Radical media, politics and culture.

Update on Raisethefist.com

When the news of the closure of www.raisethefist.comfirst surfaced on January 23rd ( the story was reported on /.autonomedia the following day thanks to comrades on the west coast who posted regular updates, see the original story and comments.), there was some scepticism as to the veracity of the story, as there had been no reportage in the mainstream media.

The documents acquired by Cryptome.org establish the facts. Now the question as to why the media have not reported on this can be approached from a different angle. Why was this incident ignored? And who believes that the timing -just before the demonstrations and actions against the WEF was coincidental. This thing stinks.


G. In searching for data capable of being read, stored or interpreted by a computer, law enforcement personnel executing this search warrant will employ the following procedure:


i. Upon securing the premises, law enforcement personnel trained in searching and seizing computer data (the "computer personnel") will make an initial review of any computer equipment and storage devices to determine whether these items can be searched on-site in a reasonable amount of time and without jeopardizing the ability to preserve the data.

ii. If the computer personnel determine it is not practical to perform an on-site search of the data within a reasonable amount of time, then the computer equipment and storage devices will be seized and transported to an appropriate law enforcement laboratory for review. The computer equipment and storage devices will be reviewed by appropriately trained personnel in order to extract and seize any data that falls within the list of items to be seized set forth herein.


iii. Any data that is encrypted and unreadable will not be returned unless law enforcement personnel have determined that the data is not (1) an instrumentality of the offense, (2) a fruit of the criminal activity, (3) contraband, (4) otherwise unlawfully possessed, or (5) evidence of the offense specified above.


-- FBI Special Agent John I. Pi, USA v. Raise the Fist - Search Warrant and Affidavit, January 16, 2002

Cryptome would appreciate information on the legal basis for retaining seized data merely because it is encrypted and there is no proof that it fits any of the five characteristics cited above. Send to jya@pipeline.com"