The following is "A Checklist Of Essential Precautions" from
Glick's book.
1) Check out the authenticity of any disturbing letter, rumor, phone
call, or other communication before acting on it. Ask the supposed
source if she or he is responsible.
2) Keep records of incidents which appear to reflect COINTELPRO-type
activity. Evaluate your response and report your experiences to the
Movement Support Network (212) 614-6422 and the National Lawyer's Guild
(212) 966-5000. Share these with one another here in the local community
as well.
3) Deal openly and honestly with the differences within our
movements (race, gender, class, age, religion, national origin, sexual
orientation, personality, experience, physical and intellectual
capacities, etc.) before the FBI and police can exploit them.
4) Don't try to expose a suspected agent or informer without solid
proof. Purges based on mere suspicion only help the FBI and police
create distrust and paranoia. It generally works better to criticize
what a disruptive person says and does, without speculating as to why.
5) Support all movement activists who come under government attack.
Don't be put off by political slander, such as recent attempts to smear
some militant opponents of government policy as "terrorists." Organize
public opposition to all FBI witch hunts, grand jury subpoenas,
political
trials, and other forms of government and right-wing harassment.
6) Cultivate relationships with sympathetic journalists who seem
willing to investigate and publicize domestic covert operations. Let
them know when you are harassed. Since the FBI and police thrive on
secrecy, public exposure can undermine their ability to subvert our
work.
7) Don't try to tough it out alone. Don't let others fret and
suffer by themselves. Make sure that activists who are under extreme
stress get
the help they need (someone to talk with, rest therapy, etc.). It is
crucial that we build support networks and take care of one another.
8) Above all, DO NOT LET OUR MOVEMENTS BE DIVERTED FROM THEIR MAIN
GOALS.
OUR MOST POWERFUL WEAPON AGAINST POLITICAL REPRESSION IS EFFECTIVE
ORGANIZING AROUND THE NEEDS AND ISSUES WHICH DIRECTLY AFFECT
PEOPLE'S
LIVES.
IF YOU ARE CONTACTED BY THE FBI OR POLICE
As we explained, this alert is in response to a local activist
being contacted by the FBI. It is very important that everyone know
their rights if contacted by the FBI or the police.
1) You do not have to talk to FBI agents, the police or any
investigators. You do not have to speak with them at your house, on the
phone, on the street, if you've been arrested, or even in jail. Only a
court or grand jury has legal authority to compel testimony.
2) You do not have to let the FBI or police into your home or office
unless they show you an arrest or search warrant which authorizes them
to
enter that specific place.
3) If they do present a warrant, you do not have to tell them
anything other than your name and address. You have a right to observe
what they do. Make written notes, including the agents' names, agency,
and badge numbers. Try to have other people present as witnesses, and
have them make written notes too.
4) Anything you say to an FBI agent or other law enforcement officer
may be used against you and other people. The FBI and the police have
jobs to do, and they are very skilled at them and at getting information
from people. Attempting to outwit them is very risky. You can never
tell how a seemingly harmless bit of information can hurt you or someone
else or some organization. Thus the best advice is that if the FBI or
police try to question you, on the phone or in person, or try to enter
your home or office without a warrant, is to JUST SAY NO.
5) Lying to an FBI agent or other law enforcement officer is a
crime.
6) Giving the FBI agent or police information may mean that you will
have to testify to the same information at a trial or before a grand
jury.
7) The FBI or police may threaten you with a grand jury subpoena if
you don't give them information. However, you may get one anyway, and
anything you might already have told them will be the basis for more
detailed questioning under oath. If you do get a subpoena, you may be
able to fight it as well, with the help of a lawyer. Contact the
National Lawyer's Guild or local sympathetic attorneys for help. Don't
be intimidated by the agents saying "We know what you have been doing,
but if you cooperate it will be all right." If you are concerned about
this,
tell them you will talk with them only with your lawyer present.
8) If you are nervous about simply refusing to talk to them ("I'm
sorry, but I don't speak with the FBI..."), you may find it easier to
tell them to contact your lawyer. Once a lawyer is involved the FBI and
police usually pull back since they have lost their power to intimidate.
9) If you are contacted by the FBI or police, take notes and keep
careful records of what they said and did. Tell others they contacted
you.
Further, if an activist does talk, or makes some honest error,
explain the serious harm that could result. Be firm, but do not
ostracize a sincere person who slips up. Isolation only weakens a
person's ability to resist pressure. It can drive someone out of the
movement and even into the hands of the police or FBI. If the FBI or
other government agents start to harass people in your area or
community,
alert everyone to refuse to cooperate. Warn your friends, neighbors,
parents, children, and anyone else who might be contacted. Make sure
people know what to do and where to call for help.
Again, our point here is simply to let friends, supporters and
members of the social justice community know about this recent incident.
We do not want to engender any paranoia, but we do want to help prepare
anyone who might be contacted. If others have been contacted already,
and have been afraid or reluctant to let others know, take heart that
you
are not alone. There must be an atmosphere within the movement for
everyone to seek and obtain support from one another. Something is
obviously going on here. Whether there is a legitimate FBI investigation
going on, whether it is simply COINTELPRO-type harassment, intimidation,
surveillance and fishing expedition activities, or some combination of
these is unclear. What is clear, however, is that the FBI has a long
history of being the political police whose role has been to "expose,
disrupt, misdirect, discredit or otherwise neutralize" the activities of
dissidents in this country.
In struggle,
Mike Cassidy ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
and Will Miller ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
--
Back To The Blanket Journal:
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/BackToTheBlanket
Heroine Mu Gui-Ying
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Pagoda/7111
<<<<=-=-=FREE LEONARD PELTIER=-=-=>>>>
If you think you are too small to make a difference;
try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito....
African Proverb
<<<<=-=http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
=-=>>>>
IF it says:
"PASS THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW...."
Please Check it before you send it at:
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