Minneapolis Peace Activists Defy Chicago Grand Jury
The six Minneapolis peace activists whose homes were raided by the FBI on Sept. 24 were ordered to appear before a Chicago grand jury (one more received summons, but wasn’t subjected to a raid), beginning yesterday. All have refused to appear, opting instead to defy the grand jury order. Another rally met in front of the Minneapolis FBI office yesterday afternoon to express support and solidarity from a wide range of peace and activist groups. A thoughtful protester even brought a soap box to legitimize the speaker’s appearances.
Several hundred participated, most of them noisy and passionate but with no violence or acrimony against the small contingent of building security officials and the usual contingent of Minneapolis police who watched quietly. Several speakers tied this action against the mostly white peace activism community to previous FBI actions against the Somali community and various immigration activists.