Aug

28

Long Haul Infoshop raided

Filed Under free speech, news |

UC Berkeley campus police, FBI agents, and an Alameda County sheriff raided the Long Haul Infoshop Wednesday morning (Aug. 27) with guns drawn, seizing all computers and other gear. The computers taken included those used by the Slingshot Collective. According to Bay Area Indymedia, police broke down doors, raided cabinets, cut locks, and scattered sorted mail. Police said they were searching for equipment that may have been used to commit a felony. The warrant did not describe the alleged crimes, did not identify any specific organization housed within the building, or name any suspects. Long Haul hosts several other organizations, including the Needle Exchange, East Bay Prisoner Support, and a zine library. The seizure will interfere with the publication of the next issue of Slingshot. This is the first time the long-standing community center has been raided.
Find out more:
Long Haul website
Berkeley Daily Planet’s 1st story, updated story
Indymedia - initial report
Indymedia report (w/ photos)
Background article on Long Haul


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3 Comments so far

  1. jo-c on August 29, 2008 9:15 am

    The gestapo strikes again. We are truly a police state. Don’t ever for a moment think the F.B.I., ICE, CIA,etc. are protecting us.

  2. Tiffany on August 31, 2008 7:24 pm

    A warrant must “describe with particularity” the items to be seized–there has to be more information available than is apparent here or the warrant was likely invalid.

  3. Californian on September 6, 2008 1:37 am

    In theory, yes. In practice, no. In fact, the warrant was so vague as to suggest that the raid was to collect property that may have been used to commit a felony. It said nothing more.

    Whether or not the warrant was valid, the cops still raided the place, and stole computers from the Long Haul. They’ll be trashed, and the long haul is shit out of luck (besides the wonderful solidarity shown in the community). The cops do whatever the hell they like. You can attempt to file complaints, but nothing ever comes of it. They have guns. We don’t.