snitches

reposted from http://www.crimethinc.com/blog/2009/06/24/towards-a-collective-security-...

FBI informant faces break-in charges
By RANDY FURST, Star Tribune
Feb 17, 2009

An undercover FBI informant in a high-profile criminal case in Ramsey County against eight members of an anarchist group faces charges himself for assault and burglary.

UPDATE 1/8: Bradley Crowder has apparently taken a plea agreement.

The exposure of Brandon Darby as an FBI Informant has sparked outrage and sadness amongst communities both in Minnesota and Texas. The Austin Informant Working Group released a second statement on Darby yesterday, titled "Darby is Provocateur, Not Hero," in response to often pro-FBI (or, following historical precedent of informant cases, FBI-handled) portrayals of Darby in the media. Also yesterday, Democracy Now! featured the story and interviewed Common Ground co-founder Malik Rahim, who said, "I couldn't read the whole letter [from Darby] ... every time I do, it breaks me down into tears."

The "Texas 2" trial of Bradley Crowder and David McKay on weapons charges is set to begin at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis on Monday, January 26th. Many who have spoken with the accused believe McKay is cooperating with the government while Crowder is not. Both are inexperienced activists whom FBI documents show were pressured by Darby to escalate their actions, according to the Austin working group. Also on the 26th, the RNC 8 will be in court for a motion hearing and the trial of Darryl Robinson, beaten unconscious by police while copwatching last July and later charged with assault himself, is set to begin.

Writes Michelle Gross of CUAPB, "Through his actions, Darby helped to create a narrative by police that activists/protesters are dangerous. That narrative allowed police to justify obscene expenditures on weaponry, touched off pre-emptive raids and detentions of people who had committed no crimes, and unleashed vicious assaults on people attempting to exercise our First Amendment rights during the RNC." (commentary continued below)

Support Info for Jan 26 TX2 trial | Darby is Provocateur, Not Hero (2nd statement from Austin) | Democracy Now! Interview | New York Times article | Sometimes You Wake Up and It's Different (1st statement from Austin) | BrandonDarby.com (anti-snitch website cataloging Darby | Letter from Darby | Snitch culture: historical examples and current proposals | Betrayed! FBI Provocateur Sets-Up Anti-RNC Activists by Tom Burghardt

"Mr. Darby would not provide details about his undercover activities, but said he had also worked as an informant in cases not involving the convention."
...
"He wore recording devices at times, including a transmitter embedded in his belt during the convention."

January 5, 2009
Activist Unmasks Himself as Federal Informant in G.O.P. Convention Case
By COLIN MOYNIHAN
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/us/05informant.html