toward basic liberties."
Anthony Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he feared news of the subpoenas — which was spreading rapidly via e-mail on Monday among activist organizations — might discourage people from showing up to protests, attending meetings at universities or even checking out library books.
"People will have to be asking themselves: will this be subject to government scrutiny?" Mr. Romero said.
Brian Terrell, the executive director of the Catholic Peace Ministry here, received a grand jury subpoena last week, he said. Mr. Terrell said he had helped conduct "nonviolence training" at the Nov. 15 forum on the Drake campus, which was titled "Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard Home!" and attended by 21 people.
Mr. Terrell, 47, said he had been involved in and sometimes arrested for protests of United States actions related to Honduras; Vieques, Puerto Rico; and elsewhere over many years. He said he offered advice for people who chose to be arrested about how best to carry out their protests, like how to deal with police, how to deal with hecklers and how to react to jail
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/10/national/10PROT.html?ex=1076994000&en=ff606bf5b0811d3b&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
"I'd say the prosecutors are recognizing the groundswell of reaction that has happened in the face of this extraordinary thing they've done," said R. Ben Stone, executive director of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union.
Still, the protesters, their lawyers and some national civil liberties advocates described the investigation into the attendance rolls and leadership lists of the lawyers' group as highly unusual in recent years. Some said it could send a chilling message far beyond Iowa, leaving those who consider voicing disapproval of the administration's policy in Iraq, or anywhere else, wondering whether they too might receive added scrutiny.
"I've heard of such a thing, but not since the 1950's, the McCarthy era," said David D. Cole, a Georgetown law professor. "It sends a very troubling message about government officials' attitudes toward basic liberties."
Anthony Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he feared news of the subpoenas — which was spreading rapidly via e-mail on Monday among activist organizations — might discourage people from showing up to protests, attending meetings at universities or even checking out library books.
"People will have to be asking themselves: will this be subject to government scrutiny?" Mr. Romero said.
Brian Terrell, the executive director of the Catholic Peace Ministry here, received a grand jury subpoena last week, he said. Mr. Terrell said he had helped conduct "nonviolence training" at the Nov. 15 forum on the Drake campus, which was titled "Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard Home!" and attended by 21 people.
Mr. Terrell, 47, said he had been involved in and sometimes arrested for protests of United States actions related to Honduras; Vieques, Puerto Rico; and elsewhere over many years. He said he offered advice for people who chose to be arrested about how best to carry out their protests, like how to deal with police, how to deal with hecklers and how to react to jail
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/10/national/10PROT.html?ex=1076994000&en=ff606bf5b0811d3b&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
From: "Refuse & Resist" <rnrbayarea [at] yahoo.com> Add
to Address Book
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 17:25:33 -0000
Subject: [nosei2000] Just Say No to Grand Jury Attack
on the Anti War Movement
DON'T TALK!
Just Say NO to Grand Jury Attack on the Anti-War
Movement
A statement from the National Office of Refuse &
Resist!
February 9, 2004
For the first time since the Vietnam War, a university
has been ordered to turn over records concerning an
anti-war program on campus to a federal grand jury.
Four anti-war activists have also
been subpoenaed to appear before that same grand jury
on February 10. On top of this, the university has
been issued a gag-order, preventing it from saying
anything about the whole sordid affair.
What so provoked the ire of the
Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Ashcroft gang was a conference on
November 15, 2003, on the Drake University campus
titled "Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard
Home!" The conference was followed the next day by a
righteous demonstration at the headquarters of the
Iowa National Guard in Johnston, Iowa. This is
precisely the kind of action the times call for if we
are going
to stop the government's juggernaut of war and
repression.
Stung by popular resistance, the government issued a
subpoena on February 3 to Drake University in Des
Moines, Iowa, calling for the turning over all records
and documents in the possession of Drake
University relating to the anti-war conference held on
campus. The conference was sponsored by the Drake
Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG).
The subpoena commands the university to turn over all
records "relating to the scheduling of the
conference," the identity of all "persons that
actually attended the meeting, the identity of the
officers of the Drake chapter of the NLG," all
"meeting agenda or annual reports of this organization
filed with the University since January 1, 2002," and
all "records of Drake University campus
security reflecting any observations made of the
November 15, 2003 meeting, including any records of
persons in charge or control of the meeting, and any
records of attendees of the meeting."
In other words, the university is being commanded to
act as an arm of the state in spying on political
dissent (the assumption is made that the campus cops
already did so!) and it is ordered not make any
public comment or protest about it.
The Grand Jury Is a Tool of Repression
The popular illusion is that grand juries exist to
protect citizens from malicious prosecution by the
state, by hearing the state's evidence in private to
ascertain if there is sufficient reason for a trial to
be held. In the 1950s and 60s, however, grand juries
were regularly used to both harass political
dissenters and threaten people with being sent to jail
if they do not snitch on their associates in secret
proceedings. For example, baby doctor Benjamin
Spock and Yale chaplain William Sloan Coffin were
indicted by a grand jury for conspiracy to obstruct
the draft after they had signed a statement against
the Vietnam war and the draft.
Grand jury testimony used to be secret. Now under the
USA Patriot Act, "secret" grand jury testimony can be
shared with the FBI, CIA, and other agencies asserting
an interest in an "anti-terrorism" investigation, but
witnesses cannot get a transcript to prove what they
did or did not say. So what goes on behind the closed
doors is only a secret from the movements of
resistance, not from the political police.
When you appear before a grand jury, you may not be
accompanied by your attorney, there are no public
spectators, and the federal attorney asks the
questions. You can -- and should -- assert your
Fifth Amendment right not to testify. But you cannot
do this selectively. That is, once you begin answering
questions, you must answer them all or go to jail.
Finally, the government can strip you
of your Fifth Amendment protection by giving you
immunity from prosecution for what you say. If this
happens, you must tell the government snoops what they
want to know or go to jail.
Too often people subpoenaed think they can outfox the
grand jury and "find out" what the investigation is
really after. This is a very big mistake. The trained
federal attorney has no intention of tipping the
government's hand. If you give testimony -- even
seemingly innocuous testimony -- it can be used after
you leave the room to "corroborate" a bogus story
being fed to the grand jury. Also, if your associates
are later indicted, you have no way of proving that it
was not on the basis of your testimony. The
watchword in dealing with the agents of repression is
always DON'T TALK.
The Politics of Repression
This sudden resurgence of federal grand juries against
antiwar protests highlights some ugly trends and
dangerous possibilities. Besides the chilling of
dissent against the U.S.'s "war on the world" by
threatening people with grand jury subpoenas, there is
a larger pattern of a grab for power by the federal
government as concentrated in the executive branch.
First of all, why is the federal government involved
at all?
There is a move underway to paint anti-war protest as
illegal support for "terrorism" under the USA Patriot
Act and it raises the specter of using anti-dissent
federal laws from World War I that are still on the
books. Those laws sought to criminalize the promotion
of "disaffection" among the armed forces or impede
military recruitment. The Sedition and Espionage Acts
were used during that period to jail hundreds of
antiwar activists and ban anti-war publications from
the U.S. mail.
What we are seeing is a pattern of selectively
"federalizing" local law enforcement, literally making
"a federal case" out of local
dissent, and creating federal "dissent verboten" zones
around the President and federal institutions.
Finally, colleges and universities have historically
been integral to movements for rights and social
progress. In attacking a university the government
seeks to wield its tremendous power to shut down
avenues of questioning and facilities for the
organization of protest. Added to this is a totally
unjustified gag order of a type that has been made
"standard operating procedure" in the USA Patriot Act.
The Importance of Saying NO!
Refuse & Resist! calls on all progressive movements
and organizations opposing the Bush regime's "war on
the world" to adopt guidelines and practices that will
frustrate the activities of the federal snoops. We
urge all those served with these political
harassment grand jury subpoenas to seek legal counsel,
expose these attacks to the public, and to resist
compliance by every appropriate means. Responding to
these attacks is not a "distraction" from our
movements; it is an integral part of our struggle and
wins people to understanding more clearly the nature
of what we are up against.
As Refuse & Resist! says in its founding statement,
"we renounce all allegiance to this hateful `Resurgent
America' program, and encourage all others in its
vociferous and determined renunciation. There can be
no communality of purpose, healing of divisions, or
coming together as one nation behind this new course.
To acquiesce further in silence is to be complicit."
We call on everyone to dare to do what is necessary
and organize to stop the war on the world and its
police state measures at home. Give your full support
to the anti-war community of Iowa and the National
Lawyers Guild. Support the demand that Federal
Attorney Stephen Patrick O'Meara and Federal Judge
Ronald E. Longstaff quash these politically motivated
subpoenas. Join the protest demonstrations at the
federal courthouse. And whole heartedly stand with all
who refuse to comply.
* * *
Contact Refuse & Resist! at 212-713-5657 or
info [at] refuseandresist.org, where further updates on
this important battle will be posted at
http://www.refuseandresist.org. Statements of protest and
support can be forwarded through Refuse & Resist!
to Address Book
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 17:25:33 -0000
Subject: [nosei2000] Just Say No to Grand Jury Attack
on the Anti War Movement
DON'T TALK!
Just Say NO to Grand Jury Attack on the Anti-War
Movement
A statement from the National Office of Refuse &
Resist!
February 9, 2004
For the first time since the Vietnam War, a university
has been ordered to turn over records concerning an
anti-war program on campus to a federal grand jury.
Four anti-war activists have also
been subpoenaed to appear before that same grand jury
on February 10. On top of this, the university has
been issued a gag-order, preventing it from saying
anything about the whole sordid affair.
What so provoked the ire of the
Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Ashcroft gang was a conference on
November 15, 2003, on the Drake University campus
titled "Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard
Home!" The conference was followed the next day by a
righteous demonstration at the headquarters of the
Iowa National Guard in Johnston, Iowa. This is
precisely the kind of action the times call for if we
are going
to stop the government's juggernaut of war and
repression.
Stung by popular resistance, the government issued a
subpoena on February 3 to Drake University in Des
Moines, Iowa, calling for the turning over all records
and documents in the possession of Drake
University relating to the anti-war conference held on
campus. The conference was sponsored by the Drake
Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG).
The subpoena commands the university to turn over all
records "relating to the scheduling of the
conference," the identity of all "persons that
actually attended the meeting, the identity of the
officers of the Drake chapter of the NLG," all
"meeting agenda or annual reports of this organization
filed with the University since January 1, 2002," and
all "records of Drake University campus
security reflecting any observations made of the
November 15, 2003 meeting, including any records of
persons in charge or control of the meeting, and any
records of attendees of the meeting."
In other words, the university is being commanded to
act as an arm of the state in spying on political
dissent (the assumption is made that the campus cops
already did so!) and it is ordered not make any
public comment or protest about it.
The Grand Jury Is a Tool of Repression
The popular illusion is that grand juries exist to
protect citizens from malicious prosecution by the
state, by hearing the state's evidence in private to
ascertain if there is sufficient reason for a trial to
be held. In the 1950s and 60s, however, grand juries
were regularly used to both harass political
dissenters and threaten people with being sent to jail
if they do not snitch on their associates in secret
proceedings. For example, baby doctor Benjamin
Spock and Yale chaplain William Sloan Coffin were
indicted by a grand jury for conspiracy to obstruct
the draft after they had signed a statement against
the Vietnam war and the draft.
Grand jury testimony used to be secret. Now under the
USA Patriot Act, "secret" grand jury testimony can be
shared with the FBI, CIA, and other agencies asserting
an interest in an "anti-terrorism" investigation, but
witnesses cannot get a transcript to prove what they
did or did not say. So what goes on behind the closed
doors is only a secret from the movements of
resistance, not from the political police.
When you appear before a grand jury, you may not be
accompanied by your attorney, there are no public
spectators, and the federal attorney asks the
questions. You can -- and should -- assert your
Fifth Amendment right not to testify. But you cannot
do this selectively. That is, once you begin answering
questions, you must answer them all or go to jail.
Finally, the government can strip you
of your Fifth Amendment protection by giving you
immunity from prosecution for what you say. If this
happens, you must tell the government snoops what they
want to know or go to jail.
Too often people subpoenaed think they can outfox the
grand jury and "find out" what the investigation is
really after. This is a very big mistake. The trained
federal attorney has no intention of tipping the
government's hand. If you give testimony -- even
seemingly innocuous testimony -- it can be used after
you leave the room to "corroborate" a bogus story
being fed to the grand jury. Also, if your associates
are later indicted, you have no way of proving that it
was not on the basis of your testimony. The
watchword in dealing with the agents of repression is
always DON'T TALK.
The Politics of Repression
This sudden resurgence of federal grand juries against
antiwar protests highlights some ugly trends and
dangerous possibilities. Besides the chilling of
dissent against the U.S.'s "war on the world" by
threatening people with grand jury subpoenas, there is
a larger pattern of a grab for power by the federal
government as concentrated in the executive branch.
First of all, why is the federal government involved
at all?
There is a move underway to paint anti-war protest as
illegal support for "terrorism" under the USA Patriot
Act and it raises the specter of using anti-dissent
federal laws from World War I that are still on the
books. Those laws sought to criminalize the promotion
of "disaffection" among the armed forces or impede
military recruitment. The Sedition and Espionage Acts
were used during that period to jail hundreds of
antiwar activists and ban anti-war publications from
the U.S. mail.
What we are seeing is a pattern of selectively
"federalizing" local law enforcement, literally making
"a federal case" out of local
dissent, and creating federal "dissent verboten" zones
around the President and federal institutions.
Finally, colleges and universities have historically
been integral to movements for rights and social
progress. In attacking a university the government
seeks to wield its tremendous power to shut down
avenues of questioning and facilities for the
organization of protest. Added to this is a totally
unjustified gag order of a type that has been made
"standard operating procedure" in the USA Patriot Act.
The Importance of Saying NO!
Refuse & Resist! calls on all progressive movements
and organizations opposing the Bush regime's "war on
the world" to adopt guidelines and practices that will
frustrate the activities of the federal snoops. We
urge all those served with these political
harassment grand jury subpoenas to seek legal counsel,
expose these attacks to the public, and to resist
compliance by every appropriate means. Responding to
these attacks is not a "distraction" from our
movements; it is an integral part of our struggle and
wins people to understanding more clearly the nature
of what we are up against.
As Refuse & Resist! says in its founding statement,
"we renounce all allegiance to this hateful `Resurgent
America' program, and encourage all others in its
vociferous and determined renunciation. There can be
no communality of purpose, healing of divisions, or
coming together as one nation behind this new course.
To acquiesce further in silence is to be complicit."
We call on everyone to dare to do what is necessary
and organize to stop the war on the world and its
police state measures at home. Give your full support
to the anti-war community of Iowa and the National
Lawyers Guild. Support the demand that Federal
Attorney Stephen Patrick O'Meara and Federal Judge
Ronald E. Longstaff quash these politically motivated
subpoenas. Join the protest demonstrations at the
federal courthouse. And whole heartedly stand with all
who refuse to comply.
* * *
Contact Refuse & Resist! at 212-713-5657 or
info [at] refuseandresist.org, where further updates on
this important battle will be posted at
http://www.refuseandresist.org. Statements of protest and
support can be forwarded through Refuse & Resist!
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$180.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network