Biography
Matt Duran was jailed for civil contempt after refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the 2012 Seattle May Day protests and anarchist organizing. He was taken into custody on September 13, 2012 and held at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac, including periods in solitary confinement, although he was never charged with an underlying crime. Judge Richard A. Jones ordered his release after concluding that continued confinement would not coerce his testimony, and he was released on February 28, 2013.
October 2012 reporting identifies Duran as an Olympia computer technician who previously advocated for migrant workers in Southern California. His contempt confinement followed refusal to testify despite immunity; it was distinct from a criminal conviction.
