On Friday, November 7, an agent from the Secret Service paid a visit to the Lucy Parsons Center, a long-time radical bookstore and infoshop in Boston. Earlier in the week the bookstore received a suspicious piece of mail allegedly sent from the bookstore and containing questionable material. The Secret Service acting on “intelligence reports

Whether this was an isolated incident, or the beginning of a larger campaign of harassment and intimidation (leading up to next summer¹s Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Boston) is not known to us at this point.

The Lucy Parsons Center had nothing to do with producing or disseminating these images. We assume it is the work of provocateurs looking to both disrupt the daily operations of our bookstore, and also intimidate members of Boston’s radical community by instigating a campaign of federal harassment, surveillance, and intelligence gathering. Although these claims may seem an over-reaction, the workings of the Governments security apparatus--as revealed through the exposure of the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations--place them within a demonstrated realm of behavior.

We are currently in contact with the National Lawyers Guild, and preparing for the worst. We will continue to send out statements as new developments arise.

In solidarity,

Lucy Parsons Center Collective
549 Columbus Avenue
Boston, MA