Late last week two young Grand Jury resisters were released from the Federal Prison near Seattle, Washington.  They had been imprisoned since September for refusing to answer a Grand Jury’s questions.  The Grand Jury’s initial charge was to investigate politically motivated vandalism at demonstrations, but it quickly degenerated into a witch hunt designed to terrorize communities of young anarchists in the Pacific Northwest.  Supporters have maintained steady pressure for the detainees’ release on both the District Attorney and the Judge who were responsible for the resister’s imprisonment.

Guest post by Amber Black, RFC Public Relations & Technology Coordinator

Honoring resistance is at the core of what we do here at the RFC.  A lot of our focus right now is on the lead-up to the 60th anniversary this June, of the executions of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg - our namesake and inspiration, and a mighty symbol of resistance.

 In January, Trevor Aaronson, a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University, published The Terror Factor: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War on Terrorism.

Guest blog by Amber Black, RFC Public Relations & Technology Coordinator

With panels like, “Anarchy and Democracy: What’s the Difference?” and “State Repression of Social Movements in the U.S. and What We Can Do About It,” Nevermind the Inauguration: A Festival of Resistance held in Washington, DC on January 20th, (the weekend of that “other” big event in that city), was filled with punk rock fans and activists not high rollers and political insiders. 

Guest blog by Jenn Meeropol, RFC Associate Director

We often talk about the families who receive our grants as part of the “RFC community.” I was reminded of the strength of the connections and compassion within this community this week as I reached out to several of our current families for help responding to a request for assistance from a new set of parents under attack.