Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

On the morning of Wednesday, April 23, FBI and local police raided the homes of pro-Palestine activists across three cities in Michigan: Canton, Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. What they had in common were they were supporters of Palestine and often attended protests. At least one is a graduate student.

On the morning of April 23, the FBI and state and local police in Michigan raided the homes of pro-Palestinian activists in at least three cities: Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Canton. These activists, including at least four people in Ypsilanti and at least one graduate student, are reported to have attended or supported protests in support of Palestine and condemning the genocide in Gaza.

Aurora, CO – On November 21, the FBI knocked on the door of Jonce Palmer, a general member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and co-founder of Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee. Palmer confirmed their name, but did not answer the FBI’s questions, and then firmly shut the door and the agent left.

Palmer explained, “About 1 p.m. I was cooking in my apartment, and I saw a silhouette walk by my window and heard a knock at the door. I opened the door, asking ‘Hi, can I help you?’”

New Orleans, LA- On June 25, FBI agents phoned Cuba solidarity activist Jack Reno Sweeney to attempt to interrogate him about his work. A week prior to calling him, they visited his former apartment, and then called his mother on June 24. They called his mother a second time two days later. 

Nine years ago, on September 24, 2010, the FBI raided and subpoenaed Midwest anti-war and international solidarity activists in a bogus attempt to discover “material support of terrorism.” The FBI’s campaign of repression ordered more than 70 FBI agents to raid seven homes and two offices of leading activists in Minneapolis and Chicago. The FBI subpoenaed those raided, and that same morning subpoenaed others in those cities as well as Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Minneapolis, MN – A well-known Iranian journalist, Marzieh Hashemi, has been jailed by the FBI. Hashemi is an anchor on Iran’s English language Press TV and has interviewed many progressive U.S. activists. According to credible reports, Hashemi was taken into custody at the Saint Louis, Missouri area’s Louis Lambert International Airport on January 13. The FBI has since moved her to a detention facility near Washington DC.

Fight Back! interviewed Aaron Leonard, who, along with Conor Gallagher, wrote two pathbreaking books that largely deal with the government repression employed against one of the largest groups of the new communist movement, the Revolutionary Union (RU).

Richard Aoki. Morris Childs. D.H. (Don) Wright. Darrell Grover. Betty and Larry Goff. The “Ad-Hoc Committee for a Marxist-Leninist Party.” Carl Freyman. Herbert K. Stallings. John McCaffrey.

Chicago, IL – Today, Sept. 24, is the seventh anniversary of the 2010 FBI raids targeting 7 homes of anti-war, international solidarity and Palestinian-American activists. Subsequent grand jury subpoenas were served to nine additional activists in December of that same year.

Los Angeles, CA – On the morning of July 5, Los Angeles activist Jared Hamil received repeated phone calls from FBI Special Agent A. Brett Fears.

Minneapolis, MN – After a few days of preliminary motions and jury selection, opening arguments were presented on May 11 at the trial of three young local Somali men. Many members of the Somali community and the local peace movement are attending the trial. The Minnesota Coalition to Defend the Muslim Community, which includes the Anti-War Committee, is planning to organize rallies every Thursday of the trial to support with the families of the accused and to speak out against government abuses in this case.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 100 people came to the Minneapolis Federal Courts Building to support three Muslim youth from the Somali community charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIL and to commit murder abroad. The trial began May 9, for Guled Ali Omar, 21; Abdurahman Yasin Daud, 22; and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, 22, who were entrapped by the FBI and now face possible life sentences.

Tampa, FL – Tampa anti-war activist Jessica Schwartz says a family member handed her an FBI agent’s card. The card was stuck in the front door of the family home and belonged to FBI Special Agent A. Brett Fears.

Tallahassee, FL – On Nov. 12, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) disrupted a FBI recruitment panel at Florida State University. Students distributed informational flyers outside of the event detailing the role of the FBI in repression against activists and violations of civil rights.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Oct. 17 statement from Scott Williams. We remind all progressive activists to not speak with the FBI. The FBI came looking for me today at my family’s house

Tampa, FL – On July 1, at the Sam Gibbons Federal Courthouse, activists and family of Sami Osmakac spoke against the verdict from his recent trial. They talked about how Osmakac's case, like hundreds of others in the U.S., was a result of pre-emptive prosecution. Pre-emptive prosecution is the prosecution of people who have not committed any crimes, and who pose no danger to people. Usually the FBI targets Muslims and Arab-Americans and uses informants and agents to push them into carrying out fake plots invented by the FBI.

Tampa, FL – On June 10, in one of hundreds of cases targeting Muslim Americans, a Florida family is in disbelief as the FBI successfully framed their son. Following years of FBI plotting and planning, a Florida jury found Sami Osmakac guilty. Osmakac, locked up in solitary confinement for the past two and a half years, is diagnosed with a variety of mental illnesses, including schizoaffective disorder.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR).

Detroit, MI – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the Detroit music duo Insane Clown Posse (ICP), filed a federal lawsuit Jan. 8 on behalf of Juggalos, or fans of ICP, saying their constitutional rights to expression and association were violated when the U.S. government wrongly and arbitrarily classified the entire fan base as a “hybrid” criminal gang. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four Juggalos and the two members of ICP.

Minneapolis, MN – The trial of Mahamud Said Omar continued here Oct. 15, with the prosecution and their witness, FBI agent Kiann VanDenover going all out to get a conviction against Mahamud Said Omar. Omar, who has done nothing wrong, is facing terrorism charges for allegedly helping the Somali resistance against the 2007 invasion of Ethiopia.