Colorful lightning and far-off thunder shatter the early morning darkness. The persistent rain blowing through the screened porch soaks me, a reminder of the belief that Anna Mae Aquash's voice is present in the rainfall. I think to myself, "Expose that evil fucker Zigrossi and never let him rest in peace for what he's done and what he's doing." My mind charges, my body and soul ignite. I like to think the rain is whispering words of encouragement and, at the same time, dousing the flames that threaten to burn out of control. March 20 was the international day of nonviolent civil disobedience in support of Leonard Peltier, which we observed in Knoxville, Tennessee. (After 22 years behind bars, Peltier was recently denied parole. His next parole hearing doesn't come up until 2008.)

Norman Zigrossi was second in command of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO), co-created by Richard Held. Both are responsible for the violent deaths of at least 60 American Indian Movement (AIM) supporters during a 36-month death-squad campaign mounted by the agency in 1973 to "neutralize" AIM activists.

One FBI document pertaining to the standoff released under the Freedom of Information Act recommends that local police "put leaders under close scrutiny and arrest them on every possible charge until they can no longer make bail." According to a 1977 Rolling Stone article, Zigrossi saw the FBI as "a colonial police force" and was quoted as saying of the indigenous people, "They're a conquered nation. And when you are conquered, the people you are conquered by dictate your future. This is a basic philosophy of mine. If I'm part of a conquered nation, I've got to yield to authority."

Zigrossi is now the chief administrative officer and executive vice president of business services for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federal agency born in the 1930s to manage water resources in the Southeast that now invests in development schemes and energy generation. Those of you who were at the Round River Rendezvous in 1994 may remember Norman Zigrossi as the head of police and investigations when the Watts Bar nuke plant was shut down in Rhea County (appropriately, he had a rendezvous shitter named after him). Immediately after the '94 Watts Bar demo began, Norman ordered agents to a local rendezvous organizer's motel room to ransack his belongings. Zigrossi did an extensive "special investigation" into Katuah Earth First! (KEF!), digging up personal information such as sexual relationships and financial profiles. He also fabricated a hierarchical chart diagramming KEF! with generals (a title reserved exclusively for males) and second-in-command types. To make matters worse, Zigrossi recently hired a 20-year FBI veteran to head up TVA's heavily armed, thousand-strong rogue police force. According to TVA's website, he thinks the move should make TVA's force "one of the most effective police agencies in the country."

TVA is strengthening its police to protect its multi-billion dollar investments in nuclear power and weapons. The Department of Energy (DOE) and TVA are proposing to transport nuclear materials for use in submarines, aircraft carriers and in other countries for the generation of energy. According to a DOE Environmental Impact Statement, TVA plans to produce trillium, a radioactive isotope used to make nuclear bombs, at three of its reactors: Watts Bar and Sequoyah in Tennessee and Bellefonte in Alabama.

Given this ugly and sordid history, Zigrossi and TVA were natural targets for the Leonard Peltier day of civil disobedience. It's difficult to say exactly when the civil disobedience of our rally occurred. It was probably when Gil Francis, TVA's public relations officer, tried to dictate where and how the people demanding freedom for Leonard were going to assemble and protest.

During the day, we got our message across that Zigrossi is in fact a racist and fascist. There is no doubt he is withholding personal testimony that could free Leonard Peltier. According to Peter Matthiessen's In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, he is personally responsible for giving the order that put a bullet in the forehead of AIM activist Joe Killsright. He also gave the order to cover up the real cause of the death of Anna Mae and to have her hands cut off at the wrists and sent to FBI headquarters (never to be returned to her family and friends for burial). In an interview with Myrtle Poor Bear in Robert Redford's documentary, Incident at Oglala, Myrtle recounts that Zigrossi threatened to take her child if she did not give the false testimony that won the extradition of Leonard Peltier from Canada, even though she had never met Leonard. He forced Myrtle to look at pictures of Anna Mae's cut-off hands and said, "If you think that's bad, we'll put you through a meat grinder."

There was great power with us at the rally against racism here in Tennessee. These annual rallies will continue until Norman Zigrossi's crimes are fully exposed and justice is finally served. There will also be a demonstration in front of the White House on June 27 demanding amnesty for Leonard Peltier. To contact KEF!, write the Tennessee Valley Faction, POB 281, Chattanooga, TN, 37401; (423) 624-3939.