FEDS NAB FREE RADIO AUSTIN
3 STATIONS DOWN IN CENTRAL TEXAS
Austin, Texas

Last week the feds pulled the plug on Austin's micropower station Radio One. Today they jerked the power on Free Radio Austin, operating at 97.1 FM. Central Texas has now lost three low-watt community-based radio stations within the last month. Micro KIND San Marcos was forced off the air by a court injunction at the beginning of September.

Two Federal Communications Commission (FCC) agents and other law enforcement officers arrived at about 10:00 a.m. at the premises of Free Radio Austin to confiscate the transmitter, the tower, and other equipment located in the station.

The agents arrived with a warrant and first searched the house, then they proceeded to a shed in the backyard where two broadcasters were live on the air. The transmitter itself had been buried underground; it required that the agents dig it up. All equipment was seized and placed in a UHaul truck.

While difficult to prove with certainty, it seems quite clear that the crackdown on Free Radio Austin this week and Radio One last week is linked to the upcoming protests against the Fortune 500 Forum set for Oct. 12-14.

A pattern of repression directed generally against activists has also specifically targetted independent media makers. The two micropower stations in Austin were likely the only stations that would be a vehicle for protesters.

For more information about Free Radio Austin, call Reckless and Chance at 476-3446 and see http://www.pirateradio.org/fra/

More information information on the No To Fortune 500 actions can be found at http://www.o13.org