The political profiling that Strife received was far from an isolated incident. There has been a wave of repression that has affected many others in the Pacific Northwest. People have been singled out and targeted for their beliefs and commitment to the struggle. The anti-war movement that began in Olympia, WA in 2006 was so effective at blocking military shipments through the ports that the US Army sent a spy named John Towery to infiltrate in early 2007. The intelligence he gathered helped the police brutally crackdown on these protests and led to multiple people being targeted with false charges and harassment by law enforcement even after the protests were over. In June 2014, John Towery will be brought to trial in federal court for participating in this campaign of repression.
These blatant attempts to intimidate activists out of exercising their rights needs to stop. These civil suits are one step in an ongoing process of healing the community by dealing openly with these issues and exposing this pattern of political discrimination by confronting it head on through the courts.
For more info:
New York Times Article about John Towery’s Case:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/us/defendant-added-to-protesters-spying-suit.html?_r=1&
Source Documents about Towery’s Infiltration:
Strife’s Article about Post-Towery Military Spying: http://www.olywip.org/content/opd-lawsuit-exposes-political-profiling
Visit the Support Blog for the Towery Case: http://www.peoplevtowery.org/
Breaking the Waves of Repression- Paul French's Blog 