Fourth Activist Detained Without Trial in Pacific Northwest Grand Jury Resister Case

By JG Vibes
intellihub.com
January 2, 2013

Over the past few months I have been writing regular articles about three activists on the west coast who have had their lives torn apart by the police and the legal system, simply because they refused to answer any questions in a grand jury case.

Even worse, this case is regarding crimes that they have absolutely no connection to, as they were not even in the same state at the time that the alleged crimes took place.

As of right now, two are still behind bars, with no clue when they will be able to get out.

They have not been given a sentence and will remain behind bars indefinitely, until the investigating federal officers say that they are allowed to go home.

Earlier this month, one of the activists was released in a very upset and traumatized state and is still recovering from the kidnap.

As friends and activists throughout the country are fighting to spring the remaining two from jail, the feds have widened their investigation, taking another activist into custody without trial, stripping him of his right to remain silent.

The following message was posted by the committee against political oppression:

“Maddy Pfeiffer was taken into custody today at FDC SeaTac. They self-reported at 9am with about a dozen friends to walk them in.

Please write to Maddy. BUT KEEP IN MIND that Maddy can’t read cursive so please print or type your letter. Any support and encouragement is tremendously appreciated by Maddy and their loved ones.

Maddy Pfeiffer is the 4th person to be imprisoned for resisting the federal grand jury investigating anarchists and the May Day vandalism of the Nakamura federal courthouse. Matt Duran and KteeO Olejnik have been imprisoned since September, while Leah Plante was released on October.”

Grand jury trials are very shady ordeals, which have totally different rules than the typical court case.

Defense attorneys are not even allowed to be present, and the proceedings of the case are completely secret.

According to the grand jury infosheet on antipolitics.com:

“Since their inception, both in England and in the United States, grand juries have been used against political dissidents, the jurors often being hand-picked to ensure indictment.

A modern variation on this abuse of power relies on political activists’ reluctance to turn informant.

Activists are subpoenaed with the expectation that they will refuse to testify, and thus end up in jail for lengthy periods.

The person who was subpoenaed is thereby immobilized, while other activists are deterred from further participation.”

It doesn’t matter if you agree with all of the philosophical conclusions that these particular activists have come to, they are peaceful people who don’t belong behind bars.

The expansion of this investigation is a sign of the type of political witch hunt that is typical in the worst of dictatorships.

We will be investigating this situation further and bringing updates on all of these cases as they become available.  For those of you who wish to write Maddy, please use the following address.

Matthew Pfeiffer #42421-086
FDC SeaTac
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198