Members of the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, the Oklahoma Center for Conscience and the Peace House along with other activists will hold a peaceful protest at the federal building in Oklahoma City to call for an end to the criminalization of nonviolent dissent of war and unjust U.S. foreign policy. It is a direct response to to the September 24 raids and grand jury subpoenas served on international solidarity activists in Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois.
The organizers denounce the attacks on free speech, freedom of association, and the right to dissent that these actions represent. The raids and summonses reflect escalating hostility toward individuals and groups working in solidarity with the Palestinian and Colombian people and are blatantly political attacks on peaceful activists and an abuse of prosecutorial discretion.
The OKC action, one of many across the country in the days following the raids, will take place on Thursday, September 30 from 4:30 – 5:30 pm at the corner of NW 6th St. and Harvey. While no activists or groups in Oklahoma were the subject of the raids, the organizers say that they are concerned such events anywhere serve to intimidate peace organizers and suppress the right to dissent everywhere.
“The National Lawyers Guild is working to provide legal support to activists who are the subjects of these raids,” said James M. Branum of NLG. “We have set up a a national hotline for U.S. activists who get contacted by the FBI. Callers will be referred to NLG defense attorneys in their area.”
A national network to address and counter the harassment has been created and will plan future actions across the country and seek legislative changes to end the practice. Oklahoma activists will be part of that effort.
Info:
Press release from National Lawyers Guild:
http://nlgok.org/2010/09/29/nlg-press-release-on-fbi-raids/
Resources to protect dissent:
http://nlgok.org/protect-dissent/
Manning
