Two anarchists remain locked up as prosecutors attempt to coerce
the testimonies they’ve been subpoenaed to give about acts of vandalism in the
Pacific Northwest. In the meantime, though, the FBI has accidentally blown the
cover off its own case.
Ever since Leah Plante, Katherine “KteeO” Olejnik and Matt
Duran were asked to testify before
a federal grand jury earlier this year, all three self-identified anarchists
have been adamant about remaining silent. For refusing to speak, federal
prosecutors have since put the trio of twenty-something activists behind bars
over contempt of court charges, with Plante being awarded her freedom only in
recent days. As her colleagues continue their imprisonment, though — where they
could remain for the entirety of the 18-month investigation — the FBI has
failed to provide to the press or public alike any information as to why
they’ve targeted the known activists or what role they could play in unraveling
a greater conspiracy.
On Thursday, legal documents intended to be cloaked
indefinitely were accidently unsealed in US District Court in Seattle for a
moment, finally offering a small bit of insight as to why the FBI has been
targeting adherents to a specific ideology and intensifying what some have
equated to a politically-motivated witch-hunt aimed at anarchists.
The Seattle Times reports that an affidavit dated October 3
was momentarily made available during last week’s court proceedings, revealing
to those in attendance that the investigation into Plante and her peers dates
back to earlier this year when the FBI first began spying on a group of
suspected anarchists they believed were conspiring to commit acts of violence
and destruction.
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| Leah-lynn Plante |
"Although many anarchists are law abiding, there is a
history in the Pacific Northwest of some anarchists participating in property
destruction and other criminal activity in support of their philosophy," the
affidavit reads, according to the newspaper.
That’s where the Pacific Northwest Three fit in:
investigators had hoped that by subpoenaing Plante, Olejnik and Duran to
testify, they’d learn more about anarchists in the region who may have been
vocal about any attempts to wreak havoc during the May Day protests.
According to the search warrant unsealed this week, the
government claims that tens of thousands of dollars in damages resulted from
the May 1 actions in Seattle, largely due to attacks on the William Kenzo
Nakamura U.S. Courthouse and a few private businesses in the vicinity. Video
footage obtained from the scene has been endlessly analyzed by FBI detectives
who have in the weeks and months since tried to build a case to file charges
against the suspects, none of whom are reported to include the three persons
asked to testify. That investigation has led to filing not just subpoenas
against the Pacific Northwest Three, but executing no fewer than five search
warrants in July that aimed to recover cell phones, computers, clothing and
literature from Plante, her peers and others believed to be in cahoots with any
local anarchists.
In addition to being met with silence from the Northwest
Three, the trove of “evidence” uncovered by the authorities has so far left
them unable to release an indictment targeting their suspects. Instead, they
have been left with cell phones that, according to the unsealed affidavit,
contain text messages describing the May Day protest as “awesome” but nothing
more remotely noteworthy, or at least not enough to file charges.
While Plante has since been freed from prison where she was
held in solitary confinement for refusing to comply with the grand jury, both
Olejnik and Duran remain behind bars as investigators wait to see if they’ll be
willing to speak.
"What (prosecutors) decided to do is choose people and
punish them for their association," Jenn Kaplan, an attorney for
Olejnik, tells the Seattle Times. To the paper, a counsel for Olejnik adds that
the grand jury investigation specifically sought answers from the anarchist
about someone she knows.
Before being imprisoned and released, Plante said that a
Freedom of Information Act request she filed revealed that the grand jury was
first convened in March, two months before the vandalism she is being
questioned about even occurred. Before being held in contempt of court, Plante
wrote, “The government wants to use [grand juries] to collect information
that it can use in a campaign of repression. I refuse to have any part of it, I
will never answer their questions, I will never speak.”
An attorney for Duran adds that while their client isn’t
being suspected or accused of the May 1 vandalism in Seattle, the associations
that exist within the community are enough to keep him under the FBI’s radar.
The intended result, many fear, is a chilling effect on a community of
likeminded individuals that could soon enshroud other groups of activists and
outspoken youths.
"One of our concerns was they were really targeting him
because they perceived him to be associated with the anarchist community," Gordon
says. "It's kind of a fishing expedition."
(Source)
Related links:
* New
database has extremists' number
* BREAKING: Interview and Documents from FBI Raid Show Feds are Targeting Anarchists
* Young Persons Called to Private Grand Jury for Owning Books
* BREAKING: Interview and Documents from FBI Raid Show Feds are Targeting Anarchists
* Young Persons Called to Private Grand Jury for Owning Books
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* Facebook: National-Anarchist Movement (N-AM)
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