Sign on Statement in Support of Marie Mason

From: freemarie@riseup.net
Date: Sat, September 13, 2008

In a movement wide show of unity and Solidarity. We are encouraging
groups, collectives and individuals to sign on to the statement in support
of Marie Mason. Please forward sign ons to freemarie@riseup.net.

On September 8, Marie Mason accepted a non-cooperating plea agreement
which requires her to plead guilty to three out of four charges leveled
against her by the US Attorney's Office relating to E.L.F. activity. We
are aware that Marie was facing several consecutive life sentences had she
taken her case to trial and been convicted. She was also facing the threat
of additional indictments in other districts. Within the wording of
Marie’s plea agreement, she stipulates to the involvement of confirmed
snitch and government informant, Frank Ambrose, in the actions she plead
guilty to. Frank Ambrose has already plead guilty and admitted his
involvement in these actions in his own plea agreement. We have all
reviewed a full and un-redacted copy of Marie's agreement. There are no
other names mentioned in the plea agreement, rather the terminology
‘others’ is used. Furthermore, her plea agreement does not require her to
provide information about other individuals, testify against others, or
provide any further information to law enforcement.

Frank Ambrose has been a paid informant for the FBI since April 2007.
Along with numerous debriefs with federal agents concerning multiple
actions and individuals, Ambrose traveled the country “wearing a wire” -
visiting old friends and attempting to make new ones - in an effort to
incriminate these people, thereby assisting the FBI in securing additional
indictments. There are hundreds of hours of recordings of Frank in
conversations with his ‘friends’ and ‘allies,’ prodding and digging for
information to use against those individuals and other activists. Marie
was arrested along with Aaron Burthwick and Stephanie Fultz – these
arrests stemmed directly from the information and cooperation Ambrose
provided to the FBI. Ambrose not only cooperated fully with the FBI but
actively assisted the investigation, going so far as to pursue information
on other unrelated groups and individuals involved in legal, above-ground
activism.

We believe wholeheartedly in the principle of non-cooperation. We also
believe that the idea of expecting someone to face several consecutive
life sentences to protect a confirmed snitch – one who has already plead
guilty to the charges – follows not only flawed reasoning, but is simply
insane.

Marie Mason has faced calculated betrayal and continued to fight when the
deck was so clearly stacked against her. Throughout this, she has acted
completely “above board” and has carried herself admirably. She has shown
incredible courage and integrity throughout this case, always putting the
safety of others above her own. Despite threats and risks to their
personal safety, those involved in Marie’s case worked diligently to get
information about Ambrose to the rest of us. Marie refused to even look at
a cooperating plea agreement and has refused for weeks to sign the current
non-cooperating plea agreement because Ambrose, the very person who turned
her over to the Feds, was named in the agreement. It was not until several
movement activists and movement attorneys gave their support to the
agreement that Marie accepted the plea.

Too much has been lost to informants, and Ambrose truly is among the worst
of them. Marie strikes us all as a courageous and compassionate woman -
full of integrity and concern for how her actions might affect others.
While her plea agreement does not include specific text protecting her
from future subpoenas or interrogations, Marie’s conduct thus far serves
as a good measure of the actions she would take should she find herself in
that kind of situation. Marie's agreement absolutely falls into the
non-cooperating category. We are throwing our full support behind her and
all prisoners who have maintained their integrity in the face of such
incredible oppression. We ask that the rest of you do the same and help us
help Marie get through the next 15 to 20 years of her life – the horrid
sentence being sought by the US District Attorney’s office.

The above statement is endorsed by the following
Ecoprisoners.org
Peace Center Collective of Kalamazoo, MI
East Bay Prisoner Support Collective
Chicago Anarchist Black Cross
Got Your Back Collective
Earth Warriors Are OK! (EWOK!) Eco Prisoner support collective Twin
Cities, MN