FBI Harrassment Alleged by North Carolina Progressives
To all progressives who value free speech without
intimidation:
Members of the progressive youth community of Raleigh,
NC ask for your support. Recently student anti-war
activists have been the target of harassment and
intimidation by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.We ask you to stand with us by signing your name or
your organization onto this statement and, if
possible, to please come out for a solidarity rally
this Friday at 5pm in Raleigh, NC.
To add your name to the list, please send your name
and organization affiliation to Elena Everett at
greentararaider@yahoo.com or you can contact her at
(919) 413-1276.
Thank you for your support!!
Statement to Defend Free Speech in Raleigh
In the past week, members of the Joint Terrorism Task
Force (JTTF) have waged a campaign of intimidation
against anti-war activists in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Agents of the JTTF have been visiting local youth
activists at their homes and dorm rooms and
interrogating them about their anti-war activities.
Those harassed are all members of at least one of the
following student groups ñ Student Peace Action
Network, Campus Greens, or MENASA (Middle Eastern
North African Student Association) - that have been
participating in a peaceful, permitted demonstration
against the war, called "Honk for Peace," every Friday
afternoon for more than a year.
This is clearly an attempt to silence anti-war
activists in the area and to label anyone who
disagrees with the Bush agenda as a "terrorist." It
is vital that all who support free speech denounce
these tactics and support the antiwar community in
Raleigh.
The JTTF has also attempted to link local activists to
an alleged incident of petty vandalism that occurred
at the state Republican headquarters on November 5.
It is alleged that there was some minor property
damage at the GOP headquarters, namely, some broken
windows.
It is important that this property damage be
put into perspective — this is on a scale with what
happens routinely in many college towns after a Friday
night football game. However the FBI Joint Terrorism
Task Force is using this minor event as an excuse to
harrass local youth and known anti-war activists. A
few broken windows are certainly nothing compared to
the ongoing destruction being visited on the people of
Iraq, with hospitals and homes being bombed, the
deaths of innocent civilians, and the suffering of
entire cities.
Three young people from South Carolina were arrested
after the protest at the GOP headquarters. Although
there was no evidence linking any of them to any
wrongdoing, they were charged with malicious
destruction of property with an incendiary device, a
felony, and were held with bail set at $50,000 each.
We, the undersigned, condemn the Joint Terrorism Task
Forceís campaign of intimidation against antiwar
activists in Raleigh. We demand that the JTTF and the
Raleigh Police Department cease their harassment of
legal free speech activity.
We call upon all who value the First Amendment right
to free speech to support the antiwar community in
Raleigh.
We encourage all who can, to join them at their
regularly scheduled Honk for Peace anti-war
demonstration in order to Defend Freedom of Speech
this Friday, November 19, at 5 pm, in Raleigh, North
Carolina at the North Carolina State University Bell
Tower on Hillsborough St.
We also suggest that everyone call the Raleigh, North
Carolina office of the FBI at 919-233-7701 and demand
that they end their campaign of harassment and
intimidation.
A.C.L.U. at NC State
Campus Greens at NC State
Student Peace Action Network at NC State
Raleigh F.I.S.T (Fight Imperialism Stand Together)
Triangle Branch, Women's Int'l League for Peace &
Freedom
North Carolina Peace Action
Winnona LaDuke, Native American author and activist
Elena Everett, chair, NC Green Party
Dr. Gerald Surh, Professor of History at NC State
Dr. Tom Hoban, Professor of Sociology at NC State
Sara Flounders, Director, International Action Center
Teresa Gutierrez, Director, International Action
Center
Imani Henry, playwright & performer
Julie Fry, National Lawyers Guild, NYC
Larry Holmes, Anti-War 4 the Million Worker March
Leilani Dowell, Queers for Peace & Justice
Johnnie Stevens, Peoples Video Network
Henri Nereaux, Vice President (Ret.) *International
Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots
Dustin Langley, NoDraftNoWay.org Campaign, Navy
Veteran
Sharon Black, Steward, *UFCW Local 27, Baltimore, Md.
Dennis Kyne, 15-year Army Veteran, Veterans for Peace
Andre Powell, *Executive Board AFSCME Local 112
Sue Kelly, Richmond Action Center
Frank Neisser, Stonewall Warriors, Boston
Steve Gillis, *President, Local 8751, Boston School
Bus Drivers Union
Maria Perry, American Federation of Government
Employees Local 1738, Winston Salem NC
Phebe Eckfeldt, Womenís Fightback Network
Gray Newman, *Co-Chair, Green Party of the US
Ciara Doyle, Wolfpack NOW
Lauryn Strobino, *Greensboro Truth and Community
Reconciliation Project
Dr. Michael Cummings, University of Colorado
Gary Percesepe, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North
America
Rania Campbell-Cobb, Guilford Action Network (GANe)
Bill Gural, Durham Peace Committee
Kathleen Hannan, Bodies, Voices & Spirit
Erin Byrd, Southerners for Economic Justice
Indivudial Supporters:
Jeffrey Block, Banner Elk, NC
Emily Strobino, Charlotte, NC
J. Edwin King, Concerned citizen of NC
Elizabeth Schiemann, Elon, NC
*for identification purposes only
Contribute to the legal defense of the Raleigh 3 — To
donate, you can send money through PayPal, at
http://www.paypal.com. Click on "send money" and enter
in ealbiston@yahoo.com as the recipient. If you would
like to send money through the mail, send it to: Liz
Albiston, PO Box 281, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-0281,
email ealbiston@yahoo.com for more information.
