Call In Today! + Ruling on Scott's release expected this afternoon

From:    ewok@riseup.net
Date:    Mon, November 30, 2009

1. Call in for Carrie today
2. Ruling on Scott's release expected this afternoon
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1. Call in for Carrie today

Carrie Feldman is still being held on civil contempt and needs our support
and solidarity. She’ll remain in custody over the long weekend as state
officials enjoy time with their families. We can’t let them go back to an
easy work day come Monday while they continue to hold our friend in civil
contempt for taking a principled stand against state repression!

THIS MONDAY, November 30, CALL IN to Cronk’s boss, US Attorney Nicholas
Klinefeldt, from 9am to 4pm to demand that they dismiss Carrie’s subpoena
and release her immediately.

Monday November 30, 9am-4pm CST, (515) 473-9300

In the hearings so far, Cronk has attempted to use our statements of
support against Carrie and Scott by twisting our words and arguing that
using our right to free speech and to petition the government for a
redress of grievances is a reflection of their bad moral character.
Ridiculous, we know. While his arguments haven’t met with much success
yet, we don’t need to give him anything with which to hurt our friends.

When you call in to demand Carrie’s release, please follow the sample
script below and don’t allow them to trick you into saying something that
they can twist around to hurt her:

*sample script*
Mr. Klinefeldt, I am calling to express my concern about the continued
detention of Carrie Feldman for her refusal to testify to a grand jury in
Davenport initiated by your Assistant US Attorney, Cliff Cronk. This grand
jury is being used to investigate political activity, and by extension her
refusal to cooperate makes her a political prisoner. She will continue to
refuse to answer questions regardless of her detention, so her
incarceration for civil contempt becomes a punitive action. I urge you to
release Carrie Feldman from jail immediately.

Don’t forget to call Klinefeldt between 9am and 4pm on Monday! And get
your friends to call too!

2. Ruling on Scott's release expected this afternoon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30 2009

Federal Prosecutor Tries to Keep Minneapolis Activists Jailed for Their
Political Beliefs
Federal court hearing expected today for Scott DeMuth charged under the
Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

Davenport, IA -- Using sensational and inflammatory language, the federal
government accused recently indicted activist Scott DeMuth last Wednesday
of being a “domestic terrorist” in an effort to keep him imprisoned until
trial. DeMuth, a Dakota activist from Minneapolis who has worked for many
years to support political prisoners, was indicted November 18th for
conspiracy to “commit animal enterprise terrorism and cause economic
damage to the animal enterprise in an amount exceeding $10,000.” The
indictment is related to an Animal Liberation Front (ALF) action at the
University of Iowa in 2004, in which research equipment was damaged and
hundreds of animals were set free. The indictment came a day before the
statute of limitations on the 2004 action was to expire. DeMuth will be
tried under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, widely criticized by
groups such as the Center for Constitutional Rights as unconstitutional.

What: Ruling on the release of federal defendant Scott DeMuth
When: By 4pm on Monday, November 30th, 2009
Where: U.S. District Court, 131 E. Fourth St., Davenport, Iowa

Prosecutor Cliff Cronk argued that DeMuth's association with anarchist
movements makes him a domestic terrorist, illuminating the larger issue of
"terrorism" being redefined in order to suppress dissent. Anarchism is a
political ideology whose adherents believe in cooperation rather than
coercion.

“Political beliefs are not a legitimate reason to detain a defendant
awaiting trial,” said Thomas Addo of Earth Warriors are OK! “By
sensationalizing DeMuth’s political work and beliefs, the federal
government attempts to divert attention from the fact that they have
little to no evidence with which to prosecute him,” continued Addo. “As a
graduate student in the Sociology Department, as well as a Dakota language
student at the University of Minnesota, DeMuth is well integrated in the
Minneapolis community and should be released in order to continue his
studies.”

DeMuth was jailed on November 17th along with Carrie Feldman, another
activist from the Twin Cities, after both of them refused to cooperate
with what they called a politically motivated grand jury. Feldman, who was
found to be in civil contempt, may be forced to remain in jail for the
life of the grand jury, up to 11 more months. In a statement made to the
grand jury before she was found in contempt, Feldman denounced the use of
grand juries as a coercive “tool of the prosecution,” and asserted that
they are used to “investigate and intimidate those who would express
dissent.” Supporters have organized a call-in campaign on Monday to demand
that U.S. Attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt dismiss the subpoena issued for
Feldman and secure her release.

After a psychological evaluation concluded that DeMuth was emotionally
healthy and at no risk of flight, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas J. Shields
ruled that DeMuth did not have to remain in jail until trial, and on
Tuesday issued an order for his release. Federal prosecutor Cliff Cronk
responded by filing a motion to keep him in custody on Wednesday, claiming
DeMuth is a danger to the community and a flight risk. So far, the only
evidence Cronk has supplied has been a journal of DeMuth’s children’s
stories and a lock-picking device found in the common foyer of his home.
Both items were seized by police four years after the incident in a raid
prior to the 2008 Republican National Convention that targeted activists.

Supporters claim that DeMuth has become yet another target of the “Green
Scare,” a term used to refer to the Federal government's campaign to
intimidate animal and earth liberation activists. The Green Scare is just
one campaign among many that the Federal government uses to repress social
movements. Other recent targets of grand juries have included the San
Francisco 8 case against former Black Panthers, and the Puerto Rican
Independence movement following the FBI assassination of movement leader
Filiberto Ojeda Rios in 2005.


Further Information:
DeMuth’s indictment:
http://davenportgrandjury.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/scottindictmentredacted.pdf

Magistrate’s order for DeMuth’s release:
http://davenportgrandjury.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/scottbondreleaseorder.pdf

Justice Department’s motion to revoke DeMuth’s release order:
http://davenportgrandjury.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/govtmot4miscreliefreleaseorder.pdf

More info on Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman:
http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/