FREE SPEECH ZONE | We Have To Demand Power Won't Concede
When abolitionist Frederick Douglass said, “Power never concedes anything without demand. It never has, never will,” it was the middle of the nineteenth century. He was certainly prescient. Here, in the United States, in the 21st century, the struggle continues. In the following two cases, people had to demand their First Amendment rights, which were violated by over-reaching law enforcement. We can take heart in that they received some justice, which helps to reaffirm those rights. Greater challenges remain with the subpoenas of antiwar and international solidarity activists, but the following victories can inspire our fight for First Amendment protection.
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On March 31 of this year a federal judge ruled that a jury trial can go forward with protesters suing Ramsey County, former Sheriff Bob Fletcher and several sheriff’s deputies regarding four raids that took place August 28 and 30, 2008, before the Republican National Convention when law enforcement seized thousands of pieces of literature from them. U.S. District Judge John Tunheim refused to grant the officers immunity and said they must face trial. According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, he wrote in his opinion: “Based on the volume and breadth of documents seized, a reasonable fact-finder could conclude that the purpose of such broad seizures was to deter plaintiffs’ speech and prevent them from exercising their First Amendment rights.” There is now legal standing to challenge not only the warrants, but also the manner in which they were executed. Of course this doesn’t mean that the jury will recognize the rights of the protesters, but it does give the go-ahead to further their case.
In the second case: On April 26, the city of Chicago agreed to settle a claim filed jointly by The Quaker organization, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and the ACLU over police spying. AFSC was awarded $5,000 and the ACLU $7,000, according to the Sun Times. The case dates back to 2002 when the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue was planning a major meeting in Chicago. The Chicago Police Department’s “Red Squad” spied on, infiltrated and harassed groups. Ironically, they spied on the Quaker group at a time when the group was negotiating with police on how to keep a planned march and demonstration within police guidelines. The ACLU has urged recently elected Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (former White House Chief of Staff) to have his police superintendent put reasonable suspicion guidelines in place to prevent police encroachment on protected First Amendment activity.
In both cases, people demanded that their First Amendment rights be protected. The same is true of the activists who were targeted in Chicago and Minneapolis under the new and ridiculously overreaching “material support for terrorism” law. Under the new ruling by the Supreme Court in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project in June of 2010, such humanitarian aid can constitute “material support” in countries the U.S. government considers terrorist.
They were subpoenaed by a federal grand jury, whose proceedings are secret and do not allow them to have legal representation in the room. The activists have refused to appear or cooperate to cooperate with subpoenas. They have been traveling the country and speaking about the injustice of what amounts to a witch hunt and fishing expedition. It is very important to support them. Nothing less than our First Amendment rights are at stake.
Ask your member of Congress to join with Representatives Keith Ellison (MN-5), David Price (NC-4), Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), and Jim McDermott (WA-7), who each wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. Representative Danny Davis (IL-7) addressed his letter to President Obama. They all wrote to express their concerns about the FBI’s abuse of power in their attacks on the rights of antiwar protesters. For more information, see StopFBI.net.
Also, something we all need to be aware of: Congress voted to extend the notoriously oppressive USA PATRIOT Act through May 27, 2011 to allow time for more debate on three sinister provisions. These provisions relate to spying on communications and obtaining them through secret orders. The Committee to Stop FBI Repression asks people to demand their Congress members vote not to renew these provisions.
In addition, we should be aware of the JUSTICE (Judicious Use of Surveillance Tools in Counterterrorism Efforts) Act which was introduced in 2010 by then Senator Russ Feingold, the only senator courageous enough to vote against the PATRIOT Act when it was first introduced in the wake of 9/11. Provisions in the JUSTICE Act are specifically germane to the subpoenas, containing important revisions of the overreaching standard set for “material support for terrorism” in the 2010 landmark Supreme Court case, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project.
While the 2011 version of the JUSTICE Act has yet to be introduced, it is currently under development and is awaiting cosponsors. In the Senate, interested members of Congress can contact Senator Jon Tester (D-MT). In the House, contact Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ). More information is available at the Bill of Rights Defense Committee website.
You are invited to hear directly from the antiwar activists targeted by the FBI:
Been to Palestine Lately? The FBI Might Come Knocking at Your Door
Saturday, May 21. 9:30 a.m. Refreshments; 10:00 a.m. Program.
Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer, 5440 Penn Ave. So., Minneapolis
Sarah Smith of Chicago and Sarah Martin of Minneapolis, who have both been subpoenaed, will talk about why they wanted to go to Palestine, their experiences, what our government does not want the public to know, an update on their case, and how their lives have changed after being called to testify before a grand jury. Sponsored by: Middle East Peace Now (MEPN) and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) Middle East Committee FFI: http://mec.worldwidewamm.org/home.html
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SUGGESTED READING LIST
annotated bibliography
Bari, Judi. TIMBER WARS. Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994.
The F.B.I. attempted to stop the political activity of Judi Bari and Daryl Cherney by exploding a
bomb under their car. Daryl Cherney and Judi Bari filed a Civil lawsuit
against the FBI and Oakland police. A jury awarded them $4.4 million
dollars in 2003. see www.judibari.org
Bowen Roger. INNOCENCE IS NOT ENOUGH: The Life and Death of Herbert Norman
New York USA M.E. Sharpe Inc 1988
Looks at FBI assassination of Herbert Norman, Canadian Ambassador to Egypt.
Buitrago, Ann Mari. F.B.I. FILES. Grove Press, 1981.
Covers the procedures for obtaining and interpreting your F.B.I. file.
Burnham, David. ABOVE THE LAW. Scribner, 1996.
Looks at secret deals and fixing of cases by the Justice Department for corporations.
Burnham was the New York Times reporter who broke the story about New York City cop Serpico and Police corruption.
He was the reporter on route to meet Karen Silkwood when she was found murdered. Read his other book A LAW UNTO ITSELF.
It details how FBI agents collaborate with the IRS to target political activists.
see his important website about the FBI
here http://trac.syr.edu/
Burnham, David A LAW UNTO ITSELF Vintage January 30, 1991 ISBN-10: 0679732837
Exposes FBI agents using the IRS to cripple political activists.
Buttino, Frank. A SPECIAL AGENT. William Morrow, 1993.
Investigates F.B.I. attacks on gay FBI agents .
This book is written by a FBI agent who is gay. It details how other FBI
agents tormented him .
Carson, Clayborne. MALCOLM X: THE F.B.I. FILE. Carroll & Graf, 1991.
Looks at the evidence for the F.B.I. assassination of Malcolm X.
Cashill,Jack, Sanders,James. FIRST STRIKE Thomas Nelson Press, 2003
Overwhelming evidence presented by Dr. Cashill on the downing of TWA
Flight 800 by a missle over Long Island and the ensuing cover-up by FBI
agents.One of my favorite books. see their documentary about the same
subject called SILENCED here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Nm2Ql1-qk
Charns, Alexander. CLOAK AND GAVEL. University of Illinois Press. 1992.
After reviewing thousands of pages of FBI documents the attorney author
exposes the FBI illegal phone tapping of the Supreme Court and how the
FBI fix court cases and work behind the scenes to get "their man"
appointed to the Supreme Court. Written by a lawyer active in Human
Rights.
Churchill, Ward. AGENTS OF REPRESSION. South End Press, 1988.
Professor Churchill gives first hand accounts of F.B.I. death squad
activities. This book is a classic and is a must read along with THE
COINTELPRO PAPERS
Churchill, Ward. THE COINTELPRO PAPERS. South End Press, 1990.
Explores how the F.B.I. disrupts legitimate political activities and engage in Death Squad activities.
Criley, Richard. THE F.B.I. VS. THE FIRST AMENDMENT. First Amendment Foundation, 1990.
Looks at the destruction of the First Amendment by the F.B.I.
Davis, John. MAFIA KINGFISH: CARLOS MARCELLO AND THE ASSASSINATION OF JOHN F.
KENNEDY. McGraw-Hill, 1989.
A must read book in understanding how the FBI has used the Mafia to carry out the assassination of President Kennedy.
De Camp, John. THE FRANKLIN COVERUP. AWT Publishers, 1992.
A former Republican state senator from Nebraska writes about a
pedophile ring involved in the kidnaping, sexual torture and murder of
children that went all the way to the Bush White House.
Attorney DeCamp discusses the FBI role in the coverup of this case and
the murder of a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the
pedophile ring.This book will keep you awake at night and is an active
barometer for evil indexing how the FBI crime family operates.
Dempsey, James X. and David Cole. TERRORISM AND THE CONSTITUTION: SACRIFICING CIVIL
LIBERTIES IN THE NAME OF NATIONAL SECURITY. Los Angeles, CA: First Amendment
Foundation, 1999. Examines FBI campaign of terror to undermine civil
liberties. Attorney Dempsey worked for Congressman Don Edwards who was
a former FBI agent.
Diamond, Sigmund. COMPROMISED CAMPUS. Oxford University Press, 1992.
Professor Diamond attempts to get F.B.I. files showing collaboration
between F.B.I. agents and professors at universities from 1945-1955.
The FBI created the Patriot Act , in part, because of this book.
Donner, Frank. PROTECTORS OF PRIVILEGE. University of California Press, 1990.
Looks at the death squad collaboration between local police and F.B.I. agents to stifle the Bill of Rights.
Dwyer, James. TWO SECONDS UNDER THE WORLD. Diane publishers 1997.
The most important book you will read on understanding FBI agents Floyd
and Anticev creating the 1993 terrorist act at the World Trade Center.
This book lays out in detail how the FBI engineered
the 1993 World Trade Center explosion.
Emerson, Steven and Brian Duffy. THE FALL OF PAN AM 103. G.B. Putnam's Sons, 1990.
Oliver Revell was the number 2 man at the F.B.I. until he was demoted
by F.B.I. Director William Sessions to the Dallas Field Office. His son
Chris Revell had tickets for
Pan Am 103, but he changed his flight two days before the plane
exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. See Ross Gelbspan's book, BREAK-INS,
DEATH THREATS AND THE FBI to get a fuller picture of Oliver Revell.
Foerstel, Herbert. SURVEILLANCE IN THE STACKS. Greenwood Press, 1991.
Looks at attempts by the F.B.I. to get librarians to spy on the American public .The FBI created the Library
Clauses in the Patriot Act because of this book.
Gallagher, Dorothy. ALL THE RIGHT ENEMIES. Penguin Books, 1988.
The F.B.I. utilized the Mafia to carry out its executions against Presidents and political activists from 1930 through 2000.
Carlos Tresca was one of their victims.
Gelbspan, Ross. BREAK- INS, DEATH THREATS, AND THE F.B.I. South End Press, 1991.
This Pulitzer Prize winning reporter formerly with the Boston Globe,
details the F.B.I. death squad collaboration with the death squads in
El Salvador and their attacks upon American groups opposed to those
death squads.
Glick, Brian. WAR AT HOME. South End Press, 1989.
Attorney Glick details the F.B.I.’s covert war against political activists.
Hoffman, David. THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING AND THE POLITICS OF TERROR. Feral
House, 1998.
Contains detailed evidence about the FBI alliance with the terrorist
underworld, and how FBI agent provocateurs are behind many of the
current bombings that have plagued the United States since the fall of
the Berlin Wall. Some current thinking has FBI agents creating these
acts to fill the void caused by the downfall of communism and replacing
communism with the new boogeyman Islam.
Hougan, Jim. SPOOKS. William Morrow, 1978.
Important book detailing the life of former F.B.I. agent Robert Maheux
and his relationship with the Mafia. Groundbreaking book in
understanding FBI collaboration with the Mafia, using it to carry out
assassinations on President Kennedy, Martin Luther King and others.
Maheux was the liason between the Mafia and the FBI when the FBI assassinated President Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
Kaiser, Marty . Odyssey of an Eavesdropper( My Life in electronic
countermeasures and my battle against the FBI) W Carroll & Graf 2005
Author exposes wiretapping crimes committed by FBI agents as well as
Business Fraud. He built the wiretapping devices for FBI agents that
were later used in crimes committed against people like Martin Luther
King and public officials.After exposing FBI agents kickback schemes to
Congress the author became a target of retaliation by tax payer funded
FBI agents. see http://www.martykaiser.com/odyssey2.htm
Keith, Jim. OK BOMB. Illuminate, 1996.
Explores FBI coverup in the Oklahoma City bombing investigation.
Kelly, John F. TAINTING EVIDENCE. The Free Press 1998. The book is
based on testimony of FBI lab Whistleblower Dr. Frederick Whitehurst ,
an employee of the FBI for 17 years. Shows how bad the FBI Lab is run.
Dr. Whitehurst was the chemist who analyzed Timothy McVeigh's clothes
for traces of ammonium nitrate and was removed from the case when he
did not find any bomb residue.
see
http://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=...
Lehr, Dick & O'Neill, Gerard. BLACK MASS. Public Affairs, 2000.
Looks at the FBI's collaboration in Boston with the Mafia and Irish Mob
between 1960 and 2001 in which they collaborated in the murder of 21
women,children and men. Important book showing how the FBI uses the
Mafia to commit political and other assassinations .see
http://www.thebrothersbulger.com/
McGhee , Millie WHAT'S DONE IN THE DARK Allen Morris 2005
The author is a afro american relative of FBI Director J Edgar Hoover
who is successful in presenting evidence that FBI Director Hoover is part African-American
and related to her.
The book details the research conducted by Ms McGhee and how FBI agents tried to stop her from writing the book. Photographs show reunion of white and black relatives united by the research in this book. FBI Director J Edgar Hoover was the descendant of Mississippi slaves.
Melanson, Phillip. THE MURKIN CONSPIRACY. Praeger, 1989.
Professor Melanson looks at the F.B.I.’s role in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Melanson, Phillip. THE ROBERT KENNEDY ASSASSINATION. Shapolsky, 1991.
Professor Melanson was in charge of the Robert Kennedy archives at the University of Massachusetts.
He detailed the F.B.I.’s role as one of the principal architects in the assassination of Robert Kennedy.
Messerschmidt, Jim. THE TRIAL OF LEONARD PELTIER. South End Press, 1983.
Looks at the miscarriage of justice in the F.B.I.’s handling of the Leonard Peltier case.
Oklahoma City Bombing Investigative Committee. THE FINAL REPORT.2001.
The book providing evidence of FBI involvement in the Oklahoma City
Bombing .
Navasky, Victor. INVESTIGATING THE F.B.I. Doubleday, 1973.
Contains material presented at a major conference at Princeton University in 1971 investigating
crimes committed by the FBI.
Neff, James. MOBBED UP. Dell Publishers 1988.
Important book in understanding FBI collaboration with the Mafia
especially how the Bureau uses the Mafia to carry out its political
assassinations.
Nelson, Jack. THE F.B.I. AND THE BERRIGANS. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1972.
Looks at F.B.I. death squad directed against Nobel Peace Prize nominee Phil Berrigan and his
brother, Jesuit priest Daniel Berrigan.
Olsen, Jack. LAST MAN STANDING: THE TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH OF GERONIMO PRATT.
Doubleday, 2000.
Provides supporting evidence for the idea of the F.B.I. as a death
squad. Examines the F.B.I. acts of genocide against Afro-Americans .
Looks at how FBI agents framed Geronimo Pratt, a Afro American Viet-nam
vet who spent over 25 years in prison before a judge released him
saying he was innocent and framed by FBI agents.
Vermont filmaker has issued a 4 DVD collection of her films
about the Black Panthers. She interviews retired FBI agent
Wesley Swearingen who was part of the FBI Racial Squad in San Fransisco that put Pratt in prison see http://www.newsreel.us/
O’Reilly, Kenneth. RACIAL MATTERS. Free Press, 1989.
Professor O’Reilly looks at a file called Racial Matters that the F.B.I. is keeping on Black America.
Parenti, Michael. DIRTY TRUTHS. City Lights Books, 1996.
Dr. Parenti looks at the evidence for F.B.I. involvement in the
assassination of labor leader Walter Reuther while he was organizing
protests against the Vietnam War. It includes the essay “Why the Left
is Afraid to look at the Assassination of JFK” .
Pepper, William. ORDERS TO KILL. Carroll and Graf, 1995.
Attorney Pepper represented James Earl Ray in his bid for a new trial
and won a landmark case in civil court in December 1999 for the Martin
Luther King Jr. family. The jury in the case concluded hat the F.B.I.
was involved in the assassination of King. His book details our
government’s involvement and provides photographic evidence of the
F.B.I.’s role in this assassination.
Pepper,William. ACT OF STATE: THE EXECUTION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING Verso Press, 2003
The evidence from the 1999 Civil Trial in Memphis brought by the King
family in which the jury concluded FBI agents were principal architects
in the assassination of Martin Luther King. Written by the trial
attorney William Pepper.
Powers, Richard Gid. SECRECY AND POWER. Free Press, 1987.
A biography of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and his quest for power.
Powers, Tyrone. EYES TO MY SOUL. Majority Press, 1996.
Professor Powers an afro-american, talks about his 9 years working as
an F.B.I. agent, and the racism in the FBI . Powers discusses the FBI
FRUHMENSCHEN program set up in the 1920's thru 2010 to target black
politicians in sting operations without cause because the FBI feels
blacks are incpable of governing. White agents tried to kill him when
he was writing this book by blowing up his FBI issued car with him in
it..
Ranalli, Ralph. DEADLY ALLIANCE. Harper Torch, 2001
Boston Globe reporter Ralph Rannali exposes FBI collaboration with the
Boston Mafia from 1930-2009 where they ran a Murder Inc. President Bush
asserted Executive Privilege in 2002 preventing
Congress from seeing the Federal Prosecutor’s Investigative files on this case.
Robbins, Natalie. ALIEN INK. William Morrow, 1992.
Ms. Robbins acquired the F.B.I. files on the major writers and artists of the 20th century, and examines F.B.I. agents neutralizing them and their freedom of expression.
Schultz, Bud and Ruth. IT DID HAPPEN HERE. University of California Press, 1989.
Contains interviews with human rights activists who survived F.B.I. assassination attempts.
Schultz, Bud and Ruth. THE PRICE OF DISSENT. University of California Press , 2001
The sequel to IT DID HAPPEN HERE with more interviews with civil rights activists , union organizers and anti-war protestors who survived FBI assassination attempts and with family members of people who were murdered.
Seymour, Sheri. COMMITTEE OF THE STATES. Self-published, 1989.
The F.B.I. infiltrated the California Militia 10 years before the Oklahoma City bombing. The book illustrates how easy it was for the F.B.I. to infiltrate the group and get it to make bombs.
Shows how easy it was for FBI agent provocteur to get Timothy McVeigh to make bomb and drive the truck. The exact same scenario
occured in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. google floyd
anticev salem
Sharkey, Joe. ABOVE SUSPICION. Simon & Schuster, 1993.
Looks at the F.B.I. coverup involving one of its own agents Mark Putnam, who murdered his informant after he got her pregnant.
FBI agent Putnam was eventually sentenced to prison for their murder thanks to the dogged work of the Kentucky State Police.
click link and scroll down to obituary of his wife. http://betrayedbylovemovie.blogspot.com/
Suarez, Manuel. REQUIEM ON CERRO MARAVILLA. Waterfront Press, 1987.
Looks at F.B.I. collaboration with local police in the arrest, handcuffing, and death squad execution of two teenagers in Puerto Rico.
Summers, Anthony. OFFICIAL AND CONFIDENTIAL. G.B. Putnam and Sons, 1993.
This is the book on which the PBS Frontline documentary on J. Edgar Hoover and his friendship with the Mafia is based. In my eyes, this PBS program was the turning point in the good fortune the FBI has enjoyed for over 80 years.
Swearingen, Wesley. F.B.I. Secrets: An Agents Expose South End Press 1994
Swearingen is a retired FBI agent currently living in the San Diego area who was a member
of the FBI San Fransisco Office racial Squad.
The FBI has Racial Squads in every major American City. The function of the FBI Racial Squad is to assassinate or neutralize
black politicians and black activists who do not reflect the philosophy of American Corporations. Vermont filmaker Roz Payne has
interviewed Swearingen and he is on her recently released 4 DVD about the Black Panthers see http://www.newsreel.us/
Swearingen,Wesley, To Kill a President: Finally – an Ex-FBI Agent Rips Aside the Veil of Secrecy that Killed JFK 2006
According to Swearingen, Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in assassinating Kennedy as was claimed by the FBI, the Warren Commission and other investigating bodies. Instead, he argues that rogue CIA agents acting in concert with the mafia and certain Cuban exiles plotted to kill Kennedy. Swearingen contends that the conspiracy was covered up by the FBI, an effort that continues to this day through the agency's unwillingness to disclose key details about the events surrounding Kennedy's death. see http://www.lewrockwell.com/pr/new-book-fbi-cia-jfk-killing.html
Theoharis, Athan. THE F.B.I. Garland Publishers, 1994.
Professor Theoharis has compiled a comprehensive listing of books and articles about the F.B.I. up to 1994.
Thomas, Kenn. THE OCTOPUS. Feral House, 1996.
Investigates the F.B.I.’s role in the killing of investigative reporter Danny Casolero while he was investigating the October Surprise.
Turner, William. THE ASSASSINATION OF ROBERT KENNEDY. Thunder Mouth Press, 1993.
Written by a former F.B.I. agent, it looks at the F.B.I.’s involvement in the assassination of Robert Kennedy.
Turner, William. REARVIEW MIRROR foreword by Oliver Stone. Penmarin Books CA 2001.
More updated information on FBI involvement in President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Assassination written by a former FBI agent.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. WHO IS GUARDING THE GUARDIANS? A Report on Police
Death Squad activities. 1981.
Wiener, Jon. GIMME SOME TRUTH. University of California Press, 1999.
Professor Wiener looks at the 14 year battle with the F.B.I. to get them to release their files on John Lennon.How many rock stars
has the FBI assassinated?
SUGGESTED WEB SITES AND VIDEOS
http://lasthurrahbookshop.net/mafia.html
www.copvcia.com
http://www.mikeruppert.blogspot.com/
www.narconews.com
www.911pressfortruth.com
www.911inquiry.org
http://www.ae911truth.org/
www.heatisonline.org
www.whistleblowers.org
www.zpub.com/notes/fbi-shame.html
VIDEOS:
WACO:RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
SILENCED Jack Cashill
THE GREAT DECEPTION Barry Zwicker
TRUTH&LIES 911 Mike Ruppert
AFTERMATH:UNANSWEREDQUESTIONS
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