Political Internment is Happening in the U.S. - Fireworks Graphics Collective

Primary Artist: Terry Forman

Created: San Francisco Collection, 1983

Medium: Offset Printed

Dimensions: 11″ x 17″

In the United States, anyone refusing to cooperate with a Grand Jury investigation can be jailed without a specific criminal charge for the duration of that Grand Jury. Starting in the 1930s, the US used Grand Juries to imprison Puerto Rican independentistas, starting with leaders of the Nationalist Party. In the 1970s and 80s, the US convened several grand juries to investigate clandestine independence and anti-imperialist organizations. Subpoenas were issued for leaders in Chicago, New York, and Puerto Rico; as well as to Chicano/Mexican activists in the Southwest. Building on the Nationalist principle of non-cooperation, most refused to testify and thus were jailed. Ricarte Montes Garcia pictured here, a leading member of the Liga Socialista Puertorriqueño, was expatriated and imprisoned in New York for resisting a federal grand jury in Puerto Rico. The US continues to use grand juries as a tool of repression.

Image: Drawing of Grand Jury Resister Ricarte Montes Garcia.

Words: Political Internment is Happening in the U.S.! Stop the Grand Juries! UPI Wire Service…Urgent: New York City. Five Puerto Rican and Mexicano Activists Sentenced Today to Long Prison Terms on Criminal Contempt Charges for Refusing to Testify Before a Grand Jury Investigating the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, April 8, 1983. Independence and Socialism for Puerto Rico!

Color: blue and black on white paper

Event: Demonstrations Friday, April 8: San Francisco, CA Federal Building and Los Angeles, CA Federal Building

Sponsors: Movimiento de Liberación Nacional (MLN), Comité de California Contra La Represión, New Movement in Solidarity with Puerto Rican and Mexican Revolutions.