Feature Page: Iowa anti-war activists win victory against FBI
2004David Bernt 2004-02The page as the paper published it (Wayback Machine) →
From the paper's own web edition, recovered from the Internet Archive: the text as the paper put it online, not machine-read. The printed issue of February 2004 is not held.
By Dave Bernt
A major victory for the antiwar movement and democratic rights was won on Nov. 10 when the U.S. Attorney withdrew a subpoena of Drake University in Des Moines and four antiwar activists.
The subpoena was in regard to an antiwar conference sponsored by the Drake University chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. On Feb. 4 the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force issued a subpoena to the university demanding that it hand over all records relating to the conference and any information about local leaders of the Guild.
The subpoena went on to ask the university for "all records of Drake University campus security reflecting any observations made of the Nov. 15, 2003, meeting, including any records of persons in charge or control of the meeting, and any attendees of the meeting." The FBI had secured a court order forbidding the university to discuss anything related to the investigation.
Subpoenas had also been sent to individuals who attended the conference and members of the Guild, the Catholic Peace Ministry, the Iowa Peace Network, and the Catholic Worker House to appear before a grand jury.
The Lawyers Guild had challenged the subpoena and stated it would not disclose any information to the FBI or any government agency. The Lawyers Guild launched a campaign directed at the FBI demanding it drop all the subpoenas and investigations of anti-war activities. After the FBI's investigation drew widespread condemnation from activists across the country, the government withdrew the subpoenas against the university and the four individuals.
The FBI had justified the subpoena by saying it related only to people involved in an antiwar action at an Iowa National Guard base, where the FBI says a demonstrator attempted to scale the wall. But activists and local police who had monitored the demonstration reported that no one had tried to climb the wall.
The wide-ranging scope of the subpoena made it clear that this was an attack on the whole antiwar movement. The subpoena came two months after reports were released showing the FBI was involved in widespread spying on peaceful antiwar marchers in Washington, D.C.
The FBI and the U.S. government attempted to send a chilling effect on the antiwar movement, creating a climate where people fear attending demonstrations and meetings, and reading antiwar books and newspapers. The FBI's retreat was a major victory, showing that when the people stand up and make the political price of repression too high the government will retreat.
Heidi Boghosian, executive director of the Guild, said in a press release, "This is a complete retreat by the U.S. Attorney and an unequivocal victory for the National Lawyers Guild and the peace movement in general. The Guild is calling for congressional hearings to determine the extent to which the FBI and Justice Department are gathering information on student political groups."
It is crucial that the antiwar movement continue to be vigilant in defending the democratic rights of all who are victimized by the government.