FBI raid on 'anarchist' couple

By KATI CORNELL October 17, 2009 New York Post

The feds have launched a grand-jury probe into a Queens couple who call themselves anarchists and are suspected of participating in riots.

Prosecutors revealed yesterday that Elliott Madison, 41, and his wife, Elena, 39, are under investigation for allegedly violating a little-used interstate rioting law.

FBI anti-terror agents raided the couple's Jackson Heights home on Oct. 1 and seized riot gear, including a dozen gas masks, fireworks, books, photographs and electronic equipment.

Elliott Madison had already been arrested on state charges in Pennsylvania last month after cops tracked him to a makeshift communications center in a hotel room during the G-20 summit.

He and a second man were using Twitter and police scanners to direct protesters' movements and help them evade law enforcement.

Prosecutors told Brooklyn federal Judge Dora Irizarry that their new probe is separate from the Pennsylvania case, but shed little light on when their investigation began and why.

Defense lawyer Martin Stolar has challenged the FBI's search warrant and asked Irizarry to order the feds to return the Madisons' belongings.

"We're not talking about terrorism here. We're talking about people who engage in First Amendment activities," Stolar said.

The lawyer noted that the rioting law has rarely been used since the Chicago Seven went on trial for disrupting the 1968 Democratic convention.

Yesterday, Irizarry extended an order barring prosecutors from examining the Madisons' belongings for another 10 days while she decides if the search was legal.