Difference between revisions of "Committee to Stop FBI Repression"
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
{{TOCnestleft}} | {{TOCnestleft}} | ||
The '''Committee to Stop FBI Repression''' was launched on September 27, 2010, in response to the [[September 24, 2010 FBI Raids]]. They have collated [[September_24%2C_2010_FBI_Raids#Statements_of_Solidarity_from_Organizations|a list of organizations]] who have made statements of solidarity with the activists who are under investigation by the FBI. | The '''Committee to Stop FBI Repression''' was launched on September 27, 2010, in response to the [[September 24, 2010 FBI Raids]]. They have collated [[September_24%2C_2010_FBI_Raids#Statements_of_Solidarity_from_Organizations|a list of organizations]] who have made statements of solidarity with the activists who are under investigation by the FBI. | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | == Address and contact information == | ||
| + | |||
| + | Email: stopfbi@gmail.com | ||
| + | |||
| + | Committee is listed with the following address: | ||
| + | |||
| + | International Action Center | ||
| + | |||
| + | www.iacenter.org | ||
| + | |||
| + | c/o Solidarity Center | ||
| + | |||
| + | 55 West 17th St 5C | ||
| + | |||
| + | New York, NY 10011 | ||
| + | |||
| + | Telephone: (212) 633-6646 | ||
| + | |||
==First National Meeting== | ==First National Meeting== | ||
Revision as of 04:04, 7 June 2011
Template:TOCnestleft The Committee to Stop FBI Repression was launched on September 27, 2010, in response to the September 24, 2010 FBI Raids. They have collated a list of organizations who have made statements of solidarity with the activists who are under investigation by the FBI.
Address and contact information
Email: stopfbi@gmail.com
Committee is listed with the following address:
International Action Center
www.iacenter.org
c/o Solidarity Center
55 West 17th St 5C
New York, NY 10011
Telephone: (212) 633-6646
First National Meeting
The first national meeting of the Committee was held on Nov. 6, 2010 at Saint Mark's Church in the Bowery. The meeting "was attended by more than 150 movement leaders and concerned individuals".
The meeting resolved to hold emergency protests the day after it's known activists have been called to appear before the Grand Jury and to call for a day of action for the subpoena court dates. The committee will also organize another call-in day to U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's offices. A student activist from California reported that Students for a Democratic Society was coordinating an effort to reach out to prominent academics to sign on to a letter condemning the raids.
Addressing the meeting were Bruce Nestor, National Lawyer's Guild; Noor Elashi, daughter of Holy Land Foundation co-founder Ghassan Elashi; Tom Burke, Freedom Road Socialist Organization/FightBack!; Sara Flounders, International Action Center; and targeted activists Jess Sundin and Hatem Abudayyeh.[1]
Committee to Stop FBI Repression delegation to Congress
In mid November 2010, a delegation from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression ( returned home from several days of bringing the "issue of the FBI raids and grand jury subpoenas of people doing international solidarity work and anti-war organizing to the U.S. Capitol". Three supporters of the Marxist-Leninist Freedom Road Socialist Organization/FightBack!, Deb Konechne of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, Anh Pham, who is facing a reactivation of her subpoena and Joe Iosbaker, whose home was raided, spent two days meeting with U.S. Representatives on the issue. The delegation asked each Congressperson to sponsor a “Dear Colleague” letter condemning the raids and grand jury subpoenas. In the two days, the delegation met with either the Congressional Representative’s staff or the Representative themselves fro[[m the following 16 offices: Tammy Baldwin (WI), John Conyers (MI), Danny Davis (IL), Keith Ellison (MN), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Luis Gutierrez (IL), Mike Honda (CA), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL), Dennis Kucinich (OH), Barbara Lee (CA), Jim McDermott (WA), Jim McGovern (MA), Bobby Rush (IL), Linda Sanchez (CA), Jan Schakowsky (IL), Maxine Waters (CA). The "meetings were positive, with all the offices expressing genuine concern about the situation. In some cases, because of the outpouring of calls from around the country, the U.S. Representatives were aware that the delegation was in Washington D.C. and the offices made time on their schedules to meet with the delegation. This reinforces the continuing importance of the solidarity work taking place around the country."
Rep. Conyers (MI), chair of the Judiciary Committee, directed the Counsel of the Judiciary Committee to meet with the delegation. Also, Rep. Ellison (MN) and his Congressional staff met directly with the delegation for a significant amount of time. rep. Ellison sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, expressing concern over the situation and is continuing to work on options to support his constituents affected. The delegation also received face-to-face meetings with Rep Gutierrez and Rep Davis from Chicago. Rep. Grijalva’s (AZ) office set up a meeting between the delegation and the Executive Director of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in the Congress of which rep. Grijalva is the chair. In addition, the office of Jan Schakowsky (IL) and Maxine Waters (CA) gave the delegation significant time and attention.
“It was clear that progressive Representatives of the Congress are very concerned about the FBI investigation. Overall, they were very thankful for our visit and for the information and analysis given to them The level of awareness about the raids and grand jury was varied, from little to full awareness, but the delegation certainly changed that. After the two days, our presence and purpose definitely created a stir in the halls of Congress. “The fact that we were able to interact with 16 legislative aides or Congress people themselves, during an extremely busy time of restructuring leadership in the Congress, exemplifies the attention this matter is receiving”, stated Joe Iosbaker.[2]