Peace Activist Raids

[Nbadan]

Tried to see where this story was going, but its becoming too big of a story on the blogs to just keep ignoring....

Here is the warrant: http://tc.indymedia.org/files/kelly-warrant-92210.pdf

Stephanie Weiner, a peace activist in Chicago, said about 20 FBI agents raided her house and took do ents and photos, including one of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Another activist was an organizer for the 2008 demonstrations at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

Steff Yorek, an antiwar spokeswoman, said the Anti-War Committee offices where she worked at 1313 5th St. SE. also were raided.

Tracy Molm said she woke up to:

"federal agents pounding on the door. I was told to be seated on my couch and I had no rights to walk around the apartment and I was under an investigation for my connections with groups in other countries, particularly Palestine."

Molm said she went to the Palestinian territories in 2004 with an international solidarity delegation. She said she saw houses demolished without notice and people jailed without evidence. "I don't believe I've done anything illegal."

Daily Kos

They took her MLK and Malcolm X photos!?!

[Nbadan]

Picture from Fred Klonsky's blog. Joe Iosbaker in an SEIU orgnizer at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has been a union organizer among non-teaching workers at the West Loop Campus. Stephanie Weiner lives in Logan Square and teaches at Wright College.

They along with anti-war activists in Minneapolis had their homes ransacked by FBI agents armed with search warrants in early morning raids yesterday.

The real concern of the Obama administration appears to be activists in the anti-war movement

[Nbadan]

more info..

"The warrant for the raid on Kelly's apartment, in the 1800 block of Riverside Avenue, sought notebooks, address books, photos and maps of Kelly's travels to the Palestinian territories, Colombia and in the United States on behalf of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. It also sought materials on his personal finances and those of the group, on Kelly's "potential co-conspirators" and recruitment efforts for the group.

The warrant also sought any information about efforts to support FARC, a guerrilla organization in Colombia, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Hezbollah, the political and paramilitary organization based in Lebanon."

Star Tribune

The raids seem to be centered around an organization calling itself the Freedom Road Socialist Organization

[Nbadan]

FRSO openly supports or at least sympathizes with organizations like FARC. You can find as much right on the home page of their website. It's not too much of a stretch to reason that some members could be illegally funneling money to terrorist organizations.

FRSO website

[Winehole23]

The real concern of the Obama administration appears to be activists in the anti-war movement

More continuity. Can't say I'm surprised.