GOOD NEWS! Two Anarchist Grand Jury Resisters are Free: Judge Cites “Strength of Their Convictions”

For the past five months Matt Duran andÂ Katherine “KteeO” Olejnik have been in jail for refusing to talk about their friends or about their political beliefs. They were never accused of any crime; they took a principled stand against a federal grand jury targeting anarchists. During that time, one of the other grand jury resisters was released under questionable circumstances, Maddy Pfeiffer was imprisoned for resisting, and Kerry Cunneen received a grand jury subpoena. And for the last two months, Duran and Olejnik have been in solitary confinement, which has taken a toll on their physical and mental health.

As the Los Angeles Times noted:

The pair have been the subject of public demonstrations and an appeal by the Seattle Human Rights Commission, which this month argued that holding them isolated for 23 hours a day with little human contact could cause permanent psychological injury.

Through it all they did not waver in their political statement of non-cooperation. Last week in Seattle, U.S. District Judge Richard A. JonesÂ recognized this and granted their attorney’s motion to release them.

“Their resolve appears to increase as their confinement continues” — Judge Jones

The story isn’t over yet. Maddy Pfeiffer is still in jail. Another grand jury in California is winding down, but is still a threat. And it’s possible that Duran and Olejnik could face criminal contempt charges for their non-cooperation (they were jailed on civil contempt).

But Judge Jone’s strongly-worded orderÂ is a huge victory for these activists, and everyone concerned about civil liberties. It directly speaks to the power of non-cooperation, public outreach, and community solidarity.