Tuesday, February 7th – Letter Writing for Forest Defenders

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: Tuesday, February 7th, 2023
WHERE: from wherever you happen to be
COST: Free

As everyone reading this likely knows, several folks have been arrested and are facing ludicrous terrorism charges for putting their bodies on the line to protect Weelaunee forest land in and around Atlanta from being cleared and turned into a counter-insurgency police training facility and movie studio. These arrests happened in the weeks before and soon after forest defender Tortuguita was murdered by cops firing at least a dozen bullets at their body during a raid of a forest defenders’ camp on January 18, 2023.

This drastic increase of the level of repression is not unknown historically in these so-called ‘united states’–think about COINTELPRO and the murders of Black liberation activists in the 1960’s-1970’s, or the Green Scare that began in the late 1990’s which targeted Earth and animal defenders with terrorism enhancements–but it does point to an alarming ramping up of recent state and federal attacks against those practicing effective direct action. It seems the intersection of eco-defense, environmental justice, anti-police-state, and corporate accountability movements, is a frightening portent for the forces of reaction. As has been said many times, we can tell we’re onto something when they show how frightened they are. Unfortunately the powers that be show their fear through incarceration and police violence aimed at activists, often with devastating effects on the lives of our comrades and their loved ones.

So this week, NYC ABC is joining the call to show some of the recently arrested Forest Defenders our love and solidarity. Write them letters!

Names and current addresses of some of the imprisoned comrades are below; we will update here if and when these addresses change.

Please remember that these folks are pre-trial, and your letters will be monitored; don’t write anything that could get them–or yourself or our communities–into trouble. Also note that jails and prisons have various draconian rules, so it’s easiest to stick to writing in black ink with nothing from a grade school art class–glitter, stickers, crayon, et cetera–inside or on the envelope. As always, please refer to the “Write a Letter” section if it’s your first time writing someone inside.

Emily Murphy #2300000841
5NE Room 213
Atlanta City Detention Center
254 Peachtree Street SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Nadja Geier #2300000842
5FE Room 207
Atlanta City Detention Center
254 Peachtree Street SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Christopher Reynolds
X2204380
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive
Decatur, Georgia 30032
(Pre-metered postcards only, blue or black ballpoint ink)

Three additional forest defenders whose names are withheld at their request can be written to c/o:
Atlanta Books to Prisoners
Post Office Box 5390
Atlanta, Georgia 30307

For more info on this important struggle, check out defendtheatlantaforest.org and stopcopcitysolidarity.org

Tuesday, December 27th – Letter Writing To Nikki Hubbard

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, December 27th, 2022
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

There are always ebbs and flows in every aspect of the intersecting avenues of liberation struggles and supporting political prisoners is no exception. Actually this work that we do together might be a bellwether for both the state of our movements and social/political trends of society at large. It is certainly a better barometer than election cycles for instance. And we are unfortunately entering a time in which the trend of seeing a few comrades be able to come home over the past few years (while others have been sadly left to die inside) is being reversed, as harsh charges and sentences are being meted out to several activists for organizing against police brutality, standing up to right wing violence, and defending what is left our natural spaces. But it is important to remember that as much as we are heartbroken that our comrades are forcibly caged and kept separated from their lives and loved ones, we must also honor and celebrate their courage and determination to actively resist harm to their communities and our shared planet.

This week, we are encouraging you to join us in writing to Nikki Hubbard. Nikki is a BLM activist who was recently sentenced to over 4 years for counter-protesting a Pro-Trump “Patriot’s March” in Pacific Beach, CA. According to her supporters, none of the Pro-Trump protesters were detained however Nikki and many other defendants were arrested for conspiracy, assault, and unlawful tear gas (for having pepper spray). Nikki is trans femme and is currently being held in a men’s facility despite her legal Driver’s License gender being changed to Female. Her partner has set up a link tree for her where you can find social media, mutual aid, and donation links related to Nikki’s case and causes. From what we hear, Nikki is interested in psychology, viking-era fantasy fiction, and history.

Also, Nikki’s birthday is January 7th, so please wish her the happiest of birthdays possible while inside!

Note: The prison system is inhumane and cis-heterosexist, so envelopes must be addressed to Nikki’s State/deadname (below). Address the letter itself to her actual name, Nikki. (A petition to get her moved to a women’s prison will be set up in the near future.)

Free Nikki! Free Them All!

Please join NYC ABC in a letter to Nikki Hubbard:

Erich Yach #BU6682
Wasco State Prison Recpetion Center
701 Scofield Ave.,
P.O. Box 5500,
Wasco, CA 93280
*address letter to Nikki*

As always, please refer to the “Write a Letter” section if it’s your first time writing someone inside.

Tuesday, December 13th – Letter Writing To Eric King

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, December 13th, 2022
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

We are very pleased that after years of restrictions, Eric King can finally get and send mail! While he is still being punitively isolated as reprisal for beating the most recent charges thrown at him—essentially being punished for defending himself from an unprovoked attack by a guard—he can at least get some love and light from his friends and supporters. So this week we are strongly encouraging everyone reading this to write Eric and tell him he has not been forgotten in the least. Send some nice stories and jokes and things to brighten the lonely days and nights inside. Here is a reading list as well if you’d like to send him books.

Eric King is a vegan anarchist political prisoner who has been imprisoned since 2016. Eric is also a dad, a poet, and a committed activist who has faced horrendous state violence for his principled stances. On March 3, 2016, Eric accepted a non-cooperating plea agreement to one count of using “explosive materials to commit arson” and on June 28, 2016 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. His estimated release date is December 27, 2023.

In August 2019 Eric was charged for assaulting a Federal officer and faced up to 20 more years in prison. He was found innocent by a federal jury. Despite this the BOP within 11 days transferred him and bumped his custody up to MAX as a response to his win. He is set to continue to be detained indefinitely in segregation.

Please join NYC ABC in a letter to Eric King:

Eric King #27090-045
USP FLORENCE ADMAX
PO BOX 8500
FLORENCE, CO 81226

Tuesday, November 29th- Letter Writing to Ed Poindexter

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: Tuesday, November 29th, 2022
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

Ed Poindexter has been locked up inside for over 50 years. So many things have changed socially, culturally, politically and technologically in those decades as to make the world almost an unrecognizable alternate sci-fi novel reality compared to what it was in 1970. Yet the fact of Ed’s continued incarceration remains—along with several other elders of the dynamic late 1960’s-70’s period of the Black Liberation movement—remains. The continued incarceration of these folks proves that the so-called United States does hold partisans of liberation movements as political prisoners, though conservatives and liberals alike feign shock and even indignation at this notion. The fact remains, and is very much not a fiction to these folks’ families, friends, loved ones, and comrades—and especially not to U.S.-held political prisoners themselves.

In this spirit, please join NYC ABC and Page One Collective this week to write to Black Panther political prisoner Ed Poindexter.

Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa are commonly known as the “Omaha Two.” They were leaders of the Black Panther Party in Omaha in the late 1960s and, like others, were targeted both by the Omaha police and the FBI under its notorious COINTELPRO spying and disruption program.

In August 1970, the Two were framed on charges of killing an Omaha police officer, who died after being lured into a home where a suitcase bomb exploded. They were subsequently imprisoned. After a long illness, we Langa died in 2016 after 45 years in prison, while Ed Poindexter remains locked up.

Please take the time to write a letter to Ed:

Ed Poindexter #27767
Nebraska State Penitentiary
Post Office Box 22500
Lincoln, Nebraska 68542

BK/NY – Sunday, September 18th, 2022 – Running Down the Walls

WHAT: Running Down the Walls – 5k Run/Walk/Jog/Bike/Hang
WHEN: 2:00-7:00pm, Sunday, September 18th, 2022
WHERE: Prospect Park– Lincoln Road/East Lake Drive, east of the Terrace Bridge (see the below map for exact location)
COST: $10 registration, participants encouraged to get sponsors (includes vegan BBQ afterwards, with COVID precautions for serving!) Donate at paypal.me/nycabc venmo.com/nycabc or with the venmo app : @nycabc

NYC Anarchist Black Cross (NYC ABC) is excited to announce Running Down the Walls 2022! After making the difficult decision to not host RDTW in person in 2020, we are looking very forward to gathering as a community. Last year, we had an amazing time and a successful fundraiser. Please stay tuned to our website, sign up for our newsletter, and follow us on twitter (@nycabc) or instagram (also @nycabc) for updates.

Every year, prisoners and supporters of political prisoners organize solidarity events with Running Down the Walls. In previous years, we’ve had runs in Albuquerque (NM), Arcata (CA), Ashland (OR), Bellefonte (PA), Boston (MA), Buffalo (NY), Chico (CA), Denver (CO), Elmore (AL), Inez (KY), Los Angeles (CA), Marion (IL), Minneapolis (MN) New York (NY), USP Navosta (TX), Pelican Bay (CA), Phoenix (AZ), Tucson (AZ), Seattle (WA), and Toronto, Ontario. This year we hope to expand the amount of runs in prisons and other cities, as well as increase the amount of funds raised for community projects. NYC ABC‘s goal with this year’s run is $4,500. You can donate online by going to venmo.com/nycabc: @nycabc

This year’s run will take place on Sunday, September 18th, 2022 at 2:00 pm in solidarity and conjunction with runs that will take place in cities and prison yards across the country at the same time. Stay after to enjoy a vegan BBQ, served taking every COVID precaution!

REGISTER AS, OR SPONSOR, A PARTICIPANT

To raise our goal of $4,500 we need your support.

* Promote – print and distribute flyers to friends and local businesses, your doctor’s office, laundromat, food co-op, wealthy benefactor, et cetera.

* Run/walk/bike/roll in the 5k – We need participants who can run/walk/bike/roll the 5k and are able to collect financial pledges to offer as donations to the run. Download the brochure, complete with registration and sponsor form right here.

* Volunteer for the run – We need folks who are willing to promote the run and bike the route as street medics.

* Donate online at venmo @nycabc

* Donate to the run/sponsor a participant – If you are not able to attend, but want to support this fundraising effort, please mail donations to:
NYC ABC
Post Office Box 110034
Brooklyn, New York 11211

Your donation of $10 or more entitles you to the celebratory picnic after the event.

Each year, we split proceeds between the Anarchist Black Cross Federation’s Warchest Program and a local organization. This year, local funds are going to Roots Unbound (RU).

The Warchest Program:
The Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) has initiated a program designed to send monthly checks to those Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have been receiving insufficient, little, or no financial support during their imprisonment. The Warchest program was initiated in November 1994. Its purpose is to collect monthly funds from groups and individual supporters, and send that money to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War (PP/POW) via monthly checks. Over the last twenty five years, the ABCF warchest has dispensed almost $200,000 to political prisoners. Currently, there are 17 imprisoned comrades who receive a monthly stipend as part of the program; they are Abdul Azeez, Dan Baker, Ed Poindexter, Eric King, Fidencio Aldama, Hanif Bey, Jamil Al-Amin, Joseph Bowen, Kamau Sadiki, Leonard Peltier, Malik Smith, Mutulu Shakur, Oso Blanco, Ronald Reed, Ruchell Magee, Veronza Bowers, and Xinachtli (FKA Alvaro Luna Hernandez).

For more information, visit: abcf.net/warchest-program

Roots Unbound:
Roots Unbound (RU) is an abolitionist grassroots organization based in Brooklyn offering nature-based programming centered around food justice, therapeutic horticulture, and ecological disinvestment to people in the NYC area with a focus on supporting and uplifting people impacted by the carceral system. Abolition is liberation for all.

For more information, visit: rootsunbound.org

We will be starting here:

From the Q train, get off at the Prospect Park stop. Walk to Lincoln Road and turn right into the park. We’ll be about 700 feet away.

The event will be one lap around what is known as the Main Loop, and will total five kilometers. For the curious, here’s what it looks like:

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail us at nycabc at riseup dot net.

See you there!

Tuesday, August 24th – Solidarity With International Anarchist Political Prisoners

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, August 24th, 2021
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

The Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) originally began as a channel for mostly Jewish anarchist emigres from the Russian empire to support revolutionaries locked up for struggling against Tsarism in the early 20th century. Known at first as the Workers Red Cross, then the Anarchist Red Cross, and eventually as the Anarchist Black Cross, the early ABC would raise awareness and funds, keep up correspondences and send money and food packages to their imprisoned comrades. After the Bolsheviks seized power the work remained to support non-Communist Party approved revolutionaries, re-imprisoned by the new bosses for continuing the fight against the old ones, and Alexander Berkman continued the work from exile in Berlin.

As the decades passed the increasing urgency of countering fascism and the great depression shifted priorities, and the ABC fell away as  an organization (though many comrades continued the work of supporting political prisoners). It was revived by Albert Meltzer and Stuart Christie in the 1960’s, and while originally focusing on veterans of the ongoing struggle against Franco’s regime, it expanded rapidly to other include other struggles and international chapters. Former political prisoner Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin revived it in the belly of the ‘american’ beast, and today we see ABC chapters throughout the world.

Whatever the demands of time and place, the watchword of the ABC has always been solidarity. As Albert Meltzer said: “It is not intended to be a charity. It is to organize solidarity for victims of the class war.“ If by class war we mean the intersecting struggles against all forms of oppression—and we do—then we stand by Albert’s words. Regimes and pandemics come and go, but true solidarity is for ever.

As we have said before, it is matter of anarchist principle for us that we do not only support anarchist political prisoners, but all those engaged in struggles against oppression. But now, as has been the case for over a century, anarchist prisoners around the world are in need of solidarity.

So NYC ABC and Page One Collective answer the call for a Week of International Solidarity With Anarchist Political Prisoners. Learn their names and stories, write them letters, spread the word. Until All Are Free! 

Please note, the list provided above includes Joshua Stafford aka Skelly, who has been released to halfway house.

BK/NY – Sunday, September 12th, 2021 – Running Down the Walls

WHAT: Running Down the Walls – 5k Run/Walk/Jog/Bike/Hang
WHEN: 2:00-7:00pm, Sunday, September 12th, 2021
WHERE: Prospect Park– Lincoln Road/East Lake Drive, east of the Terrace Bridge (see the below map for exact location)
COST: $10 registration (includes vegan BBQ afterwards served COVID precautions!)

We’re excited to announce Running Down the Walls 2021, COVID permitting. After making the difficult decision to not hold last year’s event in person, we are very much looking forward to gathering as a community for the first time in a long time. Please stay tuned to our website, sign up for our newsletter, and follow us on tweeter (@nycabc) for updates.

Every year, prisoners and supporters of political prisoners organize solidarity events with Running Down the Walls. In previous years, we’ve had runs in Albuquerque (NM), Arcata (CA), Ashland (OR), Bellefonte (PA), Boston (MA), Buffalo (NY), Chico (CA), Denver (CO), Elmore (AL), Inez (KY), Los Angeles (CA), Marion (IL), Minneapolis (MN) New York (NY), USP Navosta (TX), Pelican Bay (CA), Phoenix (AZ), Tucson (AZ), Seattle (WA), and Toronto, Ontario. This year we hope to expand the amount of runs in prisons and other cities, as well as increase the amount of funds raised for community projects. NYC ABC‘s goal with this year’s run is $4,000. You can donate online by going to paypal.me/nycabc or venmo: @nycabc

This year’s run will take place on Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at 2:00 pm in solidarity and conjunction with runs that will take place in cities and prison yards across the country at the same time. Stay after to enjoy a vegan BBQ, served taking every COVID precaution!

REGISTER AS, OR SPONSOR, A PARTICIPANT

To raise our goal of $4,000, we need your support.

* Promote – print and distribute flyers to friends and local businesses, your doctor’s office, laundromat, food co-op, wealthy benefactor, et cetera.

* Run/walk/bike/roll in the 5k – We need participants who can run/walk/bike/roll the 5k and are able to collect financial pledges to offer as donations to the run. Download the brochure, complete with registration and sponsor form right here.

* Volunteer for the run – We need folks who are willing to hand out water, bike the route as street medics, and help chalk the route beforehand.

* Donate online at paypal.me; venmo @nycabc

* Donate to the run/sponsor a participant – If you are not able to attend, but want to support this fundraising effort, please mail donations to:
NYC ABC
Post Office Box 110034
Brooklyn, New York 11211

Your donation of $10 or more entitles you to the celebratory picnic after the event.

Each year, we split proceeds between the Anarchist Black Cross Federation’s Warchest Program and a local organization. This year, local funds are going to recently released New York state political prisoners.

The Warchest Program:
The Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) has initiated a program designed to send monthly checks to those Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have been receiving insufficient, little, or no financial support during their imprisonment. The Warchest program was initiated in November 1994. Its purpose is to collect monthly funds from groups and individual supporters, and send that money to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War (PP/POW) via monthly checks. Over the last twenty five years, the ABCF warchest has dispensed over $100,000 to political prisoners in the United States. Currently, there are 18 imprisoned comrades who receive a monthly stipend as part of the program; they are Abdul Azeez, David Gilbert, Doug Wright, Ed Poindexter, Eric King, Hanif Bey, Jamil Al-Amin, Joseph Bowen, Kamau Sadiki, Leonard Peltier, Malik Smith, Mutulu Shakur, Oso Blanco, Ronald Reed, Ruchell Magee, Sundiata Acoli, Veronza Bowers, and Xinachtli (FKA Alvaro Luna Hernandez).

For more information, visit: abcf.net/warchest-program

We will be starting here:

From the Q train, get off at the Prospect Park stop. Walk to Lincoln Road and turn right into the park. We’ll be about 700 feet away.

The event will be one lap around what is known as the Main Loop, and will total five kilometers. For the curious, here’s what it looks like:

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail us at nycabc at riseup dot net.

See you there!

Tuesday, July 27th, 2021 – Letter-writing to Gage Halupowski

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, July 27th, 2021
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

On July 19th, 1936, right-wing authoritarian generals and their fascist allies revolted against the timidly left-leaning government of the Spanish Republic. Though no friends of the liberals in power, Spanish anarchists saw the existential threat to the working classes—and humanity—that fascism posed, and fought heroically not to save the government, but to repel the coup. What followed has been called revolution (as people in liberated cities and villages dramatically re-organized their social and economic lives), civil war, triumph, defeat, and folly, depending on who you ask and where their ethics lie. Whatever you call it, it was the first major international battle against fascism, and included some of the largest experiments in real-world anarchism the world had seen. This confluence is no coincidence, since every form of centralized government contains the seeds of fascism. As Buenaventura Durruti put it: “No government fights fascism to destroy it. When the bourgeoisie sees that power is slipping out of its hands, it brings up fascism to hold onto their privileges.” Y la Lucha continua…

July 25 is the International Day of Solidarity with Anti-Fascist Prisoners. In honor of this, NYC ABC and Page One are asking folks to write a letter to anti-fascist political prisoner Gage Halupowski.

Gage Halupowski was arrested along with two other protesters in the wake of clashes in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, later indicted on four criminal charges, including second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, attempted assault of a public safety officer, and interfering with a peace officer. In November 2019, Gage was convicted and sentenced to six years in state prison.

Please take the time to write a letter to Gage (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Gage Halupowski #21894460
Snake River Correctional Institution
777 Stanton Boulevard
Ontario, Oregon 97914-8335

Tuesday, April 20 – May Day letter-writing for Anarchist Prisoners

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, April 20th, 2021
WHERE: your home (or wherever you happen to be)
COST: Free

NYC ABC is an anarchist collective that supports political prisoners captured in liberation and anti-oppression struggles from a wide range of political or spiritual traditions. In other words, though we subscribe to anti-authoritarian principles, we don’t only support anarchists behind bars. But the May Day season is one in which we focus on those who struggle for a world without borders or bosses.

So, in remembrance of the Haymarket Martyrs—in whose honor May Day became known as an international workers’ day—we focus this week’s letter-writing on anarchists imprisoned for their beliefs and actions. Instead of getting together to sign and send May Day cards as we have in previous years, this week NYC ABC and Page One Collective are asking folks to to write letters or send books to one or more of the anarchist political prisoners we currently support, including Bill Dunne, Casey Brezik, and Gage Halupowski.

Unfortunately, anarchist political prisoner Eric King is currently on mail ban, so can’t receive letters. But he can receive book and magazines! Here is the link to Eric’s book wish list: tiny.cc/EK_Books

Casey Brezik #1154765
Jefferson City Correctional Center
8200 No More Victims Road
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

Bill Dunne #10916-086
FCI Victorville Medium I
Post Office Box 3725
Adelanto, California 92301

Gage Halupowski #21894460
Snake River Correctional Institution
777 Stanton Boulevard
Ontario, Oregon 97914-8335

Illustrated Guide Version 11.10 Now Uploaded!

We’ve finished the latest version of the NYC ABC “Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War” and it’s available for viewing (and download) by clicking on the tab at the top of this page. This update includes updated mini-bios, photos, and address changes for several prisoners as well as removes Maliki Shakur Latine (time served!).