Jerry Koch’s Grand Jury Resistance Statement

Cross Posted from JerryResists.net

My name is Gerald Koch and I have been subpoenaed to a federal grand jury based in the Southern District of New York regarding the 2008 Times Square Military Recruitment Center bombing. This is my second subpoena concerning this matter; I was also subpoenaed in June of 2009. I refused to testify at that time based on the assertion of my First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights, as I will be doing again for the duration of this grand jury. During the first grand jury, the government informed my lawyers that it was believed that I was at a bar in 2008 or 2009 where a patron indicated knowledge of who had committed the bombing. When I was first subpoenaed to the grand jury in 2009 I had no recollection of any such incident— a fact that I expressed publically. Now, almost 4 years later, I still do not recall the alleged situation.

Given that I publically made clear that I had no knowledge of this alleged event in 2009, the fact that I am being subpoenaed once again suggests that the FBI does not actually believe that I possess any information about the 2008 bombing, but rather that they are engaged in a ‘fishing expedition’ to gain information concerning my personal beliefs and political associations.

Rail Lines in Central Oregon Sabotaged in Solidarity with PNW Anarchists

What sets Earth First! apart from others in the North American environmental/ecology/anti-extraction movement?  Arguably it is EF!’s public presence and simultaneous idealogical support for clandestine actions.  For more read this article from the 2011 Beltane issue of the Earth First! Jounal.

Cross Posted from anarchistnews.org

Thu, 05/02/2013 – 21:04 — Anonymous (not verified)

Late at night on May Day we sabotaged a rail line in Central Oregon to interrupt the flow of commodities. Capital depends more than ever on the metropolis, the constant flow of commodities, services, capital, information, and any interruption of that flow is a small victory. We took this action in solidarity with all those facing investigation, imprisonment, and repression in the Northwest. As we become more dangerous, the danger to us grows as well, but we will not cower in the face of the face of those who would control us. We took this action knowing full well the extent of political repression in the Pacific Northwest in the present. Not because we want to show our defiance or rage to the state; to them we have nothing to say. We acted because our love for our comrades far outweighs our fear of repression, and because love is an action, not a feeling.

This action was quick and easy. Using copper wire with the ends stripped, we wrapped both ends of wire around the rail and buried the middle section. This sends a false signal that there is a train on the tracks, delaying any other movement until the blockage is cleared.

In solidarity with those resisting the grand jury, those facing investigation, and those who, in the face of the media and massive police preparations, still managed to bring some destruction to the streets of Seattle.

Two Grand Jury Resisters Released; Maddy Pfeiffer Moved from Solitary

Statement from the Committee Against Political Repression:

Corina Dross in Philadelphia has made an image to use for fund-raising for the grand jury resisters. It’s currently for sale on her website, and she’ll be donating all the profits to our fund. It is rumored CrimethInc will be making the poster version available soon.

Thursday Matt Duran and Katherine “Kteeo” Olejnik were released from the Sea-Tac Federal Detention Center where they spent the last five months for refusing to testify before a Seattle grand jury investigating the anarchist movement. A third resister, Maddy Pfeiffer, remains in prison, but has been moved from solitary confinement to the general population.

Duran and Olejnik were greeted by friends and family as they left the detention center.  Their lawyers, Kim Gordon and Jenn Kaplan, had filed motions arguing that their confinement was punitive. Under the law, imprisonment for civil contempt is not supposed to punish witness but coerce them into testifying. 

Political Prisoner Birthday Poster For March 2013

Cross-posted from: Prison Books

Update: John tucker has a new address. We will be updating the poster to reflect that in the next day or two. For now here it is.

John Tucker M34024
P.O. Box 900
Taylorville, IL 62568

Update 2: The link is now to a poster that reflects John Tucker’s current address.

Update 3: Apparently March is for address corrections.

 Ruchell Cinque Magee #A92051

D-5 #1

P.O. Box 4670

Lancaster, CA 93539

Hello Friends and Comrades,

Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for March. As always, please post this poster publicly and/or use it to start a card writing night of your own. We’re still experimenting with the format a little, so this month is also a double sided 11×17 that can also be used as a poster to promote your local letter writing night.

Every year Internationalist Books and Community Center – the bookstore that sponsors our Prison Books collective – gives out the Bob Sheldon Award. They do this in honor of Bob Sheldon, who founded Internationalist Books in 1981 and ran it until he was murdered in 1991. They used the 2013 award to recognize the many bold organizers inside the prisons of North Carolina, saying “This year, we choose to honor the bravery and resilience of people engaged in struggle against some of the most crushing odds in our society – the violence and captivity of the state.” Here their full statement.

Young Persons Called to Grand Jury for Owning Books

by Tom, Sound and the Noise

Just a few weeks ago, an FBI task force raided a home in Portland, Oregon very early in the morning. They broke down the front door with a battering ram and threw in a stun grenade, which is non-lethal but produces a very loud and disorienting noise and a blinding bright light. The team locked down the building and secured the sleepy, compliant occupants. The operation was one of several which also occurred in Olympia, WA and Seattle, WA, involving some 60-80 officers.

Just who were these dangerous criminals, these domestic terrorists whose threat level is so high that an FBI team with stun grenades, battering rams, and assault rifles needed to burst into their homes in the wee hours of the morning?

Why, it’s these two young folks….    

Activist Begins Prison Sentence for Refusing to Name Names and For Quoting Dave Chappelle

Jordon (left) with supporter

By Will Potter / GreenIsTheNewRed.org

Utah animal rights activist Jordan Halliday has begun a 10-month prison sentence for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury about his political beliefs and political associations. It is believed to be the first time in two decades, and only the third time in U.S. history, that someone has been imprisoned for criminal contempt of court after already serving prison time for civil contempt–all because of his principled stand against what activists call a political witch hunt.

The Utah grand jury was convened in 2009 to investigate the release of mink from Utah fur farms by the Animal Liberation Front. Halliday refused to cooperate because grand juries have historically been used against social movements (as they are now being used against antiwar activists in the Midwest) in fishing expeditions.

When you walk into a grand jury, you check your rights at the door. You have to answer questions about your politics and your friends. You don’t have the right to remain silent. If you refuse to cooperate and “name names,” you can be sent to jail. That’s what happened to Halliday.

Click here for the rest of the article