A statement from Leah-Lynn Plante on her refusal to testify before the grand jury
August 28, 2012
My name is Leah-Lynn Plante, and I am one of the people who has been subpoenaed to a secret grand jury, meeting in Seattle on August 30.
This will be the second time I have appeared before the grand jury, and the second time I have refused to testify. The first time was on August 2. I appeared, as ordered, and I identified myself. Then the US Attorney asked if I would be willing to answer her questions. I said, No, and was issued another subpoena, this time for the 30th.
A month later, my answer is still the same. No, I will not answer their questions. I believe that these hearings are politically motivated. The government wants to use them to collect information that it can use in a campaign of repression. I refuse to have any part of it.
It is likely that the government will put me in jail for that refusal.
I hate the very idea of prison. But I know, if I am sent there, I will not be alone. I can only speak for myself, but I have every faith that the others subpoenaed to these hearings will likewise refuse. And I know that hundreds of people have called the US Attorney demanding that they end this tribunal. Hundreds of organizations, representing thousands of people, signed onto a statement expressing solidarity with those of us under attack and demanding an end to this sort of repression.
I know that those people will continue to support me, and the others subpoenaed, and the targets of the investigation. That spirit of solidarity is exactly what the state fears. It is the source of our strength, yours and mine. And that strength shows itself in every act of resistance.
Committee Against Political Repression 
What does the governemnt want information on? I stand behind you. Let me know if there is anything else I can do.
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Thanks for your courage.What you say about solidarity is true. xo from Christine in pdx
Be strong sister you are as brave as you are beautiful (call me sexist,but that’s how I feel) I myself have been targeted and harassed (jailed,beaten) for refusing to Narc on my comerades, I will never fold. WE will never fold. All of Occupy is behind you, all freethinkers are behind you, Righteousness and truth are with you, you are an example to all who would be discouraged, and if the Establishment attempts to imprison you, it will only be made worse for them.
Be strong! You are not alone. Around the world we are all fighting and suffering for a better world. This is just another witch hunt which seeks to distract everyone from the truth of what the government, and large mega corps, and banks are doing to all of us.
Solidarity from appalachia
Incredible! I can’t believe they are doing this! You are citizen of US, and they have no right to treat you that way. Besides, aren’t the prisons full of criminals, judged from much more severe crimes?
Hacve courage and be full of strength.
Greetings from Helsinki, Finland.
Hello Henri. We in the USA are not as free as the rest of the world has been led to believe.
We support brave Leah-Lynn – go girl x
Thank you for your courage and conscience.
We salute you.
How’ she do? Is she free?
On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 5:46 PM, Committee Against Political Repression wrote:
> ** > Felix Vainglory commented: “Thank you for your courage and conscience. > We salute you.” >
Thank you for your courage…stay strong, stay in the light=)
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I saw a message recently that I liked and would like to share I do not know who wrote it………………..”A Message To Anyone Who Fights The Establishment”……..As peaceful as your protest may be, it threatens the establishment and those in charge of it. To think they will just roll over and hand the Empire to you is stupidity. They are going to fight, they are going to lie, they are going to do anything in their power to keep the establishment the way it is. I think it is important to remember that anything they do to you is nothing compared to what they do to us all, have done to us in the past and if not stopped will continue to do to us in the future. So when they fight you, and they will, keep in mind it is a sure sign that what you are fighting for is working. Be strong, be true, and don’t give up.
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Leah, your courage is inspiring. Without, activists like yourself willing to resist grand juries the state would be capable of tearing movements apart. But your dedication has taken there power away. Thank you so much. Love and Solidarity.
You go girl ! Solidarity from Tallahassee
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I just read about this so I guess I’m a bit of a Johnny-come-lately but: Leah, you rock. Keep your spirits up. You’re one of many people standing up & fighting for freedom around the world, & we stand with you. Solidarity forever!
From experience:
Prison is not a bad place, it is a place to regain focus and reflect, you will have time to better understand yourself. Time away from this world should be looked at as a blessing. To find your inner strength, depending less on the support of this world, you will emerge stronger.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:10)
-Light Bringer
Just
saw you on democracy now; and send love to you and your fellow activists/jailed or in support. Good luck.!
Like sciamachy above, I only just read about your situation.
I stand with you in solidarity. And not because I claim Seattle and the greater Cascadia region as my material and ideological home but because of a cosmopolitanism that connects us all in times of struggle. And it is a cosmopolitanism, in the sense used from Diogenes to Appiah, that of a citizenship of the world, that we see mirrored even in these some comments, drawn from corners of the United States and the world.
It is this both domestic and international solidarity that produces power, power that only violence can threaten, and this is the logic of state violence. It is the power of solidarity, among other repertoires of resistance, that provides power with its infinite divisibility. It is against this power that state violence strikes, as it has been from all tyrannical episodes of history. But we may find solace in the words of Hanah Arendt, “while violence can destroy power, it can never become a substitute for it.”
Keep on resisting, it seems that very soon the assertion the 2+2=4 will be a punishable offense, yet we will maintain this truth, come what may.
You are courageous and inspirational — and you are not alone. Thank you for what you’ve done.
Thus spoke Leah