On the morning of Thursday, July 21st, Firestorm was visited by two individuals from the FBI who claimed to be concerned about right-wing threats towards our co-operative. One provided a business card identifying himself as a special agent with the Charlotte Division's Asheville satellite office and asked if we had received any threats (presumably, not including the presence of FBI agents). They didn't ask any other questions about our collective or our community and we didn't provide any other information.
We have retained an attorney through the National Lawyers Guild, an association of lawyers and legal workers best known for defending the rights of activists. We're sharing our experience in the hope that others in our community, whether or not they consider themselves activists, will be prepared if an agent knocks.
In recent years, vague threats of right wing violence have become the standard opener for federal agents seeking to engage activists and their loved ones. This pretense of concern for our safety plays on our fears and can make us vulnerable to intelligence gathering and self-incrimination. The FBI—an organization literally founded to disrupt organized labor and criminalize anarchists—is not part of our safety plan! From the assassination of Fred Hampton to the repression of the George Floyd Uprising, the FBI has always aligned itself with the interests of white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.
If you're approached by the FBI or other federal agents, get their information and tell them you'll have your lawyer follow up. Then end the conversation. It's a crime to lie to federal agents, even unintentionally, so it's safest to simply not speak further. You can call the NLG's Federal Defense Hotline at (212) 679-2811.
Talk to your friends, talk to your neighbors, talk to your family—tell them not to talk to the FBI! #WeKeepUsSafe
Anti-Repression Resources
- If An Agent Knocks, an essential guide from The Center for Constitutional Rights
- Inside the FBI Entrapment Strategy, an article describing recent FBI attacks on anarchists
- Digital Security 101, an hour long workshop on securing your devices
- Doxcare: Prevention and Aftercare for Those Targeted by Doxxing and Political Harassment, a step-by-step guide on protecting yourself from online stalkers