Police Raid Homes of Activists Nationwide

The FBI raided six Minneapolis anti-war and third world liberation activists' homes on Friday. Homes in Michigan, North Carolina, and Illinois were also raided. The raid was conducted in order to find information on these activists' connections to "foreign terrorist organizations."

There were no arrests in Minneapolis, but several of the activists have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. Victim Mick Kelly had his home searched by police for information on his travel budget for trips to Colombia and Palestine. They were also looking for connections to the Colombian FARC guerrillas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Hezbollah's name was somehow thrown in the mix as well. Kelly insists that he doesn't have connections to these groups and that the raids were an attempt to intimidate anti-war activists.

The search warrants were signed by Federal Minnesota District Magistrate Judge Susan Nelson. The raid was carried out as part of a "Joint Terrorism Task Force" investigation.

Two Chicago activists were raided as well. No arrests were made, and the FBI spokesman for Chicago even said the victims weren't an "imminent threat to the community." Oddly enough, they were also raided under the guise of "anti-terrorism." How can one be a terrorist menace and not be a threat to the community? Obviously this was done to intimidate activists!

In all of the raids, police seized computers, cellphones, and documents from the activists.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization (a Marxist-Leninist group) seems to be one of the main targets. Students for a Democratic Society, Palestine Solidarity Group, and the Twin Cities Antiwar Committee were also targeted by government thugs.