Will Potter's Blog, page 17

New York Anarchist Has Been Imprisoned Nearly Five Months, Not Charged With Any Crime

Jerry Koch has been imprisoned in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center for nearly five months. He isn’t accused of any crime. He was subpoenaed to a federal grand jury, where he refused to answer questions about his anarchist political beliefs and his community. I previously wrote about Koch’s case for Vice, and Anna Simonton has recently published an excellent article about the use of grand juries to target political dissidents on Alternet.

Here’s an excerpt:

Grand juries have been a tool in the FBI’s arsenal of intimidation and information-gathering tactics for decades. They were a hallmark of the Red Scare, COINTELPRO, and more recently the Green Scare, in which animal rights activists and environmentalists have been branded “eco-terrorists” by law enforcement.

Over the past year grand juries have seen a resurgence as the FBI has cracked down on radical communities. Koch’s case was preceded by a high-profile grand jury in the Pacific Northwest, where four people from Washington and Oregon were imprisoned for refusing to testify.

Will Potter, author of Green Is the New Red, a historical survey of the Green Scare, says there are parallels between these recent grand juries and past FBI interference in social movements. But these cases also mark what he views as a change in tactics on the part of law enforcement.

“When we’re seeing things like the grand juries in the Northwest, or Jerry’s case in New York, we have to remember that the FBI is giving training presentations to new agents identifying anarchists as ‘criminals in search of an ideology,’” Potter warns. “What we’re seeing is a criminalization of an entire belief system.”

Please check out the full article on Alternet. And you can take action by visiting Jerry’s Koch’s support website.

Write him a letter of support today:

GERALD KOCH #68631-054

MCC NEW YORK

METROPOLITAN CORRECTIONAL CENTER

150 PARK ROW

NEW YORK, NY 10007

BREAKING: Greenpeace Arctic Oil Protesters Charged with “Piracy” By Russian Government

Greenpeace activists who peacefully protested on an oil platform are being charged with piracy by the Russian government.

Following the oil protest at the platform owned by Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled firm, the Greenpeace ship “Arctic Sunrise” was boarded by the Russian Coast Guard. The captain and 13 others have been sentenced to two months in prison pending a piracy investigation. They face 15 years in prison.

The activists were attempting to tie themselves onto the platform in order to raise awareness of Russia’s first offshore oil rig, and the dangers of arctic drilling. The rig is scheduled to start operating by the end of the year.

Cameraphone photos taken by Greenpeace crew show activists with hands raised as police storm the boat.

“A charge of piracy is being laid against men and women whose only crime is to be possessed of a conscience. This is an outrage and represents nothing less than an assault on the very principle of peaceful protest,” Reuters news agency quoted Mr Naidoo as saying.

You can take action here and tell Russian to release Greenpeace activists.

12 Ways the FBI Has Radically Expanded and Abused Its Powers Since 9/11

 

Since September 11th, the FBI has radically expanded and abused its authority in the name of fighting terrorism. Much of this came with the blessing of the U.S. Congress and attorney general, but even with loosened legal restraints, the FBI has repeatedly reached for more power to surveil, harass, and infiltrate communities based on their political beliefs and their race and religion.

Earlier this month, James B. Comey became the 7th director of the FBI, replacing Director Robert S. Mueller III. Civil liberties groups are calling on Congress to use this transition as an opportunity to investigate and overhaul a law enforcement agency that has acquired sweeping powers, and has rampantly abused them.

The American Civil Liberties Union recently released a new report that documents these violations. “Unleashed and Unaccountable: The FBI’s Unchecked Abuse of Authority” is a comprehensive look at the FBI’s post-9/11 evolution. Drawing from that report, and from my own reporting, here are 12 ways the FBI has overstepped its authority:

1. Spying on law-abiding Americans.

Section 215 of the Patriot Act expanded the FBI’s ability to use secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court orders to force telecommunications companies to turn over records of every American’s telephone calls, and the bureau has been doing this every 90 days for the past seven years. Such widespread surveillance hasn’t improved the FBI’s ability to prevent terrorist attacks; in fact it may be hindering them. Former FBI Director William Webster cited a “relentless” workload resulting from a “data explosion” within the FBI as a roadblock to effective analysis.

2. Exaggerating and manufacturing terrorism plots. 

Trevor Aaronson’s excellent new book The Terror Factory documents the FBI’s rampant abuse of informants in terrorism cases, and how those informants are used to manufacture phony plots so that the FBI can claim a victory in the War or Terror. The tactic has becoming shockingly commonplace. For example, the FBI paid an informant named “Anna” to befriend activists and pressure them into illegal activity — one activist, Eric McDavid, is now in prison for 20 years on “conspiracy” charges. In another case, the FBI supplied the Occupy “terrorists” that it arrested before May Day.

3. Racial profiling and community mapping.

The FBI’s Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide authorizes the FBI to “identify locations of concentrated ethnic communities in the Field Office’s domain, if these locations will reasonably aid in the analysis of potential threats and vulnerabilities, and, overall, assist domain awareness for the purpose of performing intelligence analysis… Similarly, the locations of ethnically-oriented businesses and other facilities may be collected…”

4. Training FBI agents to believe dissent is criminal.

FBI training presentations on “domestic terrorists” focus on lawful protest activity and media campaigns by animal rights and environmental activists, and describe anarchists as “criminals seeking an ideology.

5. Raiding homes based on people’s political beliefs.

In Oregon and Washington last year, Joint Terrorism Task Forces raided homes of political activists in search of “anarchist literature” and black flags.

6. Harassing political activists.

For instance, the New York Times reported on the case of Scott Crow, a Texas activist who obtained his FBI file and learned of FBI surveillance outside his home and work for many years. An Inspector General report concluded that FBI’s investigations of protest groups were “factually weak” and in some cases purely “speculative.” The Inspector General also criticized the bureau for treating non-violent civil disobedience as terrorism.

7. Spying on journalists.

As the ACLU report notes: “In 2010, the Inspector General reported that the FBI used an illegal ‘exigent letter’ to obtain the telephone records of seven New York Times and Washington Post reporters and researchers during a media leak investigation, circumventing Justice Department regulations requiring the attorney general’s approval before issuing grand jury subpoenas for journalists’ records. The FBI obtained and uploaded 22 months’ worth of data from these reporters’ telephone numbers, totaling 1,627 calls.

8. Allowing real threats to slip through the cracks.

As the FBI spends its time investigating and harassing political activists and immigrant communities, violent attacks like the 2011 Boston Marathon bombing continue. And right-wing violence is up 400%, according to this West Point study.

9. Labeling non-violent undercover investigators as terrorists.

This FBI file shows that the bureau has considered terrorism charges for activists who photograph animal cruelty on factory farms.

10. Sidestepping oversight.

A 2005 audit by the Inspector General found that more than half of all FBI inquiries that extended beyond the 180-day authorization period had no documentation. In other words, people were under investigation for an entire year with no evidence of wrongdoing.

11. Detaining international travelers.

Americans are being prevented from traveling domestically because of no-fly lists, and also detained and interrogated abroad at the urging of the FBI. For example, an American teenager named Gulet Mohamed was jailed, beaten, and threatened in Kuwait on a trip to visit his family. He was later interrogated by FBI agents, without counsel, and put on the No Fly List, which meant he was stranded overseas. He was never charged with a crime.

12. And what else?

This list will only continue to grow, because as the ACLU explains, “The public doesn’t know the full extent of the FBI’s domestic surveillance activities because so much of it takes place in secret.”

It’s time for a full, thorough investigation of the FBI’s abuses, and the enactment of meaningful checks and balances against future violations. As Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, told the Washington Post: “The list of abuses is long and demonstrates that Congress must do a top-to-bottom review of FBI politics and practices to identify and curtail any activities that are unconstitutional or easily misused. The time for wholesale reform has come.”

 

Radio New Zealand Interviews Will Potter on Spying, Ag-Gag Laws, and the Global War of Information

One of New Zealand’s most popular radio programs, Sunday Ideas, aired an in-depth interview with me about my work, and how elements of the “Green Scare” are appearing internationally. When I visited New Zealand on my lecture tour, surveillance issues were becoming a national controversy; now, New Zealand has passed a law allowing the kiwi equivalent of the NSA to spy on citizens, and Kim Dotcom is moving forward with his lawsuit related to illegal spying

“At the same time that we’ve been seeing a massive increase in the state’s ability to gather private information about its citizens, we’ve seen a correspondingly hard line taken against citizens who dare reveal the state’s private information… Will Potter, the author of Green Is the New Red: An Insider’s Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, is someone who is equally concerned about both trends. His interest in the topic of increasing state surveillance was sparked by FBI agents who requested he start spying on his friends. Jeremy Rose recently caught up with Will Potter, who is in New Zealand for an animal rights conference.”

Listen to the full interview here.

Bring Will Potter to Speak at Your School

Hey everyone. After a really successful speaking tour of Australia and New Zealand, I’m back and scheduling speaking events for the fall and spring. I’d love to visit your town for a community event about how political activists are being labeled as “terrorists,” and what we can do about it. “Ag-gag” laws were fought back last year, but they will undoubtedly be resurfacing again — events like this are a great opportunity to raise awareness.

Check out some of the previous events, and get in touch to set one up!

I’m also scheduling events with Jake Conroy of the SHAC 7. We had a fantastic tour last year called “From Activist to Terrorist,” where Jake spoke about his personal experiences being sent to prison as a animal rights terrorist, and I spoke about the broader political climate and how this all happened. Tour stops included Duke, Oberlin, and the University of Oregon, and we’ve gotten some great response. Check it out and see for yourself!

If you have any questions, you can email me directly at will@willpotter.com. And if you know any university students or professors who might be interested, it would be great if you could pass this along. Thank you!

Photo by Tim Watters, http://timwatters.net/

Fur Farmers Attack Italian Activists for Photographing Animals

Italian animal rights activists have begun a campaign to halt the construction of a new fur farm in Italy, and also to shut down existing farms. Activists I spoke with said their efforts have been favorably received by the public and, not surprisingly, the fur industry isn’t very happy about this.

Much like the factory farming industry, the fur industry is completely dependent on public ignorance and disassociation with how the animals are treated. On August 15th, activists were photographing a fur farm in Dover, near Milano, in order to document and expose these facilities to consumers.

They were spotted by the farmers, and the farm owner, Giorgio Moroni, and two friends threatened the photographers with sticks. Then they got in their car and pursued the photographers in a dangerous chase. They rammed the photographers’ car, attempting to run them off the road. They can also been seen waving a stick out the window, and clearly enjoying the chase when they are flashing “devil horns” with their hands. The cameras kept rolling, and you can watch below.

The fur industry in Italy, much like the U.S. and other countries, has repeatedly called animal rights activists “terrorists.” But the only people who are trying to harm human beings are the fur farmers. Activists are simply shining a light on a hidden industry, and in the process, fur farmers are inadvertently revealing their own violent nature.

You can sign a petition from Visioni Liberi asking the City of Dover to revoke the license of Giorgio Moroni, and shut down his fur farm.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Melbourne Radio Interview with Will Potter

When I was on my recent speaking tour, I sat down with Michelle Bennett of 3RRR 102.7 FM in Melbourne, Australia, to talk about Green Is the New Red and how corporate tactics used against political activists are spreading internationally.

It was a pleasure speaking with Michelle, who was already well-versed on the issues; it allowed for a more detailed discussion of how this is happening. As an added bonus, 3RRR had an espresso machine at the station, which is a godsend when doing morning interviews on tour.

We talked a bit about how all of this backlash is occurring at the same time more and more people are sympathetic to environmental activism:

“It’s OK to talk about buying another type of car… but when you’re out on the front lines threatening corporate profits, that’s when it becomes terrorism.”

Listen to the full interview here.

Ag-Gag Lawsuit Challenges Corporate Attempts to Criminalize Free Speech and Journalism

The first lawsuit against ag-gag laws will be filed in Utah today, arguing that it is unconstitutional to criminalize investigative journalists and animal welfare advocates who expose cruelty at factory farms and slaughterhouses.

The lawsuit brings together activists, academics, and journalists who are directly targeted by the law: the Animal Legal Defense Fund, PETA, Professor James McWilliams, Daniel Hauff, CounterPunch, and myself.

Utah passed an ag-gag law in 2012, and it was the first state to attempt a prosecution. Amy Meyer was prosecuted for filming a slaughterhouse from the public street. News of her case went viral and the mayor and prosecutor were flooded with calls. Just 24 hours after I broke the story, all charges were dropped.

That was great news for Meyer, but the ag-gag law is still on the books. That’s where this lawsuit comes in.

It’s not enough to fend off these unconstitutional prosecutions one at a time. As Amnesty International wrote in opposition to ag-gag: “… abuses thrive in the dark. Time and time again, Amnesty’s research has shown that governments and corporations alike try to keep out of the reach of public and judicial scrutiny what they know can never be justified.”

I felt compelled to join this lawsuit because ag-gag laws are especially troubling to me as a journalist.

Utah’s law, and others like it, directly place both me and my sources at risk. There’s a long history of investigative journalism in this country based on exactly the type of research and whistleblowing that these laws criminalize. What if Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle were released today, accompanied by a YouTube video? He would undoubtedly be prosecuted under ag-gag.

Even if journalists themselves escape prosecution, ag-gag laws would make it impossible to report stories that are vitally important to the public. Whistleblowers and undercover investigators shine a light on criminal activity, and also standard industry practices. Without them, there is no meaningful window into animal agriculture; there would be no insight into the industry except for what the industry approves.

It should come as no surprise, then, that ag-gag laws are expanding to other industries. A bill pending in North Carolina right now is called the Commerce Protection Act. It doesn’t just criminalize those who blow the whistle on ag industry abuses– it includes all industries, from factory farming to fracking.

This lawsuit is an exciting step forward in rolling back these unconstitutional attacks on free speech and freedom of the press. I’m proud to be part of it, and I’ll keep you updated here as the case develops.

Homeland Security Warned Terrorism Officials About a Change.org Petition

A Department of Homeland Security center distributed a counter-terrorism bulletin to law enforcement warning about an online petition on the popular advocacy website Change.org.

The bulletin doesn’t warn of any impeding violence or terrorist attacks. It begins: “A petition has been added to the Change.org website…” It goes on to say that “outrage has been expressed” as a result of the petition. 

The bulletin points to a petition by the non-profit group Project Coyote, titled “Fire USDA Wildlife Services Federal Trapper Jamie Olson for Animal Cruelty.”

Olson, a Wildlife Services employee, posted photos on his Facebook page and hunting websites showing his dogs mauling trapped coyotes, bobcats, and raccoons. The Sacramento Bee and the Missoula Independent reported on the photos. A federal investigation determined that Olson had done nothing wrong, and that, wildlife advocates say, is the problem. Captive animals are routinely tortured by government employees for fun on the job. Gary Strader, a former trapper for the USDA, said: “It always was and always will be controversial. It has never been addressed by the higher-ups. They know it happens on a regular basis.”

The Homeland Security bulletin warns that “the attention this petition has received may bring the attention of the more extreme animal rights activists to Wyoming.” It cites no threats, property destruction, violence, or any other crime.

The bulletin bluntly says that “animal rights activists already have a negative opinion of the USDA Wildlife Services.” This is certainly true, but it’s not limited to animal rights activists.

The Sacramento Bee published a three-part series last year that meticulously documented animal abuse within the agency: “Since 2000, its employees have killed nearly a million coyotes, mostly in the West. They have destroyed millions of birds, from nonnative starlings to migratory shorebirds, along with a colorful menagerie of more than 300 other species, including black bears, beavers, porcupines, river otters, mountain lions and wolves.”

Republican Rep. John Campbell told FoxNews.com: ”This agency has become an outlet for people to abuse animals for no particular reason.”

The bulletin was distributed by the Wyoming Criminal Intelligence Analysis Center, which is a Department of Homeland Security “fusion center.” This is far from the first time that lawful, First Amendment activity has been included in counter-terrorism bulletins produced by fusion centers.

A Pennsylvania fusion center included information about film screenings of the movie Gas Land. A Virginia fusion center listed animal rights activists, environmental activists, and anarchists as “terrorist threats.”

The Project Coyote petition currently has more than 60,000 signatures, and can be signed here.

Hacking, Leaking, and Investigative Journalism — C-SPAN Video

C-SPAN recently aired a panel discussion I participated in about hacking, leaking, and investigative journalism. The discussion is increasingly urgent, as Edward Snowden seeks asylum for his whistleblowing on NSA surveillance.

I spoke about “ag-gag” laws and other corporate attempts to keep the public in the dark.

It was a pleasure to speak with Gabriella Coleman, Gráinne O’Neill, and Abi Hassen. I hope you’ll check it out. Here’s more:

Over the past few years we have seen an unprecedented attack on hackers, journalists, whistleblowers, and other “information activists” who dare to let the public know what goes on within the corridors of power. The US government and its corporate partners have waged a full scale war on the ability of the public to access information. Yet as this takes place, we the public are being told that we no longer have a right to privacy, especially online. This panel will explore these trends and go into detail on the laws and lawless acts that are being used to suppress the public’s right to information and ultimately the possibility of democracy. Topics of discussion will include

• “Anonymous”, leaker, whistleblower, and hacktivist cases

• The CFAA, SOPA/PIPA and its ilk, Ag-Gag, and other laws

• Corporate control of the criminal law

• Comparative analysis of “hacking” laws in other countries

Moderated by Abi Hassen, Mass Defense Coordinator with the National Lawyers Guild. Hassen helped start the NLG NYC’s Muslim Defense Project as well as the NLG’s hactivist legal support network.

Speakers:

Gabriella (Biella) Coleman is the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy in the Art History and Communication Studies Department at McGill University. Trained as an anthropologist, she researches, writes, and teaches on hackers and digital activism. Her first book on Free Software, Coding Freedom: The Aesthetics and the Ethics of Hacking has been published with Princeton University Press.

Will Potter is an award-winning journalist, author, and public speaker who has become a leading authority on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties post-9/11. His reporting and commentary have appeared in media outlets including Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, The Los Angeles Times, The Vermont Law Review, and The Washington Post. He frequently is a guest on television and radio programs, including NPR, Pacifica Radio, RT, ArteTV, and Democracy Now.

Gráinne O’Neill is an attorney on the defense team for accused hacktivist Jeremy Hammond. She received her JD from Columbia Law and her BA in Mathematics and Computer Science from Cornell. Prior to her joining the Hammond team, Gráinne worked in New Orleans as a Public Defender then as a staff attorney at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute at Harvard Law School where she creating computer resources for indigent defense attorneys nationwide.