Laredo Texas activist refuses FBI questioning

Fight Back! is circulating this statement from Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

Laredo, TX – Alec Martinez refused to be questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at his home in Laredo, Texas on June 8, 2020. Martinez, like tens of thousands of Chicano youth, is active in mass marches opposing police killings and in solidarity with the George Floyd uprising in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Three FBI agents approached Alec’s home speaking in Spanish, but only identified themselves when Alec asked his relative who was outside.

A video shows the lead FBI agent handing Alec his badge saying, “There’s no problems. We just want to talk to you, concerning you know, I know you’ve been pretty busy so, but again there’s no problems.” The FBI agent waves to the other men present, “They are also with the FBI, do you have a few minutes?”

Alec replies, “I’m happy not to speak to you guys. I would like to speak to an attorney before communicating with you all.”

The lead FBI agent says, “Alright, no problem.”

The second FBI agent jumps in, “There’s no issues, I guarantee there’s no problems with you. At all! That’s fine if you don’t want to speak.”

Then third FBI agent takes his turn, “There isn’t any sort of criminal investigation. Just so you know there is no reason for you to be looking for an attorney. We are not looking at you in that sense.”

Martinez, “Well that’s great to hear. Bye-bye”

“No good can come from speaking to the FBI”

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression wants to remind friends and comrades, “No good can come from speaking to the FBI.”

Alec Martinez did the right thing by refusing to speak, instead offering to have an attorney present. The FBI agents were taken off guard because Alec Martinez was prepared for them. The FBI agents all made backhanded threats, before exiting quickly.

Don’t be intimidated. Do the right thing. Confirm your name and address, give a lawyer’s phone number, but don’t speak to the FBI. If you are caught lying to the FBI it can be a five-year prison sentence. One case was prominent in the news recently.

Trump unleashing repression

Right now, the FBI under President Trump is stepping up political repression and attempting to intimidate leaders, new and old. The FBI is the political police in a vast system of repression. That system is in crisis as millions across the U.S. stand up against police crimes and killings of African American, Chicano and other people.

The FBI exists to repress our freedom of assembly and free speech. They act as the “thought police” in a society facing the biggest rebellion since the late 1960s. Today’s FBI is more diverse, more polite, and dressed in business casual, but their business is still racist and political repression. Don’t speak to the FBI.

Click to see the video of Martinez rejecting the FBI. For more information about the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, visit https://stopfbi.org/