As almost one dozen cities in the US and Puerto Rico prepared for another round of protest actions for the February 1st grand jury hearing date at the Brooklyn Federal Court House, the lawyers for the subpoenaed activists were informed that the case was postponed indefinitely. The subpoenas have not been dropped. It is a victory for our community that the FBI does not have a case and public opinion makers see this grand jury as an instrument of political internment and harassment. It gives the legal team more time to prepare their motions, and less time allotted to the รขโฌลlife of the grand juryรขโฌย. Whatever the motives of the FBI, rest assured that the grand jury resistance movement is ready to continue to resist, organize and educate.
Chicago Chapter sponsors solidarity Picket
at Federal Plaza
Over a hundred people, convoked by the National Boricua Human Rights Network, turned out in the cold and pouring rain in Chicago on Thursday, January 10, at the Federal Plaza to condemn the recent subpoenas of three young Puerto Rican activists by a Federal Grand Jury. The subpoenas, returnable on January 11, 2008 in Brooklyn, New York, are part of what the US government is alleging is a รขโฌลterroristรขโฌย investigation of the Macheteros, a pro-independence, clandestine organization. The three young activists, Tania Frontera, a graphic designer, Christopher Torres, a social worker, and Julio Pabรยณn Jr., producer and director, are involved in different movements for social justice as well as the Puerto Rican independence movement, in New York City. Michelle Morales, NBHRN coordinator, activist Hรยฉctor Rivera and attorney Jan Susler of the Peoplesรขโฌโข Law Office spoke at the rally.
