On Nov. 5, 2010 Democracy Now reported that subpoenas of three anti-war activists previously called to appear before a grand jury investigating possible “material support” of terrorism have been reactivated. In October the government cancelled scheduled dates for a group of 14 activists subpoenaed in late September. The subpoenas were served on the same day as a series of searches in Chicago and Minneapolis.
Bruce Nestor, one of the attorneys for the activists, told Democracy Now that “Three people are now being—looking at reappearing in front of the grand jury and likely being forced with the choice between talking about who they meet with, what the political beliefs of their friends and allies are, or perhaps risking contempt and sitting in jail for eighteen months.”
At the time of the searches the FBI spokesman said they part of an investigation of material support of terrorism. The subpoenas include demands for information relating for financial transactions and foreign travel for activists involved in advocacy for the rights of people in Palestine and Colombia. Noting the connection to free speech, Nestor said, “they’re being prosecuted under this material support for terrorism law, a law that was really enhanced under the PATRIOT Act and that allows, in the government’s own words, for people to be prosecuted for their speech if they coordinate it with a designated foreign terrorist organization. What you run the risk of there is that even if you state your own independent views about US foreign policy, but those views somehow reflect a group that the US has designated as a terrorist organization, you can be accused of coordinating your views and face, if not prosecution, at least investigation, search warrants, being summoned to a grand jury to talk about who your political allies and who your political friends are.”
An interview including Nestor and subpoenaed activists Jess Sundin, Sara Grant, Karen Redleaf and Anh Pham in the web show “Our World in Depth” with host Redleaf was posted November 4, 2010.