JTTF Approaches Anti-Fracking Activists

This week in Maryland, the the Joint Terrorism Task Force visited the home of an activist in Maryland, regarding the Momentive anti-fracking action on July 8, 2013 in North Carolina, and attempted to speak with their family.

“On the afternoon of Thursday August 15th, two members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force visited the homes of anti-fracking activists in the Frederick, MD. This is related to recent actions against fracking that area activists participated in during the EF! rondy. If you are also visited please let your local legal support know. More importantly, if they come to your home please do not speak to them, and of course we will do the same.” —Some local activists

This week, the FBI has also been poking around Northeastern anarchist communities. They have also ap proached climate activists in the Northwest. If you act or advocate against fracking, or are tied to communities that do, there is a chance that federal agents may approach you or someone you know in attempt to find out more information about radical communities. Often, agents will also attempt to target peripheral people who they believe they can easily manipulate in order to find information to build cases against others. As a precaution, speak with your household, friends and family about what to do if agents come to your house, and how important it is to not interact with them at all. You have no legal obligation to speak with them, and any interactions you do can only serve to harm you or someone else.

Here’s a .pdf of If An Agent Knocks put out by the Center for Constitutional Rights that you can download and send to friends and family:http://ccrjustice.org/ifanagentknocks

You can also use this guideline as a reference: Never Talk to Police Officers, FBI etc. Train yourself, other activists, and your friends on these guidelines.

• If they come to your house to ask questions, do not let them in. From inside your door, or from outside with your door shut behind you, politely say “I wish to remain silent.” Ask them if you are under arrest or if they have a search warrant. If they say no, go back inside your house and close your door politely. If they come in anyway, say “I do not consent to a search.” Take note of who they are and what they do.

• It doesn’t matter whether you are guilty or innocent. It doesn’t matter how smart you are. Never talk to Police Officers, FBI, Homeland Security, etc. It doesn’t matter if you believe you are telling police officers what they already know. It doesn’t matter if you just chit chat with the police. Any talking to police officers, FBI, etc. will almost certainly harm you or others.

• If you talk to a police officer, you give him or her the opportunity to testify against you based on what you said or what they say you said.

• Don’t talk to police officers, federal agents, or intelligence officers at all about anything. Simply and politely say you wish to remain silent. Ask if you are being detained or are under arrest. If you are not, then walk away. If you are arrested or detained, repeat to everyone who asks you that you wish to remain silent and that you wish to speak to a lawyer. Say nothing else but your name, address, and birth date. Most convictions, whether people are guilty or not, come from people talking, not from investigative work.

• Learn about interrogation tricks and threats.

• Watch Don’t Talk to Cops – Part I and Don’t Talk to Cops – Part II on YouTube. Never Allow a Police Officer, FBI etc Into Your Home if They Don’t Have a Search Warrant