Pacific Views

Maybe a new HUAC is next?

A federal judge in Iowa has ordered a Drake University to turn over records concerning an anti-war meeting that took place on the campus. Under the judge's order, Drake must turn over the names of all meeting attendees, as well as all records concerning a local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. Earlier this week, four of those attending the meeting were given subpoenas that ordered them to appear before a federal grand jury.

Representatives of the Lawyer's Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union said they had not heard of such a subpoena being served on any U.S. university in decades.

Those served subpoenas include the leader of the Catholic Peace Ministry, the former coordinator of the Iowa Peace Network, a member of the Catholic Worker House, and an anti-war activist who visited Iraq in 2002.

They say the subpoenas are intended to stifle dissent.

"This is exactly what people feared would happen,'' said Brian Terrell of the peace ministry, one of those subpoenaed. "The civil liberties of everyone in this country are in danger. How we handle that here in Iowa is very important on how things are going to happen in this country from now on.''

The forum, titled "Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard Home!'' came the day before 12 protesters were arrested at an anti-war rally at Iowa National Guard headquarters in Johnston. Organizers say the forum included nonviolence training for people planning to demonstrate.

[For those puzzled by our headline, HUAC is an acronym for the House Committee on Un-American Activities, an congressional committee formed to investigate Nazi activities in the US in the 1930s, but which (after one meeting on Nazis) spent several decades hounding people on the US left.]

Via AP.