{"id":12857,"date":"2014-02-15T19:43:10","date_gmt":"2014-02-16T02:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?p=12857"},"modified":"2014-03-27T01:59:29","modified_gmt":"2014-03-27T08:59:29","slug":"paul-french-strife-sues-opd-alleging-political-profiling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/paul-french-strife-sues-opd-alleging-political-profiling\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul French (Strife) Sues OPD (A)lleging Political Profiling"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Paul French, well-known as ‘Strife’, is an Olympia resident, a musician, and a member of the area\u2019s vibrant @ctivist community.” -WIP-<\/em><\/p>\n

Paul bristles at having copped a plea upon the advice of his attorney to a charge of which he says he is innocent. He makes a compelling argument lying cops are largely responsible for this kind of injustice. He admits lapsing into depression and even thoughts of suicide as a result when he had a mental breakdown. However, while arguing for justice, truth, and respect for civil rights, he carefully qualifies the kind of journalists he feels deserve the same.<\/p>\n

Paul proudly announces his affinity for (A)narchists, claiming they are unjustly discriminated against by authorities. He also made his FB page inaccessible when this reporter commented on the topic he is currently promoting: His lawsuit against OPD for a pattern of false arrests and police reports based on undercover surveillance of the @ctivist groups he frequented.<\/p>\n

In the interest of transparency and public awareness, his article published in Olympia’s Works In Progress is re-posted below (before Paul can 2nd guess himself and delete it). He also left a message to this reporter condemning a remark left on his FB page commiserating with his angst about ubiquitous perjury by area police officers under oath and in their reports before (in an apparent fit of pique\/paranoia) he terminated public access to it.<\/p>\n

The article is a mixture of reciting notorious\/obvious instances of police misconduct\/brutality, and self serving\/pitying opining with an eye to public sympathy and support for his upcoming trial in federal court arising from his civil complaint.<\/p>\n

\"PaulFrenchStrife\"<\/a>

Paul French (aka: Strife) w\/his B@nd<\/p><\/div>\n

by Paul French (aka: Strife) as published through Oly’s Works In Progress<\/em><\/p>\n

Olympia resident shares his story of blatant police misconduct & persecution<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Martin Luther King, Jr<\/p>\n

I still remember where I was when Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man was shot at point blank range by a transit cop while he was lying face down on the cement of an Oakland, California Subway. It was New Year\u2019s Day 2009, two months shy of Grant\u2019s twenty-third birthday, when he was pronounced dead. I was working on my first album, \u201cLove & Rage,\u201d when a member of my hip-hop crew, Thought Crime Collective, rushed over to tell me the news.\u00a0 This extra-judicial murder ignited my growing anger at a justice system that professes equality under the law but prioritizes people according to race, class, sexuality, gender, and politics. In the following months as the death toll escalated at the hands of police, I realized I had a responsibility to rally others even at the risk of my own comfort and convenience. If I didn\u2019t stand in solidarity with the slain, publicize the causes of structural violence, and fight for accountability, then society whose technological advancement was fast outstripping its conscience would eclipse any hope for social and economic justice.<\/p>\n

So on April 8, 2010, I took to the streets of downtown Olympia as part of a protest called the \u201cWest Coast Days of Action Against Police Violence.\u201d We marched downtown chanting and handing out flyers about the dangers of unchecked power, white privilege, and the prison industrial complex. Eventually we were surrounded on all sides by a heavily armed phalanx of Olympia Police and arrested in a coordinated takedown. Amidst shouted orders to \u201cget on the ground\u201d we locked arms on State Street and were kettled in a darkened parking lot, greeted by baton blows and pepper ball guns fired inches from our faces. It was during this lightning-quick takedown that Officer Sean Lindros (now a detective) lied and stated I had punched him in the face. He made this claim without a single witness to the alleged assault and without another officer on the scene corroborating his story. The Olympia Police Department (OPD) seized all cameras and recording equipment, and refused to return the cameras until three years later in the summer of 2013, when my lawyer, Larry Hildes, won a settlement against the city.<\/p>\n

In 2012, Sean Lindros lost a wrongful arrest lawsuit that my attorney brought against him on behalf of Evergreen student, Loren Klyne. According to court documents, Lindros has been referred to by his superiors as a \u201ccops\u2019 cop, who manages to make an above average amount of arrests and criminal referrals.\u201d He has received a total of eight citizen complaints and two disciplinary actions in the past five years, engaging in \u201cthreatening or intimidating behavior towards the public\u201d on multiple occasions, even \u201cbrandishing a gun on a traffic stop.\u201d Lindros has three excessive force complaints including a well-known encounter where he slammed Ms. Peralta\u2019s (a.k.a. Pony Black\u2019s) face into the ground in downtown Olympia in 2010. Most recently in 2013, Lindros used a \u201clateral vascular neck restraint\u201d on a suspect, a maneuver that restricts the flow of blood to the brain and is linked to so many deaths, its use is restricted by the Los Angeles Police Department and was banned by Bay Area Rapid Transit Police in 2011.<\/p>\n

In the short video clip used as evidence of my alleged crime, I am in the center of a group, surrounded by twenty-nine people, on my knees with a banner in my lap several feet away from where Sean Lindros claimed he was standing when he was allegedly struck in the face. In his police report, Lindros misidentified the color of my bandana, and in the pictures he took of his \u201cinjuries\u201d after the protest, his face showed no visible marks or bruises. I was charged with assault, even though I was simply engaging in my first amendment right to protest and in spite of the fact that I was not in a location where I could have physically struck Lindros. As we were turning onto State Street, I was handed the march banner by a stranger who was not arrested, but had shown up at my house a few weeks prior to the protest. After the takedown, Sean Lindros identified me as \u201cthe kid with the banner,\u201d and I was arrested for felony \u201cassault on an officer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The details of my criminal case were unfortunate but not uncommon. I was railroaded by my public defender into taking an Alford plea (which asserts innocence but still counts as a guilty plea) and served a two-month sentence in Thurston County Jail for a crime I did not commit. Lacking proof at the time that I had been targeted in retaliation for my activism and music, I was smeared in the media and unable to convince people of my innocence. All of this became too much to bear. Although I have no prior history of depression, I was severely traumatized by this chain of events. Combined with the fear that I would be unable to participate in my graduation at the Evergreen State College, I had my first and only nervous breakdown. Shocked by the ease with which the authorities framed me, and convinced that I would become the victim of an \u201caccident\u201d once I reported to jail, I attempted to take my own life. At my wits end, I isolated myself from the only support system I had, my friends and community. Now after years of committed direct action and much reflection and growth, I am taking the struggle to the next level by suing the Olympia Police Department for false arrest, false imprisonment, excessive force, harassment, and violations of my first, fourth, fifth, and fourteenth amendment rights.<\/p>\n

Those who have followed protests closely in the United States for a span of time can confirm that charges ranging from \u201cassault on an officer\u201d to \u201cobstruction of justice\u201d or \u201cresisting arrest\u201d are often fabricated as a way for law enforcement to cover up their own brutality and wrongdoing. Alleging false charges allows the police to spin news coverage, siphon-off public sympathy from protesters, and pre-empt questions about police overreach.\u00a0 Even if the charges are never brought before a judge, the police can garner sympathy in the court of public opinion and deny responsibility for escalating or mishandling a situation. Unless there is video evidence to contradict an officer\u2019s allegations, or multiple witnesses who attest to a person\u2019s innocence, the blame is shifted to the victim because of the inherently unequal power dynamics. Courtroom battles in these scenarios often deteriorate into a \u201che said\/she said\u201d stalemate, where law enforcement has home team advantage.<\/p>\n

For example, on March 5, 2013, Evergreen professor Peter Bohmer was charged with \u201cassault on an officer\u201d while defending a homeless encampment in downtown Olympia.\u00a0 Only after video footage confirmed that Washington State Patrol had lied about Bohmer\u2019s actions were the assault charges dropped. [The video may be viewed on youtube: \u201cPeter Bohmer Arrested as WSP Removes Homeless Youth and Activists\u201d] In 2007, a veteran community organizer named Pat Tassoni settled with Washington State Patrol for an undisclosed sum after he was handcuffed, searched, and cited on June 3, 2004 for \u201cfailing to produce a license while operating a motor vehicle.\u201d His criminal charges were dropped because he was distributing flyers on foot, walking home from a rally against the Patriot Act at the time he was stopped by a State Trooper. Similar treatment was meted out to local legend Long Hair David (Fawver), founder of the Emma Goldman Youth & Homeless Outreach Project (EGYHOP), who was accosted in 2004 by members of the Washington State Patrol and erroneously charged with assault after lighting sage incense in Sylvester Park.<\/p>\n

Then there is the case of Scott Yoos, whose shocking treatment at the hands of the Olympia Police Department made this pattern of mendacity explicit. On June 1, 2011 he was throwing paper towels away in a public dumpster when four officers arrived, he was thrown to the ground, placed in painful compliance holds, and arrested for \u201ctrespass\u201d. When publicity about his brutal treatment provoked a groundswell of support, the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney\u2019s Office charged him retroactively with felony \u201cassault on an officer\u201d and \u201cresisting arrest\u201d two months after the original charges were filed.<\/p>\n

When cops, who are sworn to impartially uphold the law, enforce it in a discriminatory manner that tramples people\u2019s civil rights, protests become a minefield wrought with unspoken threats and lasting danger. This was demonstrated in the dwindling participation rates in the aftermath of a mass-arrest during anti-war protests organized by a group called Port Militarization Resistance (PMR) in Olympia, Washington. On November 13, 2007, forty-one women, who planned to engage in a non-violent blockade of a military convoy, were charged with \u201cattempted disorderly conduct,\u201d by officers who insisted they knew the groups intentions based on spying. Julianne Panagacos, Andrea Robbins, Julia Garfield, and others arrested at the Port, are now suing the United States Military. Their civil suit alleges that John Towery, a man who the Army paid to infiltrate their anti-war group, supplied law enforcement with intelligence that lead to their pre-emptive arrests, civil rights violations, cruel and demeaning treatment in the jail, and a campaign of harassment that continued long after the protests were over.<\/p>\n

Jeff Berryhill, a former PMR organizer and member of Students for A Democratic Society (SDS), is another plaintiff in the civil suit against John Towery. He was subjected to a similar pattern of police profiling, false charges, and pre-emptive arrest. Jeff was singled out at the March 2007 Port of Tacoma Protests, shot by a rubber bullet in the leg at point blank range, and then arrested for assault. In July of 2007, Berryhill was hanging out in downtown Olympia when four cops detained him because he \u201cfit the profile\u201d of someone they claimed had committed a burglary in the area. That night, the cops showed up at his house and arrested him for \u201cdisorderly conduct\u201d after he demanded that they cease harassing him. Long-time\u00a0Works In Progress\u00a0<\/em>contributor Wally Cuddeford was tased three times and dragged across the pavement during the same anti-war port protests in Tacoma in 2007. He also received fabricated assault charges after being assaulted by the police. Two years later in January of 2009, Wally was accused of \u201criot\u201d even though he had merely brought anti-police brutality signs to a march in Olympia. His case was dismissed when the state withheld exculpatory evidence during discovery and Wally argued eloquently in his own defense against the specious notion of \u201cassociative culpability.\u201d<\/p>\n

This deliberate pattern of targeting those considered \u201chigh profile\u201d and influential members of social movements was also carried out against Brendan Dunn, a founding member of the Evergreen Chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a member of Port Militarization Resistance (PMR), and the Olympia Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Dunn settled out of court after assault charges were fabricated against him at a \u201cWorld Can\u2019t Wait\u201d Rally in Seattle in 2006. Dunn and two associates became known as the \u201cFlag 3\u201d after they refused to hand over an anarchist flag that an officer claimed was a symbol of violence.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to understand the coordinated nature of this campaign of repression without discussing the escalating tension between members of law enforcement, the military, and the local anti-war movement. In order to get a better grasp of why certain individuals were targeted and singled out by officers, it is crucial to discuss the role of John Towery in more depth. In 2009, through independent research done by Drew Hendricks and public records gained by Brendan Dunn, it was revealed that a man who posed as an ally to the anti-war movement in Olympia was actually a member of the Army\u2019s Force Protection Intelligence Unit at Fort Lewis under the Directorate of Emergency Services (DES). From March 2007 until July of 2009, when John Towery\u2019s real identity was revealed, he mapped associations and provided detailed information about protest groups to the United States Military and the Washington State Fusion Center (an intelligence sharing network between local and state law enforcement like OPD and the Washington State Patrol, as well as federal agencies like the FBI, NSA, Department of Homeland Security, and the military).<\/p>\n

John Towery\u2019s job was to specifically target Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and other groups at Evergreen State College as well as infiltrate the Port Militarization Resistance (PMR) movement. Towery befriended people under false pretenses, attended meetings and potlucks, and gained administrator access to the movement\u2019s list-serves. He conducted this activity regardless of the fact that these groups were engaged in non-violent direct action against illegal and unjust wars, and despite the fact that his spying was in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which states \u201cit shall not be lawful to employ any part of the army of the United States\u2026to execute the state\u2019s laws.\u201d In 2007, according to public records, Lt. General Charles H. Jacoby Jr. gave John Towery a \u201cCertificate of Achievement\u201d for:<\/p>\n

\u2026exceptionally meritorious achievement while providing crucial police intelligence during the Third Striker Brigade redeployment from the Port of Olympia to Fort Lewis\u2026 Mr. Towery demonstrated outstanding professionalism and devotion to duty by rendering up to the minute reports that clearly stated the intentions of anti-war protesters at the Port of Olympia. This vital information was relayed to the local law enforcement agencies which assisted them in ensuring that the convoys were conducted safely and without injury to soldiers or damage to military equipment.<\/em><\/p>\n

Larry Hildes, a member of the National Lawyers Guild, who is bringing my suit against the Olympia Police Department, is also suing John Towery and the US Army over these revelations. Towery\u2019s trial is set for June of 2014 and will raise important questions in regards to the Army\u2019s campaign of illegal spying and the trampling of civil liberties by a deliberate pattern of false arrests, citations, imprisonment, excessive force, and harassment.<\/p>\n

The case against John Towery was strengthened in 2010, when Hildes secured a $417,000 dollar settlement on behalf of Phil Chinn, a graduate of Evergreen State College, and another member of SDS and PMR. Though he was driving three miles under the speed limit, Chinn was pulled over by Washington State Patrol on his way to an anti-war protest at the Port of Aberdeen. He was falsely charged with DUI, and, as he was led over to the patrol vehicle, he noticed a picture of his parent\u2019s car that he had driven the day before sitting on the trooper\u2019s dashboard. After criminal charges were dropped for lack of evidence, it was revealed through radio traffic that Detectives with the Aberdeen Police and Washington State Patrol had been watching Chinn\u2019s movements and put out an \u201cattempt to locate\u201d code on his vehicle because there were \u201cthree identified anarchists\u201d in the car who were considered \u201cthe biggest threat.\u201d (Seattle Weekly,\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u201cWatching the Protesters: These spies may have known too much.\u201d)<\/p>\n

This is where the plot thickens. Even after John Towery was forced out of the movement in July 2009, e-mail exchanges reveal that Towery\u2019s supervisor, Thomas Rudd of the Force Protection Division at Fort Lewis, continued to send memoranda and \u201cthreat assessments\u201d to individuals in multiple law enforcement agencies. This included members of Washington State Patrol as well as then Police Chief Gary Michel, Commander Steve Nelson, and Commander Tor Bjornstad of the Olympia Police Department. According to these public records, before the November 2007 Olympia Port Protests, Commander Bjornstad met with Thomas Rudd, John Towery, and Cliff Colvin (an informant hired by the Coast Guard) to discuss strategies to neutralize the local anti-war movement. Tactics planned at these meetings included the use of pre-emptive arrests, illegal surveillance, the deployment of chemical agents against peaceful demonstrators as well as other forms of excessive force and brutality.<\/p>\n

This strategy was put into effect at the citywide level by Olympia City Manager Steve Hall, who directed City Communications Manager Cathie Butler to infiltrate PMR list-serves, relaying confidential information as well as facilitating false mediation sessions designed to gather intelligence on protesters. Under Steve Hall\u2019s supervision, the Olympia Police Department and the Prosecutor\u2019s Office engaged in harassment, false arrests, and malicious prosecution of selected activists, particularly focusing on women and other protected classes who participated in the Olympia Port Protests. Furthermore, Steve Hall acted with others to deliberately conceal and destroy evidence of this illegal conduct and withheld exculpatory evidence that could have resulted in dismissals and acquittals in numerous cases the city brought against anti-war protesters.<\/p>\n

Scarcely a month after the army concluded its second internal investigation into John Towery\u2019s spying, the details of my case demonstrate how this pattern of profiling and repression continued even after Towery had left in July 2009. Two days before the protest I attended on April 8, 2010, Towery\u2019s supervisor at Fort Lewis, Thomas Rudd, sent intelligence about the Anti-Police Brutality March to then OPD Commander Tor Bjornstad, who was on scene for the arrests, and forwarded the Army\u2019s intelligence to Commander Steve Nelson, Lieutenant Ray Holmes, and Police Chief Gary Michel. The arrests of twenty-nine people at a protest on public streets for \u201cpedestrian interference,\u201d an unconstitutional charge used to justify this pre-emptive mass-arrest model, fits the pattern that law enforcement used to neutralize the anti-war movement in years prior. This tactic was seen as late as May 2, 2009 when the last protest against military shipments was effectively prevented by soldiers of the 504th Military Police Battalion, who mass-arrested protesters on civilian territory in Lakewood after I performed at a hip hop show at Coffee Strong, an anti-war caf\u00e9 near Fort Lewis.<\/p>\n

In an age of capitalist crisis and homeland insecurity, where cops are armed to the teeth with military grade weaponry supplied by federal grants, and fusion centers partner with the private sector achieving power so inconceivable that George Orwell would get nightmares, how do we fight back? How can we rein in these Frankenstein\u2019s monsters before they pre-empt our dreams of a better world or drown future generations in martial law? Refusing to be terrified into silence or overwhelmed by the odds is a start. Educate yourself and others, take the streets, and increase the pressure through dedicated direct action campaigns. Build community solidarity organizations, nurturing a culture of art and music, creativity and resistance. Defend dissidents, whistle-blowers, and journalists with integrity, supporting those who take risks and are targeted for standing up for all of our rights. Demand transparency through public records requests to understand how the system operates, unravel abuse and prevent future Kafkaesque designs. Finally, spread the word through media publicity and wage court battles that reveal the full extent and nature of illegitimate programs, setting legal precedents against unaccountable institutions that hold freedom hostage. In this late stage of our history, these are some of the most effective tools we have left to reverse the rising tide of repression.<\/p>\n

My upcoming trial will raise the profile of these matters, and spark dialogue about the draconian violations of our civil rights. I believe that the long shadow cast over Olympia, Washington by this official criminality is just the tip of the iceberg and it\u2019s time to break the ice. Winning this case will bring personal closure for me as well as setting a legal precedent that will hopefully thaw the chill surrounding free speech and embolden others, who have experienced similar abuse, to seek justice. If I can contribute in any way to rebuild the trust that has been shattered in our community, repair the damage done by years of false arrests, frame-ups, police violence, federal intimidation, and military infiltration, then this civil case will have been well worth it.<\/p>\n

Please join me on March 11, 2014 at the Federal Courthouse in Tacoma at 9 am for the first day of my trial. For news and updates on my case and the upcoming trial of John Towery please visit my support blog, \u201cWe Are All Suspects Now\u201d at\u00a0http:\/\/strife-101-life.tumblr.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"PoxC-DotRich_BStrife\"<\/a>

Pox, C-Dot, B-Rich, Strife<\/p><\/div>\n

Who is John Towery?<\/h1>\n

\u00a0[Editor’s Note: From a website created for the express purpose of surveillance and harassing Mr. Towery]<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
UPDATE: JAN 20, 2014
\nA lawsuit has been filed against John Towery and other parties involved in this illegal spying. There is a\u00a0press release<\/a>\u00a0and you can read the complaint\u00a0here<\/a>. A document showing how this spying resulted in an activist being labeled as a “domestic terrorist” is available\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/div>\n
UPDATE: JAN 23, 2010
\nNew documents have been released providing intricate detail on much of Towery’s spying. You can grab a copy from our site\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0(part two is\u00a0here<\/a>). In these records are intra-agency memos and hand-written notes detailing the most personal details of the lives of those who fell prey to illegal spying and government surveillance.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This site costs money to host. If you’d like to kick a little change our way, please donate bitcoin to 1NfGBfDNtwkja7uGFyGWBiutpc9QdpzqbV<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

John Towery is a professional informant who works for the US Army. He works on Fort Lewis, WA in \u2018force protection\u2019. Between September 2007 and July 2009, using the alias \u201cJohn Jacob (agent_orange@riseup.net)\u201d, he illegally infiltrated various anti-war and \u201canarchist\u201d groups around the Olympia and Tacoma (WA) area including Port Militarization Resistance and Students for a Democratic Society. He also worked closely with the Smash ICE Campaign and Iraq Veterans Against the War. Much of his time was spent befriending anarchists or those whose views had anarchist characteristics. People who knew John Jacob described him as kind, generous, and friendly. He came to meetings and quickly became a trusted individual, leading to him becoming the administrator of the PMR mailing list which gave him access to the name and email address of almost every person in the organization. The information he collected was given to and used by various government bodies including The US Army, The Olympia Police Department, the Tacoma Police Department, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Washington State Patrol, and the Washington Joint Analytical Center. After his outing, he admitted to spying on these groups and passing on information to these agencies. This information collection on US citizens and groups engaged in 1st Amendment protected activities was clearly illegal under a number of statues and violated the rights and civil liberties of those involved.<\/p>\n

This story has made it far and there\u2019s a lot of coverage. Some of the best coverage so far came from the first media outlet to break the story: Democracy Now!. The first episode dedicated to this event is available at http:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2009\/7\/28\/stream<\/p>\n

They also did a second episode with Christopher Pyle, the whistleblower who sparked the Church hearings available at http:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2009\/7\/29\/pyle<\/p>\n

Wikileaks<\/a>\u00a0significantly contributed to open discussion about this incident by helping to leak source documents describing military spying activity. Some of these documents were available months before John Towery was outed. And of course, this story would have been heard anywhere had some hard-working activists in Olympia not looked into who \u201cJohn Jacob\u201d really was.<\/p>\n

Other media coverage worth looking at:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Public Records Request finds Olympia Activists Caught in a National Surveillance Program (Brendan Dunn, Works in Progress)<\/a><\/p>\n

The Death of John Jacobs (Brendan Dunn, Works in Progress)<\/p>\n

PMR Activist \u201cJohn Jacob\u201d Exposed as Military Agent (Drew Hendricks, Works in Progress)<\/p>\n

The Spy Who Billed Me Twice (Julian Assange ,WIKILEAKS)<\/a>\u00a0Link dead?\u00a0Try this one<\/a>.
\nSource documents worth reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Washington Joint Analytical Center Seattle private intelligence outsourcing, 1525 pages, 2006-2008 at WIKILEAKS<\/a>\u00a0Link Dead? Try\u00a0this one<\/a><\/p>\n

Agent Orange is a Spy for Ft. Lewis (original outing) at Portland Indymedia<\/a><\/p>\n

Spying on anti-war protesters: US Army Concept of Operations for Police Intelligence Operations, 4 Mar 2009 at WIKILEAKS<\/a>\u00a0Link Broken?\u00a0Try this one<\/a>.
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

What proof exist that John Towery was a spy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Public records show that John Towery sent \u201cForce Protection Intelligence Updates\u201d (at the bottom of this page) to various agencies including the US Army, The Olympia Police Department, and the Tacoma Police Department. John\u2019s home address was surveilled and it was established that John Towery lives there. He was identified as being the same John that infiltrated the various groups stated above. Furthermore, the license plate on his bike which had been seen by various activists matches those found in the \u201cIron Butt Motorcycle Rider\u2019s Association\u201d\u00a0membership list<\/a>\u00a0under the name John Towery. After the outing, he admitted in person to several individuals that he indeed was passing information on to the US Army, the FBI, the Washington Joint Analytical Center, Washington State Patrol, and various state agencies. His behavior and the information he gained is typical of an infiltrator, such as trying to become an administrator on the PMR listserv (and succeeding).<\/p>\n

Why was this spying illegal?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, it is illegal for the US Army or other military forces to collect information on US Civillians. Furthermore, had John worked for another agency, such as the Olympia Police Department or the FBI it would have been illegal to do what he had done. Groups such as Students for a Democratic Society and Olympia Port Militarization Resistance are engaged in 1st Amendment protected activity and various state and federal laws including the constitution prevent surveillance and disruption of such groups. Furthermore, since various agencies acted on information that they should have reasonably known were obtained illegally, they were also in violation of the law.<\/p>\n

Is John Towery still involved in these groups?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, he has been kicked out of these groups and removed from their mailing lists.<\/p>\n

Are additional pictures available of John Towery?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes,. there is a picture of him on his bike (including his plate number for verification) at<\/p>\n

http:\/\/portland.indymedia.org\/media\/images\/2009\/07\/392922.jpg<\/p>\n

A higher resolution picture of him is available at http:\/\/portland.indymedia.org\/media\/images\/2009\/07\/392921.jpg<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If I have information on John Towery that is not known to the public what should I do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You should see our about us page to get in touch with us.<\/p>\n

What have groups such as Port Militarization Resistance done in response to these revelations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They have publicly outed information about this individual and continued their important anti-war and social justice work.<\/p>\n

From: \u201cTowery II, John J CIV USA IMCOM\u201d
\nTo: \u201cLEWIS DES Fusion Cell\u201d
\nSent: Friday, December 12, 2008 3:47 PM
\nAttach: 20081212 Daily.doc
\nSubject: (U \/\/ FOUO) 20081212- Fort Lewis Force Protection Daily Update(UNCLASSIFIED)<\/p>\n

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
\nCaveats: FOUO
\nPlease find attached the Fort Lewis daily force protection update. This
\ndocument is FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY and intended for Force Protection and
\nLaw Enforcement personnel only. You may communicate contents in the
\nsummary within your organization, but if you wish to distribute outside
\nof this community, contact the Fort Lewis FP Fusion Cell at the points
\nof contact below. If you want to get a copy of the FY09 Threat
\nAssessment for Fort Lewis email the\u00a0\"\"\u00a0lewispmfusioncell@conus.army.mil<\/a>.
\nJohn J. Towery
\nFort Lewis Force Protection
\nCOM: 253-966-7317
\nDSN: 347-7317
\n\"\"\u00a0john.towery@conus.army.mil<\/a>
\n\"\"\u00a0john.towery@us.army.smil.mil<\/a>
\nICE Survey for FP Support is at:
\n\"\"\u00a0https:\/\/ice.disa.mil\/index.cfm?fa=card&service_provider_id=101874&site_id=348&service_category_id=29<\/a><\/p>\n

\"PaulFrenchdoc9\"<\/a> \"PaulFrenchcop\"<\/a> \"PaulFrenchdoc1\"<\/a> \"PaulFrenchdoc2\"<\/a> \"PaulFrenchdoc3\"<\/a> \"PaulFrenchdoc4\"<\/a> \"PaulFrenchdoc6\"<\/a> \"PaulFrenchdoc7\"<\/a> \"PaulFrenchdoc8\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Feb 19 (3:00pm-5:00pm) Jackie Wang: Against Innocence \/ ACAP + FIST
\nFeb 20 (5:00pm – ?) “Visions of Abolition” Film Screening & group discussion on prison\/police abolition \/ ACAP
\nFeb 26 (3:00pm-5:00pm)\u201cGrand Jury Resistance in the Pacific Northwest and Beyond\u201d \/ ACAP
\nFeb 27 (6:00-9:00pm) “From Activist to Terrorist” with Will Potter & Jake Conroy \/ EPIC<\/p>\n

March <\/strong>
\nMar. 5 (1:00pm-5:00pm) March Prisoner Writing Day \/ ACAP<\/p>\n

Mar. 7 (3:00pm-5:00pm) Portland Anarchist Black Cross: \u201cRevolution on the Inside and Out: Decolonizing Prisons and Supporting Prisoners\u201d \/ ACAP<\/p>\n

April<\/strong>
\nApril 2 (1:00pm-5:00pm) April Prisoner Writing Day<\/p>\n

Rethinking Prisons Week: April 7th – 11th
\nApril 7th (3:00pm-5:00pm) PANEL: “THE PATH FROM MIGRANT WORKER TO CRIMINAL TO DIGNITY” \/ ACAP + FIST + MEXA + EPIC + SDS
\nApril 8th (?) Robert King of the Angola 3 [Tentative] \/ ACAP
\nApril 9th (3:00pm-5:00pm) Ed Mead & Mark Cook (former members of the Gheorge Jackson Brigade) [Tentative] \/ ACAP
\nApril 10th (5:00pm-6:30pm) Kristian Williams “Policing And Counter-Insurgency” \/ ACAP
\nApril 11th (1:00pm-4:00pm) Radical Self-Defense Course w\/ Greg Lewis \/ ACAP<\/p>\n

May<\/strong>
\nMay 7th (1:00pm-5:00pm) May Prisoner Writing Day \/ ACAP<\/p>\n

May 12th (3:00pm-5:00pm) Insurgent Theatre: An Interactive Play about Mass Incarceration \/ ACAP<\/p>\n

June<\/strong>
\nJune 4th (1:00pm-5:00pm) June Prisoner Writing Day \/ ACAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Paul French, well-known as ‘Strife’, is an Olympia resident, a musician, and a member of the area\u2019s vibrant @ctivist community.” -WIP- Paul bristles at having copped a plea upon the advice of his attorney to a charge of which he … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12857"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13494,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12857\/revisions\/13494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}