NYTimes.com Article: An Antiwar Forum in Iowa Brings Federal Subpoenas (fwd)

An Antiwar Forum in Iowa Brings Federal Subpoenas

February 10, 2004
 By MONICA DAVEY

DES MOINES, Feb. 9 - To hear the antiwar protesters
describe it, their forum at a local university last fall
was like so many others they had held over the years. They
talked about the nonviolent philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi
and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., they said, and how
best to convey their feelings about Iraq into acts of civil
disobedience.

But last week, subpoenas began arriving seeking details
about the forum's sponsor - its leadership list, its annual
reports, its office location - and the event itself. On
Monday, lawyers for the sponsor, the Drake University
chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, went to court in an
effort to block the federal prosecutors' demands.

Those who attended the forum, at least four of whom said
they had received subpoenas to appear before a federal
grand jury on Tuesday, said that they did not know what to
make of the inquiry and that they feared it was intended to
quash protest.

Late on Monday, prosecutors in the United States attorney's
office for the southern district of Iowa took the unusual
step of issuing a confirmation of the investigation,
stressing that its scope was limited to learning more about
one person who had tried to scale a security fence at an
Iowa National Guard base in a protest a day after the
forum.

"The United States attorney's office does not prosecute
persons peacefully and lawfully engaged in rallies which
are conducted under the protection of the First Amendment
to the Constitution of the United States," a written
statement issued by the prosecutor here, Stephen Patrick
O'Meara, said.

Prosecutors also delayed the grand jury appearances by a
month, a move local civil liberties officials interpreted
as a sign that the government might be backing away from
the investigation.

"I'd say the prosecutors are recognizing the groundswell of
reaction that has happened in the face of this
extraordinary thing they've done," said R. Ben Stone,
executive director of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union.

Still, the protesters, their lawyers and some national
civil liberties advocates described the investigation into
the attendance rolls and leadership lists of the lawyers'
group as highly unusual in recent years. Some said it could
send a chilling message far beyond Iowa, leaving those who
consider voicing disapproval of the administration's policy
in Iraq, or anywhere else, wondering whether they too might
receive added scrutiny.

"I've heard of such a thing, but not since the 1950's, the
McCarthy era," said David D. Cole, a Georgetown law
professor. "It sends a very troubling message about
government officials' attitudes toward basic liberties."

Anthony Romero, the executive director of the American
Civil Liberties Union, said he feared news of the subpoenas
- which was spreading rapidly via e-mail on Monday among
activist organizations - might discourage people from
showing up to protests, attending meetings at universities
or even checking out library books.

"People will have to be asking themselves: will this be
subject to government scrutiny?" Mr. Romero said.

Brian Terrell, the executive director of the Catholic Peace
Ministry here, received a grand jury subpoena last week, he
said. Mr. Terrell said he had helped conduct "nonviolence
training" at the Nov. 15 forum on the Drake campus, which
was titled "Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard
Home!" and attended by 21 people.

Mr. Terrell, 47, said he had been involved in and sometimes
arrested for protests of United States actions related to
Honduras; Vieques, Puerto Rico; and elsewhere over many
years. He said he offered advice for people who chose to be
arrested about how best to carry out their protests, like
how to deal with police, how to deal with hecklers and how
to react to jail.

At the forum, Mr. Terrell said, at least one local
television station filmed the events, which were open to
the public. Organizers had also mailed a leaflet about the
events to a sergeant in the Des Moines police in case he
wanted to come.

"Everything we did was completely in the open," Mr. Terrell
said. "We've been doing this sort of thing a long time. The
police know the routine. We know them. Usually things here
in Iowa are very friendly."

The day after the forum, some in the group traveled to an
Iowa National Guard base in Johnston, north of Des Moines,
where they staged a demonstration, which Mr. Terrell
described as routine. A dozen people were arrested there,
mainly on state charges of trespass. At least one woman was
also charged with assault. Mr. Terrell said he did not know
of anyone trying to scale the fence at the base, but the
federal authorities say someone did.

Mr. O'Meara, the prosecutor, said in his statement, "The
narrow purpose and scope of that inquiry has been narrowed
to determine whether there were any violations of federal
law, or prior agreements to violate federal law, regarding
unlawful entry onto military property - and specifically to
include whether there were any violations as a result of an
alleged attempt to enter within the fenced, secure
perimeter at Camp Dodge."

Officials at Drake University, a private institution of
5,100 students, declined to comment on Monday. Lisa Lacher,
a spokeswoman for the school, said the court had made
Drake, which received a broad subpoena in the case, subject
"to a nondisclosure order" about the matter. "I'm afraid
then that there's not much we can say," Ms. Lacher said.

The school's subpoena called for detailed information on
the lawyers guild and its members, including the names of
those who are officers, and guild meeting agendas and
annual reports since 2002.

The subpoena also focused on the Nov. 15 antiwar forum,
asking for "all requests for use of a room, all documents
indicating the purpose and intended participants in the
meeting, and all documents or recordings which would
identify persons that actually attended the meeting."

Wendy Vasquez, 52, a clerical worker in Des Moines, also
received a subpoena last week. Ms. Vasquez was one of those
arrested outside the National Guard base the day after the
forum at Drake. She said that in the past, she had been
arrested for protesting the war in El Salvador and
advocating for homeless people.

But this investigation, she said, appeared to be different.


"It was just another very mellow Iowa protest, so it's hard
to know what this is all about," Ms. Vasquez said. "I guess
it's meant to terrify the peace movement. I don't see what
else they could be doing."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/10/national/10PROT.html?ex=1077429537&ei
=1&en=ea7c05c1d69b226f


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