June 30, 2006

On Wednesday, June 28, a court date was set for an arraignment and status hearing for all of the defendants in the Oregon conspiracy case. Shortly before the hearing, we learned that all but four of the defendants were not going to be present for this hearing. The only defendants in appearance for the arraignment were Joyanna Zacher, Nathan Block, Daniel McGowan and Jonathan Paul (remember that Briana is indicted in Washington, not Oregon). The prosecutor, Kirk Engdall, indicated that the feds needed about 30 more days to work out the final deals for the folks that rolled and that they were almost done turning over discovery (they wish).

Yesterday we learned that grand jury victim Jeff Hogg, who remains in custody for standing up to the Green Scare, was transferred to Josephine County Jail (Josephine County Jail, 1901 NE Fst, Grants Pass, Oregon, 97526 - no prisoner number needed). Apparently the jail needs the space for the informants who will be in Lane County jail in order to enter their pleas over the next month. I'm sure the fact that they've moved him away from his strong support network and into an even crappier jail in Grants Pass was done to increase pressure and to punish Jeff for his resistance. Stay tuned to our website and we will try to announce change of plea dates for these defendants as they become public. It wouldn't be surprising for the feds and the informants to want to keep these proceedings as private as they can - but they are public hearings and the public has a right to witness what type of deals these people are working for themselves by stepping on the backs of those who have not cooperated. We can expect Lacey Philabaum to enter a plea in Seattle in exchange for her cooperation and we are unclear which of the many jurisdictions informant Jennifer Kolar will plea in as a result of her extensive cooperation with the feds.

Strangely, Stan Meyerhoff seems to have disappeared from the jail system altogether. If you look on the Bureau of Prisons page you'll find information on all the other named defendants, but no Stan - same with Lane County Jail - no record of Stan. This mystery is somewhat concerning, could he be out working off his debt to the feds? I guess we'll find out in the near future.

Also this week a new grand jury subpoena was issued out of Tacoma, Washington for Jim Dawson of Olympia, Washington. Jim is currently scheduled to appear on July 6 - coming right up! Jim is obtaining legal counsel and we'll keep you posted on his upcoming difficult decision. The fact that the feds are continuing to subpoena people would normally lead us to believe that the government continues to search for additional defendants in these cases - it is either that, or a grave abuse of the grand jury system at work. In the Oregon court hearing on June 28, attorney Marc Blackman told the court that he was putting the government on notice that he was deeply concerned with the unlawful abuses of the grand jury system by the government in continuing to subpoena witnesses to prepare their case for trial (which is an improper use of the grand jury).

Last week Briana Waters was released from house arrest. She is currently indicted in both Tacoma and Seattle. The pretrial services officer who supervises Briana made the recommendation for her release from home detention. The Court ruled that the feds did not have sufficient evidence to warrant her house arrest until next May which is her tentative trial date.

Joyanna and Nathan will be seeking another detention hearing soon, though no date has been announced yet.

Don't forget to write to those who continue to sit in jail and talk to your friends and neighbors about the Green Scare cases.

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's life. Knowledge is power. Take care.

Lauren