Post-release Fund For NATO 3 Prisoner Brent Betterly

Brent Betterly of the “NATO 3″ is scheduled to be released on April 16th. His support crew has a campaign to raise money for Brent’s release. Donate at youcaring.com/help-a-neighbor/prison-release-fund-for-brent-betterly/308054 to help welcome Brent home.

On May 16th, 2012, just prior to the NATO summit in Chicago, three Occupy activists were arrested and eventually charged with 11 felony counts, including four under the never-before-used Illinois terrorism statute. Brent Betterly, Maya Chase (formerly Jared Chase), and Brian “Jacob” Church came to be known as the NATO 3. The case went to trial in January of 2014, and the NATO 3 were acquitted of all of the terrorism charges. Unfortunately, the jury found them guilty of two felonies each— possession of an incendiary device with the intent to commit arson and possession of an incendiary device with the knowledge that another intended to commit arson. They were given sentences ranging from 5 to 8 years in state prison.

Brent Betterly is the second of the three to be released. Please donate to his release fund to help ease the transition after 3 years behind bars. Donations are needed to help pay for Brent’s living expenses while he works to get back on his feet during the immediate aftermath of his imprisonment. Brent is the father of a young child who lives several states away. Funds raised will also help Brent maintain contact with his son.

If you’d like to write to Brent before his release, please address envelopes to:

Brent Betterly M44724
Sheridan Correctional Facility
4017 East 2603 Road
Sheridan, Illinois 60551

And if you have any questions, you can email freethenato3@gmail.com, or check out freethenato3.wordpress.com

Illustrated Guide Version 9.8 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 removing Brian Church (TIME SERVED!) and Sekou Odinga (PAROLED!).

 

 

NYC – Tuesday, March 4th – Letter-Writing Dinner For NATO 3

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, March 4th, 2014
WHERE: CAGE – 83A Hester Street (UPSTAIRS) New York, New York 10002 (directions below)
COST: Free
Obligatory reference to the horrendous Northeast weather. Also, there is no such thing as global warming…It seems in the last couple of years, the feds have decided to stop going after seasoned activists and started to implement a strategy of entrapping young activists.  From many of the Muslim entrapment cases to Eric McDavid‘s case to the Cleveland 4, the federal (and some state) governments have thrown informants and undercover cops at activists all over the country–a point made cogently in this article by CrimethInc. We feel the need to call bullshit on these made-up, fake terrorism cases that exist to justify the expenditures made by the state before major meetings of warmongers like NATO.

In that vein, three young Occupy activists were hounded, cajoled, and entrapped by two undercover cops (named “Mo” & “Gloves.” How clever!)  during the months leading up to the anti-NATO summit in Chicago back in 2012. The three men, dubbed the NATO 3— Brent Betterly, Jared Chase and Brian Jacob Church, were indicted on all sorts of state terrorism charges that had never been tested, we think, to justify the mass expenditures and repression of dissent that took place at this mass mobilization.

While a jury acquitted the men of the serious terrorism charges, they were found guilty of charges related to arson and mob action and are facing up to 30 years in prison at sentencing. In short, they continue to need our support and solidarity through the end of their sentences and beyond.

This Tuesday, come join NYC ABC for a night of letter writing to lend solidarity and support to these three activists and find out more about this case and others. We will be serving a free, tasty, vegan dinner and as usual, supplying the pens, envelopes, postage, paper and anything else you need to scribe your missive. We will also be giving updates and announcements on other political prisoners, local events and issues.

In the unlikely event that there is a better use of your Tuesday night, but you still want to support the prisoners (or want to send these three a book) you can write to them at:

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

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

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

For more information and updates, go to:
freethenato3.wordpress.com

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.

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

Queens – Tuesday, December 4th – Joint Letter-Writing with Occupy Astoria LIC

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, December 4th, 2012
WHERE: Redeemer Episcopal Church – 30-14 Crescent Street Astoria, New York 11106 (directions below)
COST: Free

Hey, do you want to talk about Lindsay Lohan getting arrested again? Good, neither do we. While many in this country are distracted by the latest celebrity gossip, we continue to have friends and comrades getting locked up and subpoenaed, and not for getting into a fight outside a swanky nightclub or bumping a pedestrian with their car. 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 nearly 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
Pacific Northwest Grand Jury Resistors

BK/NY – Tuesday, September 11th – Letter-writing for the NATO 5

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm (sharp), Tuesday, September 11th, 2012
WHERE: Tiny Cup, 279 Nostrand Avenue Brooklyn, New York (see below for directions) PLEASE NOTE THE NEW LOCATION
COST: Free

Running Down the Walls 2012 has come and gone, we met our goal and had a good time in the process. Now we’re closing in on the one year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. As folks prepare for September 17th, it’s difficult not to remember how the state has targeted organizers in the lead up to such days of street actions. So while we get excited for the potential next week brings, we also keep in mind comrades still in jail, awaiting trial in the run up to the NATO protests in Chicago. With that, NYC ABC hosts another of our every other week Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinners. This week, we will be sending letters to the NATO 5.

The NATO 5 are folks arrested just a few days before the start of the NATO meetings in Chicago. Chicago police accused three activists of having explosives with the intent to bomb the local Obama campaign headquarters. Over the course of the next few days, two others were arrested under similar suspicions. Defense attorneys and those closest to the situation contend that this was all a ploy to create and maintain a climate of fear and entrapment to the highest degree. For more information and how to help, visit http://nato5.occupychi.org

If you can’t make it to supper, please take the time to write the five. They are all held in the Cook County Jail:
Brent Betterly #2012-0519001
Jared Chase #2012-0519003
Brian Church #2012-0519002
Mark Neiweem #2012-0520023
Sebastian Senakiewicz #2012-0520030

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

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