- Photo submitted
- Activists Leah-Lynne Plante and Dennison Williams
At a press conference in North Portland this morning, activists Leah-Lynne Plante and Dennison Williams confirmed that they would be "resisting" the grand jury. What that resistance will look like is unclear—they could go up to Seattle and not answer any of the grand jury's questions, or they could potentially not show up in court at all. "Our passion for freedom is stronger than the state's prisons," said Williams, in a statement.
Resisting a grand jury can land someone in jail, but it's a well-known tactic in activist communities. A protest is already planned for tomorrow on the steps of the federal courthouse where the proceedings are taking place.
It's still unconfirmed what "violent crime" investigation last week's search warrants and subpoenas are part of. But it's very likely connected to May Day protests in Seattle, where windows of several stores and a federal courthouse were broken. The Seattle police have been looking for several suspects in the window-smashing and searched an Occupy collective house earlier this month in raid very similar to the one in Portland last week.