Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Carlos Montes is preparing to enter a plea of "Not Guilty" in court tomorrow.

National Call-in Day - Support Carlos Montes
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Please call U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
at (202) 514-2001

Suggested text: "My name is __________, I am from _______(city), in
______(state). I am calling to tell Attorney General Holder:

1. Drop the charges against Carlos Montes!
2. Stop the FBI raids and Grand Jury repression of anti-war and
international solidarity activists.
3. Return all property to Carlos Montes and the other activists
raided by the FBI.

On Wednesday, July 6, Carlos Montes will go to a Los Angeles court to
face six felony charges and enter a plea of "Not Guilty" The charges
all deal with firearms, ammunition and permits. Like millions of
other Americans, Carlos has for years held legal permits for guns.
The fact is that the charges against Carlos carry a total penalty of
up to 18 years, and are aimed at his effective political organizing
against war and for people's civil rights.

Carlos is a longtime Chicano activist known for his leadership during
the 1968 L.A. high school education reform walkouts (see HBO
film "Walkout!
"), the historic Chicano Moratorium against the U.S.
war in Vietnam and the immigrants' rights mega-marches of 2006. More
recently in September 2010, Carlos Montes' name appeared on the FBI
search warrant left in the Anti-War Committee office in Minneapolis,
where the protests against the 2008 Republican National Convention
were centered. The attack on Carlos Montes is part of a sweeping
campaign tied to 23 Midwest activists whose homes the FBI raided or
who were subpoenaed to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's Grand Jury
in Chicago, as the Washington

Post reported.

In addition, when the LA Sheriffs broke down Carlos' door and
ransacked his home, they took political documents, a computer, cell
phones and meeting notes having nothing to do with the legal charges.
Later, the FBI approached Carlos to ask him questions about the
Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the target of this new
McCarthyism.

As Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) said in a recent letter to Attorney
General Eric Holder about the current FBI and grand jury
repression: "I am writing because I am reminded of another time and
another period in our history, during the Civil Rights Movement, when
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I and many others in the movement,
were investigated in an attempt to silence our voices."

When Carlos went to court on June 16, he demanded police and court
documents. Not surprisingly, the District Attorney grew angry, at
first refusing, and eventually relenting. The documents he received
show that the FBI prompted the LA Sheriff raid. The goal of the FBI
in doing this is to disrupt and criminalize activists and movements
for social justice.

Make no mistake: The U.S. government trial of Carlos Montes is an
attack on the immigrants' rights and anti-war movements. So please
call July 6 and let Attorney General Holder know we are building a
movement that will not bow down to dirty tricks and political repression.

The Los Angeles Committee to Stop FBI Repression is mobilizing to
pack the courtroom at
8:30a.m. on July 6 when Carlos Montes appears at
Alhambra Courthouse,
150 W Common Wealth, Alhambra, CA 91801. See map.

We invite others to organize solidarity protests, events, and
participate in the CSFR Call In Day on July 6, as you see fit.

Please sign
the petition for Carlos on the International Action Center website.

Visit
www.StopFBI.net

or write StopFBI@gmail.com or call 612-379-3585.

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