Fight Back News Service is circulation the following speech given by Tracy Molm at Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s online International Women’s Day event.

Greetings friends and comrades and happy International Women’s Day! I am honored to join you tonight.

This last year has been a wild ride. For many, like myself, around this time is when lockdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic hit our lives directly. The [2020] Women’s Day event in the Twin Cities was the last public event I attended indoors. This year has also included some of the fiercest fights I’ve seen in my 20 years of organizing, with a police precinct going up in flames in Minneapolis, protests in the streets of Portland [Oregon] for over 100 days with progressive activists clashing with both right-wing forces and government agents and cops, and massive militant protests across the country.

We all endured through a maddening election as a crowded field of Democratic candidates dwindled down to one rich, old white guy against another rich, old white guy (I don’t know about you but it feels like a very long time ago). We watched debates with plastic cages for the candidates and a terrible dis-information campaign giving way to outright lies about a stolen election. Biden is better for the people of the United States – just on a basic level, he believes science, that climate change is real and he has taken some action; he has opened up immigration and stopped the building of Trump’s border wall. But that’s not enough, Biden is not our candidate – he is still a rich white guy who works to continue U.S. imperialism – seen so clearly last week when he dropped bombs on Syria. And none of us have seen our $2000 checks promised during his campaign.

This last year women, transgender and gender non-conforming folks, especially those who are oppressed nationality, have been at the forefront of fighting back against attacks, and building movements – leading those massive, militant protests I mentioned before. On the other hand, oppressed nationality communities have also been disproportionately affected by the current economic crisis and pandemic.

But what does all this mean for us on Women’s Day in 2021? To quote the FRSO Unity Statement:

“The oppression of women predates the rise of capitalism. Capitalism, together with male supremacy, intensified the subordination and degradation of women. Capitalism also manipulated family life and sexuality to ensure its control over the working class.”

Capitalism, the current political and economic system we live under, boils everything down to profit – the wages we get are just a fraction of the wealth that we as the working class create. For women, the wages we get are less than that of our male counterparts. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the first quarter of 2020 white women earned 79.7% as much as our male counterparts. And the numbers are worse for Black women, who earned 75.1% of the median income for white men, and 69.6% for Latina women.

And now we’re in the worst economy since at least 2008, and jobs numbers are worse than they have been since the 1920s, with women facing the brunt of the job losses. Many of the jobs lost are in the travel and leisure industry, where women make up 53.1% of the workforce yet in December we were 56.6% of the job losses; in government jobs women make up 57.5% of the workforce yet we represented 91.1% of the job losses in December; and again these numbers get worse when looking at oppressed nationality women. In December, 9.1% of Latinas and 8.4% of Black women were unemployed, compared to 5.7% of white women and 5.8% of white men. Women aren’t just losing their jobs, they are being forced to leave jobs because of impossible choices between safety and kids at home or paying rent and buying groceries.

And you can see how capitalism works to distort women’s roles in the way women are concentrated in fields like health care and teaching. Both fields directly impacted by COVID-19. Women in health care are on the front lines battling this pandemic all the while being denied protective equipment, dealing with vaccines in short supply, and fighting a health care system that focuses on profit rather than the societal nature of public health. Health care CEOs put banners up “celebrating front line workers” or call health care workers “heroes,” but this isn’t hazard pay, it’s not protective equipment to keep them safe or assistance to ensure their families are safe from the pandemic they’ve struggled with for the last year.

COVID-19 has pushed the U.S. healthcare system past its limits but this system was broken long before this pandemic. The pandemic has magnified deep-seated distrust and dramatically different health outcomes for white Americans than our Black, Latina and indigenous sisters and brothers. Forced sterilizations in the not so distant past and the lack of community health care in poorer communities the U.S. have meant that this healthcare system was never going to be successful in dealing with this pandemic because capitalism will always focus on profit over people.

For teachers, this pandemic has pitted the public necessity of schools to help get parents to work against teachers as workers. While Trump and now Biden talk about prioritizing opening schools, they continue to ignore the grave concerns that teachers have for the children they teach, the children’s families, their own families and their own health.

But Women’s Day wasn’t born out of just acknowledging the way that capitalism and male supremacy keep women oppressed in our society – it was born out of struggle. Women in the garment and textile factories staged strikes in protest of low wages, long working hours, inadequate pay, inhumane working conditions and the lack of the right to vote. They faced police beatings and jail when they protested. Yet women workers continued to struggle for better working conditions and better pay and working conditions for many years. Many people have heard of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911, when 146 young women either burned to death or died desperately trying to escape the heat and flames by leaping from the ninth floor windows of the factory to the pavement below.

Socialists were some of the leading fighters in these struggles in the U.S., just as they were in other countries. Inspired by the New York women garment workers’ struggles and the strong role of women socialists, German communist Clara Zetkin proposed designating International Women’s Day at an International Socialist Congress in Copenhagen in 1910. Women delegates from 17 countries unanimously concurred.

We have a long way to go, but we have moved mountains over this past year – protests of thousands, during a pandemic, that demanded justice for George Floyd and so many others who have been murdered by police, and strikes like at the University of Illinois of health care workers demanding pay and protective equipment are just a couple of examples from the last year. This is exactly what we need to continue to do. Get out into the streets because that is how we will make gains and win. On March 8, Derek Chauvin, the cop who murdered George Floyd, begins his trial and I call you to join FRSO comrades at protests happening around the country.

In Freedom Road Socialist Organization we fight for socialism; we believe that the only way to true liberation is to cast off this rotten capitalist system. We can’t settle for anything less than the full liberation of ALL women, including our trans and non-binary siblings. To quote Assata Shakur, “We have nothing to lose but our chains.” We must continue to fight and build for a better world as it will never be handed to us. And you should join us.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #InternationalWomensDay #TracyMolm

Fort Lauderdale, FL- 70 members of the South Florida community, some travelling up to three hours, from places as far away as Sarasota, gathered inside the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Lauderdale to hear award-winning journalist and author Max Blumenthal share the history and implications of the failed U.S. coups against Venezuela. Camilo Mejia of Veterans for Peace and Tracy Molm of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization joined Blumenthal in an illuminating and engaging panel discussion organized by the Hands off Venezuela Coalition.

Tracy Molm, who spoke first, joined in by Skype and provided an historical analysis of the current situation in Venezuela and a report-back of her recent trip to the country as part of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization delegation. She shared personal stories and plenty of pictures depicting the incredible progress made by the Venezuelan government – such as the 2.6 million homes built and massive rise in literacy rate. But Molm and her comrades also witnessed first hand the coup attempt called for by Juan Guaido that was meant to take place April 30.

“It was absolutely shocking,” Molm said. “The U.S. media was going on and on about how there was supposed to be a huge protest led by the opposition, but we were staying in the exact area where that was all meant to be taking place, and nothing happened. People stayed in their houses, went about their day. Rather, tens of thousands of Venezuelans rallied at the presidential palace to defend President Nicolas Maduro should the opposition and the U.S. try to take over. The next day, May Day, we marched with 1 million Venezuelans who rallied to support the Bolivarian Revolution and defend their president and hear him speak.”

Camilo Mejia addressed the crowd next, dispelling the myths regarding the failed coup attempt against Nicaragua. He provided statistics revealing the massive gains made by the socialist Sandinista government in literacy, housing, transportation, higher education and vocational training, and food sovereignty.

Mejia then revealed how the tactics used in Nicaragua are also being implemented in Venezuela, stating, “They take a social issue, a real issue and then use it to manipulate the situation. So last year, what prompted the protests in Nicaragua was reforms to social security. The reality is the IMF was demanding the government implement austerity measures, double the work requirements and raise the qualification age from 60 to 65. The Sandinista government refused to do that and instead chose to maintain the pension program by requiring wealthy people and businesses to pay more in. Well, the U.S. and its allied groups in Nicaragua started a calculated media campaign saying the government is stealing your money and doing away with pensions, and that started the protests, during which the CIA used well-documented tactics to have paid thugs create discord and violence.”

By 8 p.m., the spotlight was on the keynote speaker of the night. Max Blumenthal provided a brief but in-depth history of Venezuela and the Bolivarian movement, from the century of gross inequality suffered by most Venezuelans prior to Hugo Chavez’ sweeping electoral victory in 1998 to the present day U.S.-led sanctions and coup attempts.

He also went into detail about the Venezuelan opposition and its ties to Generation 2007, a group trained and funded for years by the CIA regime change specialists. Generation 2007 cadre members like Juan Guiado and Leopldo Lopez were trained on multi-pronged coup tactics in order to remove Chavez, and later Maduro, from power and roll back the revolution’s advances.

Blumenthal stated, “Pretty much anyone involved in the coup right now was trained by this network. They are taught: no dialogue, no compromise, maximalist demands, take part in very provocative tactics, which are supposedly nonviolent, but which ultimately and purposefully lead to street violence and instability. And they implemented these tactics for years, causing massive casualties, including burning a man in alive in the streets because they believed he was a Chavista.”

Blumenthal went on to explain the impact of U.S. sanctions, stating, “In 2015, Obama implements the first round of sanctions. Minor inflation quickly became hyperinflation because banks now considered Venezuela ‘high risk’ due to the sanctions, and so they would refuse to refinance Venezuela’s debt. So the country’s credit was being destroyed, and the banks wouldn’t loan them money to refinance. And seeing how Venezuela imports the vast majority of its agricultural goods, basically, the United States is using sanctions to deny the Venezuelan population access to food and medicine. So the U.S. uses the sanctions to try and manufacture a humanitarian crisis in order to stir rebellion and chaos. And we’re starting to see that tactic in Iran too, as the people are facing aggressive sanctions by Donald Trump.”

#FortLauderdaleFL #Venezuela #PeoplesStruggles #TracyMolm #MaxBlumenthal #CamiloMejia #Americas

Cleveland, OH – Speaking at the July 18 anti-Trump protest at the Republican National Convention, Tracy Molm, a leader of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, told the nearly 1000 people assembled at the rally about the need to build the fight to get justice for Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh.

Odeh, an icon in the Palestinian community, is facing jail and deportation on a trumped-up immigration charge.

Molm also read the following statement from Odeh, “I wish I could be with you today, because you are doing the most important thing that you could possibly do – protesting Trump, the Republican Party and their racist agenda of banning Muslims, criminalizing Mexicans and other immigrants and attacking the Movement for Black Lives. We want better for this country and for the world. You and everyone like you are the ones who will make change, who will defeat Trump and who will win all our fights for justice.”

#ClevelandOH #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #TracyMolm #CSFR #RasmeaOdeh #PoliticalRepression

Tampa, FL – 70 people gathered at the First United Church of Tampa, Sept. 13, to hear speakers on FBI repression of Arab, Muslim and anti-war activists in the U.S. Topics discussed included entrapment, preemptive prosecution and solitary confinement. Over 80,000 people are currently under solitary confinement, a reality for many political prisoners in the U.S.

The speakers were Nahla Al-Arian, wife of Dr. Sami Al-Arian; Hatem Fariz; Al-Arian’s co-defendant, who was imprisoned in a Communication Management Unit; Avni Osmakac, brother of Sami Osmakac; Tracy Molm of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression and one of the anti-war 23; and Elena Teyer, mother-in-law of Ibragim Todashev.

Nahla Al-Arian spoke about her husband’s case. Dr. Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian-American professor lost his job at University of South Florida after comments he made on the Bill O’Reilly show following 9/11. He was later imprisoned and then put under house arrest for supposedly working with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The reality was that Dr. Al-Arian was giving humanitarian aid to Palestine and was vocally critical of Israel. Due to an agreement with the government, Nahla and Sami Al-Arian will be deported to another country, which has proved difficult given his case and their Palestinian background.

Nahla Al-Arian said, “They just wanted us to disappear.”

Hatem Fariz was a co-defendant with Dr. Al-Arian and endured living in a Communication Management Unit, or CMU. Fariz spent four years in a CMU in Terre Haute, Indiana. Fariz described the deplorable conditions he lived under in the CMU, including waiting over a month to see a doctor, being allotted only two 15-minute phone calls a month, and two hour-long visits a month, which only included immediate family.

“We didn’t send money to kill people. We sent money to feed people”, said Hatem Fariz.

Avni Osmakac is the older brother of Sami Osmakac, an Albanian man who was coerced by the FBI to buy fake weapons for attacks in the Tampa Bay area. Sami Osmakac was put into solitary confinement even before his trial began. Osmakac began showing signs of mental illness in 2010, and started going to mosques for answers, where he met an informant that would entrap him in illegal activity, recorded him making threats, while keeping thousands of other recordings secret for ‘national security’ purposes.

Sami Osmakac sentencing will occur in November at the Sam Gibbons Federal Courthouse in Tampa. On Sept. 15 at Genaro Coffee in St. Petersburg, there will be a film screening of Informant, where Avni Osmakac will also be speaking.

Tracy Molm, one of the 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists subpoenaed by a grand jury, also spoke. The activists had their homes raided and belongings seized in a witch hunt that attempted to silence dissent against the government’s foreign policies. Molm spoke about the connection between their case and Rasmea Odeh, the Palestinian-American activist from Chicago who will be going on trial in November for supposed immigration fraud, based on a 20 year old application where she allegedly omitted an arrest she had in Israel over 40 years ago. While imprisoned in Israel, Rasmea was tortured into a confession.

Despite the struggles endured as a result of her activism, Molm encouraged attendees to use activism to speak out against repression. “The thing that got us into this situation will be getting us out of it,” she said.

Elena Teyer spoke about the murder by the FBI of her late son-in-law, Ibragim Todashev, in Orlando last year. He was questioned by the FBI because of a supposed connection he had with the suspected Boston bombers, all of whom were Chechen-American. He was forced into writing a confession by the FBI and when he attempted to refuse and leave his apartment, they shot him seven times, including once at point-blank range in the head. The FBI initially claimed that Todashev attacked the agents with a weapon, but were inconsistent about the type of weapon and he was later found to be unarmed. According to the autopsy report, three of the shots went through his left arm into his body, which indicated that he arm was close to his body and therefore could not have been trying to attack the officers.

“Don’t let them abuse your rights,” Teyer urged the crowd.

The event was sponsored by Friends of Human Rights and Committee to Stop FBI Repression, who are both part of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms.

#TampaFl #TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #FBI #Racism #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #TracyMolm #politicalRepression #Florida #Family

Minneapolis, MN – The FBI says they have finished copying the political material and personal papers seized in the Sept. 24, 2010 raids on the homes of Twin Cities anti-war and international solidarity activists. On the afternoon of Nov. 1, FBI agents delivered the last batch of notebooks, family photos, membership lists for anti-war and several other groups, computer backup discs and political documents to the office of attorney Bruce Nestor. The FBI has been returning batches of the copied material seized in the September 24, 2010 raids over the last several weeks.

“This is a serious violation of our right to organize against war,” states Jess Sundin of the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee. “The FBI took the computers from the office of the Anti-War Committee and made copies of lists that include thousands of our supporters. They copied notes from meetings and plans for events. They took our personal papers, political materials and books from my home. They are stepping all over our right to organize, associate and speak out.”

The material that the FBI copied and returned comes from the homes of Twin Cities activists Jess Sundin, Steff Yorek, Mick Kelly, Meredith Aby, Anh Pham and Tracy Molm and the office of the Anti-War Committee. All of them are among the 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists summoned to appear in front of a Chicago grand jury headed by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, investigating ‘material support for terrorism.’

The U.S. Attorney’s office is threatening to indict the anti-war activists.

Mick Kelly, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression states, “We have done nothing wrong. The FBI should destroy the copies of everything they took.”

The FBI returned the copied material after Attorney Bruce Nestor filed a motion in Federal Court to demanding that the property of Jess Sundin be returned. The hearing on the motion scheduled for Nov. 10 will be canceled.

Activists from around the country will attend the national conference organized by the Committee to Stop FBI repression in Chicago on Nov. 5 to build the fight that against the ongoing attacks on anti-war and international solidarity activists.

#MinneapolisMN #JessSundin #MeredithAby #September24FBIRaids #TracyMolm

New York, NY – Organizers at Occupy Wall Street are claiming victory this morning, Oct. 14, as City Hall backed down on its threat to clear out Zuccotti Park, supposedly for ‘cleaning.’ Zuccotti Park is the center of the protest movement. More than 7000 protesters, many with brooms and scrub brushes, packed Zuccotti Park to overflowing at 6:00 a.m. for the general assembly. An announcement was then made that Mayor Bloomberg backed down on his threats and a cheer rose up through the crowd as news spread from person to person that protesters would stay in the park.

New York City authorities will not allow Occupy Wall Street protesters to use microphones or bullhorns, claiming they are a public nuisance. So protesters use a human microphone system, the old ‘call and response’ where the crowd repeats each speaker’s words to be heard by all.

People in the crowd held signs reading, “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!” and “They say cut back, we say fight back!” One protester held a sign, “NYPD protects the rich.”

After the general assembly, a group of 500 protesters broke away to City Hall Park on a victory march. Construction workers in high-rise buildings cheered the students and youth on. The young people arrived at City Hall chanting, “Hey, ho, Bloomberg’s got to go!” and “Hey, ho, corporate greed has got to go!” The police arrested six protesters during the march and people are working to get them released.

Tracy Molm, of Students for a Democratic Society, said, “There are thousands of students and young people here protesting Wall Street. The problem is right here, right now. The problem is the 1%. The 1% are the cause of the wars and occupations overseas. The 1% and their corporations are the reason there is an economic crisis, a housing crisis, a health care crisis and an education crisis. The 1% is the problem. We are here to fix it!”

The Occupy Wall Street movement was joined to defend their park this morning by large numbers of union members from the Transit Workers Union, United Auto Workers, Service Employees International Union and the Communication Workers of America. The movement is now nationwide and rumblings are being felt in other movements. There is a call for people to gather on Saturday morning, Oct. 15, to defend Zuccotti Park again.

*Read more [Fight Back! coverage of Occupy Wall street](http://www.fightbacknews.org/news/special-coverage/occupy-wall-street) and follow [@fightbacknews](https://twitter.com/#!/fightbacknews) for live updates from #OccupyWallStreet protests around the country.*

#NewYorkNY #TracyMolm #OccupyWallStreet #MayorBloomberg #ZuccottiPark

Washington, DC – Protesters converged on Washington, D.C. the weekend of Oct. 8-9. Events organized by October 2011/Stop the Machine and Occupy D.C. were held at Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square. Thousands marched and rallied over the weekend to demand good jobs for all, an end to war and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq and increased taxes on the rich.

A large rally on Saturday was held in Freedom Plaza. Featured speakers included former Green Party and independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader and Tracy Molm from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR). Molm called on participants to stand with activists like her who are being targeted for exercising their right to speak out and organize against war and injustice.

As Molm spoke, teams of CSFR organizers signed people up to pledge resistance to the FBI and Grand Jury campaign targeting the 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists whose homes were raided in September 2010 and who have been subpoenaed as part of the campaign to criminalize dissent.

Demonstrators then marched from Freedom Plaza to the National Air and Space Museum where military drones used during the war in Afghanistan were on display. The crowd chanted, “How do we cut the deficit? End the wars and tax the rich!” and “The banks got bailed out, the people got sold out!” The demonstration successfully shut down the museum despite the use of force by guards who pepper sprayed peaceful protesters attempting to enter the museum. A separate rally was held later in the day in front of the White House.

The occupations of Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square have continued past the weekend. For now the protests show no sign of letting up and many demonstrators have indicated their intention to stay until their demands are met.

#WashingtonDC #AntiwarMovement #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #TracyMolm #OccupyWallStreet #StopTheMachine #October2011

Minneapolis, MN – Responding to President Obama’s June 22 national televised speech on Afghanistan, Meredith Aby of the Twin Cites based Anti War Committee stated, “The U.S. needs to get out of Afghanistan now.” Aby was one of the main organizers of the massive anti-war march on the opening day of the 2008 Republican National Convention and she is one of the 23 peace and international solidarity activists who have been subpoenaed to appear in front of the Chicago grand jury investigating ‘material support for terrorism.’ The grand jury, headed by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, is attempting to criminalize anti-war activism.

Commenting on the president’s speech, Aby stated, “The president has been forced to announce a small withdrawal because the American people are overwhelmingly opposed to the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. However, just like Obama did with Iraq last year, he is trying to muddle the debate by announcing a ‘withdrawal’ when in fact he is continuing the occupation. The American public does not want to fund death and destruction and instead is concerned about the cost to important social programs at home. We need to continue to protest for all the troops to be brought home.”

Tracy Molm, a member of Students for Democratic Society, said this about the president’s speech, “What the U.S. is doing in Afghanistan is wrong and the people of Afghanistan are suffering because of it. The U.S. and its allies are backing a corrupt puppet government that the Afghan people do not support. On top of that, the U.S. government is responsible for a massive number of civilians being killed and injured.”

Steff Yorek, the Political Secretary of Freedom Road Socialist Organization states, “No one, including the people of Afghanistan, wants to live under occupation of a foreign power, so they have created a massive resistance to that occupation. The announcement that 10,000 out of the 100,000-plus troops in Afghanistan will leave does not cut it. All the troops need to come home now.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Afghanistan #AntiWarCommittee #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #BarackObama #MeredithAby #TracyMolm #SteffYorek

Speakers included Jess Sundin, a leader of the Anti-War Committee and Freedom Road Socialist Organization and one of the anti-war and international solidarity activists targeted by the FBI and grand jury; Sarah Jane Olson, former political prisoner from involvement with revolutionary movements in the 1970s; Tracy Molm, an organizer with Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota, also one of the activists targeted by the FBI and grand jury; and Luce Guillen Givins of the RNC 8, unjustly charged with felonies for protests at the Republican National Convention, 2008.

Below is a video of the event taped by Bill Sorem of The Uptake

#MinneapolisMN #AntiWarCommittee #InternationalWomensDay #JessSundin #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #RNC8 #TracyMolm #SarahJaneOlson #LuceGuillénGivins

They traveled to D.C. from Minneapolis and Saint Paul with an appeal to elected officials to raise their voices against the intensifying attacks by the FBI and the grand jury in Chicago against anti-war and solidarity activists.

Richard Berg, past president of Teamsters Local 743 in Chicago, was also on the delegation. When asked if they were successful in getting support from members of Congress, he commented, “We did some good. I only hope it can beat back the massive evil.”

#WashingtonDC #FBI #September24FBIRaids #grandJury #TracyMolm

Minneapolis, MN – About 100 protesters came together outside U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar's office here, Dec. 2, in response to news that three Twin Cities anti-war and social justice activists will be getting new orders to appear before a federal Grand Jury in Chicago, Illinois. The orders to appear carry the possibility of the activists facing jail time for contempt if they refuse to participate in the politically-motivated Grand Jury proceedings. Those Grand Jury proceedings could put them and their political allies throughout the United States and in other countries at risk of further governmental harassment and violence.

This protest is one of many happening this week, which the Committee to Stop FBI Repression has designated as a week of action in solidarity with the targeted social justice activists.

Speaking to the crowd, Deb Konechne of the Minnesota Committee Against FBI Repression reported on a meeting held with Klobuchar’s staff before the protest: “We went to Senator Klobuchar’s office to demand that she pressure President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Holder to stop the witch hunt against anti-war activists and they are refusing to do anything. We are going to turn up the heat.”

The three activists who will be receiving new orders to appear before the grand jury in Chicago are Sarah Martin, a member of Women Against Military Madness, Tracy Molm, an organizer with Students for a Democratic Society and Anh Pham, an anti-war and immigrants’ rights activist.

Those three are among 14 people who received subpoenas in September during FBI raids on homes and offices in several cities, mostly in the Midwest.

All those who received subpoenas in September stated that they would plead the Fifth Amendment and refuse to testify. The original subpoenas were put on hold after the activists refused to cooperate with the witch hunt, but the federal attorney running the investigation is now saying that Martin, Molm and Pham will have to appear in front of the grand jury. The FBI claimed the raids and subpoenas are part of an investigation into groups allegedly providing “material support to terrorists.”

“The use of these subpoenas represents a new stage of the FBI campaign of interference and harassment against the anti-war movement. This investigation is a direct threat against civil liberties and can only take away our right to speak out against U.S. wars and interventions around the world,” said Steff Yorek.

Mick Kelly noted, “The FBI and Grand Jury investigation of anti-war activists is a major threat to anyone who opposes the policies of the U.S. government.”

#MinneapolisMN #FBI #SenatorKlobuchar #September24FBIRaids #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #grandJury #AnhPham #SarahMartin #TracyMolm

Activists in cities across the U.S. are planning for events and protests during the week of Nov. 29-Dec. 3 to stop the Grand Jury witch hunt against anti-war and international solidarity organizers.

Events will take place in Chicago, Illinois; Mankato, Minnesota; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; Vancouver, British Columbia; Seattle, Washington; Minneapolis, Minnesota; New York, New York; San Jose, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Dallas, Texas and other cities.

A statement from the Committee to Stop FBI repression says, “We are calling for a week of action to stop the FBI and Grand Jury repression for the week of Nov. 29 – Dec. 3. We are urging activists to focus on U.S. Congress people, demanding that they take action to stop the Grand Jury. Go to their congressional offices, or if that is not practical, to your Federal Building.”

The statement continues, “Three activists from the Twin Cities – Tracy Molm, Sarah Martin and Anh Pham – are being called back before the Grand Jury in Chicago and we need to build a movement to defend these activists and the others who have been targeted by the FBI.”

On Sept. 24 the FBI raided the homes of activists connected with the Palestine Solidarity Group, Students for a Democratic Society, the Twin-Cities Anti-War Committee, the Colombia Action Network, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera (a Colombian political prisoner) and other organizations.

Subpoenas to appear in front of a Chicago-based grand jury were served on anti-war organizers in Minneapolis, Chicago and Michigan. Everyone who received a grand jury exercised their Fifth Amendment rights and did not appear on the dates they were scheduled for in October. Observers say it is likely that the government will try to put Tracy Molm, Sarah Martin and Anh Pham in jail if they do not testify against their fellow organizers and friends.

#UnitedStates #FBI #September24FBIRaids #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #grandJury #AnhPham #SarahMartin #TracyMolm

Minneapolis, MN – About 40 people gathered at the Federal Building here, Nov. 18 for a press conference and picket in response to moves by Illinois U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to bring three Twin Cites anti-war and international solidarity activists – Tracy Molm, Anh Pham and Sarah Martin – before a grand jury.

During and after the Sept. 24 FBI raids, subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury were handed to 14 activists in Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan. All of them then submitted legal documents invoking their Fifth Amendment rights and did not appear before the Grand Jury.

Now the three of the 14 are being told that they will have to appear in front of the Grand Jury.

Speaking at the press conference, Tracy Molm, a union organizer for AFSCME Local 3800 and anti-war activist said, “I will continue to speak out against war and injustice. I will not be intimidated by FBI raids or the threat posed by the grand jury.”

Marie Braun of Women Against Military Madness and the Twin Cities Peace Campaign told the crowd, “I have worked with Sarah Martin in WAMM for many years and she is a close personal friend.” She also stated, “I have also worked with Tracy and Anh in the Iraq Peace Action Coalition and other coalitions to organize non-violent anti-war protests, rallies, protests at the Republican National Convention, educational events to speak out against sanctions, torture, pre-emptive war polices, the atrocities of wars and many other issues. They too are my friends and I am appalled that they are being subpoenaed to appear in front of a grand jury.”

Jess Sundin, one of the main organizers of the 30,000 person march on the Republican National Convention, stated, “If our friends choose not to testify, they could be imprisoned. It could be for months or even years, like in the case of Professor Abdelhaleem Ashqar, who faced the same prosecutor we face and who was investigated of violating the same law we are confronting. Before he was acquitted of the charges against him, Dr. Ashqar was sentenced to criminal contempt for refusing to testify before Fitzgerald’s grand jury in Chicago. The punitive sentence against him was more than 11 years. Again, he was acquitted of the crimes the grand jury was investigating.”

Sundin concluded, “This is a frightening tale, but it shows how very important our work is. We have to make it politically untenable for these three women to be imprisoned. Fitzgerald has political aspirations; he hopes to be the next head of the FBI. That’s a White House appointment, open next year. We’ve got to build a movement to stand behind Sarah, Anh and Tracy, a movement so big, broad and loud, that it cannot be ignored. A movement so strong, that Fitzgerald won’t do to them what he did to Dr. Ashqar.”

#MinneapolisMN #September24FBIRaids #grandJury #AnhPham #SarahMartin #TracyMolm #PatrickFitzgerald #AbdelhaleemAshqar

This is a continuation of a campaign of federal intimidation of anti-war, labor and international solidarity activists that started on September 24 with raids on homes and offices in Minneapolis and Chicago and FBI visits to activists in other cities.

During the September 24 raids, the FBI handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to 14 activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. All of them submitted legal documents invoking their Fifth Amendment rights and did not appear before the Grand Jury.

Now, Tracy Molm, Anh Pham, and Sarah Martin are being told that they will have to appear in front of the Grand Jury.

“Saying these three activists should appear in front of a Grand Jury represents a dangerous escalation of the government interference and repression against the anti-war movement. This is a scare tactic to dampen the right to speak out against U.S. wars and interventions around the world,” said Jess Sundin of the Anti -War Committee.

“The FBI campaign against anti-war activists is a major threat to anyone who questions U.S. policies around the world. Many of those who had been targeted in these raids are long-time peace, labor and social justice activists,” said Mick Kelly of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression

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