Civic Counsel Protests Grand Jury Investigation of Boston Supporters of WikiLeaks

BOSTON/Government Center - Eighty people protested at City Hall Plaza early Wednesday evening in solidarity with Boston activists subpoenaed to testify in the ongoing grand jury investigation of WikiLeaks taking place in U.S. District Court in Alexandria Virginia. The Boston protest was organized by Civic Counsel a new organization of Boston University and MIT students founded last week in response to the grand jury investigation. News of the subpoenas broke on June 9th when one of the Boston activists David House publicly disclosed his identity. Protesters gathered amid early Stanley Cup revelers with banners proclaiming “Free Bradley Manning—Blowing the Whistle on War Crimes is Not a Crime ” and “WikiLeaks: Conspiracy to Commit Journalism.” They came from across the political spectrum including students longtime anti-war activists Ron Paul Republicans and libertarians. Conor Sherman a Boston University undergrad and consultant at a local IT firm stood at the edge of the protest handing out leaflets to curious Boston Bruins fans who asked what the protest was about. According to Civic Counsel the subpoenaed activists have been victims of ongoing government surveillance warrantless search and seizure and attempted bribery for their work in support of Private First Class Bradley Manning who faces court marshal on suspicion of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks. House for example is a founding member of the Bradley Manning Support Group who was featured on MSNBC last December where he talked about his visits with the soldier. Manning has been held in solitary confinement since May 2010 in conditions widely-denounced as inhumane. The group hopes to heighten public awareness of the WikiLeaks grand jury which it calls politically-motivated and designed to chill lawful activism on behalf of open government and free speech and press. Civic Counsel organizer and BU student Monica Gribouski spoke with alarm about the Obama Administration’s use of the 1917 Espionage Act to prosecute whistleblowers. She referred to a House Judiciary Committee report which states that the Act makes “no distinction between the leaker the recipient of the leak or the hundredth person to redistribute retransmit or even retain the national defense information that by that point is already in the public domain.” She said “We are dedicated to the empowerment of the public for information. We want you to help us reboot democracy!” Other speakers drew parallels to the Nixon Administration’s grand jury investigation of New York Times journalist Neil Sheehan and Boston-area journalists academics and activists in 1971 after the Times published the Pentagon Papers. “The news just came out that David House refused to testify before the grand jury ” announced founding Civic Counsel member and BU student Valerie Young. “The investigation of WikiLeaks under the Espionage Act mirrors the prosecution of reporter Neil Sheehan for reporting on the Pentagon Papers. Forty years ago they did not succeed partially because so many refused to testify.” “If Bradley Manning is indeed the whistleblower for WikiLeaks he should be hailed as a hero because he has slowed down the war machine and thereby saved countless lives at great risk to himself ” said John Walsh a professor of Physiology at the UMass Medical School who addressed the group. Joseph Gerson Director of Programs for the New England chapter of the American Friends Service Committee said that “if we are to regain and protect our constitutional rights and liberties we must act in solidarity to defend those whose rights are most egregiously assaulted every time this happens. Today it is House Manning and Assange. Tomorrow it could be you me or an elected official.” Civic Counsel credits WikiLeaks with exposing war crimes committed in Iraq and detention of minors in Guantanamo as well as with triggering the reform of the Icelandic banking system and the revolutions against repressive regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. Founding Civic Counsel member M.C. McGrath a high school student at Boston University Academy said “I got involved because I am appalled at how constitutional rights have been ignored. WikiLeaks is a much-needed wake up call for Americans and others worldwide—we should not attack it.” Susan Serpa a self-described Ron Paul Republican was invited to speak about Ethan McCord a former member of Bravo Company 2-16 now turned blogger and anti-war activist. His infantry unit was portrayed in the infamous “Collateral murder” video released by Wikileaks last year that documented a lethal U.S. Army Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad on a Reuters photographer his driver and civilians in 2007. “It was not until (Ethan) saw himself on the video for the first time that he began to speak out against the war ” she told the crowd. “Today he tours schools speaking to students about the realities of war and their alternatives to enlisting.” Despite the serious tone of the speeches the protest was festive. Between speeches guitarist and singer-songwriter Evan Greer got the crowd singing “J-U-S-T-I-C-E we want Bradley Manning free!” The demonstrators ended the rally by circled City Hall with drums and whistles chanting “Free Press!” and “Free Bradley Manning – Go Bruins!” drawing cheers from Bruins fans in Faneuil Hall before heading down Tremont Street to Park Street station handing leaflets to drivers and pedestrians. The march ended at the Gazebo on Boston Common where organizer Monica Gribouski thanked supporters for coming. “Please continue to support Civic Counsel and WikiLeaks. Thanks everybody. Have a nice day!” she said. Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati