Two grand jury resisters walk free

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:19:00 +0000

Two anarchists from the Pacific Northwest endured five months in federal custody, often in solitary confinement, without conviction or charges, for simply staying silent. As we noted last year, Kteeo Olejnik and Matthew Duran were among activists subpoenaed by a Seattle grand jury understood to be investigating property damage exacted on the city during May 1 demonstrations last year. Olejnik and Duran, following a tradition of activist and anarchist solidarity, publicly announced their refusal to cooperate with the grand jury. For their silence, they were sent to SeaTac detention center. On Thursday afternoon the two grand jury resisters were freed.

Another young woman, 24-year-old Leah Lynn Plante, was also taken into federal custody last year when she refused to talk. Unlike Olejnik and Duran, however, Plante was released after one week. Anarchist networks following the case feared that Plante's resolve broke and that she had agreed to cooperate when faced with the reality of a potential 18 months or more in prison -- the details of Plante's case remain unknown. Both Olejnik and Duran maintained their resistance and walked free Thursday without having shared information with the authorities on other Northwest activists. Their release came after a federal judge agreed to a request for release issued by Olejnik and Duran's attorneys.

Grand jury resistor Leah-Lynn released from prison

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 19:57:00 +0000

As Salon reported last week, 24-year-old Portland anarchist Leah-Lynn Plante was imprisoned for refusing to cooperate with a federal grand jury. Like two other Northwest activists incarcerated earlier this year, Plante had not been charged or convicted with a crime but was nonetheless jailed for her silence.

Plante's support network announced Friday that she was released from federal prison a couple of days ago after spending a week in solitary confinement. The announcement says that information is scarce and that Plante, having believed she would face 18 months behind bars, is too traumatized to speak to the media. For unknown reasons, the announcement notes, Plante was classified as "different" from the two other Seattle grand jury resistors also taken in to federal custody in recent months. Matt Duran and Kteeo Olejnik remain incarcerated. Little is known about Duran's prison conditions, but it is believed he has been kept largely in solitary confinement. The statement from Plante's support network Friday noted that the freed grand jury resistor "urges people to step up support for Matt and Kteeo on all fronts."

Salon.com > Seattle Grand Jury

Two grand jury resisters walk free

Grand jury resistor Leah-Lynn released from prison