Los Angeles, CA – On the morning of Wednesday, May 20, Nadia Topete, a Chicana organizer with Centro Community Service Organization (CSO), was served with a subpoena to appear June 3 in front of a grand jury.

The subpoena was signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael G Wheat. Nadia Topete did nothing wrong and this is an attack on the immigrant rights movement and on Centro CSO.

In June of 2025, Centro CSO member Alejandro Orellana was raided by the FBI, National Guard and East Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. A week later, Verita Topete, the sister of Nadia Topete, was ambushed by FBI Agents and her phone was seized. The agents had a search warrant but have yet to give her phone back.

Due to a nationwide defense campaign, charges against Alejandro Orellana were dropped, Nadia Topete was not charged, and Centro CSO assumed the FBI witch hunt was over. Almost a year later, Topete is now being targeted by the United States. She is being ordered to appear at the Orange County Federal Courthouse.

Carlos Montes, a longtime Centro CSO leader and Chicano activist, stated, “Nadia is actively advocating for our community, this federal subpoena is just an intimidating tactic by the Trump government.”

Centro CSO is committed to fighting back against this act of political repression and its members will not be intimidated.

Follow @CentroCSO on social media for any updates.

#LosAngelesCA #PoliticalRepression #InJusticeSystem #GrandJury #CentroCSO #Featured

In a statement to the media today, Freeman credited this change of course to concerns he’s heard from people about the Clark case. After a month of weekly protests at his office, thousands of calls to his office, testimony at county commissioners meetings and an open letter from Jamar Clark’s parents, he said, “I concluded that the accountability and transparency limitations of a grand jury are too high a hurdle to overcome. So, at this point in time, and in a democracy where we continually strive to make our systems fairer, more just and more accountable, we in Hennepin County will not use the grand jury in the Jamar Clark case.”

Brettina Davis of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar said, “Every day we were at Freeman's office asking for justice. The reason we continued is because we believe in a world where there is justice, where if you commit a crime you go to court have a chance to defend yourself just like everyone else. The Coalition has been fighting the fight every week. No breaks and no vacations when it comes to justice. The fight is not over, but we should celebrate the small victories and fight for the large ones.”

Freeman also said he will no longer use grand juries in police shooting cases in Hennepin County. Corydon Nillson, who has been coming out to the protests at Freeman’s office, explained the significance of this announcement, “In Minnesota, since the year 2000, there have been over 140 deaths at the hands of officers. The grand jury process has returned zero indictments. Our stance has been that the grand jury process is where justice goes to die. We have been showing up at his office the last five weeks, urging him to forego the process. His office had said that he was going to use the grand jury until today. This is monumental for this case. He also followed California's lead and decided to not use the grand jury process when it comes to police-involved shootings in Hennepin County. The grand jury process rarely indicts officers, so this is a huge deal!”

The community continues to demand prosecution of police officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, who are back at work despite their responsibility in Clark’s death. Several witnesses have shared accounts of the night, with Clark on the ground and handcuffed before he was shot. Despite this, Freeman said, “I will make the factual determination whether there is sufficient evidence to support a criminal charge against the police officers in the tragic death of Jamar Clark.”

The Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar will hold a public meeting to update the community and organize next steps in the fight for justice for Jamar Clark. The meeting will take place on Saturday, March 19 at noon at the Urban Jerusalem Church, 1823 Emerson Avenue N, Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #grandJury #GrandJuries #JamarClark #MikeFreeman

On Nov. 24, a Ferguson grand jury decision cleared police officer Darren Wilson of the murder of Michael Brown. Michael Brown was an 18-year-old African American youth shot and killed by the white police officer as he walked to his grandmother’s house in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9. Witnesses stated that Brown, who was unarmed, had his hands up in the air when officer Darren Wilson shot and killed him. With blatant disrespect to Michael Brown, his family and the neighborhood, the police left his body lying in the middle of the street for hours after the police killing.

For the people of Ferguson, a mainly African American suburb of Saint Louis, enough was enough. Residents were fed up with their all white city government and almost all white police force. The next evening, a rebellion broke out that lasted more than a week. Despite the police showing their true face as a military occupation force complete with armored personnel carriers, the people of Ferguson, joined by neighbors in and around Saint Louis and supporters across the country, kept protesting night after night.

The Saint Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch is known to have close ties with the police and he refused to arrest Officer Darren Wilson for the murder of Brown. However, the government did assemble a grand jury to ‘investigate’ the killing. The government’s plan from the beginning was that the grand jury would cool out protests with the hope of an indictment. This hope is now shown for what it was: a false dream. Now people are even angrier.

The ‘justice system’ of police, courts and prisons in the U.S. is in fact an ‘injustice system’ designed to suppress African Americans to the benefit of the rich and powerful. We must be clear. Having African Americans at the top of the government, including the president and the attorney general, does not change the nature of the injustice system. The law, the police, the courts and the prisons are there to maintain the political power and economic privileges of the monopoly capitalists – the billionaires who are the ruling 1%. The police are the front-line enforcers of this all around political, economic, legal, cultural and social inequality of African Americans and other oppressed nationalities (Chicanos, Mexicanos, other Latinos, Asians, Arabs and indigenous peoples) in the U.S.. Every time an African American person is killed and the police or a racist vigilante gets away with murder, we must organize and protest to put an end to the officially sanctioned state violence and murder.

What will it take to win Justice for Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and all the other African Americans who are the latest victims of police and racist vigilante violence?

Our experience is that the struggle for justice and for full equality does not mainly come from elections or from the courts. What can push forward the struggle for justice is the militant mass movement based in the working class, using militant tactics that are effective and teach people to understand their own power. We can demonstrate our power through masses of people taking to the streets, combined with occupations and civil disobedience, or even strikes and work slowdowns, or possibly direct action and confrontations with the uniformed killers like we saw in Ferguson in August. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon certainly understands the impact of people protesting for fundamental social change, that is why he called out the Missouri National Guard.

The Freedom Road Social Organization fully supports the struggle of the people of Ferguson to get justice for Michael Brown, as well the fight of Black and Brown communities across the country to put a stop to killer cops and racist vigilantes. The struggle for justice and equality will continue in the streets, and activists in the community, workplace and campus must continue to organize the working masses for political power. The struggle against police brutality and racist vigilantes is a key part of the Black Liberation Movement that will inspire others fighting for freedom including the Asian American, Chicano, Mexican, Latino, Native American and other indigenous people, as well as women and LGBTQ people.

As the oppression of African Americans is rooted in the slave system that was one of the foundations of capitalism the U.S., only the replacement of capitalism with socialism can lay the basis for full equality for African Americans. As Mao Zedong stated after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, “The struggle of the Black people in the U.S. for emancipation is a component part of the general struggle of all the people of the world against U.S. imperialism, a component part of the contemporary world revolution.”

Stop Police Terror! Jail the Killer Cop! Justice for Michael Brown!

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#UnitedStates #MO #OppressedNationalities #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #Racism #grandJury #InjusticeSystem #MichaelBrown #JusticeForMichaelBrown #DarrenWilson

Their attorney will present arguments for a motion to unseal the affidavits used to obtain the search warrants for their homes more than three years ago.

Jess Sundin, a plaintiff in the case, said, “The government launched its vicious attack on anti-war and international solidarity activists with two years of surveillance by undercover agents, then carried out FBI raids on a dozen homes and offices and attempted to force our testimony to a grand jury in Chicago. Every step of the way, the government acted under a cloak of secrecy and has insisted on guarding those secrets to this day. On Friday, Nov. 1, we will have our day in court, as our attorney argues for our motion to unseal the affidavits that were used to obtain the search warrants for those FBI raids.”

Bruce Nestor, attorney for the plaintiffs, writes in a document filed with the court, “Over three years ago, based upon the submission of secret evidence, the United States government convinced Magistrate Judge Susan R. Nelson to seal the search supporting affidavits at issue in this matter. Over three years after the applications and affidavits were ordered sealed, there are no public signs that the government is continuing its investigations related to these warrants or of the individuals named in the warrants. Indeed, while turning the constitutional presumption of innocence on its head by stating that the Petitioners in this matter remain subject to prosecution and therefore under ‘suspicion.’”

Nestor continues, “The government’s position in this matter also raises the question, ‘What is the prosecution trying to hide?’ [This also] … prevents undersigned counsel from effectively challenging the government’s claims.”

The hearing will take place in courtroom 3C at the United States Courthouse in Saint Paul (316 N Robert Street) at 9:00 a.m.

#SaintPaulMN #JessSundin #MickKelly #grandJury #AntiWar23 #InjusticeSystem #FBIRepression

Jess Sundin, one of the raided activists, said, “In the most recent public comment, in response to a media inquiry, the U.S. attorney’s office gave a strangely-worded response: ‘there are no public criminal cases stemming from the investigation.’ Perhaps this is suggesting that there may already be criminal indictments under seal or maybe not. We and our kids need this investigation into our protected political activity and speech to be over.”

Sundin added, “Recent revelations by Edward Snowden – and the ACLU reports on fusion centers – show that there is a pervasive attitude amongst government that people are the enemy and that opposing government policies is a ‘security threat.’”

A letter with 200-plus signers will be delivered to the Minneapolis U.S. Attorney’s office urging that the U.S. Attorney publicly put an end to the investigation.

Sundin concluded, “This year, on the three-year anniversary and on the eve of a new war, we recommit ourselves to building the people’s movements. We demonstrate their complete failure in silencing activism, opposition to war and international solidarity. We will continue to do that work and to continue to build solidarity with other victims of political repression.”

#MinneapolisMN #Raids #grandJury #politicalRepression #AntiWar23 #FBIRepression

On Feb. 12, Sundin told the students of Westminster College a stunning tale of FBI repression that changed her life and the lives of her fellow activists. More than a dozen attended to hear her speak at the event hosted by the Revolutionary Students Union.

“I've dedicated my life to building international solidarity and friendships across borders,” she said. “Two and a half years ago that dedication brought the FBI to my door.”

She, her partner, and of other activists were the focus of a nationwide raid that involved more than 70 FBI agents and six locations, with the purpose of silencing them and ending their efforts. Sundin said her belongings were searched and seized, and she was ordered to testify before a grand jury that sought to investigate “material support of terrorism.”

She and all other activists under investigations refused to testify in front of the grand jury. The possibility of indictments is still a real danger.

“It's still hanging over us,” she said. “The police could come to our home tomorrow and arrest us.”

Sundin explained that an FBI infiltrator exploited the gender and sexual orientation of members of the Minneapolis Anti-War Committee in order to spy on their legal organizing. “Karen Sullivan,” who lied about being a queer mother to gain trust, joined the well-known and respected group, pretending to be a friend and fellow activist.

All the while, Sullivan was informing government officials of their activities, who even went so far as to prevent a group of activists from entering Palestine to meet with a legal women's group there.

Sundin said that international solidarity work remains not only commendable, but also essential.

“In fact the case against us, the work that we've done that's being criminalized, is the same kind of work that helped to bring apartheid in South Africa to its knees,” she said.

Throughout the presentation, Sundin, a member of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, stressed that she is free today due to the work of people willing to stand up against repression and support both her cause and the cause of others. Hundreds of people rallied to prevent the trumped-up case against her from moving forward, she said.

She also spoke about the support for Carlos Montes, a Chicano activist from California who faced similar repression, and the Holy Land 5, currently in prison in the U.S. for their charity work for Palestine. She said that to demand their freedom is also a demand to the freedom of all activists. She said hundreds of people are currently in prison for daring to fight against war and disagree publicly with U.S. policy.

“It's about this: there is a conflict and the U.S. has picked a side, and when we pick a different side, the government says it is illegal to extend a hand of friendship,” she said. “That's what we've been targeted for.”

Nevertheless, Sundin says that she remains committed and encouraged others not to be daunted by the tactics used to silence those who are trying to build a better world and end U.S. wars.

“Don't be afraid – because the fact is that being open and being outspoken in defense of ourselves and our work has done more to expand the political space for all of us to continue to build solidarity between each other and across the globe.”

#SaltLakeCityUT #JessSundin #CarlosMontes #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #grandJury #RevolutionaryStudentsUnion #AntiWar23

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression stands in solidarity with Northwest activists Katherine Olejnik and Matt Duran, who are currently being imprisoned for refusing to cooperate with a secret grand jury in Seattle. Leah-Lynn Plante was also unjustly jailed for refusing to testify before the grand jury and has been released.

The grand jury resistors have had their lives turned upside down. They are held in prison, separated from their friends and families, in the government’s desperate attempt to try to make them wave t