[News] Morning raids - Government continues harassment of former Black Panthers

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Government continues harassment of former Black Panthers
6/28/2006

Federal agents and local police served DNA warrants on several former 
Black activists throughout the US today allegedly in connection with 
an unsolved 1971 incident in San Francisco resulting in the death of 
a police officer. Despite being available to the prosecutor through 
their attorneys, police served the warrants through coordinated 
early-morning raids in 5 different cities on Tuesday.

Five former Black Panthers were jailed for refusing to cooperate with 
a California State Grand Jury investigating the same events in 2005 
in San Francisco. All five were released October 31, 2005 when that 
Grand Jury term expired. Those served with warrants today included 
the same individuals and others. They have been harassed by police 
visits for several years.

Two men, John Bowman and Harold Taylor, were also tortured in 1973 in 
New Orleans to force them to make statements about the 1971 case. 
Subsequent attempts to prosecute Black activists were halted by court 
orders because of the illegal coercion and physical brutality 
inflicted on them. The 1973 arrests and torture were part of the US 
Government's COINTELPRO program designed to destroy the Black 
Liberation movement.

The continued harassment of these same activists is being carried on 
in the spirit of unending government human rights violations and to 
discourage dissent.

Claude Marks


The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org  
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