Feds Are After Craig Rosebraugh Again!

They are not likely to flee - what is the point of insuring jail time when you are not even charged with a crime. Besides Mr. Rosebraugh has had many opportunities to flee and has not.

It is my understanding that Craig is being subpoenaed as a material witness against the defendants in the ELF trials scheduled to being in October 2006. There has been no mention of him being subpoenaed to yet another grand jury. However, the penalties for noncooperation with the subpoena mimic those of grand juries - contempt of court and lengthy prison sentences. This is in addition to the speculation that more indictments are still to come.

The time is NOW - not when/if Craig should be subpoenaed - by then it could be too late. Local activists should already be educating themselves/others - organizing and preparing to fight the grand jury and those who support it.

Again and again, Craig Rosebraugh has proven himself to be anything but a "snitch." In the face of overwhelming repression and harassment, including an unrelenting campaign of disinformation from the dark side, he has always remained a true member of this community. He has set an example for the rest of us in terms of how to behave amidst government-sponsored witch hunts. May we remember that, and stand by him now.

For those who don't know much about Rosebraugh, here are some audio files from Craig speaking at Laughing Horse Books in January of 2003. The talk was long, so I broke it up into three segments of roughly 40 minutes apiece.

This report below was posted to Indymedia at the time, though I can't remember who posted it. The links to his presentation, In RealPlayer Stream, follow the report.

Craig Rosebraugh delivered a lecture to an overflow crowd at the Laughing Horse Bookstore tonight. Folks were packed in as tight as sardines, and spilled out onto the sidewalk, but listened in rapt silence as Craig shared his thoughts and research from the work he has recently done on his Master's thesis. A sense of occasion unmistakably permeated the room, and Craig did not disappoint. I missed the first part of his three part lecture because I couldn't get in, but I managed to squeak in for parts two and three. Way in the back, I took notes as furiously as I could, but was unable to keep up with his quick pace, so I don't have much to share at this time. Fortunately the audio from the full lecture was captured and will be uploaded to the internet sometime in the next day or two. As soon as it is, a link will be posted here to portland indymedia, so check back for it. Craig is a good public speaker. There was not a single "um" in the entire evening that I heard. You could tell he's been writing on these subjects a lot because of the many nice, tight phrases that he used. I had my eyes opened to some history I didn't know, and some concepts I'd considered, but not heard out loud (at least not so eloquently). He made no call for "violent revolution" and I don't know if that disappointed the cop in the room. (There was at least one, of course.) He shared the facts he'd found, and some insights he'd arrived at, but made no specific prescription for action. Nonetheless, the radical perspective he brought was refreshing in these peacenik-ridden times, when a call goes out for 100 peacekeepers but not one cop-watcher. (See Ward Churchill's "Pacifism as Pathology" for more on this topic.) One thing he mentioned that made me think was the idea that non-violence will only work against an opponent who has "a healthy working conscience, decency and compassion" and can thus realize the error of their ways. Not all opponents will have this, and Craig named Hitler as an example of someone in the irredeemable category. The political violence that was used by the Allied Powers to stop his evil has never been questioned. Is Bush in that category? Is Capitalism? These are questions to consider. From that same time period, Craig also cited the Jews who, on their way to the gas chambers, attacked their guards in an attempt to save their own lives. This was a situation where people turned to violent tactics because their own lives were threatened and they felt they had no other option. Are we at a point where the imminent destruction of the environment is leaving us with no other options but violence? Again, this is a question to consider. Craig offered no answer to either of these questions, and neither does this reporter, but I believe they are important to consider. The violence/non-violence discussion that keeps cropping up often spirals into speculative "what-ifs" without considering these, and other, important historical examples. (BTW, Craig also quoted MLK and Gandhi speaking about the importance of self-defense, and the possible practicality of violence in the process of social change; it's interesting how the peaceniks ignore certains parts of the histories of these two icons when they don't come into focus with their fear-induced myopia.) I, and other people, were left with a lot to think about. Craig brought the violence debate into new territory and raised some very challenging concepts. He didn't pretend to know the answers, but he certainly wasn't afraid of the questions, and that was great to see.

Craig Rosebraugh, Part 1
Craig Rosebraugh, Part 2
Craig Rosebraugh, Part 3
(Note. I've included the link to the audio portion of my website, though some of the older links are dead. I hope to get them working again, ASAP)

I want to clarify that Craig Rosebraugh is not a flight risk. I was attempting to explain the nature of material witness status. There is an ignorant rumor spreading saying that he is a snitch because of an irresponsible misunderstanding of what a material witness is(Google Material Witness, it's really freaky how that law has been abused and used to jail innocent people for long periods of time who've been accused of no crime). I want it to be clear that he is not a snitch. Craig has no information. He has been before grand juries time and time again. The state just wants to abuse its new powers to further harass and/or detain anyone who dares to verbally support resistance against the empire. And yeah, we absolutely should support him now!

It's good to see this posting in support of Craig. It should be noted however that Asst. USA Steven Peifer has stated publicly Craig will be subpoenaed as a material witness AGAINST the defendents in the upcoming ELF trials, scheduled to begin in October 2006. There has been no public mention of Craig being subpoenaed to another grand jury. However, the risk to Craig is much the same as he had to deal with in the past grand juries - contempt of court and lengthy prison sentences for noncooperation. This is in addition to the speculation that more indictments are still to be handed down. He has faced years of repression and has stood firm against the government. Craig needs our support.

I agree with the above poster who said the time to prepare is now, not later. Cop Watch periodically holds classes informing citizens on what to do if they are approached, questioned or arrested by police, is there a similar organization, such as North West Constitutional Rights Center, who would step forward and conduct similar training sessions on a federal level. I know the laws are different, especially when you factor in the Patriot Act and the Joint Terrorist Task Force. This may even be the time when we ask Craig Rosebraugh himself to step out of retirement and help in conducting such educational seminars. Is this something which other concerned activists would be interested in pursuing before it is too late and the agents are knocking on our doors?