Solidarity Statement from the Grand Jury Resistance Project

The Grand Jury Resistance Project (GJRP) stands in strong solidarity with the anti-war and international solidarity activists targeted by the federal government. The GJRP also calls on the U.S. government to end its campaign of harassment and intimidation, and to end the use of grand juries as a political tool to suppress political dissent.

Repression against activists is not new. From the McCarthy “investigations” in the 1950s, to the counterintelligence programs (COINTELPRO) of the 1960s and ‘70s, to the grand jury investigations of Puerto Rican, Black liberation and white anti-imperialist movements in the 1980s, secret grand juries, FBI, and police investigations have long been used against social justice activists and revolutionary movements.

Today, FBI, police harassment and secret grand juries are being used to attack Muslims and other immigrants, Black, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Native, anti-war, anarchist, environmental and animal rights activists and movements. These incidents are not isolated, and they are not happening because the government wants to “solve crimes.” They are an attack on all our movements: an attempt to divide us, isolate outspoken individuals, create fear and distrust among us, and rewrite our history of resistance as “criminal.”

We should not give in to these attacks. As individuals and organizations, we must refuse to talk to the FBI or any other repressive police investigation. As a means of resistance to efforts of political intimidation and repression, we must not give testimony or evidence to grand juries. It doesn’t matter whether or not we “know” anything. It isn’t about hiding crucial evidence or avoiding incrimination  it’s about resisting and protesting a repressive tool of the government.

As such, we strongly support these activists and their efforts to resist and refuse to cooperate with this politically motivated grand jury.