Leah-Lynn Plante Jailed for Refusal to Provide Testimony
“To coerce cooperation” . . . is political repression.
Leah is going to prison.
Leah’s heartbreaking statement:
(Scroll down for transcript.)
Grand Jury Inquisitions and Political Prisoners in USA
Denounce your friends and family and we’ll go easy on you . . .
Cooperate or else we’ll send you to prison . . .
“Today is October 10th, 2012, and I am ready to go to prison,” announced 24-year-old Leah-Lynn Plante yesterday. By Thursday morning, the Portland activist was in custody and could remain incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison for 18 months, although she has not been charged with a crime. (Source)
Green Is the New Red
Supposedly, this grand jury was convened to investigate a May 1, 2012 “May Day” protest in Seattle in which vandalism occurred. However, this cannot be true because the grand jury was convened on March 2, 2012, two full months before the May Day actions even occurred.
“Grand juries have been used historically against social movements as tools of fishing expeditions, and they’re used to seek out information about people’s politics and their political associations.” – Will Potter, author of Green Is the New Red
Along with two others in the Pacific Northwest, Plante was remanded into federal custody for her refusal to provide a grand jury testimony regarding activists in the region. Matt Duran and Kteeo Olejnik were jailed in previous weeks for, like Plante, refusing to cooperate with a grand jury. All three are now being held in U.S. federal prison, not because they are being punished for crime, but, as the National Lawyers Guild’s executive director Heidi Boghosian told me earlier this year, “to coerce cooperation.”
The Seattle grand jury subpoenas were served in late July, when the FBI and a Joint Terrorist Task Force conducted a series of raids on activist homes and squats in Portland, Olympia and Seattle with warrants seeking out computers, phones, black clothing and “anarchist literature.” The FBI has stated only that the grand jury pertains to “violent crime.”
The Committee Against Political Repression put out a petition to the U.S. attorney, with nearly 400 organizations signed on, stating opposition to the treatment of the subpoenaed activists.
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Transcript of Leah’s statement . . .
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WE ARE MADE OF ST(A)R STUFF - Statement by Leah-Lynn Plante
Leah Plante
On the morning of July 25th, 2012, my life was turned upside down in a matter of hours. FBI agents from around Washington and Oregon and Joint Terrorism Task Force agents from Washington busted down the front door of my house with a battering ram, handcuffed my house mates and me at gunpoint, and held us hostage in our backyard while they read us a search warrant and ransacked our home. They said it was in connection to May Day vandalism that occurred in Seattle, Washington earlier this year. However, we suspected that this was not really about broken windows. As if they had taken pointers from Orwell’s 1984, they took books, artwork and other various literature as “evidence” as well as many other personal belongings even though they seemed to know that nobody there was even in Seattle on May Day. While we know that knowledge is powerful, we suspected that nobody used rolled up copies of the Stumptown Wobbly to commit property damage. We saw this for what it was. They are trying to investigate anarchists and persecute them for their beliefs. This is a fishing expedition. This is a witch hunt. Since then, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request, we have learned that this Grand jury was convened on March 2nd, 2012, two months before the May Day vandalism even took place.
I was served a subpoena to testify before a Grand Jury on August 2nd, a week later. I hastily packed my life up into boxes, got rid of almost all of my personal belongings in preparation of incarceration. I was dismissed that day after refusing to testify and re-subpoenaed for August 30th, which was pushed back to September 13th. In that time I did a lot of self care, got my affairs in order and got advice from other people who have either resisted Grand Juries, gone to prison or both. I returned to the Grand Jury on September 13th where I was granted immunity. When you are granted immunity, you lose your right to remain silent and can be thrown into prison for civil contempt. Between consulting with my attorney and an hour long recess, I narrowly avoided a contempt hearing simply because they ran out of time. I was dismissed and was told I would receive my 4th subpoena. I walked out of the courthouse just in time to witness Matthew Kyle Duran, my fellow resister, being taken away to prison in a police van. It broke my heart to watch them kidnap an amazing and strong person and take him away from his friends and loved ones. Katherine “Kteeo” Olejnik has met a similar fate for refusing to testify on September 27th. Right now, Matt and Kteeo are both sitting in prison cells for doing nothing but remaining silent. I have nothing but love and admiration for them both and I know that thousands of others feel the same. On the drive home that night my brain felt like it was short circuiting. A few days later, I received notice that my next subpoena was for October 10th. They also notified my lawyer that they were preparing for a contempt hearing.
Court dates aside, my life has been a roller coaster. Thanks to unrelated events, I have suffered with severe depression and PTSD for many years. These are now much worse and new things trigger me. For a while after the raid, I was in a constant state of panic and I could barely eat. Every time someone knocked on the door, every time I heard any sort of loud sound in my house, my heart sank and I thought “they’ve come for me.” To the day of this writing, I haven’t slept a full night since that cold July morning thanks to nausea inducing anxiety that wakes me up between 4:00 and 7:00 every single morning. After a couple months, the initial panic has faded into grim acceptance. Despite my mental health issues, I never once considered co-operation and never would. It is against everything I believe in. On my right arm I have a tattoo reading “strive to survive causing least suffering possible.” This is something I live by every single day and will continue to live by whether I am in a cage or not.
I cannot express in words how grateful I am to all those who have shown us support and solidarity, especially our friends, partners and loved ones. We will all get through this together. I know I am a broken record with the following sentiment, but I feel like it’s worth repeating. They want us to feel isolated, alone and scared. I know that even though Kteeo has been held in what is essentially solitary confinement, she does not feel alone. I know that Matt does not feel alone. I know that I will not feel alone. When they try to mercilessly gut communities, we do not scatter, we grow stronger, we thrive. I view this State repression like this: The State thinks it is a black hole that can destroy whatever it wants. In reality, it is much more like a stellar nursery, wherein it unintentionally creates new, strong anarchist stars.
I do not look forward to what inevitably awaits me today, but I accept it. I ask that people continue to support us throughout this process by writing us letters, sending us books, donating and spreading awareness.
My convictions are unwavering and will not be shaken by their harassment. Today is October 10th, 2012 and I am ready to go to prison.
Love and solidarity to all those who resist,
Forever in silence.
Leah-Lynn Plante
Contact me/my support team: HERE
Contact the support team for all NW Grand Jury resisters: HERE
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Refuse to Cooperate with State Inquisitions
“You can show your solidarity by refusing to co-operate with any police force and encouraging your friends and families to do the same.“
Support Political Prisoners in Jailed Seattle
Political prisoners in Seattle.
Prison can be a very lonely place and writing to a political prisoner can provide much needed moral support. They refused to denounce their friends and family. Their non-cooperation with this witch hunt is a principled stand for freedom from repression–for all of us. Here are the addresses for all three grand jury resisters in Seattle:
Matthew Kyle Duran #42565-086
FDC SeaTac,
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198
Katherine Olejnik #42592-086
FDC SeaTac,
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198
Leah-Lynne Plante #42611-086
FDC SeaTac
PO Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198
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Support Websites:
News Stories:
- Political Convictions
- Activists Summoned Once Again Before a Federal Grand Jury
- Fear of a Black Bloc Planet
- Subpoenaed Pair Won’t Answer
UPDATE: Grand jury resistor Leah-Lynn released from prison.
One released, two more still in prison. Congrats to all who help.
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Something is rotten in Seattle . . .
Seattle Police, Disguised in Black, Pose as Extremely Violent Protestors in a “Flase Flag” Attempt to Discredit Non-Violent Protestors–and thereby, create supposed reasons to arrest them
An agent provocateur (plural: agents provocateurs, French for “inciting agent(s)”) is an agent employed by the police to act undercover to entice or provoke the government’s enemies to commit an illegal act. More generally, the term may refer to a person or group that seeks to discredit or harm another by provoking them to commit a wrong or rash action. (Source)
- Protesters Out “undercover” POLICE Provocateurs
- SEATTLE: Protesters Out POLICE PROVOCATEURS
- Police Provocateurs in Seattle – YouTube
- SEATTLE: Protesters Out POLICE PROVOCATEURS
- Provocateurs Attack In Seattle
- Agent Provocateur In Action – YouTube
- We Are About Peace – unmasking the Agent Provocateurs & other police tactics
- 12 Year old Canadian girl tells it like it is! Black Block
- Judge furious about undercover Police Provocateurs
- Officers accused of inciting violence to testify before police ethics panel
- Case studies of Police Agent Provocateurs
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Blaming things on demonstrators, trying to vilify Free Speech:
Can’t believe police would do such a thing? Here’s a well documented case of police provocateurs posing as violent protestors at the G20 meeting:
(Source: Police Provocateurs G20?? )
EXPOSED! G20 Toronto Police Agent Provocateurs in Video and Photos – WATCH @ 2:35 for total proof
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Clovers and the Awakened
CLOVER: (Definition from Urban Dictionary). A “clover” is a person that believes all laws are made for the common good, and that all laws have to be followed. Clovers generally believe that if someone does something that irritates them in some way that a law should be made to correct the problem – “There ought to be a law”. A Clover will always side with the police or the government no matter what egregious evil they have committed.
- Clovers believe the government is always right.
- Clovers believe that if someone is simply investigated and/or arrested for a crime then that person must be guilty.
- Clovers believe the TSA makes us safe.
- Clovers believe the government is here to help us.
- Clovers generally work for the government
Clovers are ok with the American Police State because to them, it’s not a police state. They see no imposition – much less tyranny. They see “democracy,” lawful order. The flag – and (to them) freedom. The mindset is nicely articulated by the well-worn Clover cliche: “If you just obey the law you won’t have any problems.” (Source)
In other words, “You shouldn’t mind if you have nothing to hide . . .”
An empathetic man sees a fellow human being having difficulty and offers to help — himself. A Clover points a gun at someone else (or has men in costumes do it on his behalf) and forces that someone else to “help” — in the manner the Clover deems appropriate. In this way, the Clover satisfies his urge to control and direct — to apply force — and do to so under the guise of the humanitarian, even as his victims feel the boot on their throat, hear the handcuffs being locked. (Source)
That is our Matrix. A few can see it. Most cannot. But some can be awakened. And that is where our efforts should be concentrated. Because if enough of them can be awakened, the Matrix will lose its power. And then it will lose its control. And that day, when it finally arrives, will be the day of humanity’s liberation. It’s a goal worth working for — even if none of us now alive will live to see it. (Source)
Clovers cannot yet understand this.
Don’t hate them.
Pity them.
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Related articles
- 3 Portland activists indefinitely detained for refusing to speak at grand jury hearing (activistpost.com)
- Grand jury resistor Leah-Lynn released from prison (climate-connections.org)
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nice girl actually
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