May Day Is Around the Corner, and the FBI Wants Us to Know They're Watching

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/26/may-day-is-around-the-corner-and-the-fbi-wants-us-to-know-theyre-watching

In the past 24 hours, FBI agents in Seattle and Olympia have reportedly been showing up at people's houses, favorite jogging locations (a park), schools (Seattle University), workplaces, and at least one nonprofit (which serves street-involved youth), asking: "Do you want to talk about May Day?"

They're also asking about people's coworkers, roommates, romantic situations, and general social-mapping questions. (All the sources wished to keep their anonymity, for the moment at least.)

The agents are asking about May Day 2012, but it's difficult to believe that their timing, when May Day 2013 is just around the corner, is pure coincidence. We're all aware of the crap the FBI and US Attorneys have been willing to drag activists through and their fondness for "we know where you live, we know where you work, we know who you know" leverage—even when it's convincing people to commit crimes they'd never normally engage in.

The Seattle agents, according to people who were present for the conversations in the past 48 hours, are primarily two guys in a gold SUV wearing jeans, button-up shirts, and vests (perhaps polar fleece). "Honestly," one source said about the agents on the front steps, "at first I thought they were salesmen—maybe lawn service."

(More at the link.)