Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 supporters of civil liberties join a protest at the office of Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar under the slogan, “Say no to NSA surveillance.” The protest was organized by Anti-War Committee and the MN Committee to Stop FBI Repression, and had the backing of the Twin Cites peace and justice community.

New York, NY – Jess Sundin, of the Committee to Stop FBI repression, spoke on a panel at the Left Forum here, June 8. Entitled the “Targeted killings of Americans on American soil: the story of Lynne Stewart, political prisoners and all progressive struggles in America.” The panel included Ralph Poynter, husband of jailed people’s lawyer Lynn Stewart and a leader of her defense committee. Also speaking was Ricardo Jimenez and Luis Rosa, fighters for Puerto Rico’s independence who served long prison sentences, Sue Udry of the Defending Dissent Foundation, Reverend Pinkney, Pam Africa, and others.

Minneapolis, MN – About 25 protesters gathered in front of the Hennepin County government building here, June 11, to protest the massive National Security Agency spying program and to support whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Lynne Stewart, a heroic and long-time progressive lawyer, is serving a ten-year prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas for ‘material support of terrorism,’ after serving as defense attorney for Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman. On June 9 Fight Back! spoke with her husband, Ralph Poynter, about her case. Poynter is a Black community leader and retired New York City teacher.

In a whirlwind news week the public has become aware that the majority, if not all, of U.S. telephone calls are monitored by the NSA (National Security Agency) and have been for seven years, that the U.S. government is monitoring emails through a secret NSA program called PRISM, and that Edward Snowden is the whistleblower that made these revelations possible. On June 9, Snowden told The Guardian to publish that he was the leak even though it puts him in the crosshairs of the U.S. government. “I'm willing to sacrifice all…because I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building.”

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. Justice Department Tramples on First Amendment Rights of Associated Press and Anti-war Activists

Tampa, FL – On June 1 over 50 activists rallied at the MacDill Air Force Base, calling for the release of whistleblower Bradley Manning.

Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of people marched through the streets of downtown Minneapolis on May 31 to demand justice for Terrance “Mookie” Franklin, a 22-year-old African American man killed by the police in a South Minneapolis home on May 10.

A solidarity statement by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression

Washington, DC – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said on May 17 that it plans to file a complaint against a Minnesota judge who inappropriately questioned defendants on their religious beliefs and equated mainstream Islamic principles with terrorism.

Minneapolis, MN – About 200 Somalis, mainly women, converged on the Federal Building here, May 16, for the sentencing hearing of two Somali humanitarian workers. Amina Ali and Hawo Hassan were convicted of ‘material support for terrorism’ in October, 2011. Judge Michael J. Davis handed down a 20-year sentence for Amina Ali and a 10-year sentence for Hawo Hassan.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from People's Organization For Progress (POP) chair Lawrence Hamm, from a May 10 Newark, New Jersey press conference.

Struggle continues to free Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio and Fernando

Miami, FL – On May 3, René González, one of the Cuban 5, finally won his freedom from the U.S. prison system when a judge ruled that he could move back to Cuba. González had already served an unjust sentence of more than 13 years in U.S. prisons. He was then was forced to stay in Miami another year and a half on parole. González was greeted as a hero on his return to Cuba, which has waged a determined campaign to win freedom for the Cuban 5.

Exiled Black Panther Party veteran has lived in Cuba for three decades

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following article by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire.

Chicago, IL – During the week of International Palestinian Prisoners Day, over 20 activists from the Palestine Solidarity Group, United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Students for Justice in Palestine and other organizations braved the bitter cold to stage “Intifada Theater” at the Bean in Millennium Park, April 19.

Minneapolis, MN – On April 15, Noor Elashi, daughter of wrongfully imprisoned Holy Land 5 defendant Ghassan Elashi, spoke to a packed room of over 50 people, mostly students from the University of Minnesota, about her father’s case. John Cline, Ghassan Elashi’s lawyer, also spoke of the injustice brought upon the five men who founded and built the largest Muslim charity in the U.S. George W. Bush shut down The Holy Land Foundation, falsely claiming its charity work for Palestine had ties to terrorism.

Tallahassee, FL – Nearly 30 community members and Tallahassee Dream Defenders attended a public hearing on April 12 in support of Antonio and Rodrizgus Richardson, two African-American brothers in Tallahassee. The brothers were wrongly convicted of first-degree murder and are facing 25 years to life in prison.

Provo, UT – Students and community members protested in front of the Wells Fargo building on April 6 to voice their opposition to Wells Fargo’s hypocritical marketing. Wells Fargo deeply invests in privately owned prisons through firms like Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison company in the U.S.

Durban, South Africa – Protesters flocked to the U.S. consulate here, March 22, on the tenth anniversary of the abduction of Dr. Siddiqui and her three children in Karachi, Pakistan.

Fort Worth, TX – More than 40 protesters gathered at the Carswell federal prison, March 30, to demand freedom for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and the other women political prisoners held here.