The Price of Liberty

Excellent shot. Fucking goons.

DIGITALMENTE [deleted] (81 months ago | reply)

POwerful

His hands are not tense,they look relaxed as if he has surrendered the momment but not the cause! Great pic, powerful momment.

Graniers (81 months ago | reply)

just admirable

btezra [deleted] (81 months ago | reply)

~fantastic spot journalism shot, it conveys the context of the moment...the Bush admin. has been a champion of limiting free speech, whether it's the secrecy of images of coffins containing soldiers coming back home, or keeping protesters hundreds of yards away from any public appearance by Bush or Cheney, or disallowing people to gather and speak their minds in public in any American city, this administration is trying to hide the truth and the true feelings of the majority of Americans who oppose this administration's policies and actions~

Môsieur J. [version 7.0.1] (81 months ago | reply)

Great composed!

rat_racer (81 months ago | reply)

if u need to get permits now to even take advantage of USA's first right: freedom of speech, then we're in for a treat...burecreatic yankees coming atcha....i admire this guy's stubburness and passion he has about what he believes...don't stop !

AnomalousNYC (81 months ago | reply)

The First Amendment is not the only part of the Bill of Rights that is being erased from the constitution by Bush and his cult. The list is very long.

The Bush junta has effectively sidelined the US Constition. The following guaranteed "rights" have already been targeted:

1st Amendment FREEDOM OF SPEECH
---The Patriot Act broadly expands the official definition of terrorism, so that many domestic groups that engage in nonviolent civil disobedience could find themselves labeled as terrorists.
--The govenment may not prosecute librarians or keepers of any other kinds of records if they reveal that the government requested information on their clients or members in the course of an investigation. It has become a crime for these individuals to try to safeguard your privacy or to tell you that you are under investigation.

1st Amendment FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
---Government agents may now monitor the First Amendment protected activitie sof religious and poltiical instituions, and inflitrate these groups eith no suspicion of criminal activity. This is a return to domestic spying on law-abiding religious and political groups.
---You may now be the subject of a government investigation simply because of the political, activist or advocacy groups you are involved in, or the statements you make within these groups.

1st Amendment RIGHT TO ACCESS GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
---A US Department of Justice directive now actively encourages federal, state and local officials to resist and/or limit access to government records through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
---The government has conducted immigration hearings in secret behind closed doors. Such hearins were once open to the public. Hundreds, if not thousands, of immigrants have already been deported in secret.

4th Amendment FREEDOM FROM UNREASONABLE SEARCH & SEIZURE
---Law enforcement authorities may now conduct secret searches and wiretaps in your home or office without showing "probable cause." They need only to claim that intelligence gathering is "a significant purpose" of their intrusion, even when the primary goal is ordinary law enforcement. They may also mmonitor where and to whom you send emails, or where you go on the internet, recording every email address and website you have been in contact with.
---Law enforcement may now demand any personal records held by any source including your doctor, employer, accountant, or library. All they have to do is claim that it is related to an investigation into "terrorism." The record keepers may not reveal that your records were provided to the government.
---Judicial oversight of secret searches has been effectively minimized. the Patriot Act directs judge sto consent to secret searches based only on the government's assertion that a "significant" purpose of an investigation is gatehring information relevant to "terrorism", as the government defines it.

5th Amendment RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS & FREEDOM FROM BEING HELD WITHOUT CHARGE
---Americans can now be jailed without a formal charge and without right to confront the witnesses or evidence against them. American citizens are now being held in military jails without charge and without a clear path of appeal for their indefinate confinement.
---Hundreds of Arab, muslim, and South Asian men were rounded up in the Ashcroft raids following September 11, and held for weeks without any charges until all were cleared of terrorism charges.

6th Amendment RIGHT TO LEGAL REPRESENTATION
---Hundreds of US residents have been detained for months at a time, and denied access to the advice and advocacy of an attorney. The government may now monitor conversatiosn between attorneys and clients in federal jails.
---The Bush administration filed papers in court arguing that an American citizne held in a military jail without charge should be denied access to legal counsel because such access would interfere with the process of his interrogation.

6th Amendment RIGHT TO A SPEEDY AND PUBLIC TRIAL
---The US government may now jail its citizens and residents indefinately without charge and without a public trial.

8th Amendment FREEDOM FROM CRUEL & UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS
---The US governmwent has taken into custody they identify as "material witnesses", transported thm across the country, and held them for months in solitary confinement without charge or contact with their family.
--According to the Justice Department's own Inspector General, immigrant men rounded up in the ashcroft Raids following September 1 and held in Metropolitcan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY, were subjected to a a pattern of "phsyical and verbal abuse."

14th Amendment RIGHT TO EQUAL PROTECTION
---Over 82,000 men from Arab, muslim, and South Asian countries registered with the government under the "Special Registration" program. Over 13,000 are no in deportation proceeedings. None have been charged with terrorism.

rat_racer (81 months ago | reply)

you're perfectly right, the Bill of Rights has been spat on, shat on, who knows what other crap it's been used to wipe off the shit that all these yankees in the government have been doing in its name...a real disgrace, especially as these very same people are so patronising to the rest of the world and try to teach a lesson on morality...bunch of hyprocites, war mongering gits...

sandrino (81 months ago | reply)

What are you talking about? The president loves the constitution. It is just soft enough not to irritate his nether regions. Without the constitution, Dubya would have to wipe his ass with regular double ply.

grashüpfer (81 months ago | reply)

>>scary shit<<

arthurcoddington (81 months ago | reply)

I wake up each morning and wonder where my country went. Even as the majority of citizens have awakened to Bush's lies, the abominations continue. I am heartbroken.

Hudlu [deleted] (81 months ago | reply)

Great!!!!

wahoo-yahoo (81 months ago | reply)

When you snooze you lose--whats on TV tonight. Happy days reruns---yippee!!!! What war?? Isn't the Patriot Act a Mel Gibson movie?? Maybe its the Passion act; shit I don't know.

Tonnoz (81 months ago | reply)

S**t! I personally think the world has learned enough from the past fascisms to recognize that "our" leaders are trying to re-propose the same in a different, more subtle fashion. Thus I believe -hope- these right-winged, blood-sheding, oil-fed govnms are not surviving long.
Great pic.

angelferd (81 months ago | reply)

excuse me,
is that a "free" country?

unfortunately, your President was ellected, and it is supposed to be what the people wants

it´s really sad, even if you don´t live in the USA

regards!!

sandrino (81 months ago | reply)

Elected? I am not so sure about that. The supreme court "Selected" Bush in 2000. There were many voting irregularities in Florida that year and many people who would have voted for Gore were not allowed to vote. There was also the infamous butterfly ballot in Broward county. Many elderly jewish voters were confused by its poor design and voted for Buchanan by mistake instead of voting for Gore.

In 2004 there were other voting irregularities that turned a very close election for Bush. I don't trust the result of either election and as far as I am concerned Dubya has never been elected in a fair, open election. Even if the elections had been fair the margin of people that "voted" for Dubya was barely larger that those who voted for the democratic candidate. To say that he is supported by the majority of the American people or as the Republicans like to claim, that he has a mandate, is a gross exaggeration. Especially after the lack of response to Katrina the support for the "president" has reached record low levels.

AnomalousNYC (81 months ago | reply)

Bush did not "win" either election. He was appointed in the first, and then imposed a system of electronic voting machines by which he massively defrauded the entire country in the second.

It's wierd to even talk about a "majority" in a country where only about a third of eligible voters even bother to participate.

Bush stole two elections in a row and is setting up the next one to ensure the continuation of his little junta's power.

Justseeds Artists' Cooperative (81 months ago | reply)

EVEN JIMMY CARTER SAYS GORE WON THE 2000 ELECTION!!!
Just heard statements he made in a speech recently on the radio this morning!
I never wondered where "my" country went, I never had much faith in the bullsh*t representational system we live under. Crap its gunna take a hell of a lot more than waking up, ya gotta get outta bed and do something about it! It takes more than just watching and reading the "right" kind of news, people have to get off their asses and challenge power structures, hell destroy them and build something worth defending!
do something, do something, do something, DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!
-k.see

Miz J. (81 months ago | reply)

"Bush did not "win" either election. He was appointed in the first, and then imposed a system of electronic voting machines by which he massively defrauded the entire country in the second."

Exactly what I've been thinking as he was "re-elected"... He'd had 4 years to improve the failing voting system... moreover, if I remember well, the new voting systems have been created by one of his pals, weren't they?

stagewhisper (81 months ago | reply)

My country scares the shit of me now.

eyewashdesign: A. Golden (81 months ago | reply)

(Posted in another shot, but felt it should sit here as well)

Anom,

I really wished you had gotten some more pictorials of police "ridiculousness". Most people in America have no clue as to what is happening here, IN OUR OWN YARD, much less in Iraq...

ONE STORY:

Just when Bush & Co. were gearing America (and trying to "sell" the rest of the world) on WMD's as reason to invade Iraq - there were protests everywhere. You will no doubt remember this. So, I started documenting as many as I could.

On my last, I traveled to DC for an anti-war / IMF protest. There were 1000's of protesters.

Arriving early, I checked out the periphery - scouting out the hundreds of police. Police on bikes, police on motorbikes, police on foot, undercover police, riot police. Police in helicopters' flying low. Then I walked amongst the protesters, thinking, I am going to see some real "action" here, bc there are so many flipping guns about.

And you know what I saw?

The same as you see mostly everywhere. Just a gathering of peaceful Americans who didn't happen to agree with the War Machine. That was all. I remember talking on the mobile phone with my mum & just before we hung up, she says, "Be careful. You never know what kind of crazies are about." I laughed, because everyone I saw protesting seemed rather normal-families, young people, older people, dogs, children!

When the protest began, I was all over the place grabbing shots. At the time, it was my focus to document war veterans protesting war, so I was keeping my eye out for them (AND THERE WERE PLENTY).

However, the scene quickly became rather ridiculous. As previously mentioned, there were helicopters swarming overhead annoying the hell out of anyone with working eardrums - rather unnerving.

Then, as the crowd began their march, I noticed every side street had been barracaded and every other one had a tank parked sideways - a T-A-N-K! There were barracades blocking every alternative route out of there. When I say barracdes, I refer also to the human variety, because...

All along the sidelines, there were riot police in gas masks, wearing helmets & holding shields - standing elbow to elbow extremely aggressively. If this weren't enough, each time I tried to take a photo of them, an officer would appear out of (everywhere) nowhere and push me back into the crowd - I said PUSH. The looks on their faces were of pure hatred. The hostility was palpable.

Remember those nifty things built on either side of city streets for pedestrian foot trafic? Sidewalks? Well conveniently, there they were on either side of the street so many people were being squeezed onto. However, I also quickly caught on that police on push bikes were actually riding in teams and forcing people from these sidewalks, into (and sometimes onto) the crowd - creating ever more EXTREME hostility. I witnessed one with my own eyes, run over an elderly woman!

Then I really started to get pissed off. If this weren't enough, policemen (and I saw men, because I saw no female officers doing this) on giant motorbikes jumped the curbs to join their biking bretheren - blockading the sidewalk!!! Talk about reckless & extremely dangerous!

Every time I tried to jump on a lamp post and capture some of this, a policeman on a motorbike would come up behind me and start screaming to come down or be arrested.

After witnessing several hours or this, as well as gangs of policemen beating people unmercifully with their batons, we started to near the end of the protest route & the tension had finally started to reach a boiling point.

Mind you, the protesters were simply exercising their right to free speech, in the most peaceful way I have ever witnessed. I never once saw a protester "acting up".

However, after hours of this intimidation, the beatings, the running over people, the yelling, the threats, the helicopters, the riot patrol, the intimidating tanks, the shields & batons - people were on edge.

I managed to cross through the crowd and was poised on one bit of the sidewalk people were being allowed, when I witnessed about 25 police officers on push bikes rush into the middle of the crowd and throw their bikes in a pile to block the some 2000 people trying to reach the final destination point (to relax and have a rest from this American "inJustice", no doubt). Sidenote: Have since learned this is a normal tactic practised in crowd control.

I immediately began snapping shots, just as about 20 officers grabbed this banner a group of people had been toting around all day, start tearing it to shreds and stomping on it - all the while screaming.

This filmographer jumps in and starts shooting the scene and then gets pummeled by about 5 policemen - batons flying!

I am thinking, "There is NO WAY I am seeing this! This reminds me of the 3rd world countries I've visited!" So, I move in to snap a shot and out of the mass of confusion, this cop with dreadlocks smacks my forearm (camera arm) with his baton - HARD. He actually knocked the camera out of my hand - which is a fairly difficult thing to do, btw. Stinging from the pain, my arm immediately begins swelling. I look at this man and he is screaming at me. The look on his face was one I had never witnessed before and hope I never have to again.

The cops are all now beating anyone within range of their batons. EVERYONE. I immediately grab my camera and step back. Then, this man (I am about 6")who must be 6"4 steps in front of me - INBETWEEN the cop and me. And he is yelling at this poiliceman, "You hit a woman? I saw you hit her for no reason whatsoever. WTF is your problem? You want to fight someone, be a real man. Come on, hit ME!" They go back and forth for a few seconds until a group of protesters pull this man - my angel - safely out of a one-STOP ticket to jail's way.

In the meantime, it's total mayhem & I think to myself, I am going to get trampled here, becuase the police have barracaded any plausable escape route and there is nowhere to run.

After much confusion and chaos, I managed to make it!

Afterwards, the people who were not rounded up and carted off in paddy wagons, were walking around. I saw tons of people bleeding, bruised and heard many stories. In the meantime, I was trying to get MY story out. I managed to find a nice lady activist who guided me to a medical tent and had someone look at my arm. I, of course, was more concerned with the state of my camera.

I told everyone I knew and who didn't want to listen about what I witnessed - about what had happened to me. It seems, I found out only afterward, that the man who hit me broke my camera.

However, when I developed my film, the last shot taken just before he clobbered me, was one of HIM. AFTERWARD, I discovered there were dozens of compliant reports about this one police officer -with dreadlocks- having beaten people throughout the day. So, I filed mine as well and I sent them my photo. Later, I heard he was indited and kicked off the force...

That was the last MASS protest I have shot. The incident really shook me. I know it takes people like us to document these things and to tell the REAL story, but it is a rather dangerous affair. It is good to see your work and that someone else out there cares enough to place himself in danger. But, remember my wise mum's word's , "Be careful. You never know what kind of crazies are about."

- mainly donning uniforms.

-Alane

arthurcoddington (81 months ago | reply)

Alane, thanks for sharing your experience. It's really devastating to think that this is the same country that prides itself on freedom of speech, that holds itself up above others. Some beacon of freedom! I hope you got a nice settlement from DC for the assault you suffered.

Justseeds Artists' Cooperative (81 months ago | reply)

hey Corvid
are you speaking of the recent (last months) demo in DC?
I imagine you are, and im actually not surprised at all how militarized "security" is becoming at political demonstrations, for those opposed to this administration.
When are we going to admit we live in an exetremely oppressive country at the moment. Ive witnessed demos in Third world countries that have been the most empowering experiences ever, because of the gall of the participants.
Marching down highways with lit torches, for symbolism, not to burn anything. SO many things.
My point being that in my opinion what you and folks experienced is how the administration is normalizing the militarization of police forces. Look no further than New Orleans or other cities affected by the hurricane. Or even the recent beating of a black man by the N.O.P.D. People saw that on the news, where are the protests against police britality on a daily basis?
Unfortuately this intimidation achieves exactly what its supposed to-Fear. And how many of the attendants are going to come out for the next march?

This is exactly the question these tactics are to raise. So it can push people to do a few things, not come out, change their tactics, become more aggressive....

im just gunna finish with the sentiment stated by JFK
those that make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.

People are being forced to choose. And it will be easier to discredit those that choose more aggressive means, by throwing around the T-word. So what are we gunna do, shy away to save face or attempt to make a society where there is some beacon of freedom, where its participants have freedom of speech.
BECAUSE WE DONT HAVED THAT RIGHT NOW!

-k.see

eyewashdesign: A. Golden (81 months ago | reply)

Arthur, no settlement, other than some visual captures of the not-so-sneaky-tactics of this pitiful state of embarassment. Visual.resistence - no, the protest re: IMF / anti-war rally about 3 years ago in DC.

Cheesy Reese (79 months ago | reply)

POWERFUL!

youragain (73 months ago | reply)

freedoms big and small are taken away more and more often in the united states to protect us from ourselves. its truly disturbing.

~Aphrodite (64 months ago | reply)

This guy's a hero!

nepenthes (42 months ago | reply)

and it all happened on my birthday...

AnomalousNYC (38 months ago | reply)

Daniel McGowan - Another "War on Terrorism" Victim
by Stephen Lendman
April 8, 2009

Fronting for corporate America, right wing groups like the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, Wise Use, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and their lobbyists wage a relentless war on the greens whom they call "eco-terrorists".

Of so-called "eco-terrorism" in his case, a term believed coined by Ron Arnold, executive director of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise (CDFE), a radical right wing group established on July 4, 1976 "to continue (the) Revolution of liberty, free enterprise and individual initiative....without hindrance by government."

According to Sourcewatch: "Arnold blurred the boundaries between nonviolent civil disobedience and more contentious tactics such as vandalism and sabotage," (mostly rejected by environmentalists) by equating property damage to "terrorism as a societal threat."

More recently, he linked up with self-styled "eco-terrorism" expert Barry Clausen and Nick Nichols, retired chairman of the PR firm Nichols-Dezenhall. They were instrumental in initiating the (stalled in committees) 2004 Ecoterrorism Prevention Act that led to the passage of the 2006 Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA). In broad and vague language, it criminalizes First Amendment activities advocating for animal rights like peaceful protests, leafleting, undercover investigations, whistleblowing and boycotts, and made it easier to call civil disobedience "eco-terrorism" with far stiffer penalties for comparable offenses under other laws.

In the late 1980s, Arnold also founded the so-called Wise Use movement - a pro-business funded anti-environmentalist group, mainly involved with western timber and mining issues.

In December 1991, he told New York Times reporter Tim Egan: "We want to destroy environmentalists by taking away their money and members." Days later, to Toronto Star writer Katherine Long, he said "Our goal is to destroy, to eradicate the environmental movement. We're mad as hell. We're not going to take it anymore. We're dead serious, we're going to destroy them. We want to be able to exploit the environment for private gain...."

Environmental studies professor Bron Taylor contends that "Radical environmentalism is best understood as a new religious movement that views environmental degradation as an assault on a sacred, natural world." Nonetheless, he concluded in a 1998 Terrorism and Political Violence journal paper that:

"there is, even after 18 years of radical environmental action, little evidence that radical environmentalists intend to maim and kill their adversaries or foster 'terror' among the general population."

Fronting for corporate America, right wing groups like the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, Wise Use, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and their lobbyists and PR flacks claim otherwise in their relentless war on the greens, backed by federal and state authorities calling saving the earth "eco-terrorism" and managing to get activists like Daniel McGowan sent to prison.

Some Brief Background on McGowan

Born in Queens, New York, he was active in sports in high school, then attended the State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo where he received a BA in business administration and Southeast Asian studies. After several months in Asia, he worked in New York as a paid and volunteer for various environmental and non-profit organizations, then in 1998 relocated to the Pacific Northwest to continue his environmental and social justice work.

Back home in 2002, he worked as a web and office administrator for Rainforest Foundation US and became active in projects for rainforest preservation, national forest protection, and biodiversity.

In 2005, he entered a Tri-State College of Acupuncture graduate program to become a healing practitioner, to be able to offer it free or at low cost to make it affordable for everyone. At the same time, he worked for Womenslaw.org, a non-profit organization helping battered women through legal recourse. His activism also included support for political prisoners, human rights, social justice, and involvement in numerous local events, dedicated to helping people.

Those who know him say he's one of "the most wonderful, expressive, caring, thoughtful and compassionate people in this world" - yet Bush prosecutors targeted, incarcerated, and made him a political prisoner through a gross miscarriage of justice.
The Support for Daniel McGowan Web Site - A Resource for Information on His Case

McGowan was victimized by "green scare," a term likely first used in 2002, referring to legal and extralegal government actions against animal liberation and environmental activists. The Spirit of Freedom prisoner support network defines it as "tactics the government and (their enforcement agencies use) to attack ELF/ALF (Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front members) and specifically those who publicly support them."

The term also refers to the 2005 arrests, indictments and convictions from the FBI's Operation Backfire (OB) against alleged ELF/ALF activists - charging them with damaging property, conspiracy, arson, and using destructive devices. The FBI included these organizations among their top domestic threats, calling them "eco-terrorists."

The 2001 USA Patriot Act created the federal crime of "domestic terrorism," broadening the definition and applying it to US citizens as well as aliens. It let OB target McGowan on December 7, 2005 when federal agents arrested him at the WomensLaw.org office, then imprison him in the "terror wing" of lower Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC).

On the same day, New York Indymedia reported:

"Federal marshals arrested six environmental activists (today) in a series of coordinated raids in four states in apparent response to a string of arsons in Oregon and Washington attributed to the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), including simultaneous attacks in 2001 at the University of Washington's Urban Horticulture Center and the Jefferson Poplar Farms in Clatskanie, Oregon. Daniel McGowan, 31, was arrested in New York City. Authorities also stated that there will be more arrests, with at least one indictment immediately outstanding."

McGowan was held pending his extradition to Eugene, OR for his arraignment. Without evidence, prosecutors alleged he was an ELF member, a group dedicated to saving the earth pro-actively. More recently it abandoned arson as "a dangerous and irrational strategy," and now works "within the system (to) "build consensus and public support (for) a better world and future." Its unofficial motto: "ELF Resistance Forever....Live on....No Evil."

The evening of his arrest, agents raided McGowan's apartment seizing computers, personal photographs, tax records, textbooks, school work, videotapes, DVDs and more. The next day, he appeared in US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, after which he endured a two week odyssey taking him to federal detention facilities in Oklahoma, California and Sheridan, Oregon.

After his January 25, 2006 hearing, he was released on $1.6 million bail, spent the next seven months under house arrest, on November 9 pled guilty to minor charges, then on June 4, 2007 was sentenced (without trial) to seven years in prison - for offenses warranting no more than a fine and suspended sentence.

Charges in "United States of America v. Daniel Gerard McGowan" and Twelve Other Defendants

After initially being charged on December 19, 2005, a superseding May 18, 2006 indictment (against him and 12 others) accused them of "willfully and knowingly conspir(ing) and agree(ing) to commit the following offenses against the United States:"

Count 1

* "On or about January 2, 2001, at Glendale, Douglas County, Oregon," four of the defendants, including McGowan, "unlawfully and willfully caused and aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, and procured the malicious damaging and destroying, by means of fire and an explosive, of a building and other real and personal property used in interstate commerce and used in activities affecting interstate commerce, namely, a building and its contents located at Superior Lumber Company (in) Glendale, Douglas County, Oregon;"
* these same defendants "traveled in separate vehicles to a predetermined staging area....where they dressed in dark clothing and put on their radio earpieces and masks;"
* they "traveled to Superior Lumber Company building, set up lookouts, positioned the 'pick-up' vehicle, placed the time-delayed incendiary devices, and returned to the staging area;"
* there they disposed of their dark clothing; and
* McGowan and seven others "unlawfully and willfully caused and aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, and procured the malicious damaging and destroying, by means of fire and an explosive, of buildings, vehicles and other real and personal property used in interstate commerce....at Jefferson Poplar Farm (in) Clatskanie, Columbia County, Oregon.

Count 2

Said defendants, including McGowan, conspired "to commit arson and destruction of an energy facility" by the manner and means so outlined, "to influence and affect the conduct of government, commerce, private business and others in the civilian population by means of force, violence, sabotage, mass destruction, intimidation and coercion...." By so doing, they endangered "human life and property that constituted violations of the criminal laws of the United States and of individual states."

Counts 3 - 13

Excluded McGowan of charges for various other incidents.

Count 14 and 15

Pertained to the January 2001 Superior Lumber Company destruction.

Counts 16 - 52

Excluded McGowan.

Count 53

Charged him with "using and carrying a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence (pertaining to) Jefferson Poplar Farm."

Count 54

Charged him with arson at the Jefferson Poplar Farm Vehicle Shop.

Count 55

Charged him with arson at the Jefferson Poplar Farm shop and office.

Count 56

Charged him with arson of a Jefferson Poplar Farm vehicle.

Counts 57 - 65

Charged him in more detail for the vehicle arson.

Signed:

Kirk A. Engdall
Assistant United States Attorney

In total, McGowan was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit arson, 14 counts of arson, and two counts of use or possession of a destructive device. If tried and convicted of the latter two, he faced a minimum 30 year sentence. For all counts, he faced a mandatory life sentence - even though he neither hurt or intended to hurt any person or animal and acted only to defend the earth against real environmental terrorists against whom no charges were brought.

Given the possibility of life in prison, McGowan pled guilty to minor arson offenses against Jefferson Poplar Farm and Superior Lumber in return for the Justice Department dropping the more serious charges, including using destructive devices.

He did so on condition that he wouldn't implicate or identify anyone but himself. Three other co-defendants did the same. In his statement to the judge he "accept(ed) full responsibility for (his) actions and at the same time remain(s) true to (his) strongly held beliefs."

He said his "actions were not those of (a) terrorist but of a concerned young man who was deeply troubled by the destruction of Oregon's beautiful old-growth forests and the dangers of genetically modified trees." Yet he realized after participating in two actions that "burning things down (violated his) visions or belief about how to create a better world. So (he) stopped committing these crimes."

He "never intended to hurt people (and expressed) great remorse....for the harm that (he) caused." He then thanked the court for letting him express his thoughts and feelings. His role was to be a lookout on one of the incidents. On the other, he helped set the fire.

His lawyers asked for a maximum 63 months imprisonment, or no more than 18 months higher than for another co-defendant. On June 4, 2007, McGowan was sentenced to seven years, and is now at the newest Communications Management Unit (CMU) at the US Penitentiary (USP), Marion, IL.

US Federal Prison Communication Management Units (CMUs)

Several times, this writer addressed the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI), Terre Haute, IN's CMU, most recently on March 18, and described it as a facility for so-called "high-security risk" Muslim and Middle Eastern prisoners in violation of federal law that prohibits severely limiting or cutting them off entirely from other inmates as well as outside contacts and communications.

US Prison Bureau regulations ban the practice, and so did the Supreme Court in Johnson v. California (February 2005). Nonetheless, it exists. The Bush Department of Justice established it. Obama's has done nothing to address it.

In early 2007, it was learned that FCI Terre Haute had a CMU. Now, so does US Penitentiary (USP), Marion, IL. Because they're illegal, they're kept secret so perhaps others also exist in federal and/or state facilities. And for cover, they include one or more non-Muslims like McGowan, briefly held at Terre Haute and since early February at Marion. He, like them, was investigated, arrested, prosecuted, and interned as a political prisoner. They for being Muslims at the wrong time in America. He as a victim of USA Patriot Act "justice" that established the crime of "domestic terrorism" and included "eco-terrorism" as an offense.

At Marion, like at Terre Haute, he's segregated from the general prison population and treated like a terrorist, which he is not, nor is he violent. He also comes under special rules for CMU prisoners that violate Federal Bureau of Prison regulations.

He's subjected to severe communication restrictions - with family, friends, and, at the discretion of prison authorities, other inmates, as follows:

* all communications are monitored and copied;
* outgoing and incoming mail and emails are delayed and censored;
* visitations must be approved, are non-contact only through a glass partition, and restricted to twice monthly two hour sessions compared to other prisoners getting weekly or bi-weekly all-day visitations; according to McGowan, "The most depressing part of the CMU is not being able to hug and kiss your wife" and, of course, children and other loved ones;
* other prisoners are allowed 300 phone minutes a month; CMU inmates only one 15 minute call a week on weekdays between 8AM - 2PM (when children are in school) with no exceptions made for holidays, birthdays or other special occasions;
* communications must be in English;
* prisoners sleep on thin mattresses atop concrete slabs; and
* prison officials have ad hoc authority to bend rules as they please, be more or less lenient, but generally impose added hardships or punishment for any reason or none at all;
* according to Eugene Weekly's Camilla Mortensen, McGowan was the first environmental activist in a "terrorist" unit where he was transferred for stating his beliefs at the low security FCI Sandstone, MN prison. Also for being the subject of a documentary film and appearing on a calendar featuring political prisoners; she also reported that media access to him was denied, including from the LA Times;
* CMU conditions are harsh with regard to rules and punishment imposed, food quality and amount, medical care, and the ability of prison officials to do as they please in an environment conducive to toughness; and
* according to McGowan, "I object to the way I was sent here (in the middle of the night with no notice); I object as well to the institution itself, as I find it to be either a Muslim unit and we are there to give them some credibility in denying it or it's just a plain old political prison." Correct on both counts and the reason these units are secret and illegal.

Readers are encouraged to visit the supportdaniel.org web site for photos and more information about him, his case, and how to help. US federal and state prisons are full of inmates like him, interned for their beliefs, activism, and commitment to social justice, not their supposed crimes.

Given the severe economic crisis, its toll on growing millions, and likely civil disobedience in response, the nation has been militarized with combat troop readiness and over 800 FEMA detention camps in every state. It means defending our rights or the earth is now hazardous and a crime at a time we're all Daniel McGowans.

A Personal Note and Related Comments

In October 2008, I wrote about Seyed Mousavi: Guilty of Being Muslim in Police State America. Until late March, he was incarcerated at Terre Haute federal prison's CMU. He's now in Marion's segregated facility along with other Muslims and McGowan. He's innocent, a "war on terror" victim, and my friend since we established regular contact and now exchange emails as prison officials allow.

Recently, a group of supporters came together in his behalf. Below are edited portions of his response:

"My dear friends and Justice Seekers

Thank you very much for coming together and supporting me and my family. This gives me hope and makes me believe the truth will come out and justice will take place.

Our message today is very clear.

The government must know:

* You reject what they did to us and our families;
* They must stop setting up plots and terrorizing people;
* They must stop framing innocent people and destroying their families;
* They must stop politicizing the justice system;
* They must stop targeting the Muslim community and its organizations, centers and Mosques;
* They must stop jailing peaceful family men for election propaganda;
* They must stop wasting your tax money by following, watching and wiretapping law-abiding people.

There is no room in this country for secret courts and secret evidence.

It's the duty of government to protect citizens and legal residents; to protect the law and Constitution; protect peoples' rights, freedoms and property.

Muslims must have the right to practice their religion freely and not live in fear.

The courts must remain independent and protect people, not be government tools; they must correct their mistakes for the sake of justice.

We must renounce war; all nations must live together in peace; America must lead by example, not force.

Again, thank you very much for your time and support. Please stay committed for freedom and justice.

May Allah bless you all."

Quickcuffed [deleted] (32 months ago | reply)

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Handcuffed or Handcuffing Hunks, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

AnomalousNYC (32 months ago | reply)

flickr is rapidly becoming disgusting