Secret Service Targets Local Indymedia Activist

The US Federal Government is again engaging in attempts to squelch dissent, harass people who are simply exercising their free speech rights, and intimidate others from exercising their right to protest in connection with the Republican National Convention. To quote one Indymedia volunteer, regarding New York City Indymedia:

“It has come to my attention that our hosting provider, Calyx Internet Access, has been under harassment and scrutiny by the United States Secret Service in a blatant attempt to disrupt our relationship. Furthermore, it has been revealed to me that my contact information was required to be disclosed to the government, presumably to begin directly harassing me. The SS did not contact the IMC directly in relation to this matter, but instead felt it prudent to put a strain on a place with which we do business. The agents attempted to circumvent Indymedia by contacting Calyx by phone, originally without a warrant or subpoena, in order to obtain user connection logs regarding a particular post on an Indymedia site. The post in question is a repost by an anonymous person containing information that is already available all over the Internet, and publicly available in other forms.” Specifically, a public list of delegates to the RNC was posted.

One subject of the subpoena was Pittsburgh Indymedia volunteer Matt Toups, who helps run the NYC Indymedia web server with the IMC network’s tech working group. The American Civil Liberties Union is defending Calyx Internet and the four IMC volunteers subject to the subpoena.

This is not the first time the US Federal Government has gone after Indymedia in a baseless investigation. For more background on the 2001 FBI/Secret Service case in Seattle: http://indymedia.org/fbi/. For more info on the case, a copy of the subpoena and coverage in the national corporate news, visit www.indypgh.org.

- Pittsburgh Independent Media www.indypgh.org