Greenscare Snitch Suzanne Savoie Goes to the Movies

From Ashland Films
 
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front is a documentary that features anarchist and environmental activist, Daniel McGowan . It traces a period of time from his initial arrest on December 7th, 2005, in a federal investigation known as “Operation Backfire,” to the day he began his 7-year sentence for two actions claimed in the name of the Earth Liberation Front. Alongside this focus on Daniel, the film also takes a look at how the radical environmental movement began and talks to a variety of people involved in the case, including prosecutors, police officers, and even some of the snitches.

One of the snitches featured in the film, Suzanne Savoie, has already served her 51-month sentence, and plans on attending a screening of the film at the Ashland Independent Film Festival in southern Oregon. Savoie bargained the lives of the non-cooperating defendants, Daniel McGowan, Jonathan Paul, Sadie, and Exile, as well as those who have yet to be apprehended by the government, for what amounted to a slightly lesser sentence. (Daniel McGowan received 84-months.) Savoie's cooperation deal is public knowledge and with her help, the state has locked away comrades who stared down multiple life sentences without betraying themselves, the others who were involved, and all of us who fight in resistance to the state and capitalism.

The film is favorable to Daniel, humanizing someone who the federal government calls an eco-terrorist and has shoved into a secretive prison unit known as a “Communications Management Unit,” and is also relatively sympathetic to the ELF. However, because the filmmakers are the good little liberals that they are, they treat Savoie as just another “voice” in the “conversation” they hoped that this “story” would generate. What's more, they invited this scum to attend a screening at the festival and plan on publicly acknowledging her in the audience during a Q & A.

It is beyond belief that Savoie would even consider going, considering what she's done, but perhaps she feels emboldened by the filmmakers invitation and hopes this can pave the way for her to return to the very movements that she has betrayed. The filmmakers have thus far refused to rescind the invitation, citing the usual liberal bullshit of "everybody having a voice in this story." Well, as revolutionaries, we cannot allow this snitch to try and reintegrate herself, because Suzanne Savoie has sided with our enemies and no longer has anything to say we want to hear. Additionally, our lives, and our movements of resistance are not “stories” that exist to help filmmakers gain accolades and prestige, but the actions of real people making real attempts to destroy all that which destroys us.

If you live in southern Oregon, or can get there, please think about attending or showing up outside of the film screenings to make sure that Suzanne Savoie and her stupid snitch ass do not feel welcome. Showtimes are Saturday, April 9th, @ 9:30am, Sunday, April 10th, @ 6:00pm, and if the film wins a prize, Monday, April 11th, @ 12 & 9pm.

In the meantime, if everyone could clue the filmmakers in to the VERY BIG MISTAKE THEY ARE MAKING by inviting and welcoming this snitch to their screening, that would also be very much appreciated. Here is the contact info for the directors:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/If-A-Tree-Falls-A-Story-of-the-Earth-Liber...
info@marshallcurry.com
info@yellowcakefilms.com
info@ifatreefallsfilm.com

Teen Popped for Torching Cop Car in '08

A bummer from Albany:

COLONIE -- Police say they've made an arrest in a two-year investigation into the torching of a Colonie Police Department patrol vehicle.

Jacob Lester, 19, of Cohoes was arrested for allegedly setting fire to the patrol car on Aug. 25, 2008. An off-duty Colonie Police traffic investigator discovered the marked 2005 Ford Crown Victoria on fire in front of his home in the Boght Corners section of town at about 2 a.m., according to Lt. Robert Winn.

A confidential informant told police in November 2008 that Lester was connected to the incident, but it took two years of following up on leads and conducting interviews to corroborate the informant's tip, according to Lt. Winn.

There was no apparent motive in the arson. Lt. Winn said Lester set out to torch the vehicle but was not targeting the officer.

Lester was charged with felony third-degree arson and felony second-degree criminal mischief. He was released from jail on $15,000 bail.

Loose lips sink ships! Keep your mouth shut!

Jeffrey Luers Speaks on Cooperator Darren Thurston

On the wonderful program "It's the End of the World as We Know It, and I Feel Fine" hosted by the reliable Stimulator, eco-sabotuer and general badass Jeffrey Luers had some choice words for people like Darren Thurston. The interview starts at about seven minutes into the program and Jeff has a lot of great stuff to say, including the following:

"I would have walked if I just opened my mouth... [Thurston] provided information to get more people convicted... The State is my enemy. Capitalism is my enemy. And someone who cooperates with my enemy, against my community, against this movement, against this resistance is a piece of fucking shit."

Here, here!

Walter Bond Speaks: His Brothers a Rat

from Infoshop News:

Informant Revealed: A.L.F. Suspect Set Up By His Brother

In his first written statement from jail, the accused A.L.F. "Lone Wolf" reveals new details about his case

In a new letter (excerpts posted below), the accused A.L.F. "Lone Wolf" Walter Bond addresses several lingering questions surrounding his case. Among them, the circumstances of his arrest, quotes made about him by "friends" to the media, and: the identity of the informant who set him up.

Bond sits in jail on arson and Animal Enterprise Terrorism charges, accused of being the Animal Liberation Front "Lone Wolf", responsible for three arsons at animal abuse targets in Utah and Colorado. To date, Bond has been charged only in the Denver Sheepskin Factory arson. He faces up to 30 years in prison.

The informant

Walter Bond was arrested after what court documents say was a set-up by a friend. The "friend" allegedly enticed Bond into a monitored conversation in which Bond allegedly admitted to three A.L.F. arsons. The entire set-up was orchestrated by the ATF. The informant had been identified to date only as someone Bond had not seen in 12 years. In his letter from jail, Bond reveals the identity of the informant, and other details of his arrest.

Excerpts from Walter Bond's jail statement

The details surrounding his arrest:

"The day of my arrest I was on my way to see my brother. We hadnt' seen each other for 12 years, and he had told me that he was coming to Denver to help our half-brother [name redacted] move. He had told me that he was bringing my nephews I had never met. I left [location redacted] thinking I was going to begin healing the very deep wounds of my shattered family. I was wrong. My brother [name redacted] had been working for the ATF since July 1st.

On my way to the hotel he was at, the police stopped me because I was on a 'bulletin'. They quesioned me mostly about veganism, and my tattoos. I refused to say anything except 'I have nothing to say'. They searched me and let me go. I later realized I was only released so that I could walk down the street and into an ATF set-up."

On statements made to the media by "friends" (referencing negative statements made about Bond to the media):

"I found out from a visitor today that Billy Jo has been spinning fanciful tales about me. First off, I was not at her house. Next, I am vegan as everyone that has ever met or known me can attest. I was not at a BBQ nor was I even at Jim and Billy Jo's house. I was simply arrested on their front lawn. In two years time I have spoken to Billy Jo a grand total of perhaps two-dozen sentences.... My guess is that given her shady nature the ATF scared her into trying to discredit me. Altogether predictable and honestly of little consequence to me. Those who know me know what I stand for."

On vegan food and support:

"I am being fed a vegan diet and of course the food is less than desirable. I have no money on my books and I can really use some for ramen noodles, envelopes, etc. Other than money and letters of support I don't need anything from the outside."

On animal liberation:

"Obviously I can not talk about my ongoing case / cases, but I will say this: the charges I face are serious. Accordingly so is the time that goes along with them. However nothing they can do to me can ever compare with what animals endure at the hands of speciesist human oppressors. Please use any means at your disposal to use whatever [illegigble] surrounding my case to bring awareness to the plight of animals. I am vegan and an animal liberation activist, and shall never relent in the fight for the total freedom of non-human animals."

Support

After being denied bail, Walter Bond will likely remain in Jefferson County Jail (Golden, CO) until his trial. Write Walter Bond a letter of support:

Walter Edmund Bond
PO Box 16700
Golden, CO 80402-6700

- Peter Young

Utah Man Arrested in Connection With String of ALF Arsons After Opening Mouth to Informant

Comrades at Denver's leader in news on the insurrection, 'Til it Breaks, report from the Denver Post:


(TIB preamble, SnitchWire couldn't agree more): While we have strong opinions about the events surrounding the April 30th arson and the ALF operative’s claiming of it, we are going to refrain from commentary on questions of ideology and tactical decisions. Suffice to say, we hope the informant gets what’s coming to them, and may the fires of revolt burn ever more fiercely.


The following is from the Denver fucking Post:

Federal investigators have arrested a 34-year-old Utah man in connection with the April 30 fire that destroyed the Sheepskin Factory in Glendale.

Walter Edmund Bond was taken into custody Thursday in Denver after allegedly telling an informant that he started the Glendale fire and two fires in Utah because they were businesses that “profited from animals.”

At the time of his arrest by FBI and ATF agents, Bond was carrying a backpack, according to an affidavit by Rennie Mora, a special agent for the ATF.

Agents searched the backpack and found literature titled, “The Declaration of War – Killing People to Save the animals and the Environment – Strike a Match Light a Fuse We’ve Only Have the Earth to Lose.”

According to an affidavit, Bond is a member of the Animal Liberation Movement who went by the name “Lone Wolf.”

The Sheepskin Factory sold a variety of sheepskin products including but not limited to seat covers, shoes, rugs, and blankets. The fire destroyed the building and its contents resulting in approximately $500,000 in damage.

The informant told federal investigators that in early July, Bond contacted the informant by phone and that he admitted he had started the Sheepskin Factory fire, directing the informant to the website of the Animal Liberation Movement.

Katyanne Marie Kibby Free, Brandon Darby Still in One Piece in Austin

We are happy to report that Katyanne Marie Kibby, the young woman who allegedly threatened RNC snitch Brandon Darby shortly after defendant Bradley Crowder took a plea deal, was acquitted of all charges this month. Kibby was looking at 20 years after apparently sending an email to Darby saying that his life was in danger.

Anyone that reads SnitchWire regularly knows that we think Darby is scum and public enemy number one. When we heard Katyanne could have gotten twenty years for telling Darby what was what, something we've done since this project was started, our hearts sank. His pompous rationalizations and bullshit moral superiority complex grants him our collective rage and disapproval, and anyone with any information on Darby is encouraged to email us at snitchwire [at] riseup [dot] net.

A Snitch Emerges From the California Universities. Free Doug Gilbert!

Update: Doug is free on bail according to his support crew!


Update: SnitchWire would encourage readers to look over the comment Brennus left, which might clear a lot of things up. The alleged snitch has issued a statement regarding the matter in which he regrets even speaking with police officers and maintains that he is no snitch. As more details emerge we'll update with as much information as we can gather. Solidarity with the university occupations, all arrested students, workers and organizers!

We've been following the This is Our Emergency blog for news on the university revolts in California. There has been a 32% increase in tuition and students are marching and blockading streets in retaliation. This situations has been brewing for quite some time amongst radicalized students and organizers across the country, including New York City.

Unfortunately, some snitch motherfucker to be named and photographed here on this website later ratted out local Bay Area organizer Doug Gilbert for allegedly dropping some knowledge on an angry crowd of students about liberal student organizers fulfilling the same role as the police for not letting the students directly engage with the administration. Perhaps the bargaining chip of an occupation was at stake here as well, but Doug is sitting in the clink on $15,000 bail looking at two felonies for inciting a riot at UC Berkeley. Fuck that! Check back here soon for more information on the informant (rumors are circulating that it might be someone named Roland, and/or a white male organizer from the school) and ways to support Doug.

Infoshop News reports that Doug's arrest was equally heinous:

Doug Gilbert was targeted specifically because of his political views. Upon leaving the rally, police on bicycles followed him down Telegraph Avenue. Inside of a local restaurant, police violently confronted two comrades, before proceeding to the back of the establishment and arresting Doug while in the restroom. Berkeley CopWatch filmed the arrest. When they asked police what this comrade was being arrested for, the pigs responded “he can tell you later.”

A student activist was seen talking to police, specifically pointing out several individuals, including Doug. Further, CopWatch was told by bystanders that the cops said something along the lines of “there's that anarchist,” immediately before the arrest was made. This exemplifies two truths of the present social order: the liberal student movement is by nature a recuperative force, and seeks to further empower the state, rather than students & workers; and the police use fear tactics to demoralize and intimidate us. This arrest was not made to further justice; this arrest was not made because of any wrongdoing; this arrest was made purely for the sake of intimidating all of us.

Doug is charged with “Inciting to Riot” and a misdemeanor. Inciting to Riot alone carries up to a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. He has had bail set at $15,000. These charges are completely ridiculous. No violence occurred at Berkeley today. No one rioted, no one got hurt, no property was destroyed. The charges, and the bail amount, are designed solely to intimidate us. Those interested in showing support and solidarity with Doug should come (with all their friends!) to:

Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse (Alameda County)
661 Washington St.
Oakland, CA
Department 112
Ask for Doug Gilbert's case
The time and date for Doug's arraignment is at 2:00 PM today, Thursday Nov. 19th

Daniel Lee Sightings!

For those who don't remember, Daniel Lee is a professional snitch credited with taking down the only compassionate care medical marijuana facility in San Louis Obisbo county and starting a horrible persecution of Charles Lynch and a colleague, who deemed himself too sick to go to jail and committed suicide instead. In an email forwarded to supporters and attorneys, an anecdote about Lee's stay Montana as part of a witness relocation program:

Greetings



As of 12 days ago I had never heard of Charles Lynch. I learned of him when a tenant told me he was part of a witness relocation program and then listened as he continued to brag and describe what he did to put people in jail. It became extremely clear after 10 days of the character of Daniel Lee and it sickened me. He smoked pot, stole my prescription vicodin, and tried to have me arrested after he told me he would be moving because he claimed someone recognized him and he was with a witness relocation program with the D.A. of southern california. He even bragged about someone commiting suicide after he snitched on him to law enforcement.

I am writing to you because I would like to see someone as low as this Daniel Lee confronted. I am still in shock as to how quickly this tenant acted as one person and then suddenly showed me who he really is. When he called to be relocated , he claimed someone in Missoula Montana recognized him and his life was in danger, I believe he made this up and really just suddenly realized how cold montana gets and made the whole thing up so he could move some place new. At any rate he and his wife jamie left on Friday. I believe they didn't go far, Boise, Seattle or portland would be my guess.

Is there anything I can do to help with the manner in which mr. lynch was entrapped?

Its late and I'm probable babbling but i just wanted to tell someone about my encounter with the informant . I think he deserves to be confronted and stopped.

Please let me know if you recieve this email and if there is anything I can do to help expose Daniel Lee and his decietfulness.

thanks

To support Charlie, please file a complaint with SLO county District Attorney here and visit his website as well. Daniel Lee is a fucking basketcase pro rat that doesn't deserve anything from anybody.

Update 10/9/09: We have a photograph of the snitch's car and there has been an info site set up about him.

Jailhouse Snitch Johnny Webb Sees Innocent Man Cameron Todd Willingham Lethally Injected

We know some of you may be pressed for time, but we'd encourage you to read the piece by the New Yorker concerning Texas death row inmate Cameron Todd Willingham. Sentenced to death for a fire that devoured three of his small children, he maintained his innocence through more than a decade of incarceration. He was convicted mostly on inaccurate fire sciences conducted by questionable arson investigators as well as the testimony of a jailhouse snitch that barely corroborates the basic story. An excerpt from the article:

Jailhouse informants, many of whom are seeking reduced time or special privileges, are notoriously unreliable. According to a 2004 study by the Center on Wrongful Convictions, at Northwestern University Law School, lying police and jailhouse informants are the leading cause of wrongful convictions in capital cases in the United States. At the time that Webb came forward against Willingham, he was facing charges of robbery and forgery. During Willingham’s trial, another inmate planned to testify that he had overheard Webb saying to another prisoner that he was hoping to “get time cut,” but the testimony was ruled inadmissible, because it was hearsay. Webb, who pleaded guilty to the robbery and forgery charges, received a sentence of fifteen years. Jackson, the prosecutor, told me that he generally considered Webb “an unreliable kind of guy,” but added, “I saw no real motive for him to make a statement like this if it wasn’t true. We didn’t cut him any slack.” In 1997, five years after Willingham’s trial, Jackson urged the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant Webb parole. “I asked them to cut him loose early,” Jackson told me. The reason, Jackson said, was that Webb had been targeted by the Aryan Brotherhood. The board granted Webb parole, but within months of his release he was caught with cocaine and returned to prison.

Considering the testimony of another inmate claiming Webb was full of shit was ruled inadmissible as hearsay, it comes as some what of a shock that Webb's testimony was accepted as well... Because you know... It was fucking hearsay.

Hopefully death will not be in vain, Willingham's name will be cleared, and Texas, the American judicial system, and the State will admit that their system is not perfect, their fail-safes not bulletproof, and that they executed an innocent man in the face of glaring evidence proving his case. The full story is heartwrenching and frusterating.

Woman Looking at 20 Years for Threatening Rat Brandon Darby

Katyanne Marie Kibby could be going to trial after being indicted in June for threatening the life of RNC snitch Brandon Darby. She is facing 20 years after allegedly sending a threatening email shortly after David Crowder took a plea deal last January. Kibby has until August 31st to reach a plea deal with federal prosecutors or else it goes to trial.

This whole case makes SnitchWire feel ill and the only solace is in that the stupid corporate media mentioned Darby still lives just outside Austin, Texas. Don't talk to Brandon Darby.

Bad News All Around

We're a little late on this but it should still be mentioned. David McKay and Bradley Crowder were sentenced last month. They were held on felony charges stemming from self-righteous snitch Brandon Darby's coercion and entrapment of the two over Molotov cocktail possession. Darby is still at large. McKay is facing four years in prison, while Crowder is facing two. McKay's first trial ended in a hung jury, and he took a plea bargain in the second trial so Crowder wouldn't be forced to testify. Read the press release from support group CRASS for a little more insight to the trial and sentencing, as well as further background information on Darby. Someone should find which island that smug fuck is relaxing on.

In similar news, and also noted in the press release, other notable RNC snitch Andrew Darst also had a little court date not too long ago stemming from assault charges. The Star Tribune thinks he got off easy:

Daly said it also was unusual that the prosecutor did not show up and predicted that if Darst testifies at the anarchists' trial, defense attorneys will cite the light sentence and the failure of the prosecutor to appear as indicators that authorities went easy on him in return for favorable testimony.

The prosecutor didn't even show up? For somebody that kicked a door down and fought two of the house's occupants shortly after Taco Bell closed, I think there was a bit of a back-door deal here, too. 16 days of physical labor? A $900 fine? 4 days in jail? The RNC8's activities were less violent than assaulting innocent people in their own houses, and they're still facing decades in prison collectively. If anyone in St. Paul sees this clown on the side of the road in a orange vest, spit on him.

On a lighter note, SnitchWire will be working pretty extensively all summer leading up to G20 on assisting radicals from across the country to identify informants within anti-authoritarian movements. In that case, it would be kind of cool to make the site a little bit more spiffy and user-friendly. If some awesome graphic design ninjas, blogger layout geniuses, or any other kind of web guru thinks they could help us out, it would be very appreciated! Please drop us a line at snitchwire [at] gmail [dot] com. If we have to do it ourselves... God help us all.

Running Man Justin Solondz Got in China

Via Portland IMC:

Environmental activist Justin Solondz has been apprehended in China and has been taken into custody. Justin was named as one of the Green Scare defendants in the University of Washington Genetic Engineering Research arson and was named as a codefendant of Briana Waters, who refused to cooperate, went to trial and was sentenced to 6 years in prison. Justin has been listed as a fugitive by the FBI since the UW indictment was issued several years ago. It is unclear at this time whether Justin will be extradited back to the U.S, and/or when such a transfer would occur. Stay tuned for more updates as they become known.

As we all learned in 2008's The Dark Knight, China only refuses to extradite Chinese nationals and Justin, as far as SnitchWire can tell, is not a Chinese national. Another lesson from Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise is when you are being incognito in Asian countries, it helps to grow a beard, climb a mountain, fight crowds of people, and train with high-profile martial arts masters in the region.

Concerning Justin, I can't be sure why he was in China. The pretty heavy surveillance culture makes it a pretty poor choice for fugitives. There isn't a lot of information concerning his capture or current state right now, but more information will be posted as it becomes available.

'Rachel's Law' Enacted

Some Tallahassee police officers who attempted to turn a college girl busted for smoking pot into a big-time narc definitely made the wrong decision; and that was apparent after she was capped attempting to buy a gun, 1500 ecstasy pills, and two ounces of cocaine. Now, Florida is signing a bill (named after the girl, Rachel Hoffman) reforming the informant process:

"Police agencies, who originally opposed the legislation can no longer promise more lenient sentencing for cooperating. It also requires them to consider age, maturity, and whether a person is in a court ordered drug program."

Analysis on the precedent this sets for the use of informants and snitches tomorrow once I can read more about the bill. What this could possibly mean for trials in the radical community, provided similar laws are enacted in other states or at the federal level, could be huge.

More soon, and check out Crimethinc's final report on the R/DNC mobilizations last summer which linked to SnitchWire as a resource! Thanks Crimethinc for helping get the word out!

Snitch Ian Wallace Sentenced to Three Years

News sources are reporting that government collaborator Ian Wallace has been sentenced to three years in prison after accepting a federal plea deal. Wallace was involved in an ELF cell based out of Rhinelander, Wisconsin that included SnitchWire hero Daniel McGowan (who famously stood as one of six of the fifteen apprehended in the Northwest green scare cases that didn't talk to pigs or give up friends, bust him out soon!) in an attempted arson on a US Forestry research laboratory on the Michigan Tech University's campus. The sentencing for the group, according to the Midwest Green Scare, is as follows (red names mean public shunning is in order):

According to various news sources, Bryan Lefey (aka Bryan Rivera) and Katherine Christianson have both been sentenced for their roles in a 2000 ELF action at a US Forest Service research facility in Rhinelander, WI.

Lefey, who to our knowledge took a non-cooperating plea agreement in November 2008, was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
Christianson, who took a cooperating plea agreement in November 2008, was sentenced to 2 years.
Both have been ordered to pay restitution.
In December 2008, cooperating codefendant Aaron Ellringer was sentenced to four days in jail for his role in the action.
Snitch Ian Wallace, who’s cooperating role in the investigation is believed to have spurred the Rhinelander indictments, admitted his involvement in the Rhinelander action in a September 2008 plea agreement relating to an attempted ELF arson at Michigan Tech University in 2001. In exchange for the plea, he will not be federally prosecuted for his role in Rhinelander and other ELF actions. We believe that Wallace has not yet been sentenced for the Michigan Tech action.
Green Scare prisoner Daniel McGowan- currently serving a 7-year sentence- was also involved in the Rhinelander action, but will not be prosecuted federally for it as stipulated in his 2006 non-cooperating plea agreement. McGowan has steadfastly refused to cooperate in the Rhinelander investigation, and in summer 2008 his federal sentence was suspended for a brief time while he was held in civil contempt for refusing to testify before a grand jury about the action. (ed: fuck yeah)

------------

It should be reiterated any time one of these cases is in the news that the A/ELF has never claimed a life, human or otherwise. They've racked up one hell of a damage bill, and one can't help but admire their effectiveness and constant threat of attack. The United States government considers them to be the number one domestic terror group in the country, which really proves how much corporate interest is invested in every facet and level of government.

With such a resurgence in autonomous yet fairly widely publicized property destruction in the United States, it's likely a matter of time before the "Green Scare" tactics are used outside the process of prosecuting activists and introduced into the police state entirely. The UK, known for being about ten to fifteen years ahead of the US when it comes to totalitarian surveillance, is training a network of 60,000 civilian informants to report any suspicions about fellow citizens to government agencies; as well as monitoring phone calls, keeping files on all individuals, and in true Green Scare fashion, flagging those who order vegetarian meals on flights.

Dirty Prosecution Tactics May Force David McKay to Take Plea Deal

David McKay is essentially in the hardest fucking English class ever. His new trial begins today, after the last one ended in a hung jury early last month because (from TC-IMC, which is covering the trial and surrounding post-RNC legal battles better than any newspaper ever could) "it is believed that the jury could not decide if FBI informant Brandon Darby's involvment [sic] qualified as entrapment -- they were concerned with the difference between "inducing" and "persuading" an action."

The Feds are gearing up in a big way for the re-trial. They've offered a plea deal to one charge of possessing a destructive device and threatened to subpoena McKay's co-defendant (Bradley Crowder, the other half of the Texas 2, already took a plea deal) to testify against him. It was also reported that Crowder was threatened with more prison time, making it clear that the highest echelon of Pigs wants to save face and get a conviction fast instead of losing in a fair trial. To the extent in which this exposes holes in the justice system, proving to this writer that it's a rigged game where the State uses its leverage with about as much dignity and class as it does on the street with a handful of paid snitches willing to say anything for a buck; it's fucking disgusting.

The communique on Indymedia urges supporters to pack the court in solidarity against dirty Fed tactics at 9 AM this morning, and you can follow trial updates on TC-IMC's Twitter feed.

And for fuck's sake free the goddamn Texas 2, all political prisoners, and the RNC 8.

Macalester Dorm Raided in Connection With RNC Protests

From TC-IMC:

According to a search warrant and first-hand account submitted to Twin Cities Indymedia, St. Paul Police executed an RNC-related raid on February 13 at a Macalester College dorm room, with the cooperation of Macalester staff. Although it appears the occupant of the room was not the initial target of the investigation, political literature was seized and has yet to be returned. SPPD Sargeant Julie Maidment prepared and executed the warrant for the residence of a person with “tattoos on both arms”; the person living in the room has none.

The warrant listed common household items and clothes including torn blue jeans, a black jacket or shirt, and black shoes with red laces. Click here for a copy of the search warrant and below, read the first-hand account.

Maidment, pictured, is part of the joint SPPD-Ramsey County Sheriff's Office political investigation squad that has been analyzing photo and video evidence in an attempt to create more RNC-related arrests and justify to the public the massive police brutality and expenditures during the RNC.

The warrant was signed by Ramsey County Judge James H. Clark, who authorized a nighttime search and “entry without announcement of authority or purpose,” the same terms as the RNC convergence center raid on August 29, 2008.

The first-hand account follows:

At 10:50 on Friday the 13th of February 2009, I received a phone call from the Dean of students at Macalester College informing me that there were police outside my room preparing to enter. I arrived at my dorm to find two uniformed police officers, two officers in plainclothes, and a black case they termed “the raid kit”. I was informed that the school had been subpoenaed for my room information, that a search warrant was being signed as we spoke, and that I could not enter my room before it was searched. I refused to grant them entry to my room before the warrant was physically present. They refused to give me any information regarding the reasons behind the search, but I was told that my face was a familiar sight from the pictures they had at the station. After receiving reassurance from the head of Macalester Security that he would contact me should they enter my room, I withdrew in order to secure legal counsel.

After the better part of half an hour, the case officer, Srgt. Julie Maidment, Arrived with the search warrant to my room, a copy of which is attached. She explained that the search was in relation to the protests of the 2008 Republican National Convention. After examining the warrant, I noticed an item stipulating that I would have tattoos on both arms. As I have no tattoos, this was a clear indicator that I was not the target of the warrant. I mentioned this to my dean of students who was looking extremely concerned by that time. In response, one of the plainclothes officers told me in a raised, aggressive, and forceful voice that I was in no position to question the contents of the warrant, that my input was not welcome, and that there would be no discussion of whether or not they would enter my room. I refused to consent to the search, and the head of Macalester security unlocked the door to my room. He and the dean of students remained present at my request.

Once Inside, I was made to sit down in the common room while they searched my bedroom, and then moved to my bedroom while they searched the common room. The police were extremely thorough, going through every part of my room, every single book and CD. They took a copy of the communist manifesto, a copy of the book Dancing in the Streets, a number of anti-war flyers and stickers, a guide to the organizing behind the Seattle WTO protests, a copy of the rebel workers organizing handbook, and attempted to take an ink drawing before I pointed out that it did not constitute “anarchist material”, and thus not covered by the search warrant. I was given a receipt for these items, and the police left my room in a state of complete disarray.

One week later, I received a phone call from the case officer, informing me that I could pick up the items they had taken. I was then told that they would like to ask me a number of questions, and that a car would be sent to my dorm later that day. I immediately contacted legal counsel, and a lawyer called the police to tell them not to send a car, and that I would not be coming downtown. My case officer called me back to tell me that my items had not be placed at a depot, but kept in her office, and that I would need to schedule a time to see her in order to reclaim them.

Sad Marie Mason News

ELF comrade, labor activist, and mother of two Marie Mason is the latest to be victimized by the US government's Green Scare; sentenced to 22 years in prison for two acts of property destruction that harmed no living thing (but sources put the grand total at $4.1 million in damages). Marie Mason was outed by her now ex-husband and co-conspirator, Frank Ambrose. The shit-eating rat turned FBI informant and even to this day is trying to contact activists in an effort to get paid. Please do whatever you can to support Marie Mason, and make sure you do not speak to Frank Ambrose.

Mistrial For David McKay

A hung jury delayed the possibility of ten years in prison for David McKay, half of the "Texas 2" ensnared by paid FBI informants for activities surrounding the disruption of 2008's Republican National Convention. Incarcerated since September after FBI agents seized eight Molotov cocktails from a Twin Cities apartment where the Texas 2 were staying, "McKay can be released on $25K bail or $2.5K security bond, return to Midland TX with these conditions: no arrests, no crimes, reside at father's home, don't threaten Darby or other witnesses, surrender passport, not to leave Texas except to come back to Minnesota, and submit to drug testing. Judge sets new trial for March 16th 9:30AM." (From Twin Cities Indymedia)

This is great news for McKay and his family. McKay's lawyer used a superb defense portraying self-righteous snitch piece of garbage Brandon Darby as an instigating, entrapping money hungry pile of shit not worthy of believing a single word from, and I think it might have worked. McKay's next trial, scheduled in March, hopefully acquits him from the crime of talking shit.