Los Angeles Rally & Press Conference Against Grand Jury Repression of Puerto Rican Independence Activists
Friday, January 11th, Picket 4:30 P.M., Press Conference 5:00 P.M. Downtown Los Angeles Federal Building 300 North Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA For more information, contact Lawrence Reyes, Puerto Rican Alliance/Alianza Puertorriquena 310-460-8586 FBI/NYPD Grand Jury Subpoenas Target Boricuas: The FBI/NYPD Anti-Terrorism Task Force (Joint Terrorist Task Force) has been visiting Puerto Ricans and serving them with Grand Jury subpoenas. In one case they claimed to be investigating the "extremist group The Welfare Poets." Two others have been served with Grand Jury subpoenas to appear at the Federal Court at 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn on Friday, January 11, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. and, as of this communication, they are seeking one other to serve with a subpoena. Historically, Puerto Rican activists have refused to comply or collaborate with such grand jury witch-hunts and inquisitions, and have been incarcerated rather than testify. Prosecutors use a limited form of immunity to try to coerce testimony despite Constitutional rights to silence, and judges have held many in contempt, locking them up for the life of the Grand Jury. These repressive measures take place in the context of the extensive violations of human rights, civil liberties and habeas corpus by the U.S. government. Repression is growing against Black, Puerto Rican and Native American activists, such as the attempt to legitimize torture through the prosecution of the San Francisco Eight (many of whom were also locked up for refusing to collaborate with a grand jury investigating the Black Liberation Movement and Black Panthers). The assassination of Machetero leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios took place on September 23, 2005, a key historical date for the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, the anniversary of the "Grito de Lares" (call for independence from Spain). Similarly, the FBI/U.S. Justice Department has chosen the date of January 11 for the Grand Jury hearing in New York, a date when independence forces celebrate the birth and contributions of Eugenio Maria de Hostos to the independence struggle against Spain. To date, subpoenas to appear before the Grand Jury have been issued to: Tania Frontera, a graphic designer, pro-independence activist and participant in the Vieques struggle, activist and social worker Christopher Torres and filmmaker Julio Pabón, Jr. In addition, there are indications that Hector Rivera, one of the founders of the political/cultural group, the New York-based "Welfare Poets," was visited to be served with a subpoena but was not home in NY at the time. In Puerto Rico the group La Nueva Escuela convened a meeting with a broad range of pro-independence political forces to plan the response and mobilize legal and political resources. They also appealed to the "FBI Out of Puerto Rico" campaign. A demonstration in front of the Federal Court House in San Juan has been called for January 10th. In New York City on Saturday, December 29, 2007, Puerto Rican pro-Independence activists, organizations and allies met with some of the subpoenaed activists, family members, legal advisors, friends and allies. They got an update on the activities of the FBI/NYPD anti-terrorism agents leading to the Grand Jury hearings on January 11th. A call for a mass protest on January 11th at the Federal Court House in Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn was made. Work committees were formed, a list of legal resources was presented and a general call outlined for support for these latest targets of Federal Grand Jury repression. The Hostos 1-11 Grand Jury Resistance Movement is the tentative name of this mobilization and an email has been established while a toll-free number is being set up, where messages and endorsements can be left. The email is: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Local contact is Lawrence Reyes of the Puerto Rican Alliance of Los Angeles at (310) 460-8586 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ALL OUT JANUARY 11th! U.S.A./F.B.I. - Out of Puerto Rico! Unity In Action Against Repression! Free All Political Prisoners! 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