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Sounds like the 1989/1990 raids verbatim; could the Reclaim Guide and
similar documents become the new E911?
aadm mount
seraphseven: design. comics. zen.
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An Interview with Sherman of RTF / LAAnarchists.org by mark
January 27 2002, Sun, 5:14pm
http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2002/01/114583.php
An interview with Sherman, formerly of RaiseTheFist.com and
LAAnarchists.org, whose home was raided by the LA Joint Terrorism Task Force
on Jan. 24; the websites were shutdown and his computers confiscated.
Sherman denies involvement with any illegal activity, saying of the Feds,
"They're afraid. And they're going to try and silence us any way they can.
... My best advice is to not give in to their fear-tactics. Keep fighting,
[Ed. note: This e-mail interview is reproduced uncut and unabridged. Only
spelling, punctuation, and basic grammar have been corrected.]
Hello, feel free to publish my responses to your questions anywhere.
:: Was there any warning that investigation of your website was heating up?
Yes. I have been monitoring government agencies connecting to the site for a
long time. I'd been noticing more frequency with them coming back to the
site. They had also started intercepting all packets on my DSL line, and
seized one of my older AIM screen names for 12 days, so I knew something was
going to happen - soon. It was really obvious. I even saw them outside my
house at times. They have been monitoring the site very, very extensively
LONG before the "incriminating content" which they were "concerned" about
was posted onto the site. They simply used this content as an excuse to
obtain a warrant for the raid.
:: As a victim of one of the first post-Patriot Act anti-"terrorism" raids,
why do you think the Feds chose you?
Simply because Raisethefist was effective in what I was doing. It's the same
reason why Feds raid other activist organizations. They're effective. And
effectiveness within our movement scares them. They're afraid. And they're
going to try and silence us any way they can.
:: Do you have a copy of the warrant that was served? What did it say they
were looking for?
I cannot post any contents of the warrant online. Yes I have a copy of it.
The warrant contains a lot of bogus information and misinterpretations. The
warrant has information on me since I was 14 (I'm 18 now, almost 19).
:: Any idea how many agents/officers participated in the raid?
Yep, there was about 25-30 of them. They surrounded my house with guns.
Blocked off the garage door with a big bench, had a door bammer, had cars
all up and down the streets, then 2 agents knocked at my door, pulled me
outside, and the FBI came in and raided. My sister and her friends were home
at the time, and she refused to answer the door. I was currently taking a
nap and she woke me up to tell me that there were police and undercover/FBI
people all up and down the streets looking at the house. That's when I got
up and approached the door.
:: Can you remember any exact quotes that the agents told you - what
precisely did they say about 9-11, your web site, what they were looking
for, etc.
They told me the main reason for the raid was because of the content on the
site, and they wanted to see who was looking at it. This was not the main
reason. It was an excuse. The alledged content which they claim they were so
concerned about is from the Reclaim Guide. It's posted on thousands of other
web sites around the internet. Why didn't they raid those? Why did they only
come after Raisethefist.com? Again, they've been watching the site for a
long time, long before the Reclaim Guide was even posted onto the site. They
used this as an excuse to get a warrant for the raid and seize all computer
equipment. I can't discuss the specifics over the internet, but I know for
sure that they didn't raid simply because they wanted to see who was looking
at the content on the site.
[Ed. note: The Reclaim Guide does not appear to be readily available
elsewhere, in its entirety, although the topics covered are.]
One of the first things one of the head agents conducting the raid asked me
was, "why did you grow your hair out?" The picture they have of me is a bit
older when I had short hair. They were acting as if I was trying to "hide my
appearance" from them. They then sat me down, started asking me questions,
etc. All this while the FBI was in my house with guns drawn, and seizing all
computer equipment.
The FBI, Secret Service, LAPD and LASD (Sheriffs Dept.) participated in the
raid. The Secret Service person kept asking me if I'd like to see Bush
killed. They were asking me a lot of loaded questions.
:: What exactly did the agents take? How many computers and how much was it
all worth? What were some titles of the books, literature, and other items
they confiscated?
I have about 12 computers. About 8 of them were running on the network. They
took all of the computers in my house which had a hard drive in them. Which
was basically all of them, except for the few broken ones which I was
working on fixing. So yeah, they basically took everything. They ransacked
my entire room. I don't have any more computers. They took all the hubs, DSL
modem, etc., etc. I had thousands of dollars worth of equipment which was
seized until further notice. They told me I probably won't be getting it
back for a while (I doubt I ever will be) because they have to go through
all of the files on all of the hard drives, which is a lot of data.
They also confiscated all of my political liturature. Everything from
independent political newspapers to protest flyers, etc., etc.
:: Why do you think the FBI raided RaiseTheFist.com? Do you think they were
out to shutdown something unique to your site, such as the photos of
undercover cops?
They raided it simply because it was effective. It had a lot of potential,
and was really moving, not just as a web site, but essentially as an
anarchist/activist collective - kids were starting to set up clubs in their
schools called "Raisethefist" - we were also beginning to put together an
anarchist collective for Los Angeles, amongst other things. I believe one of
the main things that got them scared about the site, is that we called for
an actual change. Raisethefist was a bit more radical than other web sites,
and seeing how it was getting so popular, they wanted to shut it down.
:: Based on what the agents told you, and your suspicions, do you have any
idea if other participants or contributors to the website, or other
websites, are also under investigation?
Yes. Those whose web sites I was hosting on the server will most likely be
under investigation. How soon, or how much, I don't know. It could be going
on right now. But i can't confirm. As far as I know, they are pretty
overwhelmed with all the paperwork and other stuff they have to do with me,
so who knows. I just advise those to be careful. Nothing illegal was being
done, but the FBI likes to interpret things with a lot of prejudice against
anarchists/activists, especially now after 9-11.
:: Did RaiseTheFist.com have any external backup? Do you expect to get your
computers back any time soon? Do you have any plans to resume web
operations?
I had the site backed up on a CD-ROM, which they took. Right now, we're just
trying to find bits and pieces of the site in peoples cache so we can get it
back up as soon as possible. There are people working on getting the site
back up on another host. Getting the site back up is the first step, then
trying to resume with it is the second step. It's going to take some time to
get everything back together. I put alot of time into programming all of the
things into the site. I don't think I'm going to get my computer equipment
back. If I do, it won't be for a long time. They already told me that I
probably won't be seeing any of it any time soon. They also told me that i
was in some "serious trouble," etc., etc.
:: A webposting states that you are "a kid" who lives with his parents. Any
comment as to whether you are under or over 18, and who you live with?
I'm 18 years old, almost 19. I currently live with my mom. The computers
were also used for my job. I've been supporting myself through them doing
independent programming. So not only is Raisethefist.com gone, but I'm out
of a job for the time being.
By the way, there are a lot of stupid-ass rumors going on out there. I think
I heard one about someone saying I was making "weapons of mass destruction"
or something. Just shows the ignorance amongst a lot of people out there.
:: Do you think the Bush Administration is just trying to see what it can
get away with? What would you predict will be the outcome of this episode?
They're going to try and get away with anything, and everything.
:: What does the future hold?
Nothing but a barcode.
What can we do to protect ourselves?
This was one of the main concerns Raisethefist.com addressed. My best advice
is to not give in to their fear-tactics. Keep fighting, and fight hard.
Don't stop.
:: With a newly-empowered FBI, is the web perhaps too open a medium for
revolutionary expression? Are there alternatives whether through new
technology or the lack thereof?
There is less security on the internet, as there really has never been any.
But I'd suggest not to be discouraged by it. Keep utilizing the internet as
an information resource.
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