We have received reports, that this morning, July 10 2012 , the Seattle Police Department raided an apartment – targeting well known activists from Occupy Seattle and the Red Spark Collective. A statement from the Red Spark Collective (part of the national Kasama network), notes “This apartment has been a hub for organizing the Everything 4 Everyone festival in August – to bring together West Coast forces for a cultural and political event building on the year of Occupy.”

In the United States today the forces of repression and reaction, ranging from the FBI to local police forces are trying to intimidate those who are standing up for peace, justice, equality and liberation. The examples are many, including the repression directed at Arabs and Muslims, the coordinated attacks on the occupy movement, and FBI raids on anti war and international solidarity activists.

We condemn this act of political repression and send our solidarity to all those who were targeted in this raid.

#SeattleWashington #SeattleWA #PoliceRaid #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #SWAT #politicalRepression #OccupySeattle

Chicago, IL – Activists from Occupy Chicago, the Chicago Committee Against Political Repression and Hammerhard Media met here, July 9, to discuss the police and FBI attacks on protests here and across the country.

The event featured Jen Waller and Tom Hintze of Occupy Wall Street, who organized a national speaking tour, called “Less Wall, More Street: From Mass Arrests of OWS to Mass Incarceration.” Their purpose is to foster solidarity for people like the NATO 5, victims of an undercover operation by the Chicago Police Department and a trumped up case by the state’s attorney. They also explained how oppressed Black and Latino communities, as well as Arabs and Muslims in the U.S., have been targeted by the state.

As Waller put it, repression “…is an everyday occurrence for people in this country who are criminalized because of their race, national origin, religion, or economic status, and targeted by law enforcement and the legal system.”

Waller and Hintze also updated the people on the case of the Cleveland 5, Occupy activists who had been infiltrated and entrapped by the FBI.

#ChicagoIL #PoliceRaid #politicalRepression #OccupyChicago #NATO5 #Cleveland5 #ChicagoCommitteeAgainstPoliticalRepression

Joe Iosbaker of the CSFR reports that during the past two weeks, nearly 1300 people have signed the petition. Iosbaker urges all progressive people to sign the petition and forward it to their friends.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the CSFR’s call to sign the petition. Sign the petition for the NATO 5!

Drop all charges against the NATO 5 and all anti-NATO protesters!

Protesters are still being held in Cook County Jail in Chicago. Release them all now!

Sign the Petition Here: http://www.stopfbi.net/petition/nato5

The charges against the NATO 5 and the others are false. All these prisoners urgently need your solidarity. Please sign our petition. Share it with your family, friends and coworkers. Signing the petition will generate a direct email to:

-- Illinois State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez -- Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart -- Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, and —Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and several other public officials, demanding all charges against the NATO 5 be dropped.

Background info

Drop all charges against the NATO 5 and all anti-NATO protesters!

Eight people continue to be held in jail in Chicago, arrested before or during the protests against the NATO summit in Chicago in May.

Four of the men face terrorism-related charges and the other four serious felonies, while the NATO generals responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands have left town to return to their occupation of Afghanistan and plotting for their next war.

Brian Church, Jared Chase, Brent Vincent Betterly and Sebastian Senakiewicz have been charged under a State of Illinois anti-terrorism law passed after 9/11 that has never been used. Together with Mark Neiweem, they’ve been called the NATO 5 for the seriousness of their charges and because they were all targeted by undercover officers exposed by the National Lawyers Guild. The agents went by the nicknames “Mo” and “Gloves.”

The NATO 5 were arrested without any evidence of their involvement in violence, other than the statements of undercover provocateurs. The first three arrests took place in an unlawful police raid of a home on Wednesday night, May 16, during which the police kicked in doors without presenting a warrant, beat up people, shackled protesters hand and foot, and then “disappeared” 11 people for up to 40 hours. The National Lawyers Guild and Occupy Chicago activists faced repeated denials by the Chicago Police in their attempts to locate those arrested. The next two were arrested several days later. Again, no evidence has been presented other than the statements of the undercover police. Both of those men were held longer than the 48 hours required by law before being given access to use of a telephone or to speak with an attorney.

The three others who are still being held were involved in a protest action at the point which the police turned violent, causing over 70 injuries from baton blows, including many serious head injuries. Over 24 protesters had to be treated at area hospitals for broken bones, knocked out teeth, concussions and wounds requiring stitches or staples.

On top of the arrests and charges, the protesters are being held with outrageous bails: $1.5 million each for the first three facing terrorism charges; $750,000 for the fourth charged under the same state terrorism law; $500,000 for the last of the NATO 5; and as high as $250,000 for the rest.

It is the Chicago Police Department that is responsible for the violence that took place during the anti-NATO protests. The Chicago Police Department and the State’s Attorney are violating the law and the Constitution.

Charges of terrorism, preemptive raids and prosecution, charges based on entrapment and violence against protesters are all standard procedure when the U.S. government declares a National Special Security Event, as they did with the NATO summit. These tactics were employed at the Republican National Convention in 2008, resulting in the cases of the RNC 8; the 23 anti-war activists raided by the FBI and subpoenaed to a grand jury for investigation of support for foreign terrorists; and the trial of Carlos Montes in Los Angeles. Now in Chicago, they’ve added the element of excessive bail.

The charges against the NATO 5 and the others are false. All these prisoners urgently need your solidarity. Please sign our petition. Share it with your family, friends, and co-workers. Signing the petition will generate a direct email to State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, demanding all charges be dropped.

#ChicagoIL #PoliceRaid #antiwar #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #antiimperialism #NATO5

Chicago, IL – Three of the young men arrested in the days before the NATO summit appeared in court here, June 12. Charged with “material support for terrorism, possession of an incendiary device and conspiracy,” Jared Chase, Brent Betterly and Brian Jacob Church have been held for nearly a month on $1.5 million bail each. They expected to be able to see the evidence against them, such as police reports, a search warrant and an affidavit.

Wearing prison jumpsuits and shackles, the men were briefly ushered into the court, only to be sent back to their cells. Their supporters were disappointed and even the judge was surprised when the States Attorney declined to present any evidence. The judge ordered the States Attorney to present the evidence at an arraignment on July 2.

Attempts were made by the Chicago Police Department to brutally suppress the anti-NATO protests, especially on May 20 after the end of the permitted march and rallies sponsored by the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War and Poverty Agenda (CANG8). The National Lawyers Guild recorded 80 people injured by baton blows. The case of Betterly, Chase and Church has been highly controversial because it involves infiltration and an untested Illinois state terrorism law. There are two others who face indictments on June 13, one under the same terrorism law and another under explosives charges. Three others are awaiting indictments on felony charges as well.

Tom Durkin, one of the attorneys for the three, harshly criticized the state’s case and treatment of the men. “These defendants are being treated differently than other prisoners,” Durkin said. “They are treated worse than murderers,” he said, “and they justify that with the domestic terrorism charges.”

Durkin also scoffed at the law behind the case. “The statute is ridiculous. For example, burning a corn field is considered terrorism.” Regarding the state’s case, he remarked, “When this is over, I’m sure this is not a terrorism case; it might not be a case at all.” Finally, he stated, “The case stinks. It’s an informant created case.”

Over 20 Occupy Chicago activists, along with other supporters of the NATO 5, were present in the court room and vowed to continue to demand that all charges be dropped. Joe Iosbaker, an anti-war activist whose home was raided by the FBI in September 2010, urged the anti-NATO protesters to continue their resistance. He pointed to the case of Carlos Montes who won a victory in Los Angeles last week. “The District Attorney said he wanted Montes to spend five years in prison for his anti-war activism,” explained Iosbaker. “But the pressure from our movement forced the D.A. to accept a plea with no prison time for our brother. Repression can be defeated, if we unite, and if we mobilize broad support.”

#ChicagoIL #PoliticalPrisoners #CarlosMontes #PoliceRaid #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #NATO5 #InjusticeSystem

Fight Back News service is circulating the following call to action from the Committee Stop FBI Repression. Joe Iosbaker is one of the anti-war and international solidarity activists targeted by the FBI and was one of the organizers of the 15,000 person anti-NATO protest in Chicago.

Anti-NATO protesters held on terrorism charges, extreme bail. Call States Attorney Anita Alvarez at 773-674-6209 – Demand all charges be dropped against anti-NATO protesters! “Release them all now!”

Nine people continue to be held in jail in Chicago, arrested before or during the protests against the NATO summit, according to information provided by the National Lawyers Guild. They face felony charges and even terrorism charges, while the NATO generals responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands have left town to return to their occupation of Afghanistan and plotting for their next war.

Of those still being held, five of them have been charged under a State of Illinois law passed after 9/11 that has never been used. The NATO 5 were all targeted by undercover police officers exposed by the National Lawyers Guild. The agents went by the nicknames “ Mo” and “ Gloves.”

The NATO 5 were arrested without any evidence of their involvement in violence, other than the statements of undercover provocateurs. The first arrests took place in an unlawful police raid of a home on Wednesday night, May 16th, in which the police kicked in doors without presenting a warrant, beat up people, shackled protesters hand and foot, and then “disappeared” 11 people for up to 40 hours. The National Lawyers Guild and Occupy Chicago activists faced repeated denials by the CPD in their attempts to locate those arrested.

The remaining two were arrested several days later. Again, no evidence has been presented other than the statements of the undercover police. Both men were held longer than the 48 hours required by law before being given access to use of a telephone or to speak with an attorney.

The other four still being held were involved in a protest action at the point which the police turned violent, causing over 70 injuries from baton blows, including many serious head injuries. Over 24 had to be treated at area hospitals for broken bones, knocked out teeth, concussions, and wounds requiring stitches or staples.

On top of the arrests and charges, the protesters are being held with outrageous bails: $1.5 million for the first three facing terrorism charges; $750,000 and $500,000 for the second two charged under the same state terrorism law; and as high as $250,000 for the remaining men. Bail for one Chicago youth, Raziel Azuara is set at $150,000.

It is the Chicago Police Department that is responsible for the violence; and the CPD and the States Attorney are violating the law and the Constitution.

Charges of terrorism, pre-emptive raids and prosecution, charges based on entrapment, and violence against protesters are all standard procedure when the US government declares a National Special Security Event as they did with the NATO summit. These tactics were employed at the Republican National Convention in 2008, resulting in the cases of the RNC 8; the 23 anti-war activists raided by the FBI and subpoenaed to a grand jury for investigation of support for foreign terrorists; and the current trial of Carlos Montes in Los Angeles. Now in Chicago they’ve added the element of excessive bail, as if the protesters were part of the 1%, rather than the 99%.

We must speak out against this repression. We know the charges against the anti-NATO protesters are false. All these prisoners should be free.

Call States Attorney Anita Alvarez at 773-674-6209. Demand all charges be dropped against anti-NATO protesters! Release them all now!

In struggle, Joe Iosbaker Committee to Stop FBI Repression

#ChicagoIL #PoliticalPrisoners #PoliceRaid #ChicagoNATOSummit #NATO5

Late Wednesday night, May 16th, Chicago police broke down the door of an apartment and arrested nine activists who have been held without charges. Other NATO protesters have also been harassed and/or arrested by the Chicago police in the days leading up to the NATO summit in Chicago.

Despite the opposition of the majority of the American people to the U.S.-NATO war and occupation in Afghanistan, Congress has just voted by a two to one margin to continue the war. More and more the government is resorting to using the FBI, police, Grand Juries, and the courts to repress a growing protest movement against the war and growing economic inequality that serves the 1%, not the 99%.

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) condemns these raids that are designed to disrupt organizing for the protests and to discourage people from participating by portraying organizers as violent. We urge all people who are opposed to the U.S.-NATO war and occupation in Afghanistan to attend the permitted march on Sunday, May 20th.

We also want to extend our solidarity to those who have been arrested. In the days leading up the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 2008, police infiltrated the anti-war coalitions that were planning protests at the RNC. Right before the convention and protests were to begin, police arrested eight activists with the RNC Welcoming Committee. In 2010, the FBI raided and served Grand Jury subpoenas to 14 activists (later expanded to 23) who helped to organize the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. These raids and subpoenas led to the formation of the CSFR and a nationwide fight back against FBI repression of antiwar and international solidarity activists. Then in 2011, the FBI and Los Angeles sheriffs broke down the door and arrested long-time Chicano activist Carlos Montes, who also protested the RNC.

No to NATO and War!

No to FBI and Police Repression!

#ChicagoIL #CarlosMontes #PoliceRaid #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #2008RepublicanNationalConventionRNC #ChicagoNATOSummit #AntiWar23

Protesters responded immediately to the police repression by mobilizing a large crowd in less than 24 hours. According to the National Lawyers Guild, police “disappeared” nine people for nearly a day – first in the Organized Crime Building and later a Chicago police station. Friends and family had no idea what was happening and Chicago police denied any knowledge. After two days, three people remained in jail facing serious terrorism charges, with bail set at $1.5 million.

Upon arriving at Daley Plaza, Zoe Sigman of Occupy Chicago thanked the crowd and then asked everyone to sit down in silence for ten minutes in solidarity with the nine people taken away by the police and the three charged with terrorism. When the solidarity silence ended, Zoe rose to speak from on top of a flower box and denounced the police raid. She described the busting down of the door of the apartment and the abuse of those living there. Sigman spoke about the need to stand against police repression and to continue to protest the war-makers of NATO in Chicago. She also called for people to not be fearful, but to mobilize even more people to come to Grant Park for the big anti-NATO protest against war and poverty on Sunday, May 20.

Stephanie Weiner with the Committee to Stop FBI Repression spoke next and denounced the 2010 FBI raids on 23 Midwest activists’ homes and the home of Carlos Montes a few months later. She said that solidarity with Zoe and the other activists abused and arrested can beat back this outrageous attack. Weiner said, “We are powerful, we can build a powerful movement to stop NATO and its wars, and we can beat back police and FBI repression if we stick together!”

Then a student from Utah and the Revolutionary Students Union spoke. Gregory Lucero was visited by the FBI at his home and they wanted to know about organizing a trip to protest NATO and war. Lucero said, “What do you say when the FBI or police come to your door?” The crowd shouted, “Nothing!” Then Lucero ended by saying it is important to speak out against FBI repression and war.

Finally, a speaker from Cleveland spoke about the recent arrest of three young homeless men who are part of the Occupy movement and how they were set up by the FBI. He asked for solidarity as they face serious charges in this latest FBI frame-up.

The march proceeded from Daley Plaza and eventually onto Michigan Avenue, with tourists and workers taking photographs and smiling as they went by. The streets of Chicago are alive with the sounds of protest, opposing repression at home and war abroad.

#ChicagoIL #NationalLawyersGuild #CarlosMontes #PoliceRaid #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #ChicagoNATOSummit #AntiWar23

National Lawyers Guild Condemns Preemptive Police Raids & Unlawful Searches on the Streets.

Early morning house raid in Bridgeport and harassment of activists indicates intolerance of free speech rights.

Chicago, IL – The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) condemns a preemptive police raid that took place at approximately 11:30pm Wednesday in the Bridgeport neighborhood, and instances of harassment on the street, in which Chicago police are unlawfully detaining, searching, and questioning NATO protesters. The Bridgeport raid was apparently conducted by the Organized Crime Division of the Chicago Police Department and resulted in as many as 8 arrests.

According to witnesses in Bridgeport, police broke down a door to access a 6-unit apartment building near 32nd & Morgan Streets without a search warrant. Police entered an apartment with guns drawn and tackled one of the tenants to the floor in his kitchen. Two tenants were handcuffed for more than 2 hours in their living room while police searched their apartment and a neighboring unit, repeatedly calling one of the tenants a “Commie faggot.” A search warrant produced 4 hours after police broke into the apartment was missing a judge's signature, according to witnesses. Among items seized by police in the Bridgeport raid were beer-making supplies and at least one cell phone.

“Preemptive raids like this are a hallmark of National Special Security Events,” said Sarah Gelsomino with the NLG and the People's Law Office. “The Chicago police and other law enforcement agencies should be aware that this behavior will not be tolerated and will result in real consequences for the city.”

In another incident, 3 plainclothes police officers unlawfully stopped, handcuffed, and searched a NATO protester on Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive at approximately 2pm today. According to the protester, he did not consent to a search and there was no probable cause to detain him. The police also photographed and questioned him about where he was from, how he got to Chicago, how long it took, what he was doing here, where he was staying, who he was with, and how long he was planning to say in Chicago. The protester refused to answer any questions and was eventually released.

The NLG has received reports that at least 20 people have been arrested so far this week, and two people are still in custody, not including the Bridgeport residents who are still unaccounted for. One of the protesters currently being detained, Danny Johnson of Los Angeles, has been accused of assaulting a police officer during an immigrant rights rally on Tuesday afternoon. However, multiple witnesses on the scene, including an NLG Legal Observer, recorded a version of events that contradict the accusations of police.

During the week of NATO demonstrations, the NLG is staffing a legal office and answering calls from activists on the streets and in jail. The NLG will also be dispatching scores of Legal Observers to record police misconduct and representing arrestees in the event the city pursues criminal prosecutions.

Contact: NLG Legal Worker Kris Hermes 510-681-6361 or NLG Attorney Sarah Gelsomino 773-520-8246

#ChicagoIL #NationalLawyersGuild #PoliceRaid #ChicagoNATOSummit

Several weeks after the brutal, 4 a.m. raid on the peaceful camp, the Justice Department got involved and courts ordered mediation between lawsuit plaintiffs, Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community and members of Earth First!, and the defendants, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and Department of the Interior. The road project was halted until mediation is completed.

The Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community has argued that the Minnesota Department of Transportation is in violation of Federal Law in trying to put a road through burial sites and Traditional Cultural Properties, which include the four sacred trees and Camp Coldwater Springs. On March 18 and 19, elders from the Mesquakie, Iowa, Ojibway, and other First Nations, testified about the significance of land between Minnehaha Falls and Camp Coldwater Springs. This supported the struggle of the Mendota to permanently protect this area as a Traditional Cultural Property, which would, in effect stop this reroute.

Another significant development has been the introduction of legislation in the Minnesota House of Representatives and the State Senate that would raise state standards on sacred sites and Traditional Cultural Properties up to Federal Standards. For information on the bill call Linda Brown at (612) 944-7290.

Jim Anderson, Cultural Chairman of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community, said, “They say they have ties all the way to Congress, well, we have ties all the way to the Creator, and now we have support in both the Minnesota House and Senate. When will they wake up and realize that this road is going to be stopped because it violates Federal Law that protects our Freedom of Religion and sacred sites... and that it is a violation of law to receive Federal money to build this reroute?”

The Minnesota News Council held a forum at Anne Sullivan School on Wednesday, March 17, to examine the unhealthy relationship between the police and the media during the raid of December 20, where non-violent protesters were tear-gassed, had pepper-spray applied directly to their eyes, and were beaten bloody.

Reporter Dick Bancroft described his arrest and seizure of his camera and film that has never been returned. He had documented the destruction of the American Indian Movement's (A.I.M.) drum during the raid, which violated Federal Law.

A.I.M., the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community and Earth First! are camped south of 54th Street. The camp is prepared to renew a campaign of Non-violent Direct Action if the mediation and legislation fail to stop the reroute of Highway 55. Sky, a young A.I.M. activist said, “If they come again I'll make a citizen's arrest on them for bringing weapons to these sacred sites. We are strong and we know we are right, and that is why MnDoT and their road are beginning to crumble... Bury my heart where MnDoT won't find it.”

#MinneapolisMN #News #IndigenousPeoples #PoliceRaid