Get a lawyer. Immediately. Don't delay.

Please contact the National Lawyers Guild hotline: 1-888-NLG-ECOLAW

Solidarity from the Northwest.

Seattle, WA- Minnesota Grand Jury Subpoena Delivered

At approximately 8:45 a.m. on Monday, August 20th, 2007, two law enforcement officials woke me by knocking on my apartment front door in Seattle, Washington. I opened the door and one of them referred to me as "Tony", the nickname commonly used to refer to me by people I know. This person nearest to my doorstep, I would later discover after asking him for his business card, was Erik Swanson, Police Sergeant, Investigations, Joint Terrorism Task Force, University of Minnesota Police, Twin Cities Campus. He said he wanted to come inside and talk with me about some things. I asked them if they had a warrant. Officer Swanson said "no". I told them no comment and began to shut my door. Officer Swanson then told me he first needed give me some documents. He asked again if they could come inside. I told them "no". He gave me a federal "Subpoena To Testify Before Grand Jury" on September 6, 2007 at 9 a.m. at the "308 U.S. Courthouse" in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

After he gave me the subpoena he showed me a couple color copy photos of some type of vehicle or machine. The photos were dark and unclear and I couldn't really tell what exactly he was trying to show me or why. Then Officer Swanson told me that I knew what he was showing me and if I cooperate it'll be better for me. He mentioned an Ian Wallet or Wallice who Officer Swanson said had been cooperating with them somehow (again, they did not say in regards to what). He told me they had also been speaking to one Kevin Tubbs and one Stanilsas Meyerhoff and said both had been talking to them-- again, about what they did not say and did not explain why any of this is relevant to me. The entire time they never actually told me what they were investigating or why I was being called to testify. Throughout the brief interaction I repeated "no comment" whenever appropriate.

-Anthony Wong
tonywong777 (at) yahoo.com

Solidarity from Mpls:

It has just been made public that two people have been ordered to appear (subpoenaed) before a MN Grand Jury on Sept 6, in regards to Midwest ALF/ELF activity. They are, Anthony Wong and Brandon. It appears that neither is cooperating. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of snitch Ian Wallace, who is known to be cooperating with federal authorities.

Grand juries are the first step in sending down indictments- you are not allowed to have a lawyer present inside the room at a grand jury, and can be kept in jail for months at a time for refusing to testify.

If you know ANYONE who has been subpoenaed, or have heard anything about the situation, please share that information. There is nothing to be gained by keeping quiet, and a lot of people's safety, comfort and freedom are on the line.

If you are approached by authorities, know that you DO NOT have to say anything, and that there are people and lawyers ready to support you. Even the most seemingly-innocuous statements can have negative effects and answering questions only opens you up to further harassment.

We will be planning a support rally of some sort in regards to the grand jury, so please watch our website (ecoprisoners.googlepages.com) for new information. In the meantime, please contact us at fightthegreenscare (a) riseup.net with questions and information, and especially if you need legal support.

Solidarity,

the Twin Cities Eco-Prisoner Support Committee

"If an Agent Knocks" by the Center for Constitutional Rights:
www.publiceye.org/liberty/Feds/If_an_Agent_Knocks.html

.pdf version:
www.socialwar.net/nograndjury/IfAnAgentKnocks.pdf