Cooks Not Terrorists

COOKS NOT TERRORISTS
A global day of action for the end of the FBI's campaign of infiltration and disruption of the Food Not Bombs movement in the U.S.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2008
The Anniversary of the Patriot Act

A global day of action for the end of the FBI's campaign of infiltration and disruption of the Food Not Bombs movement in the U.S.

Free the our political prisoners
Drop the Patriot Act Charges on the Minneapolis 8

Food Not Bombs is taking nonviolent direct action to provide solutions to the global economic collapse. At the same time the FBI and other security agencies have infiltrated and disrupted the efforts of Food Not Bombs. This summer Food Not Bombs houses and offices were raided by the FBI and several cooks were framed. Gatherings have been disrupted and innocent volunteers sentenced to decades in prison. The FBI has placed Food Not Bombs on their "Terrorist Watch List" knowing the movement is dedicate to nonviolence.

I am suggesting that Food Not Bombs call for a global day of action on October 26, 2008 calling on an end to the U.S. government's campaign against our movement. The USA Patriot Act was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. We could hold vigils, share vegan meals and speak out about the clampdown outside federal buildings, U.S. embassies and FBI offices on October 26th. The federally coordinated attempt to discredit and silence Food Not Bombs has been ignored by the media in the United States. If the infiltration, raids and prosecutions Food Not Bombs volunteers were happening in Cuba or China the U.S. media would run news reports around the clock but because this coordinated national repression is happening against nonviolent cooks in America there has been almost total silence. A coordinated political and legal action is needed to protect the rights of our volunteers, reduce the number of volunteers from spending their lives in prison and make it possible for us to continue with our nonviolent efforts to feed the hungry and work to end war and poverty. As the global economy fails it is becoming more important then ever that we reduce the amount of organized federal disruption as possible. We can also encourage our volunteers to speak out against violence when people make "jokes" or suggestions about violence during our meetings or while cooking and sharing meals. we can hand out our flyer about our dedication to nonviolence and remind the public that as our name says we are for food and not bombs.

FBI, HOMELAND SECURITY AND THE PENTAGON CLAIM THAT FOOD NOT BOMBS IS A TERRORIST GROUP

Many Food Not Bombs volunteers probably don't know that the FBI and other agencies have been disrupting our work. We know that we are dedicated to nonviolence and that we really do collect, cook and share meals and that we really are working for peace. Unfortunately our volunteers in the United States have been under increasing attack by the FBI and other federal agencies since the passage of the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was used to justify the raids on our cook houses in Minnesota and the raids and arrests across the country. Several volunteers arrested in the raids have been charged under the Patriot Act. The FBI has paid a number of people to infiltrate Food Not Bombs and disrupt our activities. We have documented evidence that the FBI paid "Anna" $75,000 and provided her with blasting caps, a book on how to make a bomb and a wired car and home. Two Food Not Bombs volunteers were convicted as a result of this FBI fabricated "terrorist threat." This FBI infiltrator worked with other infiltrators to disrupt our kitchens at a number of protests including the anti- globalization action in Miami and the Food Not Bombs gatherings in New York and Philadelphia. Eric McDavid was sentenced to 19 years in prison and Lauren Weiner is doing 5 years. The raids on our cook houses in Minnesota is the most recent case of infiltrators and the FBI disrupting Food Not Bombs. The American Civil Liberties Union has provided evidence of a nation wide campaign against Food Not Bombs by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Pentagon and other intelligence agencies. An FBI powerpoint presentation listed Food Not Bombs as one of the top ten terrorist groups in Texas. Two Food Not Bombs volunteers were taken off a flight from Europe and questioned by Homeland Security about their involvement with "the violent group Food Not Bombs." The officers input the information taken from their wallets on business cards and other documents in to a computer. After Richmond Food Not Bombs proposed we hold a global gathering in New York during the Republican National Convention the FBI joined the Richmond and New York Chapters and promoted an argument between both groups. The gathering did not happen as a result. At the same time the FBI questioned our volunteers in Denver, Colorado and Lawrence, Kansas. The ACLU in Arizona, California, New York, North Carolina, and a number of other states shows that the FBI, Pentagon and other agencies are investigating and disrupting the work of Food Not Bombs. This nationally coordinated federal campaign treating Food Not Bombs as a "hard core terrorist group" is growing more dangerous. With the failing economy many people will be relying on Food Not Bombs for help. We can't let the U.S. government disrupt our important work.

Please visit these two pages for more back ground:

http://www.foodnotbombs.net/spy.html
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/raids.html

NOTE: Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) voted YES on March 1, 2006, on reauthorizing the Patriot Act. Obama voted NO on December 16, 2005, on the Motion for Cloture of PATRIOT Act (HR 3199).

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2008

CONTACT:
Food Not Bombs
P.O. Box 424, Arroyo Seco, NM 97514 USA
575-776-3880 or 1-800-884-1136
menu@foodnotbombs.net
www.foodnotbombs.net