Jerry Koch, a recent NYC anarchist Grand Jury resister, was released from prison on Tuesday January 28th.   Natasha Lennard summarizes his release and sets his resistance in the context of other Grand Jury resisters, Grand Juries as a repressive institution, and within a larger context of resistance against the state.  The article can be read here (and another less enlightening one from NYTimes.com here).  We welcome you back Jerry, wish you a easy transition, and thank you for your recent efforts.

Vahid Brown was or is an FBI instructor at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, who has recently been attempting to integrate himself into radical and activist scenes in Portland. As an instructor for the CTC’s FBI counter-terrorism training program, he designed curricula on Islamist terrorism and taught regular courses both at the FBI Academy and for Joint Terrorism Task Force training events at FBI Field Offices throughout the United States.

According to FOIA records obtained by the ACLU, it is clear that Vahid was training new FBI recruits for the CTC from 2008-2010. His classes included: Origins of Islam, Islam and Militancy, Modern Jihadist Groups, Islamic Terrorism and the Internet, How Terror Networks Use the Internet, and Radicalization.

Vahid Brown attended Reed College in Portland from 2003 – 2006, and recently has been attempting to re-integrate himself into radical and activist scenes in Portland. He portrays himself as “an activist and woodland creature who has been reading poetry at Portland coffeehouses, ballrooms, and basement bars for nearly twenty years.”

Vahid Brown has worked for the FBI, and as such should be thoroughly unwelcome among anarchists, radicals, and activists. Though his area of expertise is Islamic militancy rather than anarchism, he is still a threat and should not be tolerated, just like any other FBI employee, agent, informant, infiltrator, or cop who attempts to become friendly with radicals.

An agent of the state who has the same subcultural interests as you is still an agent of the state.

An agent of the state who calls himself an activist is still an agent of the state.

An agent of the state who works to destroy the lives of people who aren’t necessarily anarchists is still an agent of the state.

Sources:

Haqqani Network’s Reign Of Terror On Afghanistan

Bombers, Bank Accounts, and Bleedouts

FOIA files on Vahid Brown

Vahid Brown’s activist/poet mini-autobiography

SEPTEMBER 28TH 2013: AN UPDATE ON STEVE’S SITUATION!

It saddens us to announce that the grand jury investigation has received a six month extension and will most likely conclude on March 4th, 2014. During the past six months there has been little news as to the current status or extent of the investigation and subsequent repression. The only news has been what has already been stated, the grand jury will continue.

Steve is still struggling against the grand jury. He is adjusting to life in a new city surrounded by good friends who are both inspiring and supportive. However, in the past week, Steve has been experiencing multiple instances of police harassment; harassment to the degree he has not experienced before.

About two weeks ago at one in the morning, while walking to the corner store, Steve was approached by two local police officers who screamed his name and threw him against their car and into the backseat. After several minutes of questions and insults, in which Steve remained silent, the car drove with Steve out of the parking lot. The drive lasted an hour while the two cops continued to insult and harass Steve. The harassment and verbal abuse was both common insults and questions around his forced exile outside of the United States. The cops went as far as to insult him, stating that they would beat him and leave him out where no one could find him. Eventually the police stopped the car in an industrial park on the outskirts of the city. They then removed Steve from the car and stole his cellphone, jacket, shoes, and emptied his wallet of personal items and money. The cops then left him there. Thankfully, Steve was able to contact friends who later came and took him back home.

Unfortunately, only a few days after that incident the cops returned to harass him. Steve was riding his bike home from a friend’s house when he realized he was being followed by a cop car. The cops in the car began to shout his name and ask him to “go for another walk”. Steve ignored them but the cops continued on his trail. Eventually the cops chose to drive onto the bicycle path and follow behind Steve. At this point Steve was able to cross through another area and escape his harassers. Again, Steve’s friends were able to retrieve him and take him safely back home.

Four days later Steve was targeted again. While walking to the store near his house Steve was stopped by two police officers and placed in the back of a patrol car. He was brought to a parking lot a half hour away and was kept in the back of the car for three hours until an unknown man, identifying himself as a detective came into the parking lot and talked to Steve. The man told Steve that though he does have current legal status in the country he is residing in, the FBI is currently working to have that status revoked. The man also told Steve that if he does not return to the United States and testify before the Grand Jury his life will become a living hell, and that the FBI does not deal well when they don’t get what they want. He suggested that Steve make contact with the FBI agents who want to talk to him but said the decision to do that is ultimately up to him. After the man left, Steve was dropped off in a mall parking lot on the outskirts of the city. He was able to have friends pick him up and take him back home again.

This recent harassment has led to Steve feeling more concerned about his already precarious situation. Although he does have legal status, he does not feel stable in his situation and is currently seeking counsel from immigration lawyers. At this point he is entirely uncertain of whether or not he will be able to stay in his new city, or whether he once again must leave and travel somewhere new.

Steve has been been very grateful and appreciative of the donations offered thus far and continues to do whatever he can to supplement his income where he currently is. However, with the upcoming potential of legal and or relocation costs, Steve’s economic situation has only become more unstable and stressful with this recent wave of intense harassment.

We ask that you donate whatever you can to help Steve. Please support Steve and the rejection of the grand jury investigation against anarchists. Take a moment of your time and resources to show your solidarity with Steve and let him know he is never alone!

Support Steve!

Please show solidarity with the Seattle activists facing this investigation
by sharing this statement. We will provide updates if the situation
escalates.

Portland, OR:  Rally, noise demo, and mobile dance party, 7:30pm July 8th, Chapman Square

Chehalis, WA: Noise demo in solidarity with Green Hill youth prisoners on strike, 3pm July 8th, Recreation Park. (Carpools leaving from the well in Olympia, meet at 2pm)

Seattle, WA: Noise demo, noon July 8th, King County Jail

Oakland, CA: Fuck July 4th! Prison Strike Solidarity Noise Demo, 8pm July 4th, Oscar Grant Plaza

Corcoran, CA:  Mobilization to Support the Prisoner Hunger Strikes, 2pm July 13th, meet at Cesar Chavez Park then march to Corcoran State Prison (carpools leaving from Oakland and Inglewood at 9am)

Norwalk, CA: Candlelight vigil in front of city hall, 7pm July 8th, Norwalk City Hall

Starting on July 8th prisoners in California will initiate statewide hunger strikes for those in the segregation units (Security Housing Units and Administrative Segregation) and work stoppages for those in general population. Prisoners in the Green Hill Juvenile prison in Chehalis Washington have stated they will join the strike and have released their own demands. It is important to remember that prisons cannot function for long without the labor of prisoners.

Outside support groups for these strikes have been organized in San Diego, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Sacramento, Portland, Olympia, and Seattle.

Demonstrations will be held at the King County Jail in Seattle (5th and James) at Noon on Monday, July 8^th and at 3:00 p.m. Recreation Park, Chehalis, Washington (across the street from Green Hill). Carpools will be leaving from the artesian well in Olympia at 2 p.m. The purpose of this demonstration is to communicate to the prisoners of Washington and California solidarity with their struggles, noise is encouraged.

Whether you show up at a demonstration or not July 8 is a chance for individuals or crews to take direct action in any way they see fit, that is to say autonomous action is welcome from educational actions to direct actions, as long as you don’t claim to represent others.

For more information, check out the following websites:

prisonstrike.wordpress.com

prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com

UPDATE: Jerry has been transfered.  New address below.

Gerald “Jerry” Koch, a New York City anarchist and legal activist, has been subpoenaed for the second time to a federal grand jury in New York investigating the same event. He was found in contempt of court on May 21, 2013, and is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY.

WRITE TO JERRY

Gerald Koch #68631-054
MCC NEW YORK
METROPOLITAN CORRECTIONAL CENTER
150 PARK ROW
NEW YORK, NY 10007

Letter writing guidelines

Jerry is in immediate need of letters, cards, and photographs. He is currently being held in the special housing unit and, as far as we know, at this time has no access to his commissary. He needs our support and our strength as a community.

In 2009, Jerry was subpoenaed for the first time and refused to testify. Today, as in 2009, the grand jury is being used to conduct a witch hunt against anarchists and political radicals. In refusing to testify, Jerry risks being held in contempt of court and faces incarceration in a federal prison for the duration of the grand jury, which could be up to 18 months.

Under the guise of an exploratory legal investigation, the grand jury is a secretive tool of repression that aims to intimidate and punish those who refuse to collaborate with the State. There is a long history of grand juries being used whenever the State focuses on a new “enemy”: they were used in the 1950s during the “Red Scare,” in the 1960s against the Black Panthers, and more recently against environmental and animal rights groups in what became known as the “Green Scare.”

This grand jury, like the ongoing targeting of anarchists in the Pacific Northwest, is part of a new, escalating wave of repression against anarchists nationwide, who are being persecuted specifically for their political beliefs and practices. It is no coincidence that the government would try to silence Jerry, as he has been an effective and tireless legal advocate for anarchists, Occupy Wall Street protesters, and others expressing political dissent. Jerry was the person everyone could count on to be waiting for them outside of jail, to support them in the courtroom, and to help with their legal defense. Although Jerry knew he would be in the crosshairs of the State for providing much needed legal support to hundreds of political activists, no one expected that the state would retaliate with a second subpoena. It is clear that the State’s goal is not just to pressure Jerry into informing on the radical community, but to take away someone who is an integral part of our community–someone who makes us all stronger.

By refusing to collaborate with the grand jury once again, Jerry demonstrates his great personal integrity, commitment, and support for the radical community. It is now our turn to stand by Jerry and show him the support and solidarity he deserves. It is time to send a message that, no matter how many times they come after us, we, like Jerry, will refuse to cooperate and to bargain for our freedom at the expense of our friends’ liberty.

Check out Jerry Resists for ongoing updates on his case, and to donate money or buy a sweet “Fuck A Grand Jury” shirt.

This site has dedicated itself to spreading a non-cooperative attitude and practice towards the federal grand jury which currently investigates anarchists in the Pacific Northwest. This remains true, but the scope of what we are dealing with here has grown. Non-cooperation must extend beyond the grand jury room to every place the cops show up.

By subpoenaing individuals to the grand jury, the feds were specifically targeting people they believed (wrongly or not) knew about the individuals who allegedly traveled to Seattle from Portland, allegedly via Olympia, allegedly to attack the federal courthouse. They intended two things: to get information regarding those people, and to create snitches.

Their new strategy still embraces those goals, but also broadens their intimidation to include those whose associations are third or fourth-degree from possible rioters. They want to wedge apart anarchists and those who are sympathetic to their aims.

Some facts about the recent feds’ visits:

• They flashed a lot of resources. The feds appeared simultaneously in 3 or 4 cities (Portland, Olympia and Seattle, and probably Vancouver) as well as some rural places around the region. They appeared in groups as large as 6-8.
• They visited around 10 houses in Olympia, and several other locations for a total of perhaps 20 contacts in Olympia. They visited at least one but reportedly as many as 3 different homeless youth service organizations in Seattle, in addition to an anarchist bookstore. They harassed a handful of people in Seattle quite intensely. Several people in Portland were visited, and reports suggest some people in Vancouver, BC were visited.
• At one house, the feds knocked and someone answered the door. Once the door was open, the feds muscled their way into the house, intimidating residents and asking questions.
• The US Marshals are involved. Marshals track, arrest, and transport people. They also serve subpoenas, and had served at least one subpoena last year related to May Day 2012.
• The scope of their contacts has greatly increased. They are not focused on anarchists and activists: now they target artists, hipsters, and show spaces.
• They showed lists of names and series of photos. They said things along the lines of, “Here is a photo of someone unmasked. Here is a photo of someone masked up. Is it the same person? What is their name?”

Their goal was to prevent May Day 2013 from being a riotous affair. We have seen that, in spite of their attempts, rage spilled over in Seattle on May 1st and numerous windows were broken and police were injured. #fbifail

Beyond May Day 2013, they were trying to continue their investigation into May Day 2012. By fishing broadly through subcultural milieus, they hoped to get pieces of information that would lead them to others who would give them more information which they could leverage against yet other people, eventually working their way back in to prosecute those they believe smashed their stupid little courthouse, prosecuting any other crimes they uncover in their process.

Broadly, it seems that people refused to cooperate. Some people talked with the feds. It is worth reiterating again: answer absolutely no questions that the feds ask you. You do not have to acknowledge knowing anyone. You do not have to name people in photographs. You do not have to compare photographs. You do not have to wipe their asses. You do not even have to provide them toilet paper. All you have to do is tell them that you won’t speak to them, and close the door or walk away.

Stay free & wild! Someone submitted these tips to PSA.