Twitter anarchist raided under riot laws

[Saya]

An anarchist social worker raided by the feds wants his computers, manuscripts and pick axes back. He argues that authorities violated the U.S. Constitution and the rights of his mentally ill clients while searching for evidence that he broke an anti-rioting law on Twitter.

In a guns-drawn raid on October 1, FBI agents and police seized boxes of dubious "evidence" from the Queens, New York, home of Elliott Madison. A U.S. District Judge in Brooklyn has set a Monday deadline to rule on the legality of the search, and in the meantime has ordered the government to refrain from examining the material taken in the 6 a.m. search.

Madison, who counsels more than 100 severely mentally ill patients in New York, seems to have first drawn attention from the authorities at September's G-20 gathering of world leaders in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There he was arrested on September 24 at a motel room for allegedly listening to a police scanner and relaying information on Twitter to help protesters avoid heavily-armed cops -- an activity the State Department lauded when it happened in Iran.

A week later, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, armed with a search warrant and backed by a federal grand jury investigation, raided Madison's house, which he shares with his wife of 13 years and several roommates. The squad seized his computers, camera memory cards, books, air-filtration masks, bumper stickers and political posters -- all purportedly evidence that the 41-year old social worker had broken a federal anti-rioting law that carries up to five years in prison.

But a closer look at the court documents leaves the unmistakable impression that Elliott Madison is yet another casualty of the government's nasty, post-9/11 habit of considering political dissidents as threats to national security.

Madison, his wife and his lawyer Martin Stolar say the search violates the Constitution's protections against general searches and prosecution for political speech. The police also seized mobile phones, citizen emergency kits, manuscripts, posters and even the couple's marriage license.

In a motion to throw out the search, Stolar called the search unconstitutional:

In this day and age, federally authorized agents entered the private home of a writer and urban planner and seized their books and writings. The warrant's vagueness and lack of specificity encouraged the agents to use their own discretion and their own views of the political universe to seize, or not to seize, items which they thought were evidence of a violation of the federal anti-riot statute. The law and the Constitution do not allow this. If there really is a grand jury investigation with possible future prosecution under [a federal anti-rioting law], the use of this statute as applied to demonstrations, demonstrators, and their supporters has profound 1st Amendment implications.

If Madison were an Iranian using Twitter to coordinate government protests, he'd likely be considered a hero in the West. Instead, the self-identified anarchist -- who volunteered in Louisiana after Katrina -- is now facing up to five years in prison for each count a grand jury cares to indict him on.

Oddly, Madison was in jail during the most dramatic of the G-20 confrontations.

The day after his arrest by Philadelphia State police on September 24, hundreds of police officers chased protesters around the city, using sonic weapons, pepper spray, batons, projectile weapons and tear gas, and arrested a reporter and bystanders. Some self-styled anarchists broke windows of chain stores and pushed a dumpster towards a phalanx of cops in riot gear.

The connection between the federal and state investigation remains unclear, though the feds say they will turn evidence over to the state, if any is found.

The affidavits justifying the raid remains under seal, but court documents reveal a grand jury is investigating whether Madison, and possibly his wife, violated 18 U.S.C. §2101, the federal anti-rioting law.

That obscure law was famously used to prosecute the Chicago 7 after the 1968 Democratic Convention's police riot. Five of the so-called Yippies were initially found guilty of of inciting a riot, though the convictions were eventually thrown out.

Madison and his wife both volunteered as paralegals for the People's Law Collective, their lawyer Martin Stolar said, and he'd worked with them before defending protesters.

In fact, he suggests that work might have sparked this entire incident.

"If you do your job effectively, then you draw the government's attentions," Stolar said.

Madison also belongs to the "Curious George Brigade," which published a book called Anarchy in the Age of Dinosaurs. The group was at work on a follow-up, until 50 copies of the first book and the electronic manuscript of the second were confiscated in the raid. On Monday, Madison described the book in an affidavit to the court as a book of "political theory and practice."

The published book seems sympathetic to the tactic of confronting police and destroying property of companies considered harmful, usually -- though not always -- multinational companies. Writing such a book is not a crime, though, and many of the other books cited by the police as evidence justifying the search after the fact can be bought on Amazon.com.

Madison, who has no prior convictions, works as a counselor at a mental health facility. He says some of the records seized by the government include confidential information that should be covered by a shield law protecting mental health records. The U.S. Attorney's office disputes that contention, saying the shield doesn't apply since Madison isn't a registered social worker.

Moreover, the government says, Madison's house was chock full of incriminating materials, including gas masks, pickaxes and air-filtration masks.

But Madison says that he'd become a believer in civil defense after the 2003 blackouts in New York and that the seized pickaxes are specialty, anti-sparking devices to be used in emergencies to shut off water mains. In fact, Madison and his wife told the court they'd made a YouTube video about what to put in a rescue pack. A review of the video by Threat Level confirms the pickaxe in the video matches the one seized by police.

The government countered that his reading material is also very suspicious. "As an initial matter, the government notes that a publication entitled 'Manifesto of Rioting' was seized from the Weisses' bedroom," the U.S. Attorney's office told the court last week.

Some of the other evidence the feds seized that shows he promotes riots? Steampunk magazine, for one. Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs. Anarchist political-theory books. A needlepoint depiction of Lenin that belonged to Madison's wife's grandmother. (Not surprisingly, the police don't seem to grasp the irony of an anarchist owning a Lenin bust in any form, given the hatred between the two ideologies since the Spanish Civil War, when the Communists turned on the anarchists and murdered their ostensible allies.)

His books on poison looks pretty incriminating, too. But his lawyer wonders why the police seized The Poisons and Antidotes Sourcebook and left the book Deadly Doses: A Writer's Guide to Poisons, both of which he says Elliot Madison uses for his fiction writing.

The feds also found caltrops -- four-pronged metal defensive weapons that always land with a pointy side up, used to give flat tires or hobble horses. Neither Madison nor his attorney has mentioned them in their filings. They are not illegal to own.

When the feds also found nine packages of fireworks at the rear of a closet, a JTTF agent took him downtown to book him for the infraction -- a ticketable offense. The bomb squad took care of the fireworks, which one supposes must have been impervious to dousing by a regular police officer.

Federal agents also seized camera memory disks, Madison's journals, computers and hard drives. These contained his fiction manuscripts, his wife's urban planning work and other writings. The police also confiscated a housemate's laptop that belonged to the Labor Department.

How did all of this get taken? Doesn't a search warrant have to specify what exactly is to be seized?

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, the warrant was legitimate. Signed by Judge Honorable Viktor V. Pohorelsky on September 26, it authorized the government to seize:

Computers, hard-drives, floppy discs and other media used to store computer-accessible information, cellular phones, personal digital assistants, electronic storage devices and related peripherals, black masks and clothing, maps, correspondence and other documents, financial records, notes, ledgers, receipts, papers, photographs, telephone and address books, identification documents, indicia of residency and other documents and records that constitute evidence of the commission of rioting crimes or that are designed or intended as a means of violating the federal rioting laws, including any of the above items that are maintained within other closed or locked containers, including safes and other containers that may be further secured by key locks (or combination locks) of various kinds.

The list of what was taken stretches pages.

More after the link, the article was too long to post in full:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/24/a...aid/index.html

Taking the Buffy dvds kills me.

[Mourning Would]

There are laws for twitter? Sounds like I'm in biiiiiiiiiiig trouble

[KissMeDeadly]

Such bullshit, but, it happens. I also like how they said reading material was 'suspicious'. What, are they going to ban all 'suspicious' (read: left-wing) books?

Reminds me of the time one of my friends got busted for 'distributing' weed, when he wasn't dealing at all, he just had over an ounce. They took his brand new TV, guy worked at McDonald's at the time, he'd been saving up AND he used his entire tax return to get that TV.

[zerademark]

I never knew you could get arrested in America for owning books...
Buffy DVD's I can understand however lol.

In my country the police does razzia's on schools. Around december so, the students and their stuffs are searched by the police. Students having firework with them and so are send to the school-board for punisment, but the cops are actually looking for cell-mobile porn. If you do have porn on your cellphone, then the phone is confiscated and you'll get a fine to pay. However, is the porn your own "home-movie" with your {x < 18}-year old GF, then you can be send to prison.

My my, how am I "proud" of my country... [/sarcasm]

[skoteinh]

I'm sorry to say that, as an outsider, but what about the 1st Amendment? I thought freedom of speech is held high in the USofA.

From what I've read in the article this raid reminds me a lot of Orwell's '1984'.

[KissMeDeadly]

Originally Posted by skoteinh

I'm sorry to say that, as an outsider, but what about the 1st Amendment? I thought freedom of speech is held high in the USofA.

From what I've read in the article this raid reminds me a lot of Orwell's '1984'.

Stuff like this happens.

It has a lot to do with the infamous Patriot Act, basically if you're suspected of being a 'terrorist' the government can do whatever the fuck they want to do to you. They can arrest, prosecute, and sentence you all without trial or notifying you why.

And since the list of 'terrorist' activities has gone on to include almost every fucking thing, this is really no surprise.

Of course, events like these are few and far between, I mean, this one actually got on the news, so it's not like an everyday thing.

[Still Jack]

Reminds me of the time Grüneisen's house got raided. They confiscated everything, phones, computers, x-box, playstation, mp3 players, anything you can save data on to, home stereo, the works. All because he wiped a party.lu server clean. Apparently it was worth it though.

[skoteinh]

Originally Posted by KissMeDeadly

Of course, events like these are few and far between, I mean, this one actually got on the news, so it's not like an everyday thing.

You realise that this doesn't mean anything. Things like this may happen more often, and not get reported.

[Renatus]

So much for "change".

But why the heck does ANYONE except a miner, or some crazed psychopath who enjoys killing people with pick axes, need a pick axe?

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Renatus

So much for "change".

But why the heck does ANYONE except a miner, or some crazed psychopath who enjoys killing people with pick axes, need a pick axe?

Emergencies!

But Madison says that he'd become a believer in civil defense after the 2003 blackouts in New York and that the seized pickaxes are specialty, anti-sparking devices to be used in emergencies to shut off water mains. In fact, Madison and his wife told the court they'd made a YouTube video about what to put in a rescue pack. A review of the video by Threat Level confirms the pickaxe in the video matches the one seized by police.

[SweetJane]

Originally Posted by Renatus

So much for "change".

But why the heck does ANYONE except a miner, or some crazed psychopath who enjoys killing people with pick axes, need a pick axe?

As saya says, emergencies, and they could be used to destroy property such as the chain stores mentioned in the article.

[Solumina]

My mom has a pick axe, then again she lives in the middle of nowhere so one must always be prepared.

[Joker_in_the_Pack]

Originally Posted by skoteinh

I'm sorry to say that, as an outsider, but what about the 1st Amendment? I thought freedom of speech is held high in the USofA.

As a person taking American Political science (again) I will tell you one thing.

The Constitution is bullshit. It was written by people who were so full of shit I'm surprised their anglo-pale skin didn't turn brown.

You're talking about a large group of authority figures with near unlimited supply of henchmen (police, military, etc) and no real opposition. If tomorrow the Obama administration decides that they're going to go around and sodomize people at random with purple strap ons, well, there's not a whole lot you're going to have to say about it. Granted, it will be met with lots of resistance, but it's a funny thing that happens when people with guns run into people without them.

[JCC]

Are you sure that you're taking American political science? The founding fathers were all minarchists trying to facilitate corporate power as best they could, not erect a totalitarian terrorist-state, that shit came much later.

[Joker_in_the_Pack]

Originally Posted by JCC

Are you sure that you're taking American political science? The founding fathers were all minarchists trying to facilitate corporate power as best they could, not erect a totalitarian terrorist-state, that shit came much later.

Oh, the latter part of my post was referring to the modern government. I should have specified that.

[Deadmanwalking_05]

Originally Posted by KissMeDeadly

Stuff like this happens.

It has a lot to do with the infamous Patriot Act, basically if you're suspected of being a 'terrorist' the government can do whatever the fuck they want to do to you. They can arrest, prosecute, and sentence you all without trial or notifying you why.

And since the list of 'terrorist' activities has gone on to include almost every fucking thing, this is really no surprise.

Of course, events like these are few and far between, I mean, this one actually got on the news, so it's not like an everyday thing.

It isn't an everyday thing yet.

[Delkaetre]

We've had similar over here. Regular protestors are on police watch lists as potential domestic extremists- lovely term, that. Domestic Extremist. Sounds almost like we're terrorists. Mark Thomas has been making quite the fuss about it all, go look up his Guardian articles.

I'm not sure if I'm noted as a Domestic Extremist or not. I hope not. I'd be really annoyed if someone swooped on my house and took all my Invisibles, DMZ and Transmet comics as proof of my evil leanings.

(For those who don't read comics- The Invisibles is an anarchist-chaos magick-conspiracy theorist series by Grant Morrison. It's very weird and a bit David Ickey on it, but enjoyable fiction all the same. DMZ is about living in a no-mans-land area should civil war come to a developed country like the USA. Transmetropolitan is about a journalist who investigates politicians to the point of being on a presidential hitlist, and WINS. This all nothing more than enjoyable fiction, but may be taken as proof of something more)

[CptSternn]

A few years ago there was a man who was arrested for flashing his head lights to let on coming traffic know there was a speed trap ahead.

He was convicted of some minor crime, but was arrested for impeding an investigation. Either way they still managed to get him on something minor.

This seems to be the same thing. The bottom line is he was monitoring police on duty and then telling their location/actions to the masses in the area.

They don't like that and will arrest you for it. This sort of thing has been happening since the 70's and is nothing new.

[Mourning Would]

Originally Posted by CptSternn

A few years ago there was a man who was arrested for flashing his head lights to let on coming traffic know there was a speed trap ahead.

He was convicted of some minor crime, but was arrested for impeding an investigation. Either way they still managed to get him on something minor.

This seems to be the same thing. The bottom line is he was monitoring police on duty and then telling their location/actions to the masses in the area.

They don't like that and will arrest you for it. This sort of thing has been happening since the 70's and is nothing new.

I know my dad sometimes warns people about those things, but he's never been arrested for it

[Delkaetre]

Warning other motorists about speed traps is common courtesy. I don't know a single driver who doesn't do it except out of forgetfulness. Pity it's treated as A Bad Thing.

[Mourning Would]

Originally Posted by Delkaetre

Warning other motorists about speed traps is common courtesy. I don't know a single driver who doesn't do it except out of forgetfulness. Pity it's treated as A Bad Thing.

I suppose it depends on the situation, if the police are trying to find someone well known for speeding or hit and run incidents I guess they could arrest you

[Saya]

Good news, they dropped all charges: http://gothamist.com/2009/11/04/char...-20_twitte.php

But no news on when he's getting Buffy back.

[Despanan]

Looks like, despite Joker's EXTENSIVE studies in "American Political Science" the constitution is still worth a damn and we're actually not living in a police state afterall,

Good to know.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Despanan

Looks like, despite Joker's EXTENSIVE studies in "American Political Science" the constitution is still worth a damn and we're actually not living in a police state afterall,

Good to know.

If you read the article it does say that they are still investigating and this thing can be bigger than they thought previously, so really they're just playing cat and mouse with him but hopefully this means that someone screwed up royally and they just don't want to admit it. And they haven't given his stuff back.