Police Prisons & Repression

Thursday morning, Minneapolis grand jury resister Scott DeMuth was charged with conspiracy to commit animal enterprise terrorism in Davenport, Iowa federal court.  He is currently being held in the disciplinary block at the Muscatine County Jail after he was found to be in civil contempt of court for refusing to cooperate with the grand jury that convened in Davenport on Tuesday.  Because the civil contempt charge was later dropped, on Friday he attended a hearing to decide on his possible release on unsecured bond; a final decision has not yet been made by the court.  

The federal government's Green Scare campaign took another depressing turn Tuesday morning as a federal district judge in Iowa ordered the detainment of Twin Cities activists Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman at a contempt hearing. As previously reported, DeMuth and Feldman were subpoenaed to a grand jury in Davenport, Iowa, compelling them to testify regarding a animal rights-related vandalism incident at the University of Iowa.

Feldman and Scott spoke to the local press and 30 to 40 supporters at a rally beforehand in Davenport, then refused to testify. At the contempt hearing, the judge offered both immunity, but they still refused to talk, and were taken away. The judge believes they will remain in jail until they comply or the jury ends (likely in 11 months). 

Related: Feldman Interviewed by Peter Young | New Support Info | Press Release from EWOK!, Statements from Carrie and Scott |  Video of Davenport Support Rally | TCDP: Minnesota EWOKs Jailed in Iowa (Photo credit) | Dallas, TX: Grand jury resistance action Previous Coverage: Second subpoena issued | Subpoena PDF |  Video: Feldman on Grand Juries & Luce Guillen-Givens on the Green Scare | Local Activist Subpoenaed to Grand Jury in Iowa Also: Bogus Subpoena Against US Indymedia | Feds' Search of G20 Twittering Anarchist Upheld

Almost a month after Twin Cities activist Carrie Feldman was subpoenaed to an Iowa grand jury, another activist was served a subpoena on the same street corner at the same time and same day of the week.  Late Monday afternoon, Scott DeMuth's car was surrounded by a gaggle of local and federal unmarked vehicles on 31st Street near Powderhorn Park.  Several men got out, nervously walked to the car, and handed DeMuth the subpoena requesting his fingerprints.

Both activists have been asked to appear next Tuesday before the Davenport, Iowa grand jury that appears to be investigating a 2004 Animal Liberation Front action targeting vivisection at the University of Iowa.  At the time, Feldman was a 15-year-old high school sophomore in Minneapolis.

Related: Subpoena PDF | Statement from DeMuth/Support Info | Thursday: Grand-Jury Send-off Potluck and Hip-hop Show @ Seward Cafe | 10-14: Local Activist Subpoenaed to Grand Jury in Iowa | Solidarity Rally Also: Bogus Subpoena Against US Indymedia | Video: Carrie Feldman on Grand Juries & Luce Guillen-Givens on the Green Scare

Alexander: Jerry Brown is failing to deal with California’s prison crisis

Update: see RaymondMerchant.com for more support info (from the open publishing newswire) Raymond Merchant is a father of two, Hip Hop artist, and community organizer in South Minneapolis. Missing for several days, friends became worried when Raymond failed to arrive to a show he was scheduled to perform at. After contacting his family, it was confirmed he had been abducted by police just blocks from his home while out for a walk.

Raymond cooks and distributes food through the grassroots group Minneapolis Food Not Bombs. He is a former childcare worker and loved member of his community. Help us fight to get Raymond out of jail as he is facing potential prison time resulting from the police pinning bogus charges on him. He has been in custody since October 24th.

Paramilitary repression and police brutality continue unabated on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border three years after the assassinations of Lorenzo Sampablo Cervantes in Oaxaca, Mexico and Fong Lee in Minneapolis, MN

By Steven Renderos & Sylvia González, November 1, 2009

Two different people – different stories, different places, – separated by nearly 2,000 miles, were connected three years ago when their lives were cut short by gunfire. Fong Lee and Lorenzo Sampablo Cervantes suffered a death inflicted by the gunshots of police and paramilitary officials. For Cervantes, it was one gunshot wound to the chest; for Lee, three gunshot wounds in his back, and five more to the front. Cervantes died seeking justice during the popular movement in 2006 in Oaxaca, Mexico, while Fong Lee died as a result of deeply rooted racism and police brutality in communities of color across the United States.

Please help get a Twin Cities artist and activist out of jail!

Our friend, Raymond Merchant, aka AC, father of two, Hip Hop artist, and
community organizer in Minneapolis was recently wrongly arrested in
relation to a robbery in South Minneapolis to which he was no party.
Missing for several days, friends became worried when Raymond failed to
arrive to a show he was scheduled to perform at. After contacting his
family, it was confirmed he had been abducted by police just blocks from
his home while out for a walk.

One chapter of Greelis' memoir - titled simply "Cop Book" - details his undercover work around the 2008 Republican National Convention, including attending a Northfield peace group's forum, placing a short-lived informant in the RNC Welcoming Committee, participating in Critical Mass and protests throughout the convention.