Oops. FBI leaves documents behind during raids

these peace activists are friends of mine. I was also a member of Peace Fresno that was infiltrated by an agent of the Joint Terrorism Task force in 2002. You might have seen the story in Fahrenheit 911.

IN this case 22 activists have been subpoenaed to a Grand Jury trial, and many had their house raided in the early morning with children in the houses. Dissent is not a crime.


Mick Kelly, Jess Sundin and attorney Bruce Nestor at press conference on May 18. (Photo by Sheila Regan)

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2011/05/18/oops-fbi-leaves-documents-behind-during-raids

By Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet
May 18, 2011

On September 24 2010, when the FBI raided five homes of activists in Minneapolis along with two homes in Chicago, they made a critical mistake. In the process of creating complete disarray in the home of Mick Kelly and his partner, Linden Gawboy, they accidentally left an operations order, which outlines the plan for the raid, including surveillance photos and potential interview questions. That operations plan was recently discovered by Kelly and Gawboy.

It may seem difficult to believe that, first of all, the FBI would be inept enough to leave their internal documents behind. It seems even more unbelievable that it would take seven months for these documents to be discovered, but the context of the raid gives some explanation. When they raided Gawboy and Kelly’s home, taking thousands of pages of documents, 11 boxes of books, computers, cell phones, and a passport, FBI agents left the apartment a complete mess, with papers everywhere. Those papers ended up going back in filing cabinets without being sorted thoroughly. On April 30, as Kelly and Gawboy were going through their filing cabinets, they discovered the FBI documents.

Asked about the documents, which were posted online today, FBI Special Agent Steve Warfield refused to comment.

The top of the Operation Order reads: “Dangerous” and says the case was initially predicated on the activities of activists Merideth Aby and Jessica Rae Sundin, who both travelled to Colombia in the past. The order claims that they support the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) because they once travelled to a FARC-controlled territory.

Aby and Sundin say they travelled to the FARC-controlled territory in Colombia for a peace summit, along with many journalists and peace activists from the United States, Argentina, Europe, and other places. They spoke publicly afterwards about their trip, and have been vocal opponents to U.S. policy in Colombia.

They also helped bring Lilia Obando, a union activist, to the United States for a speaking engagement. The interview questions for Meredith Aby ask if she has ever met Lilia Obando, and whether Aby has raised money for Obando in the United States.

The list of interview questions for Jessica Sundin include a question about whether she collects dues for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The planned questions for Mick Kelly include whether he owns a gun, or has taught FRSO members how to shoot.

Kelly said that FBI Secret Agent Karen Sullivan, who infiltrated activist circles, asked him once about guns, to which he responded that if she was interested they could go to Bill’s Guns and rent some guns. Kelly, who is from rural Minnesota, said he learned how to shoot when he was in Boy Scouts.

Attorney Bruce Nestor, who has been advising some of the individuals who were raided and then subpoenaed to testify before a Chicago grand jury (they have all refused to testify) said that the investigation and raids were a result of the relaxed FBI guidelines, which make evidence not necessary to begin an investigation. “The FBI now operates surveillance of political groups,” he said. “It’s a particular threat to citizens who oppose U.S. policy.

A recent Supreme Court ruling, Holder vs. Humanitarian Law Project, upheld a statute that made it illegal to support any organization that the Secretary of State deems terrorist. The Supreme Court ruling makes providing "material support" to terrorist organizations a felony even if that support was peaceful.

At a press conference on May 18, Mick Kelly, Jess Sundin and Merideth Aby denied giving material support to terrorist causes. “We are being targeted for our ideas and political activities,” said Aby. “Our civil liberties have been violated.”

Mick Kelly, who is on the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, FRSO, and was an organizer during the RNC protests in 2008, said the FBI’s line of questions had a “disturbingly odd 1950s red scare tone.” As a member of FRSO, Kelly edits their newspaper, and has never made a secret of it.

The FBI documents are disturbing: see them here Remember this is just one of the 22 people whose home war raided. all but 2 others were women with children in the home. they did take pictures and books that belong to the children in these homes.

Interrogation Questions:
http://www.stopfbi.net/sites/default/files/3-Interrogation%20Questions.pdf

List of items to be seized:
http://www.stopfbi.net/sites/default/files/5-Seizure%20and%20Subpoena.pdf

A press release went out to all the news organizations and many of us sent separate emails also. Sadly it few were there and it is also disturbing that even "progressive" media don't feel moved to report it.

Here is the link of the raid back in Sept 2010
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/09/24/fbi-raids-activist-homes-minneapolis-chicago

So how many other peace groups will this happen to? And how many more Union activist will be raided? Most of the raidees are active in their Unions.

To keep up on the story, to donate to the legal funds, to see if they are speaking in your area, and just find out more
click here:

http://www.stopfbi.net/

is the part about the guns. Let me see if I've got this straight.

In this country of a gun in every 6 year old's pocket, it's a problem when a socialist learns to shoot? Self defense is for everybody, BUT socialists?

Well too late. Having been born in the rural south, I learned to shoot when I was 4 or 5 years old. And yes, I DO believe in self defense. And yes, I AM a socialist. This is fucked up beyond all measure.

will go along with the RW blowhard on this.

But that's a VERY good question.

That's the truth of it. If they have a problem with it they should either find groups not considered terrorists or have that group moved off the list.

Plus here in Tennessee they're trying to get a "Designated Entities" bill passed that would allow STATE suppression of any group that the state of TN. decides is a "terrorist" organization. In addition to the national repression.

Early Nazi tactics.

Big stories on how dissenters' rights were being trampled on. But the media has barely touched this story in the U.S. - outrageous that anti-war activists are being subpoenaed for their ideas.

And it IS back to the future with this Red Scare. Being a Red, this really concerns me.

Tennessee's law wound up just adding state penalties to any material support for groups on the FEDERAL list of "banned" groups. I wonder what the definition of "material" will be. Posting support on a website?