Misuse of Grand Juries

On March 21, 2006, Camilo Stephenson was subpoenaed to a Denver, Colorado, grand jury and questioned about the 1998 Vail ski resort fire. He denied any knowledge of any of the incidents.

Jeff Hogg and Burke Morris were subpoenaed to testify in front of federal grand juries on May 18, Hogg in Eugene, and Morris in Denver. Hogg refused to testify before the Eugene grand jury, and was held in contempt by Judge Michael Hogan and sent to jail. Hogg was then placed in custody, without having being charged with any crime. The unlawful grand jury was scheduled to expire on September 29, 2006. However, days before Jeff was to regain his freedom, the federal government extended this grand jury for six more months.

After more than six months and following the global resolution of the remaining District of Oregon cases on November 9, the government finally agreed to free Hogg. On November 15, Hogg was released from the Josephine County jail in Grant's Pass, Oregon, rejoining his partner and community. Hogg commented shortly after release: "I'm happy to be free and not to have compromised my principles in the face of the abusive grand jury system." The government continues to threaten Hogg with another subpoena and more jail time.

In Colorado on May 28, Burke Morris answered limited questions asked by the Denver grand jury about his personal life, but denied any knowledge of other incidents he was questioned about. Morris later issued a statement: "I have the utmost respect for Jeff Hogg and hope all will support him during his incarceration for refusing to answer grand jury questions."

On June 27, Jim Dawson of Olympia, WA, received a subpoena to appear before a grand jury at the Federal District Courthouse in Seattle, WA. This subpoena most likely came about as a result of his partner, Heather Moore, who had been contacted by the FBI a few months earlier. His appearance has been postponed because he consented to be questioned by the FBI in lieu of his scheduled grand jury appearance. The extent of his disclosure to the government is unknown at this time. As a result of this voluntary cooperation, additional subpoenas are possible.

The federal government for now has called off Craig Rosebraugh's grand jury subpoena.

Grand juries by law are authorized only to decide whether or not to bring new indictments. In this case, grand juries are being used to gather evidence to prepare for trial, an illegal use of the grand jury as defined by law. This runaway grand jury has been convened around the country regarding this case and the larger environmental movement since 2000.

Freelance journalist Josh Wolf

Bay Area Activists Nadia Winstead and Ariana Huemer