And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Tim Hundsdorfer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> replies: From today's Colorado Daily http://www.codaily.com/Headlines/headline1.htm Means to testify Denver press event prompts developments in Anna Mae murder case By BRIAN HANSEN Colorado Daily Staff Writer Renowned American Indian Movement activist Russell Means has been subpoenaed to testify before a Sioux Falls, S.D., federal grand jury that is believed to be hearing evidence pertaining to the still-unsolved murder of AIM activist Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash, the Colorado Daily has learned. Means, who recently held a press conference in Denver at which he publicly denounced the individuals who he believes killed Anna Mae, could not be reached for comment by press time Monday. But Anna Mae's cousin Robert Pictou-Branscombe, who joined Means on Dec. 3 at the Denver press conference, said he's encouraged by the development. "I think this is all coming to a head," Branscombe said in a telephone interview from his Arizona home. "Russell is the straw that's going to break the camel's back." According to Branscombe and Means, a Denver area "street person" was one of several individuals who collaborated in "kidnapping" Anna Mae from a Denver residence in December of 1975. Anna Mae's body was later found in a deserted area of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She had been shot point-blank in the back of the head, execution style. Branscombe, Means and CU professor Ward Churchill are among the legions of AIM activists and scholars who believe that the FBI is in some way culpable for Anna Mae's murder. For years, speculation has raged that Anna Mae was killed by AIM members who were convinced -- wrongly -- that she was an FBI informant who was going to disclose information damaging to the American Indian Movement. Others believe that she was killed by federal agents because she would not cooperate with the FBI's well-documented campaign to infiltrate and destabilize AIM during the 1970s. Those rumors reportedly intensified after June 26, 1975, when two FBI agents -- and one Indian -- were killed in a firefight on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Had she lived, Anna Mae would have likely been called to testify at the trial of AIM activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of killing the agents and sentenced to two consecutive life terms in federal prison. No one has ever been arrested or charged in conjunction with Anna Mae's murder. But in approximately 1994, according to the Daily's sources, law-enforcement officials became aware of new evidence that suggested that Anna Mae had been kidnapped from a Denver residence immediately prior to her murder. Denver Police Detective Abe Alonzo, who was investigating the so-called "Denver connection" until just a few weeks ago, recently told the Daily that he can no longer discuss details of the case. Branscombe is convinced that one of the individuals who took Anna Mae to her death still resides in the Denver area. And predictably, Branscombe's public allegations have brought him some not-so-desirable repercussions. "Let's face it -- this is going to mess up some lives," Branscombe said of his campaign to find Anna Mae's killers. "I've been told that the target on my back is getting bigger, and that it's 'open season' on Bob Branscombe." Still, Branscombe said he's convinced he's doing the right thing. "At this stage, I feel like we've come forward enough where everybody knows there's a major interest in the case, and everybody wants it taken care of," Branscombe said. "This is the beginning of finally getting this case where it should be." Means is scheduled to appear before the grand jury on Wednesday. He is expected to make a public statement after the proceedings. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<> Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<>
