Search warrants targeting three Portland homes last week were part of a federal effort to learn more about the anarchist movement and vandalism in downtown Seattle during a May Day rally, according to a report in the Oregonian.

The National Lawyers Guild in Seattle issued a statement Thursday condemning the raids, calling them “a pretext for harassing political activists. FBI agents served these subpoenas at the same time that heavily armed FBI agents raided homes in the Portland area, reportedly seizing anarchist literature, black clothing, and computers.”

The newspaper reported that Dennison Williams, 33, and Leah Plante, 24, who lived in two of the homes, had been called to testify Thursday before a federal grand jury. Both said they would recite only their names and shield themselves from further questioning by invoking their constitutional rights, the newspaper reported.