BK/NY – Tuesday, September 1st– Letter-Writing for Christopher Monfort

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, September 1st, 2015
WHERE: The Base – 1302 Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11221 (directions below)
NOTE: The Base is on the ground floor, is wheelchair accessible, and has a gender neutral toilet.
COST: Free

With the seemingly never-ending rise of police murdering and brutalizing people of color with unrepentant disregard, it should be a shock to none that some will defend themselves and their communities with whatever means they see fit.  This week we will be writing Christopher Monfort.

In 2009, Christopher Monfort waged a one man war against the Seattle Police Department.

On October 22, 2009, police vehicles parked in a vehicle maintenance yard in Seattle were firebombed. Several vehicles were destroyed and many damaged in the action. A communique was issued days later tying the incident to the beating of a young girl held in custody by Seattle Police.

Less that two weeks later, on October 31, 2009, Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton was killed and his partner, Britt Sweeney, was wounded. According to the Seattle police, Brenton was sitting in the passenger seat of a patrol car with Sweeney discussing a just completed traffic stop when a vehicle pulled alongside the patrol car and an occupant opened fire. Officer Brenton was instantly killed . Sweeney was grazed in the back by one shot, but able to get out of the patrol car, return fire at the fleeing vehicle, and call for additional units.

During the investigation, detectives and officers linked Monfort’s car to the crime, and attempted to arrest him at his apartment. When officers arrived, Monfort is said to have pulled a gun and opened fire. Monfort was shot by police and is now paralyzed as a result of the confrontation.

Since the start of court proceedings, Monfort has been doggedly outspoken about the role of police in society, specific instances of police violence, and has consistently called on other people in the United States to confront police terror in their communities and use armed tactics to do so if necessary.

Monfort was convicted of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of arson.  The state asked the jury to sentence him to be murdered by the state, but they instead sentenced him to life in prison.

We expect to see you on Tuesday. If you can’t make it, please take the time to write a letter to Christopher at:

Christopher John Monfort #209040021
500 Fifth Avenue
Seattle , Washington 98104

The deal, as always, is that you come bringing only yourself (and your friends and comrades), and we provide you with a delicious vegan meal, information about the prisoners as well as all of the letter-writing materials and prisoner-letter-writing info you could ever want to use in one evening. In return, you write a thoughtful letter to a political prisoner or prisoner of war of your choosing or, better yet, keep up a long-term correspondence. We’ll also provide some brief updates and pass around birthday cards for the PP/POWs whose birthdays fall in the next two weeks thanks to the PP/POW Birthday Calendar.

Directions:
Getting to The Base is simple:
From the M Train:
Central Avenue Stop: Walk east on Myrtle Avenue (away from Hart Street, toward Cedar Street). We’re about two blocks down on the south side of the street.

Knickerbocker Avenue Stop: Walk west on Myrtle Avenue (away from Harman Street, toward Himrod Street). We’re about three blocks down on the south side of the street.

From the L Train:
DeKalb Avenue Stop: Walk south on Stockholm Street (away from Wyckoff Avenue, toward Irving Avenue). We’re about four blocks down, at the intersection of Stockholm Street and Myrtle Avenue.

From the J Train:
Myrtle Avenue Stop: Transfer to the M train and follow the above directions.