Reportback from a Visit with Tinley Park 5 Prisoner Dylan Sutherlin

We received this reportback from Bloomington Anarchist Black Cross

Last week several folk visited with Dylan for about 4 hours at Centralia Correctional.

Dylan was in good spirits. He has greatly appreciated all the mail! When he first got to Logan County Jail, he said there were several weeks in a row that he got at least three letters a day, and people were saying, “Who is this guy?!” He has received lots of letters from all over the world. He hopes those overseas feel his sincere thanks, even as he is not able to write back because the prison determines how much each letter sent outside the country costs, and it’s too expensive.

Dylan said people at Centralia are friendly, and he mostly keeps to himself. He told a story of his time in Logan County Jail when he first got there. He said there are lots of Nazi’s at Logan. The grandson of one of the “victims” was also in there and had orders to get revenge. But Dylan quickly had friends in high places. The Lt General of some gang said he was untouchable so the Nazi’s couldn’t get him. They offered $500 for the gang to turn him over from their protection, but they wouldn’t.

Dylan gets to talk to both his dad and his mom at least once a month. He has written the warden about being able to write to his brothers in other prisons because his understanding is that family members can write each other, but maybe not because they are also co-defendents. He has not heard anything back from the warden after writing three times, and recently had trouble getting in touch with his lawyer.

This month Dylan ran out of commissary. He had received two books, ‘The ABC’s of Anarchy’ and ‘Green Rage’, but the prison rejected them as “security threats”. The prison said he had to pay to return them or they’d be destroyed, and so they had to be destroyed. He said he doesn’t read too often, but he received V for Vendetta and enjoyed it. He’d like to receive the 5th and 6th Game of Thrones books. They must be paperback.

He is on a wait list for college courses, which will help to shorten his sentence, and so he is hoping to get in soon, but he has no knowledge of where his name is on the list.

Dylan loves visits and is allowed way more visits than he’s getting. Anyone interested in visiting can write to Dylan and include their full legal name, address listed on their ID, age, race, gender and birthday and ask him to add you to his visitation list. For more info about visiting you can call the prison visitation department and ask them questions.

NYC – Tuesday, July 31st – Letter-writing for the Tinley Park Five

WHAT: Letter-writing for Tinley Park Five
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, July 31, 2012
WHERE: CAGE - 83A Hester Street New York, New York 10002 (directions below)
COST: Free
While it’s no grand revelation that all cops are bastards, they’ve really been determined to convince us over the last couple of weeks. Between the murder and subsequent uprising in Anaheim, California and the raids on comrades’ houses in Olympia & Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon, cops have re-upped their public profiles as defenders of capital & the state and enemies of the poor & working class. As a challenge to a slightly different form of fascism, a call has been made for Tuesday, July 31st to serve as an international day of anti-fascist actions in solidarity with the Tinley Park Five. NYC Anarchist Black Cross is answering the call with our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinner. This week we will be writing to the Five.

On Saturday, May 19th a group of 30 anti-fascists descended upon Ashford House restaurant in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park where the 5th annual White Nationalist Economic Summit and Illinois White Nationalist Meet-and-Greet was taking place. The White Nationalists were targeted inside the restaurant and physically attacked, causing several injuries and completely shutting down their meeting.

Not long after the attack, five men– Alex Stuck, Cody, Dylan, and Jason Sutherlin (the three are brothers), and John Tucker were pulled over and arrested. The Five maintain their innocence.

PLEASE REMEMBER: The Tinley Park Five are pre-trial. Take care with what you write and do not talk about the case.

If you can’t make it to dinner, please take the time to write the Tinley Park Five at:

Alex Stuck #2012-0521142
Cody Sutherlin #2012-0521148
Dylan Sutherlin #2012-0521144
Jason Sutherlin #2012-0521141
John Tucker #2012-0521143

Cook County Department of Corrections
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608

More info on the case: tinleyparkfive.wordpress.com

New addresses for the recently imprisoned

We have updated addresses for folks recently transferred or recently arrested. Look for a newly revised “Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War” in the following weeks.

After being extradited from China and convicted of Earth Liberation Front actions in the United States, Green Scare target Justin Solondz has been transferred to a prison in western Pennsylvania. This puts him much closer to his parents than when he was imprisoned at FDC SeaTac. Please let Justin know you’re thinking about him by sending a card or letter to:

Justin Solondz #98291-011
FCI Loretto
Post Office Box 1000
Loretto, Pennsylvania 15940

We also have addresses for the NATO 3 and the Tinley Park 5, all arrested around the time of the NATO meetings in Chicago, all held in the Cook County Jail. If you can, throw a benefit or organize a letter-writing night as these folks need your support and they need it now.

NATO 3:

Brent Betterly 2012-0519001
Cook County Department of Correction
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608

Jared Chase 2012-0519003
Cook County Department of Correction
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608

Brian Church 2012-0519002
Cook County Department of Correction
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608

Tinley Park 5:

Alex Stuck 2012-0521142
Cook County Department of Correction
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608

Cody Sutherlin 2012-0521148
Cook County Department of Correction
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608

Dylan Sutherlin 2012-0521144
Cook County Department of Correction
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608

Jason Sutherlin 2012-0521141
Cook County Department of Correction
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608

John Tucker 2012-0521143
Cook County Department of Correction
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608

BK/NY – Tuesday, April 10th – Letter-Writing for Eric Desouza and Justin Solondz

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
WHERE: 885 Park Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (see below for directions)
COST: Free

We are in what folks from many walks of life call crunch time. There are only a few weeks until the May First General Strike is upon us. In the meantime, we have an anarchist book fair, a nationwide tour in support of long term anarchist political prisoners, and we’re ending the first week of Freedom Month for Puerto Rican political prisoners. With all that going on, don’t forget to leave time for dinner. NYC ABC is back this week with another every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinner, this time focusing on two recently imprisoned comrades– Operation Backfire prisoner Justin Solondz and anti-fascist Eric Desouza.

Justin Solondz recently plead guilty to conspiracy and arson in relation to an action claimed by the Earth Liberation Front. The action at University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture in 2001 caused six million dollars in damages. Justin is currently serving a seven year federal prison sentence.

Eric Desouza was arrested at a demonstration against neo-Nazis in Sacramento, California in late February 2012. He was originally facing six charges and had bail posted at $100,000. He eventually plead guilty to felonious resisting executive orders which allowed for a considerably shorter sentence.

If you are unable to make it to dinner, please write letters to Justin and Eric:

Justin Solondz #98291-011
FDC SeaTac
Post Office Box 13900
Seattle, Washington 98198

Eric Desouza X-4779436 48N4411
Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center
12500 Bruceville Road
Elk Grove, California 95757