olympia civil liberties resource

Civil Liberties are under threat in Olympia and nationwide! You or anyone you know are a potential target in the FBI's "fishing expedition" for information about the Olympia activist community.
You may have heard about the "green scare", the FBI roundup of environmental and animal rights activists accused of crimes of property destruction. The federal government is investigating a series of arsons attributed to the earth and animal liberation movement. No one was injured in any of these events, yet the defendants are being called “eco-terrorists” in the media. Fourteen activists have been indicted, and the government is attempting to compel other activists to testify against them. The government is using the “terrorist” designation as a license to suspend civil liberties and employ the USA PATRIOT Act. The government is employing grand juries to interrogate activists, a misuse which violates the U.S. constitution and is counter to the original intent in the creation of the grand jury. The grand jury and FBI tactics have a chilling effect on free speech and even legal expression of dissent. The government preys on an atmosphere of fear to intimidate citizens into answering questions about the activist community that may be beyond the scope of the investigations. There is a long history of not cooperating with a grand jury on the basis of upholding constitutional and civil rights. A grand jury threatens constitutional protections in numerous ways, including circumventing the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments and violating the 1st amendment. When targeted against social movements, grand juries are a tool of political repression used gather any and all information on a particular social movement.

How Olympia Civil Liberties Resource Can Help You

If you choose to resist the grand jury or FBI interrogation, Olympia Civil Liberties Resource is here to provide you with any information you need including what your rights are and other legal assistance. If you choose not to cooperate with a grand jury, you can be jailed for contempt of court for duration that the grand jury is convened, up to 18 months and possibly longer in special circumstances. Olympia Civil Liberties Resource can help you obtain a pro-bono lawyer, organize to generate community support and awareness around your resistance and its legal implications, and publicize your case in both grassroots and mainstream media, if you so desire. Our intention is to provide a basis of support so that a person does not feel isolated and without support when one is targeted by the government. If you choose not to cooperate, you may do so knowing that you have support and many of your needs may be addressed by your supporters and the community. If you appear before a grand jury and answer questions, you will be called as a witness for the prosecution in a federal court trial.

The best way to counter the state's acts of repression against free speech and political dissent is to generate public awareness around the issue so that the government cannot carry out its information "fishing expedition" in secret. The government relies heavily on misinformation and secrecy in its efforts to crush various social and political movements.