Martin Michaels
“I knew something wasn’t right,” said Meredith Aby, speaking to Mint Press News. “My daughter had just learned to walk. My goal was […] to get her out of the house because they were all armed.” Aby and 22 other anti-war activists in Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan were raided by the FBI on Sept. 24, 2010.
Two and a half years later, the activists have not faced trial for alleged “material support for terrorism,” charges pursued by Barry Jonas of the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s office.
During the raids, Aby was separated from her 18-month-old daughter, and was ordered to remain in her living room while agents tore apart her house searching for evidence linking Aby to terrorism. Eventually, the FBI team allowed Aby to see her daughter, while agents supervised the pair.
“I wasn’t allowed to see what they were taking. They allegedly gave me back everything, but I don’t know. They took boxes of political flyers, pictures from an Afghanistan anti-war protest, protest petitions,” Aby said.
The raid on the Minnesota activists occurred at roughly 7 a.m., and kicked off a round of raids across the Midwest targeting other members of solidarity and anti-war groups.
FBI agents barged into the home of Tom Burke, an anti-war activist from Grand Rapids, Mich., who had been warned of impending raids by friends in Minnesota. “My wife and I were both subpoenaed. We got calls from friends in Minnesota saying that they were going to be raided. When I left the house to write a press release, I realized that I was being followed,” Burke said.
“The day of the raids, I had libertarians call me, I had Republicans call me, I had Democrats contact me. All shades of opinion were upset that [the FBI] raided our homes,” Burke said. “They were outraged that [FBI agents] would be so heavy-handed, pointing weapons at us. Stealing.”
For nearly three years, activists remain in the dark about the charges brought against them. They contend that their political advocacy was nonviolent, legal criticism of U.S. foreign policy.
“The judge later said this was evidence of how I ‘indoctrinated people.’ It is [only] evidence of where I have traveled: Palestine and Colombia. They had been at my house for four hours before I was given a subpoena at the request of the National Lawyers Guild,” Aby said.
“We think that the investigation started in 2009. All 23 people still risk going to jail for not speaking to a secret grand jury,” Aby said. Nine activists subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury in 2011 refused to testify, condemning the raids and subpoenas as FBI harassment and an attempt to stifle their rights to free speech.
“There is no legal recourse because it’s all secret. Our lawyers say that everything they learned in law school doesn’t apply,” Aby said.
Activists claim that the proceedings are unconstitutional and violate the civil liberties of those accused of the ambiguous charges.
Criminalizing free speech
“I think it is political. The U.S. is supporting wars against the Palestinians and the Colombian people. We have had people travel to both countries [to] meet with trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, people who are a lot like ourselves are concerned with peace and justice,” Burke said.
In Colombia, the U.S. has been supplying Bogota with millions in arms to fight the “wars” on drugs and terrorism. Many of these weapons have been funneled into paramilitary death squads that have, in recent years, cracked down not only on armed groups like the FARC, but on union leaders and nonviolent anti-regime activists.
“If you are a trade unionist in Colombia, you can be assassinated,” Aby said. Between 2000 and 2010 Colombia accounted for 63.12 percent of trade unionists murdered globally. According to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) there were 2,832 murders of trade unionists between January 1986 and April 2010.
Under President Obama, the power of the executive branch has increased through anti-terror legislation — namely, through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which grants broad executive powers to arrest any person deemed to have substantial ties to a terrorist organization. Journalists conducting interviews with militants and known terrorists, a normal function of a democratic free press, may be targeted for speaking with a source deemed an “enemy combatant.”
The bill has been challenged — thus far unsuccessfully — in a federal lawsuit by Chris Hedges and several other prominent academics, including MIT linguist Noam Chomsky.
“I have discussed the terms of the Homeland Battlefield Bill – also known as the National Defense Authorization Act – with numerous other journalists, writers, and members of democracy-supporting organizations across the political spectrum,” said author Naomi Wolf. “I have also discussed the bill with various political leaders, including city council members and legislators, who span the political spectrum in the United States. They all agree that the bill can potentially affect an American journalist who meets with and publishes reports on individuals connected to organizations deemed terrorist by the United States government.”
The case continues
While Aby, Burke and others may never face a trial, many of those raided fear that one of their number will likely be the focus of terrorism charges for his Palestinian-American background.
“There is a continuing investigation with a focus on Hatem Abudayyeh from Chicago. On the two-year anniversary [of the FBI raids] in September, we had our lawyers approach Barry Jonas, who is continuing the investigation. We asked that Jonas publicly drop the investigation and return Hatem’s belongings. Barry Jonas refused both,” Burke said.
Abudayyeh, a Palestine solidarity activist, has organized trips in support of the Palestinian people. In 2011, the Huffington Post reported that Abudayyeh paid money to the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC) to host activist delegations. Prosecutors claim the women’s organization has links to a group called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which was named in the subpoenas and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and several other governments.
Abudayyeh said he arranged the trips through the Chicago-based Palestine Solidarity Group, which he co-founded. It sent roughly 70 activists over the past nine years to the West Bank, Gaza and parts of Israel with large Palestinian populations. He claims that payments to the UPWC were for accommodations, food and transportation, and totaled no more than $50 per person daily during the two-week-long tours his group hosted.
Barry Jonas continues to forge ahead with his case against the targeted activists, claiming they are responsible for terrorist activities. “They have made it clear that they are not done with us”, said Aby.
Working with the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, the activists have solicited help from the broader activist community, holding occasional “call-in days” pressuring Jonas to drop the case. Dozens of labor, faith-based and other activist groups form the backbone of support for the organization.
“I believe we have this broad ring of support. The anti-war community embraced us and stood up for us. Anarchists, Democrats, libertarians — these are good people, they do good work. We were not isolated. I think this is why we haven’t been jailed for contempt,” Aby said.
This sentiment was echoed by Burke, saying, “I think the key to our victory is building solidarity against the political repression. Calling Barry Jonas puts him on notice that there is a large, growing movement that he can’t oppose.”