The Green Scare Continues 04/27/06
On March 21, Camillo Stephenson was subpoenaed to a Denver, Colorado grand jury and questioned in regards to the 1998 Vail ski resort fire. It appears that Jake Ferguson made some statements to the FBI that he claimed Camillo would corroborate. No such luck for Jake, as once again the information he has provided to the federal government proves to be untrue. No indictments have been issued yet in the Vail case, but based on the Oregon indictment, Bill Rodgers, Jake Ferguson, Kevin Tubbs, Chelsea Gerlach, Stan Meyerhoff, Rebecca Rubin and Josephine Overraker are alleged to be participants (who knows if any of those individuals will actually get indicted for the Vail arson).
On March 30, Briana Waters was taken into custody in Seattle, Washington, and is the first to be indicted in Washington. The feds had showed up at Waters' door earlier that month and basically told her she could either "cooperate," or she would become a defendant in the UW case. She told the feds they would have to make her a defendant, because she would not allow the FBI to coerce her into cooperation. She voluntarily surrendered herself, and, based on the totality of her stable life and lack of criminal background, she was released to her husband and young child. Based upon the Oregon indictments, we are aware that Stan Meyerhoff, Bill Rodgers, and Chelsea Gerlach were also allegedly involved in this incident. However, it is likely that due to their cooperation, certain defendants may not be indicted in the other states' cases. In addition, it is known at this point that Jennifer Kolar and Lacey Philabaum have admitted to participating in this arson but have not been indicted (yet?) due to their cooperation as well.
Just to make sure everyone is clear, the Oregon indictment contained two conspiracy counts. Within those counts, the government alleged several "overt acts" that occurred in Oregon, Washington, California, Wyoming, and Colorado (basically, they alleged separate arsons occurring in separate states). We have expected each one of those states to file federal arson charges in their respective states. Washington was the second state to file federal criminal charges. The UW case will be heard in Seattle and will have a separate trial, separate judge, the whole nine yards. Presumably, the same goes for Vail and other incidents not in Oregon; each will have their separate trials in the different states.
On April 6, California issued its indictment in connection with the 2001 horse corral fire near Susanville, California. Justin Solondz was charged by the federal court in Sacramento, but has not been apprehended at this time. Also indicted for the corral fire were Darren Thurston, Joseph Dibbee and Rebecca Rubin. Joseph and Rebecca have not been apprehended. Darren will not snitch, and as a result, has been indicted in California on top of his existing charges in Oregon. The California case may have an earlier trial date then the Oregon case. This could mean that Darren will face two separate cases, two separate trials, the potential of two separate sentences and the possibility of life in prison. Other people that have been alleged to have been involved in this BLM horse corral arson but have not (and may not) be indicted are Stan Meyerhoff, Kevin Tubbs, Chelsea Gerlach, Bill Rodgers and Jennifer Kolar (that makes three alleged arsons for Kolar). It appears at this time that the defendants that are going to be called to testify against their co-defendants by the government, and who have provided information to the government which has led to new people being indicted, are not being charged in other states in exchange for their "cooperation" in the Oregon case. This is only a personal theory at this point, but so far we know that Meyerhoff, Tubbs and Gerlach were clearly involved in the Washington and California cases, but were not indicted in those arsons.
The wheeling and dealing continues as the incarcerated defendants desperately attempt to save their lives against the fascist regime that seeks to imprison them for the rest of their lives as a result of alleged crimes to property. Let's not forget the real evil in these cases arises from the trumped up charges and punishment the government seeks to foist on these individuals in order to justify the regime's attack on dissent and those who seek to challenge the corporate political machine that is destroying our planet at an extremely rapid rate.¬Ý The government's protection of it’Äôs own cronie$ in the oil, energy and natural resource markets are the true crimes against this country as a whole. You'd think the current regime would stop throwing stones at glass houses. But I digress.
On the grand jury front, Jeff Hogg has been resubpoenaed to a grand jury in Eugene on May 18. Last month his subpoena was withdrawn right before he was scheduled to appear and testify. Jeff is a full-time nursing student and works with developmentally disabled adults in Eugene. It appears that the feds are attempting to abuse the powers of the grand jury by unlawfully subpoenaing Jeff in order to prepare their case for trial’Äîwhich is not a lawful use of a grand jury (grand juries are to be used to indict people, not to convict them).
Speaking of grand juries, a few folks have expressed confusion about the grand jury system generally as it applies to activists. Generally speaking, every felony that is ever prosecuted in both state or federal courts must be heard by a grand jury - whether it's a drug case, murder, or politically motivated property damage. The prosecutor presents his side of the case to approximately 23 citizens and if 12 of those 23 can be convinced by the one-sided presentation made by the government, an indictment is issued and a criminal case begins. The grand juries that are indicting people in the Green Scare may be indicting a tax evader, marijuana grower, or murderer the next week.
We've been getting reports that the FBI continues to harass communities in Olympia, Tucson, and San Francisco to name a few that we've heard from recently. Some believe the feds are looking for information on the missing defendants.
Don't forget to continue to write to those who continue to sit in jail. We are hopeful that Joyanna and Nathan will have successful detention hearings soon, though no date has been announced yet.
As always, if anyone has information they are willing to share on any of the cooperating witnesses, background, history, etc., to help in the defense of the non-cooperating defendants, please contact me at lregan@cldc.org. Your opinion or anecdote could save a brave person’Äôs life. Knowledge is power. Take care.
Lauren
