FBI seeking snitches! Don't Sign Up! (from the Midwest)

Copy pasted from midwestgreenscare.org
FBI seeking informants in the Twin Cities
May 14, 2008 at 3:39 am (Uncategorized)

Following is a statement from a person known to EWOK!
(Earth Warriors
are OK!, formerly the Twin Cities Eco-Prisoner Support
Committee).
This person was approached by the local JTTF and
offered the
possibility of being a paid informant.

The individual has rejected the offer and now has an
NLG lawyer. His
statement should both inspire us for his refusal to
cooperate, and
remind us that he is probably not the only person
solicited by the
government in such a way and, unfortunately, we have
to assume that
some people will cooperate.

"As I was biking back from court, my phone rang. I let
it go to
answering machine and checked it when I was off my
bike. It was the
police officer who I talked to about my graffiti. It
said something
like, "This isn't graffiti related but I need your
help with
something. You're not in trouble, give me a call." I
give him a call.
Something like this:

"I'd like to meet with you today. It's not about
graffiti." "I'm not
going to rat anyone out, what do you want." Don't
really know why I
said that. I was nervous, I suppose. "Twenty minutes
of your time.
Where do you want to meet?" "I don't know, Eric, where
do you want to
meet? And can you tell me what this is about?" "I'll
explain it when
we meet. How about Expresso Expose?" "Sure." "When's
good?" "How about
12:30."

So now I'm antsy and confused. I get there fifteen
minutes early and
then he comes a bit late. He says, "This is my
partner," and he
referred to the woman next to him. They both got
coffee, leaving me in
my shaky, dumbfounded mental state even longer. Then
we sat down and
she flashes an FBI badge. Seeing my nerves they
reassured me again
that I was safe and not guilty of anything. Then for
twenty minutes
they flatter me about how my personality and
appearance are perfect
matches for what is required in some espionage dealio.
They wanted me
to crash vegan potluck parties and get into the inner
circle of
terrorists because supposedly terrorists are trusting
and I'm
"trusting, easy going, funny," and a bunch of other
flattery. Every
time they said "vegan potluck" I chuckled, but their
faces showed they
weren't kidding. They said "vegan potluck" half a
dozen times. They
really feared vegans and their violent conspiracies to
blow up
buildings in protest to the republican national
convention.

So after twenty minutes of bewildering suckups, they
ask me if I'm in.
They say there's compensation if I assist in someone's
arrest. I say
"ummmmmmm I'll pass." She says, "That was the fastest
anyone has ever
rejected me," and then tried for ten more minutes to
get me to change
my mind before saying, "Really: think about it. We
could really use
you." Then she gave me a business card. On the back
she wrote me her
cell phone number. I said "you have very legible
handwriting," and
they both had themselves a hearty laugh. "Call if you
change your
mind. Don't tell any of your friends about this and
don't show anyone
this card." We said our goodbyes and I haven't heard
from either of
them since."

Here's the info from the business cards:

University of Minnesota Police
Twin Cities Campus
Erik Swanson
Police Sergeant, Investigations
Joint Terrorism Task Force
UMPD
511 Washington Ave. S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Internet: www.umn.edu/police
E-mail: swans078@umn.edu
Office : 612-624-9560
Cell : 612-290-4688
Fax : 612-626-0534

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Maureen E. Mazzola
Special Agent
111 Washington Ave. South
Suite 1100
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Telephone: 612-376-3200
Fax: 612-376-3444
Cell: 612-490-7447 (very legibly on the back)

IF YOU ARE APPROACHED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT, you do not
have to talk to
them. If you are in the Twin Cities area and you need
jail/legal
support, call the Cold Snap Hotline, (651) 356-8635.
If you are
arrested or subpoenaed for offenses related to
environmental or animal
activism, call the National Lawyers' Guild Hotline,
888-NLG-ECOL. To
contact EWOK! for assistance or information, email
fightthegreenscare@riseup.net.