Using grand juries to repress movements including radical ecological movements is not new. In fact, prosecutors have been using this tactic against animal rights activists since the early 1990s. Nearly two decades after he was incarcerated for grand jury resistance, animal rights activist and former animal liberation prisoner Jonathan Paul comments on the grand jury process as a tool of state repression. Below is a statement on grand jury resistance that the Earth First! Prisoner Support Project is a signatory of, and which is also available as a brochure.
September 4, 2013
From the Bay Area Grand Jury Resistance Collective:
The Bay Area Grand Jury Resistance Collective is a group of activists from the animal rights, environmental, anarchist, and anti-imperialist movements who collectively have decades of experience organizing against grand juries and other State repression. Recently we came together to discuss the increased use of grand juries as a tool by the State to disrupt and gather information on radical movements and the ways in which these communities have chosen to address them. We are writing this because we are aware that certain individuals have cooperated with a grand jury in San Francisco within the last year. These people have been neither transparent about their involvement nor what transpired during the grand jury proceedings. Their lack of accountability has the potential to weaken our ability to resist and to build our movements. We are further concerned that the affected communities have not been adequately prepared to address issues of transparency and accountability. This is a problem. A strong resistance to political repression is hinged on activists’ ability and commitment to foster a culture of solidarity, support, and accountability. It is vital to engage in discussions about what notions like “solidarity” and “accountability” will materially look like prior to them becoming necessary. This statement has been collectively written in the spirit of encouraging all those engaged in social and revolutionary change to have these conversations now, in preparation for the next grand juries.
You can reach us at nolooselips9@gmail.com.
Resist Grand Juries!
We offer this statement in solidarity with all grand jury resisters. We acknowledge the strength and courage of those who have been steadfast in their non-cooperation with the State. The government utilizes grand jury investigations as a tool against our communities and we the undersigned stand firmly against all cooperation with these proceedings. Grand juries have been used as a tool to silence and intimidate activists connected to AIM (American Indian Movement), Black Liberation, Chicano, and Puerto Rican Independence movements, as well as anti-imperialists, anti-war activists and the women’s liberation movement. More recently anarchists, animal liberationists, Black Panthers, radical environmentalists and individuals from Indymedia and Wikileaks have been called to testify. Arab Americans and Muslim communities in particular have been targeted.
When subpoenaed to a grand jury we have the responsibility to resist. Cooperating with a grand jury validates the State’s efforts to destabilize movements and fosters distrust. Noncollaboration is a political and ethical stand against illegitimate authority and builds greater resistance to the injustices of the government. Transparency about any contact with the State builds trust within our movements and exposes the machinations of the State.
The purpose of grand juries is not solely to indict individuals in order to prosecute, convict, and incarcerate them. The larger goal is to dismantle social movements through a campaign of harassment and intimidation while simultaneously collecting information that cannot be obtained by other legal means. Grand juries are an attempt to map our relationships, beliefs, and activities and sow seeds of fear in our movements for social change. These goals are accomplished by intimidating individuals and coercing their cooperation.
While there is not one right way to respond to a grand jury subpoena, sharing information with the government is never acceptable. Even seemingly innocuous information can be used against us. The most common forms of resistance have been refusing to enter the grand jury room and/or entering the grand jury proceeding and giving only your name. Whichever stance is taken must be accompanied by a path of transparency and accountability.
Although many lawyers have supported decades of non-collaboration, do not assume that your attorney shares your goal of resistance. It is important to retain your political power and maintain your stance of non-cooperation. It is an attorney’s job to advocate for their clients, but it is our job to advocate for the movements under attack. Resisting grand juries is not just an individual issue, it is an issue of mutual care and respect for our communities and struggles. Therefore, any strategy that is based on secrecy or which isolates you should be viewed with great caution.
We believe that no one should talk to the FBI or a grand jury. People from our communities who knowingly give information show themselves to be untrustworthy. Everyone has a choice to make when the State calls on us to testify: We believe non-cooperation is the most ethical choice. Resisters have found they had strong support and we have found that grand jury resistance has enabled us to organize solidarity far beyond the boundaries of our own movements. When we resist grand juries, we choose to be part of a long legacy of resistance that strengthens our movements and in turn weakens the State.
Long-term political, material and emotional support for those subpoenaed must be swiftly organized. The path of non-cooperation can be difficult as the government aims to isolate and punish those who resist. Building movements of resistance requires that we support and stand alongside anyone who risks their personal freedom for the health and safety of the greater community.
Only by practicing transparency, utilizing a strategy that benefits movements as a whole, and working together, can we begin to build movements that are capable of resisting the crushing weight of government repression.
We the undersigned oppose grand juries and pledge to offer support to all resisters.
Grand Jury Resisters:
Judy Gumbo Albert, 1971 Grand Jury Resister.
Lyndon Comstock, 1973 Grand Jury Resister.
Bernardine Dorhn, 1982 Grand Jury Resister.
Jose Lopez, 1978 GrandJury Resister, Executive Director of Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center.
Ricardo Romero, 1978 and 1981 Grand Jury Resister.
Bilal Sunni-Ali, 1983 Grand Jury Resister.
Fulani Sunni-Ali, 1983 Grand Jury Resister.
Terry Bisson, 1985 Grand Jury Resister.
Bob Lederer, 1985 Grand Jury Resister.
Watani Tyehimba, 1988 Grand Jury Resister.
Akinyele Umoja, 1985 Grand Jury Resister.
Bob Wells, 1990 Grand Jury Resister.
Henry (Camo) Bortman, 1990 Grand Jury Resister.
Josh Harper, 2001 Grand Jury Resister.
Lindsay Parme, 2003 Grand Jury Resister.
Richard Brown, 2005 Grand Jury Resister, SF8.
Ariana Huemer, 2005 Grand Jury Resister
Stella Sythe, 2005 Grand Jury Resister.
Josh Trenter, 2005 Grand Jury Resister.
Nadia Winstead, 2005-2006 Grand Jury Resister.
Dennison Williams, 2012 Grand Jury Resister.
Former Political Prisoners:
Ray Boudreaux, San Francisco 8.
Richard Brown, San Francisco 8.
Jake Conroy, SHAC 7.
Edwin Cortes.
Linda Evans.
Josh Harper.
Ricardo Jimenez.
Leslie Mullin.
Dylcia Pagan.
Mary Patton.
Alicia Rodriguez.
Ida Luz Rodriguez
Susan Rosenberg.
Judy Siff.
Andy Stepanian, SHAC 7.
Alejandrina Torres.
Laura Whitehorn.
Donna Willmott.
Cathy Wilkerson.
Organizations:
All Power To The Positive (dot) Info.
Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee.
Bay Area Committee to Stop Political Repression.
Committee to Stop FBI Repression.
Earth First! Prisoner Support Project.
East Bay Prisoner Support.
Jerry Resists Support Committee.
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.
National Boriqua Human Rights Network.
National Jericho Movement.
New African People’s Organization.
Sacramento Prisoner Support.
Seattle Anti-Repression Committee.
South Brooklyn Anarchist Black Cross.
For more information:
You can reach the Bay Area Grand Jury Resistance Collective at nolooselips9@gmail.com.
Grand Jury Resistance Project.
Civil Liberties Defense Center.
Committee Against Political Repression.
Committee to Stop FBI Repression.
Pacific Northwest Grand Jury Resistance.