No Cooperation: Fuck Chris Boette Again

A few weeks ago we issued a statement condemning former grand jury resistor Chris Boette, an activist from Pittsburgh that decided to cooperate with authorities in an investigation concerning the World Bank/IMF demonstrations in DC last year. We were disappointed to learn that Boette was given multiple opportunities to learn what he was up against and led several groups and individuals to believe that he was going to resist the grand jury. Boette has released a statement of his own, attempting to rationalize his testimony, backpedal, and dispel his identity as a State collaborator and snitch.

When faced with a political grand jury, in our opinion the pinnacle of soft repression and often the gateway to much harder forms of oppression, it is appropriate to be afraid. We admire the courage and conviction of people like Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman and countless others like them, that refuse to cooperate with the State and resist the secretive and nefarious process of a grand jury. There are consequences to standing your ground and it won't be fun, however, with support from communities in resistance, you will live to fight another day. Anyone involved in radical political organizing and/or direct action should educate themselves about grand jury resistance, because you can NEVER trust the State and cooperating with these investigations WILL earn you the brand of a traitor and snitch.

In Chris's statement, he says: "I feel that considering my options — answer questions without implicating anyone in a crime, or face incarceration in DCJ and a federal prison — I made the choice that caused the least amount of harm possible." This is dead wrong and a loaded, selfish statement. What he really means is that he made the choice that caused the least amount of harm for him. In his testimony, Boette identified individuals at meetings where he claimed "redecoration" during street protests was discussed, gave names to his interrogators, and gave information about a mass housing space in DC. The investigators were pursuing conspiracy charges, and Chris fell for their tricks and strengthened their case.



Unfortunately, the extent of fall-out his testimony will bring is not entirely clear. Boette's statement reads nearly like a regurgitation of what the State must have planted in his head during the interrogation. "We already know everything, just answer a few questions," is a common tactic. He claims nobody has been indicted because of his testimony, that the grand jury is expired, and that his testimony is sealed. This doesn't change shit, he really doesn't know that for a fact and he's very lucky it didn't work out differently. Chris spoke to the feds about radical activities and aided in the investigation and likely future repression. What's to say he couldn't do it again? Trust is broken, Chris Boette is a snitch.


Individuals participating in radical activities and organizing efforts should fully know the consequences and be prepared to face them with their ideals intact. Never cut a deal with the State, or feel that you've "worded things well enough" to save your own ass and keep everyone else safe. The State and all of its machinations and apparatuses are not to be trusted with any kind of information. Ideally, a revolutionary caught in the grips of the criminal justice system spits in the faces of their interrogators and says nothing. Cooperating in any capacity legitimizes their authority. Crafting excuses for why you spoke against your community and him and his defenders trying to rationalize turn-coating is just as reprehensible. Fuck them and fuck all of you.

An anonymously posted comment on Anarchist News, corroborated by numerous other posters responding, claims that Chris was confronted in a Pittsburgh bar recently by a group of people looking to call him out as a snitch. Boette and a few supporters allegedly became very confrontational and apparently a few punches may have been thrown. We would advise Chris to drop the fuck out, or stuff like this will happen (and should happen) ALL OF THE TIME wherever he travels within radical circles. He hurts the legitimacy of any campaign he works on in the future and poses a massive security risk. Boette, with all of his petty rationalizations and half-hearted apologies, should not be excused for his actions and should be remembered as a snitch. Spare everyone the drama and go the fuck away, man.