something i think that more anarchists (and really any radicals/leftists whatever) in the US context should think about is how to respond to grand juries when a grand jury happens in your organizing community and people start getting subpoenas. grand juries are a tool of state repression that are used to try to build felony cases against people. they happen in complete secret, where no one is allowed inside the courtrooms, even lawyers, and as a result, create situations where people start snitching and informing on each other, often without even realizing that the information they are sharing can implicate their comrades.
I, and many other anarchists, believe that if you are involved in organizing and protesting, that you have a responsibility to your community to refuse to testify as a witness for a grand jury. this almost always means jail time for contempt of court (for up to 18 months max) as a result, which is definitely a large sacrifice, but is something i believe is so fucking important when it comes to keeping our communities safe. this also means that our communities need to be prepared to offer robust support to our comrades who are sacrificing so much to keep our communities safe. we need to never abandon people to fight state repression alone.
i think that it is really important for people to start thinking through what their response would be to getting subpoenaed for a grand jury way before you get in a position where you're taking action or participating in communities where this might be a concern. and if you start learning about grand jury resistance and realize that that the logistics of resistance feel impossible for you to actually be able to do, i don't think that's something that you need to feel shame about. but i do think that then means you need structure your organizing and protesting life in such a way where you are not involved in communities that are taking felony-level risks. i cannot emphasize enough how unacceptable it is to become an informant for the state, and even if you tell yourself you're not going to give away any implicating or private information, any information you give to prosecutors helps them map networks and build cases. i really do think that we all have a moral obligation to keep each other safe, and when people participate in state repression and testify in grand juries, they are throwing their comrades under the bus to save themselves at the expense of their comrades freedom.
i'll link some resources to learn more and share a quote from Katie Yow, a grand jury resistor in 2017.
"The state demeans everything that we hold dear when they threaten us in this way. The most free and wild thing we have in this world is our love for each other, and we know that our health, our safety, and our liberation can only exist in a world without their cops, their courts, and their cages. Our strength lies in knowing that we can provide that for each other, and that nothing they offer or threaten is worth betraying our commitment to our communities.
“As state repression escalates, I know that all of us are struggling with the trauma and the grief that comes from the forces we fight against, and the vulnerability that we feel to the state in its despicable efforts to attack us. What I also know, what I believe with all my heart and everything I have, is that we have the strength we need to take care of each other and to fight back until we win.”- Katie Yow
Resources:
Grand Jury Resistance Project
Surviving a Grand Jury from Crimethinc
