On September 24, 2010, the FBI, in a coordinated effort, raided the homes of peace activists in Minneapolis and Chicago. As it turns out, the FBI accidentally left behind documents at one of the raided homes, that detail the motives for investigating citizens practicing their First Amendment right to free speech and assembly.
In a statement released by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR), the organization that made the documents available online, they summed up the overall premise of the documents:
Taken as a whole, the secret FBI file shows the willful disregard for the rights of anti-war and international solidarity activists – particularly the first amendment rights to freedom of speech and association. The documents make it clear that legal activity in solidarity with the peoples of Colombia and Palestine is being targeted. The documents use McCarthy-era language, which gives one the feel that the 1950s red scare has returned. And finally, the documents show the chilling plans for the armed raid that took place at the home of Kelly and Gawboy on September 24, 2010.
The events of September 24 and the ongoing grand jury are not about “material support of terrorism,” as any normal person would understand it. What is happening is this: anti-war and international solidarity activists are being targeted for practicing our rights to speak out and organize. We have done nothing wrong. Our activism is making this world a better place.
After looking through the documents that the FBI left behind, you would think that they were after the head of a drug cartel. The reason for the raids seem to center around the following (1) solidarity with the peoples of Colombia and Palestine (2) Involvement with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) and (3) Involvement with the Ani-War Committee (AWC). The documents include 57 questions, some meant for specific individuals, all of which had some relation to Colombia, Palestine, the FRSO, and the AWC.
The documents illustrate how showing solidarity with the people of Colombia and Palestine can land you on a list of suspected material supporters of terrorism. The Operation Order for the FBI SWAT Team states: “The captioned case was initially predicated on the activities of Meredith Aby and Jessica Rae Sundin in support of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a U.S. State Department designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO), to include their travel to FARC controlled territory.” Of course, these two peace activists did nothing illegal. They simply traveled to FARC controlled territories in Colombia to speak with local residents about the conflict and their demands, which is something journalists do regularly all around the world in conflict zones. As the CSFR statement points out:
The FBI interview questions for Meredith Aby ask “1) Have you ever met Lilia [sic] Obando? 2) Where? 3) When? 4) Why?” Liliana Obando is a well-known Colombian trade unionist who spoke in the Twin Cities at an event organized by the Anti-War Committee. She received a visa to travel in the U.S. from the U.S. government. She spoke about the sickening human rights violations that were being carried out by the Colombian government and its paramilitary allies.
It seems that the US government is trying its very best to intimidate and harass peace activists who are guilty of seeking out and disseminating the truth of US foreign policy. Is this the new McCarthyism? Are activists who organize to stop the horrific consequences of US foreign policy the new domestic communists terrorists?
If I were a cartoonist….
Picture a Trojan Horse (DONKEY)…crossing the threshold to inside the gates of the castle (White House)…the belly flopping open and out jumps our new leader…Barack Obama with ELEPHANT ears.
In my humble opinion…this man has single-handedly destroyed the Liberal Class…moved the center so far Right there is no longer even a voice of the Left.
America, as Sheldon Wolin has described, is deep in the throes of “Inverted Totalitarianism”.
The anonymity of the Corporate State has established the agenda…and I seriously believe there is not a damn thing we can do about it.
May 19, 2011 at 8:28 pmFear has been used to control Americans all my life. This isn’t anything new but just a continuation of of the government trying to intimidate people into being quiet. Unfortunately it works very well.
May 20, 2011 at 12:00 amOf course. Most people don’t want to lose their job and all that. It puts people in a tough spot. The one thing is that as more people have nothing to lose(like Spain now), the more they’ll take matters into their own hands.
May 20, 2011 at 2:37 amHad this happened during the Bush years, Democrats and figurative “liberals” would have been bouncing off the walls. These raids would have become rhetorical fodder for the next election cycle.
But since this has/is happening under Obama, the Democrats and figurative “liberals” have been, largely, silent. Don’t want to embarrass the Big Guy?
In my book, ANYONE who pretends to be progressive and who does not decry these sorts of illegal actions is not genuinely progressive.
May 20, 2011 at 11:21 am@greg: True , fear is the greatest political weapon against the masses.
Things are getting worse, dissent is less tolerated. They use these false flag terror attacks to justify thier crackdown on civil liberties.
@the RamblingTaoist: They all work for the same elites and corporations, so end of the day they both are two wings of the same Eagle.
May 24, 2011 at 1:25 amThese FBI raids are nothing more than a Fishing Expedition into the FRSO and the broader Anti-War movement. Thank you for informing people about how the government is violating the civil rights of some of the best activists in the United States. Please sign the online petition at http://www.stopfbi.net/petition/national .
June 8, 2011 at 10:47 am