Archive
NYC – Tuesday, May 14th – Letter-writing Dinner in Solidarity with the NATO 5
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
WHERE: CAGE - 83A Hester Street (UPSTAIRS) New York, New York 10002 (directions below)
COST: Free
Hard on the heels of our Mother’s Day Eve Noise Demo, NYC Anarchist Black Cross is back at it with another political prisoner letter-writing dinner. Though a couple of days early, this week’s event is our answer to the call for an International Week of Solidarity with the NATO 5.
The “NATO 5” can be a confusing name because there are 3 separate cases involving 5 defendants: The NATO 3– Brent Betterly, Jared “Jay” Chase, Brian “Jacob Church”; Mark “Migs” Neiweem; and Sebastian “Sabi” Senakiewicz. The name “NATO 5” is used to highlight the common thread between these cases—all five of these activists were targeted by two undercover Chicago cops known as “Mo” and “Gloves”/“Nadiya”/“Nadia” for preemptive, politically motivated arrests prior to the 2012 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit in Chicago, Illinois. For more information on background and individual cases, visit nato5support.wordpress.com
If, for whatever reason, you can’t make it to supper, please take time to write some letters to these comrades NOTE: Brent, Jay, and Jacob are still pre-trial. DO NOT write about their case or alleged actions. In the past, we’ve seen how this has come back to negatively impact cases.
Brent Betterly 2012-0519001
Jared Chase 2012-0519003
Brian Church 2012-0519002
Cook County Department of Correction
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608
Mark Neiweem* #M36200
Stateville Correctional Center Pontiac Correctional Center
Post Office Box 112 h Post Office Box 99
Joliet, Illinois 60434 h Pontiac, Illinois 61764
*Address cards/letters to MIGS.
Sebastian “Sabi” Senakiewicz #M32870
Facing 15 years in prison followed by deportation to his native Poland after serving his sentence, Sebastian took a non-cooperating plea deal in November 2012. He is currently serving a four month sentence in boot camp, unable to receive mail.
Read more…
NYC – May 11th – Mother’s Day Eve Noise Demo Against the PIC
WHAT: Noise Demo
WHEN: 8:00pm, Saturday, May 11th
WHERE: Bayview Correctional Facility – West 20th Street & 11th Avenue New York, New York
COST: Free
As the Global Class War continues to heat up, the state continues its ongoing use of force, surveillance, and threat of incarceration against anyone who defies its laws. From Cece McDonald who got sentenced to 3 years for fighting back against a fucking Nazi, to Marie Mason– serving over twenty years for defending Earth and non-human animals, to Patreese Johnson who is still locked up for defending herself and her friends from being gay-bashed, to Lynne Stewart who is serving ten years for defending radical and revolutionary movements as an attorney, to Revered Joy Powell who is serving a life sentence for agitating against police violence, to the MOVE 9 women who had their house bombed and children killed because of their political beliefs, there is a clear pattern and history of the state using prisons to criminalize our resistance and self defense.
In solidarity with May Day calls for a world without borders and bosses, on the eve of Mother’s Day NYC Anarchist Black Cross calls for a world without cages for all. We call for it during this time, because 2/3 of all women in prison are mothers and we recognize the forced separation of a child from their caregiver by the state as an act of violence aimed at destroying families and social relationships. Furthermore, as an extension of that, when police continue killing people indiscriminately on the outside, they leave grieving families and loved ones with a loss that the “justice system” could never truly vindicate. For our communities, our loved ones, and liberation of all, burn the prisons!
NYC – Tuesday, April 30th – May Day Card-Writing for Anarchist Political Prisoners
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, April 30th, 2013
WHERE: CAGE - 83A Hester Street (UPSTAIRS) New York, New York 10002 (directions below)
COST: Free
You’ve probably been working too many hours a week to even notice the full-blown war being waged against you by the ruling class. It is real and it is continuing. And of course there is another war– the war against folks imprisoned for their political beliefs and actions. And here’s where we bridge the two. This week, NYC ABC will be hosting our sixth annual May Day card-writing night. We will be sending greeting cards to anarchist political prisoners and there’s an easy (too easy? POSSIBLY!) way for you to help. Just come by, eat some food, sign some cards, maybe meet folks you don’t already know, and show some base level solidarity with those behind bars.
Phone Campaign for Jalil Muntaqim
Over the past few months, our comrade Jalil Muntaqim has both had his parole (again) denied and suffered a minor stroke. Though the parole denial is being appealed, allowing him to languish any longer behind bars is reprehensible. Please join us in a phone campaign to get Jalil free.
Jalil had a minor stroke in February. (He did not know that he had suffered a stroke, but had a tingling sensation in his left arm.) The first doctor he saw at Attica wanted to immediately send him to the hospital, but the head doctor, Dr. Rho, said that they first needed to get permission from Albany to take Jalil to the hospital.
So, finally, on Monday, April 8, 2013, Jalil was shackled and had the black box put on and was taken to ECMC in Buffalo, where he had a CAT scan. This all occurred in the morning, and he was back at Attica by about 10:30 a.m.
The neurologist who reviewed the CAT scan called Attica and requested that Jalil be admitted to the hospital. The CAT scan revealed that Jalil has damage to his upper right cerebral hemisphere. Shortly thereafter, an ambulance arrived. However, the escort team from Albany had already left.
Dr. Rho once again intervened, and said that the outside neurologist had told him that, since Jalil had no symptoms, he could be treated on an outpatient basis, once again requiring permission from Albany. Jalil is not sure that Dr. Rho is telling the truth about this. He thinks they are deliberately denying him adequate medical care.
At this time, Jalil has an Administrative Appeal pending in regards to his last parole denial. The Parole Board has until August 9, 2013 to make a decision.
Jalil is asking people to call the NYS Division of Parole in Albany at 518.473.9400 to urge the Parole Board to reverse its denial and immediately release him. We can also ask for compassionate release, since he is being denied adequate medical care.
When you call the parole board, you must refer to Jalil as Anthony Bottom #77-A-4283, currently at Attica Correctional Facility. Be polite, but firm and let us know what kind of response you receive.
If you are a doctor or work in the medical profession, we encourage you to write to Commissioner Brian Fischer at:
NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
Building 2
1220 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12226-2050
Please request that Jalil get the medical attention he needs in order to adequately recover from the stroke.
Also, please cc NYC Jericho Movement Post Office Box 574, New York, New York 10018
Anarchist Book Fair Event – Prisoners Are Speaking: Are We Listening?
NYC Anarchist Black Cross, PM Press, and Resistance in Brooklyn present . . .
Prisoners Are Speaking: Are We Listening?
Whether in the medium of books or in other writing, letters, artwork, or through deeds themselves, prisoners in resistance are speaking out. Some are political prisoners and/or prisoners of war imprisoned for their political actions in social movements, including traditions of anti-imperialist national liberation; others are survivors of white supremacist capitalist mass incarceration and state control politicized by experience and solidarity.
They speak out against the prison system, against special control units and solitary confinement, against political imprisonment and political retribution. They act and speak to incite, to inspire, to leave movement legacies behind. Some speak out against oppression, silence, invisibility, and oblivion. Some speak to exist. They call out for solidarity in and outside of the walls.
For those of us who are not incarcerated: Are we reading? Are we listening? Are we hearing them? Are prisoner voices truly finding the eyes, ears, and hearts of anarchists and others on the outside in minimum custody? Are we responding? Are we carrying forward the visions we share?
An NYC Anarchist Bookfair discussion of
Maroon the Implacable: the collected writings of Russell Maroon Shoatz, Edited by Fred Ho and Quincy Saul
Oscar Lopez Rivera: Between Torture and Resistance, Edited by Luis Nieves Falcon
We Have Not Been Moved: Resisting Racism and Militarism in 21st Century America, by Matt Meyer
Featuring panelists . .
Marina Ortiz
has drawn from her background as a stateside ghetto Rican to craft a versatile body of work that includes broadcast and print media, direct action, spoken word and other forms of cultural and political expression that call for social justice and liberation.
Russell Maroon Shoatz III
Son of political prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz who along with his sisters advocates for his father and for all political prisoners and prisoners of war.
And featuring facilitation and introductions by Matt Meyer, Author of books such as We Have Not Been Moved and more, Editor of Let Freedom Ring and more, and long-time writer and organizer for anti-imperialist, anti-military, and pro-political-prisoner movements.
Endorsed by:
Bluestockings Prisoner Letter Writing Group, Hell Gate Anarchist Black Cross, Machetero-Movie.com, #nothingtobegainedhere, NYC Campaign to Free Russell Maroon Shoatz, S. Brooklyn ABCF, ThroughtheWalls.org
BREAKING: Daniel McGowan Back in Prison
UPDATE (5 Apr): Thanks to some great work by Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) attorneys Alexis Agathocleous and Rachel Meeropol, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) blinked and have allowed Daniel McGowan to return to the halfway house. Make no mistake, without media coverage, radical attorney intervention, and the attention from folks on the streets, all over the world, Daniel would still be at MDC and would likely have spent the remainder of his sentence there. Through negligence, ignorance, or malevolence (or, as we presume, a mix of the three), the BOP targetted Daniel with an outdated regulation that has been struck down by the court as unconstitutional and allegedly removed from the BOP in 2010. Maybe they thought no one would notice.
While Daniel is going back to the halfway house, if you haven’t already seen it, you should watch this news report. The reporter for the Huffington Post puts it best: “Absolutely, this story is crazy.”
Original Story:
We got word late yesterday that Daniel McGowan was told he wouldn’t be issued a pass to go to work the next day. According to his keepers at the halfway house, this denial came at the direction of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). When he followed up, Daniel was told that it wasn’t merely a denial of a work pass, but a restriction on all movement. When asked if that meant federal marshals were coming to get him the next day, the halfway house administrators told him they didn’t know.
The state, and its for-profit halfway house minions, were clearly in collusion. This is just another way that opacity is used to mindfuck folks left to twist in the wind, not knowing what the future holds.
From our understanding, the reason for his re-imprisonment is directly related to an article Daniel recently wrote for the Huffington Post. An attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights has been to visit Daniel at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Once we know more, we’ll pass the information on.
For now, take time to send Daniel a card or letter. Let him know that regardless of how the state treats him, we have his back.
Write to Daniel at:
Daniel McGowan #63794-053
MDC Brooklyn
Post Office Box 329002
Brooklyn, New York 11232
For more information, visit supportdaniel.org
NYC – 2 Apr – Letter-writing for Dane Rossman
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
WHERE: CAGE - 83A Hester Street New York, New York 10002 (directions below)
COST: Free
To be honest, anarchists have taken it on the chin over the past few weeks. The state is actively monitoring and repressing comrades in Buffalo, New York. The challenge to the charges against the NATO 3 were denied by the judge. Activists had their lawsuit against the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act dismissed. And yet another Canadian comrade was sent to prison on charges related to the 2010 Toronto G20 summit protests. In one bit of good news, the last of the G20 “main conspiracy” prisoners, Alex Hundert, has been released.
Speaking of the 2010 Toronto G20 summit, the Canadian government seems relentless in dragging out their persecution prosecution of alleged protesters. They’re now targeting Americans, blaming five for a significant percentage of all property damage caused during days of protests. Keep in mind, these protests took place nearly three years ago. And right now, one of the five sits in a detention center in Arizona, awaiting extradition. That’s where we come in. You. Us. We. This week, as part of NYC ABC’s every-other-week letter-writing dinner, we’ll be sending letters to Dane Rossman.
Early on the morning of Thursday, February 21st, United States Marshals arrested Dane Rossman at his home in Tucson, Arizona on a provisional arrest warrant issued by the United States Attorney’s office, acting on a Canadian extradition request. Dane was arrested along with over 1,100 other protesters in the largest mass arrest in Canada’s history. He was processed and released without charges.
If, for whatever reason, you can’t make it to dinner, please take the time to write Dane a letter:
Dane Rossman #88252308
Central Arizona Detention Center
Post Office Box 6300
Florence, Arizona 85132
For more information, check out:
supportdanerossman.blogspot.com
NYC – 19 Mar – Card-signing for Women’s History Month
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
WHERE: CAGE - 83A Hester Street New York, New York 10002 (directions below)
COST: Free
A mere month ago, we wrote about the nearly universal disdain folks have for cops. There’s little reason to explain why this is true, but some solid examples are the facts that cops consistently MURDER CHILDREN, have threatened to kill the grandmother of one of their victims, and conspire to murder and eat women. Of course these are outstanding events, but they shouldn’t be seen as exceptional in the context of an armed authority that protects the state and capital. These examples are highlights of an institution that by design oppresses to maintain the status quo. Another component of that oppression is imprisonment. We in NYC ABC respond to the caging of our comrades with support. Part of that support comes in the form of our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinners. And in this month of women’s history, we offer our solidarity to female rebels. We’ll be providing updates and a little background on Debbie, Janet, and Janine Africa, Patreese Johnson, Marie Mason, CeCe McDonald, Rev. Joy Powell, Rebecca Rubin, and Lynne Stewart.
If, for whatever reason, you can’t make it to dinner, please take the time to write these comrades a letter:
Debbie Sims Africa #OO6307
SCI Cambridge Springs
451 Fullerton Avenue
Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania 16403
Janet Holloway Africa #OO6308
SCI Cambridge Springs
451 Fullerton Avenue
Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania 16403
Janine Phillips Africa #OO6309
SCI Cambridge Springs
451 Fullerton Avenue
Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania 16403
Patreese Johnson 07-G-0635
Beacon Correctional Facility
50 Camp Beacon Road
Post Office Box 780
Beacon, New York 12508-0780
Marie Mason #04672-061
FMC Carswell
Post Office Box 27137
Fort Worth, Texas 76127
Chishaun McDonald* #238072
Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwater
970 Pickett Street
Bayport, Minnesota 55003-1490
*Address card to CeCe.
Reverend Joy Powell #07-G-0632
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 1000
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2499
Rebecca Rubin #770288, 8A20
Multnomah County Inverness Jail
11540 NE Inverness Drive
Portland, Oregon 97220
Lynne Stewart #53504-054
FMC Carswell
Post Office Box 27137
Fort Worth, Texas 76127
For more information, check out:
http://www.onamove.com
http://freethenj4.wordpress.com
http://supportmariemason.org
http://supportcece.wordpress.com
http://freejoypowell.org
http://lynnestewart.org
Queens – Tuesday, March 5th – Joint Letter-writing with Occupy Astoria-LIC
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
WHERE: Redeemer Episcopal Church - 30-14 Crescent Street Astoria, New York 11106 (directions below)
COST: Free
Normally we open the announcement for our every-other-week letter-writing dinners with something scathing or silly or pop-culture referential. However, this week we’re facing good and bad news very near to us. Comrades in the northwest, refusing to cooperate with a federal grand jury, have been released. One of the Angola 3 had his conviction overturned for a third time in 40 years and might finally get free. In worse news, the Canadian government is on a witch hunt to capture and extradite U.S. citizens they hope to scapegoat for property destruction during the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto.
So, while many in this country are distracted by the latest celebrity gossip, we continue to have friends and comrades getting locked up and subpoenaed. There is still an active, international fight against the state and capital and an equally active campaign to quell it. While the wealthy and their lapdog media attempt to ignore or downplay these realities, we’re still here supporting our comrades. Part of that support includes being there for those who have been locked up. And with that comes another Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner!
This week, NYC ABC is hitting the road, linking up with comrades from Occupy Astoria-LIC. In the six years that we’ve been hosting our every-other-week events, we’ve held them in four of the five boroughs. You’re next, Staten Island!
On the suggestion of Occupy Astoria-LIC, this week we’ll be sending cards to Occupy-related folks who are currently locked up. You can learn about the cases of the following Occupy movement-related prisoners and write letters to them:
NATO 5
Cleveland 4
Eric Marquez
Jack Rusk
Pacific Northwest Grand Jury Resistor Read more…
