[act-ma] 6/15 Protest grand jury harrasment of Bradley Manning supporters

[Charlie Welch]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Civic Counsel Protests WikiLeaks Trial
Boston, Massachusetts - June 11, 2011 - Civic Counsel will hold a protest rally on City Hall Plaza next Wednesday, June 15th at 6 PM in opposition to the grand jury empaneled in Alexandria, VA to investigate the WikiLeaks organization, Julian Assange, and Bradley Manning. Civic Counsel stands in
solidarity with those WikiLeaks activists and supporters subpoenaed to testify before the Alexandria grand jury, including Boston resident and blogger David House. Through this rally, Civic Counsel aims to raise awareness of the ongoing WikiLeaks investigation and the danger it poses to citizens' core American rights to information and free speech.
A forum of Boston University and MIT students dedicated to drawing awareness to the ongoing persecution of WikiLeaks, Civic Counsel rejects the United States federal government's campaign against transparency and whistle-blowing, including the arrest and confinement of Bradley Manning under inhumane conditions without indictment, invocation of the vague and dangerously broad Espionage Act by federal  prosecutors, and the harassment of WikiLeaks supporters such as David
House through attempted bribery, coercion, surveillance, and arbitrary search and seizure of personal property without a warrant. Furthermore, subpoenaed activists risk being held in contempt and jailed for the duration of the trial should they refuse to cooperate with the grand jury.
The danger to constitutional freedoms posed by the trial in Alexandria extends beyond WikiLeaks itself and direct supporters, but threatens the basic rights of all. A relic of World War I, the Espionage Act has been consistently challenged by constitutional law scholars for criminalizing personal transmission,
communication and publication of information, a violation of First Amendment rights. The broad language of the Espionage Act and related legislation (U.S.C. 18, Chapter 37) takes aim not only at leakers themselves, but likewise at those who publish or even access published documents. That is,
these investigations threaten the universal right to access information relevant to public interest, as the WikiLeaks Iraq War logs certainly represent.
All who support open government and transparency are invited to join Civic Counsel on Wednesday.
The public must be made aware of the implications of the WikiLeaks case, and empowered to demand
an end to government collusion in atrocities, corruption and invasion into personal liberty.
WHAT: Protest in support of David House and others who have been subpoenaed by the Justice Dept.
in the Wikileaks grand jury investigation. Facebook event: http://tinyurl.com/rebootboston
WHO: Civic Counsel, a group of students and citizens opposed to the U.S. government’s conduct
regarding Bradley Manning and the WikiLeaks trial.
WHERE: Boston Courthouse, Government Center
WHEN: Weds., June 15, 2011 at 6:00 pm ET
Contact:
M. C. McGrath, spokesman
Civic Counsel (www.civiccounsel.org)
admin at civiccounsel.org
Fight for truth. Protect your rights. Reboot democracy.
ENDS