OpEd news
July 29, 2013
by Gregg Jocoy

Large sections of the files are blacked out, including names of those believed by the FBI to be plotting the deaths of Occupy activists in Texas, perhaps nationwide.

“I..could’ve been shot and killed by a sniper just a little over a year ago.” wrote Carl Gibson in an open letter to FBI director Mueller. “Your offices knew of this plot, yet none of us who were at risk of assassination were informed.”

Gibson, one of the leaders of Occupy Houston who could have been in a sniper’s cross-hairs, called on Mueller to resign his post.

What is this all about? Snipers?

A set of documents released to the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund by the FBI as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request included a page, some of it blacked out, showing that there were early plans to use suppressed sniper fire to kill leaders of Occupy Houston.

An identified [DELETED] as of October planned to engage in sniper attacks against protestors (sic) in Houston, Texas if deemed necessary. An identified [DELETED] had received intelligence that indicated the protesters in New York and Seattle planned similar protests in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, Texas. [DELETED] planned to gather intelligence against the leaders of the protest groups and obtain photographs, then formulate a plan to kill the leadership via suppressed sniper rifles. (Note: protests continued throughout the weekend with approximately 6000 persons in NYC. “Occupy Wall Street’ protests have spread to about half of all states in the US, over a dozen European and Asian cities, including protests in Cleveland (10/6-8/11) at Willard Park which was initially attended by hundreds of protesters.)

Remember, the Occupy Wall Street protests began in September of 2011, and the FBI was aware of a plan to kill Occupy leaders in October of that same year. How did they get such early news of these deadly plans? The documents do not say. Paul Kennedy, a Houston attorney who represented several Occupy Houston members arrested during protests, was concerned. In a story at TruthDig he says about the plot

“[I]f it is something law enforcement was planning,” Kennedy said, “then nothing would have been done. It might seem hard to believe that a law enforcement agency would do such a thing, but I wouldn’t put it past them.”

He added that the phrase “if deemed necessary,” which appeared in the bureau’s report, further suggests the possibility that some kind of official organization was involved in the plan.

So, what are we to believe? We can’t say that we both believe and disbelieve the FBI. Their report, in black and white, details the fact that they were aware of a plot to shoot and kill leaders of Occupy Wall Street groups in Texas, and perhaps across the nation.

The mainstream media does not seem to have much interest in this story. Information at the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund includes links to the FBI documents themselves, so their authenticity does not seem to be in doubt. Why has a plot to kill peaceful demonstrators in major US cities not been worth the notice of the corporate press?

Both Kennedy and Gibson are scheduled to appear on a Spartanburg South Carolina radio talk show Monday, July 29th, between 5 and 6 PM. The program, “Occupy The Microphone“, has been broadcasting on WOLI since March of this year. The show is very unusual for the area as it takes a left-of-center approach to the issues, especially when compared to most of the offerings on local talk radio in the Upstate of South Carolina. Readers who would like to know more can listen to the show live at five east coast time by visiting the show website at OccupyTheMicrophone.com or listen to the live stream at the show Talkshoe stream or the radio station’s streaming broadcast.

Gregg Jocoy lives with his wife of 33 years and her mother in Simpsonville, SC. He is dad to two brilliant daughters and granddad to two amazing granddaughters. Jocoy is also active in the South Carolina Green Party and the Green Party of the United States.