[Ppnews] Grand Jury resister, Jeff Hoag, jailed in Eugene

[Political Prisoner News]

<http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/05/19/d1.cr.protest.0519.p1.php?section=cityregion>http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/05/19/d1.cr.protest.0519.p1.php?section=cityregion

Protest lands activist in jail
By Bill Bishop
The Register-Guard
Published: Friday, May 19, 2006

Declaring that environmentalists are not terrorists, about 75 
protesters gathered Thursday outside the federal courthouse in Eugene 
to complain that the government is improperly using grand juries to 
intimidate activists rather than to indict criminal suspects.

One activist subpoenaed to testify Thursday before the federal grand 
jury, Eugene resident Jeff Hogg, pledged not to cooperate with the 
grand jury. He was jailed later in the day after a closed hearing in 
which U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan found him in contempt for 
refusing to testify, according to event organizers.

Hogg, a longtime activist and nursing student who works for a 
nonprofit group dealing with autistic adults, could be held through 
September, organizers said.
Lauren Regan, a Eugene lawyer and executive director of the Civil 
Liberties Defense Center, told the crowd that dissent is a source of 
strength in a democracy but that the Bush administration is 
determined to paint dissidents as terrorists in order to justify 
wholesale erosion of privacy rights and spying on legitimate activists.

She described Hogg's resistance as "an example of true patriotism."
Regan, who is involved in defending 13 suspects arrested in the 
sweeping "Operation Backfire" investigation of arson by environmental 
radicals, said federal prosecutors want to improperly use Hogg's 
testimony to bolster their case against the Backfire suspects. Under 
the law, grand juries are empowered to gather information for new 
indictments, and not to gather data for existing cases, she said.

However, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Sheldahl denied any impropriety.

While he is banned from discussing specific grand jury testimony, 
Sheldahl said it is possible the grand jury is considering additional 
charges against those already indicted or against individuals yet to 
be charged.

He said there is no effort by the U.S. Department of Justice to use 
grand juries to intimidate individuals involved in legitimate activities.

"Absolutely, there is no such directive," Sheldahl said. "Grand 
juries investigate people who blow things up, burn things down. 
They're not investigating free speech."

Nevertheless, activists are feeling intimidated, said Alejandro 
Queral, executive director of the Portland-based Northwest 
Constitutional Rights Center, who attended Thursday's demonstration 
to remind participants that the government has intimidated political, 
labor and peace activists in the past. "Today, we are seeing a repeat 
of American history," Queral said. "Americans must remain vigilant."

The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/ppnews_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20060519/bdba92c9/attachment.htm>