Carlos Montes trial nears

Carlos Montes

>Supporters of Carlos Montes, a longtime progressive activist targeted by the FBI, are calling for an intensified national solidarity campaign during the three weeks leading up to his June 20 trial in Los Angeles. The emergence of a previously unavailable witness in the case resulted in a postponement from the original May 15 trial date, and has increased the confidence of members of his defense committee.

Over the last several months, incredible numbers of people have already participated in his defense by showing up at pre-trial courtroom appearances in Los Angeles, flooding the District Attorney’s office with phone calls from all across the U.S, signing petitions by the thousands, and handing out leaflets and displaying signs and banners at progressive meetings and demonstrations all over the country demanding that the charges be dropped.

Montes’ history in the progressive movement began in the 1960s when he was a co-founder of the Brown Berets and a leader in the Chicano student movement. That history also includes years of Montes’ progressive labor organizing and continues today with his role in the immigrant rights and anti-war movements.

Montes’ name appeared on an FBI search warrant when they raided the office of the St. Paul, Minn., Anti-War Committee in 2010 and subpoenaed 23 progressive activists from the Midwest. Montes shares a history of activism with those who were subpoenaed, and so it wasn’t surprising that he was also targeted. The 23 are all refusing to cooperate with a grand jury, as subpoenas have summoned them to do, and may face jail sentences for their refusal.

In May 2011, the FBI and a Special Weapons and Tactics team from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs and the Alhambra Police Department smashed down the door to Montes’ home and arrested him.

Incredibly, the FBI is framing Montes today based on an arrest that resulted in a misdemeanor from a 1969 demonstration. They are rewriting history and calling the original charge a felony.

What happened in 1969 is that the police entered the campus of East Los Angeles High School to suppress a student demonstration calling for more Chicano studies. They assaulted the demonstration, and later when Montes was driving home with his sister, he was stopped by the police and charged with assaulting a police officer. They claimed that he threw an empty soda can, which hit and injured a cop. The case was not completely settled until 10 years later — as a misdemeanor conviction.

If that conviction had been a felony, it could be used to frame Montes today. That is how the FBI is attempting to fabricate the current case against this popular figure in the progressive movement.

Supporters near Los Angeles are being asked to join the daily rallies outside the court or help pack the courtroom beginning June 20. Others can help by signing the petition posted at stopfbila.net or by calling District Attorney Steve Cooley at 213-974-3512 to demand that the charges be dropped.