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NYC/NYE – Noise Demo Against the Prison Industrial Complex, In Solidarity with PPs and POWs
WHAT: Noise Demo Against the PIC, for the Liberation of PPs + POWs
WHEN: 9:00pm, Sunday, December 31st
WHERE: Metropolitan Correction Center (MCC, the federal prison in downtown Manhattan); Pearl Street, between Cardinal Hayes Place and Park Row (J to Chambers Street or 4/5/6/ to City Hall)
BRING: Noisemakers, air horns, drums, anything that is loud!
On the noisiest night of the year in New York City, come help us remind folks locked up that they are not alone. NYC Anarchist Black Cross, in response to an international call for noise demonstrations outside of prisons, is asking folks to join us outside of the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in lower Manhattan. Come, not to appeal to authority, speak truth to power, or any other contrivance, but rather to stand arm in arm with comrades and show direct solidarity to those on the other side of the wall.
The state, writ large, is targeting anarchists all across the United States and abroad. This will be both protest and celebration. To keep the cold at bay, comrades from MACC will be on hand with cookies and hot cocoa to keep the vocal cords nice and warm.
BK/NY – Tuesday, December 5th – Letter-writing to Bill Dunne and Casey Brezik
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, December 5th, 2017
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
As the state more closely colludes with capital to assure that wealth travels in one direction (HINT: it ain’t towards us), it also continues its war on dissenters. Nearly 200 folks are facing decades in prison for dressing alike and being bold enough to challenge the authority of the white nationalist-emboldening president and all he represents. We in NYC ABC support the #J20 defendants. We also fight for those comrades who are imprisoned for taking action against the state and this week we are focusing our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinner on two such folks. This week we are writing to anarchist prisoners Bill Dunne and Casey Brezik.
Bill Dunne is an anti-authoritarian sentenced to 90 years for the attempted liberation of comrades from Seattle’s King County Jail in 1979 and for attempting to break himself out of Leavenworth Penitentiary in 1983. Dunne was charged with possession of an automatic weapon, auto theft, and with aiding & abetting the escape. Charges further alleged the operation was financed by bank expropriations and facilitated by illegal acquisition of weapons and explosives. Bill went before the parole board in the winter of 2014, was rejected and given a 15 year “hit” (meaning he cannot go back to the board for that time period).
In 2010, anarchist Casey Brezik tried to assassinate the governor of Missouri. In June of 2013, he was convicted and sentenced to a dozen years on each of three counts – assault and two armed criminal action charges – and seven years on a second count of assault. All sentences will run concurrently. More information at supportcasey.org
We expect to see you on Tuesday. If you can’t make it, please take the time to write letters (and send books) to Bill and Casey:
Bill Dunne #10916-086
FCI Victorville Medium I
Post Office Box 3725
Adelanto, California 92301
Casey Brezik #1154765
Algoa Correctional Center
8501 No More Victims Road
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
BK/NY – Tuesday August 1st – Letter Writing Dinner for Dane Powell
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, August 1, 2017
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
On Friday, July 7th, Dane Powell became the first victim of the #DisruptJ20 arrestees to be struck with a jail sentence. Dane is a father, veteran, water protector, and active community member, but will now forever be known as the first political prisoner of the Trump era. Today, he needs your support more than ever. That’s why this week, NYC ABC will be focusing our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinner on Dane.
On January 20th, police across the United States celebrated the inauguration of Trump, confident they would be empowered to terrorize communities with fewer consequences than ever. They wasted no time testing the limits of their new power: on Trump’s first day in office, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) attacked thousands of demonstrators and bystanders with pepper spray & flash grenades, kettled and mass arrested hundreds of them, seized their cell phones, sexually assaulted some behind bars, and later raided an activist’s home.
An emboldened prosecutor is now pursuing charges that threaten to keep these activists imprisoned for decades, and Dane Powell represents the first attempt. Dane is a hero who famously brought a child to safety while MPD attacked children and the elderly in the supportive crowd on J20. Later, he would be pulled out of a car, held in jail for days without almost anyone realizing it, and charged with 14 felonies. He pled to two of those in April and was sentenced to 4 months in jail on July 7th.
Dane is a soft spoken and loving individual. In his interview on It’s Going Down, he explained why he came out to J20: “I could have let other people do it. I let [my daughter] know that we can’t live our lives hoping for someone else to come and fix things for us. When we, or anyone else, is faced with insurmountable oppression we must use our own two feet and hands to dismantle it.”
If for some reason you can’t make it Tuesday, please take a moment to write to Dane on your own time:
Dane Powell DCDC #358 530
DC Jail
1901 D Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Sign on to a Statement of Solidarity with #DisruptJ20 Defendants
NOTE: Here in NYC, we have over two dozen defendants in this case and financial support for them can be made at youcaring.com/nycdisruptj20codefendants-750321
The following statement was drafted by supporters of those arrested at Inauguration protests in DC on January 20th, with the intent of providing a public platform for organizations around North America to express their collective opposition to these charges. The list of signees will be posted and continually updated at defendJ20resistance.org and several other sites.
To have your group or crew sign on, send an email to J20endorsements@protonmail.com.
On January 20, 2017, tens of thousands of people converged in Washington, D.C. for the #DisruptJ20 protests to oppose the inauguration of Donald Trump. A combination of blockades, marches, and festive demonstrations shattered the spectacle of a peaceful transition of power, and made it clear around the world that people do not recognize Trump’s authority. What could have been a day signaling resignation and defeat became a moment of defiance and resistance. As such, the protests on J20 set a tone and precedent for the events that unfolded shortly after, including the notably successful, mass direct actions at airports against Trump’s Muslim ban, as well as ongoing resistance to deportations. While Trump and his alt-right footsoldiers have encountered few meaningful obstacles from liberal politicians in the halls of power, grassroots resistance has continued to prove a substantial force.
Unfortunately, however, with resistance comes repression. In addition to shooting pepper spray and concussion grenades indiscriminately at protesters, including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, DC police cordoned off an entire block and mass arrested more than 230 people in an attempt to stop an anti-capitalist and anti-fascist march. While mass arrests are not unheard of, in this case arrestees were originally charged with felony riot, a charge that potentially carries ten years in prison. On April 27, the prosecution announced additional felony charges against the entire group — inciting to riot, rioting, conspiracy to riot, and five counts of property destruction.
With these heightened charges the state is trying to set a precedent for harsh crackdowns of disruptive protest in the future, so that Trump can proceed with his agenda unimpeded by anything but symbolic hand-wringing. This strategy corresponds with a broader wave of repression and reaction, from the arrests and grand jury investigations of Indigenous water protectors at #StandingRock to backlash against #BlackLivesMatter and black-led uprisings against police. The arrests at J20 also inform local strategies for repression, including anti-protest laws that have been proposed in 18 different state legislatures, which further criminalize commonly used tactics like highway takeovers and in some cases make it legal for drivers to knowingly hit protesters marching in roadways.
The charges against J20 defendants are an experiment. If the courts are able to successfully prosecute those arrested at J20, this will send a green light to the forces of repression seeking to contain, control, and eliminate social movements around the country. Just as all of our struggles are connected, we understand these arrests to represent a real threat to all efforts towards true freedom, dignity, and autonomy. We call for the immediate dropping of all charges, and express our sincere solidarity with and support for those arrested, and encourage others to do so as well.
BK/NY – Tuesday, January 3rd – Letter-Writing Dinner For New York State Political Prisoners
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, January 3rd, 2017
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
Ah yes, 2017. Doesn’t the new year imbue such feelings of revitalization and a renewed sense of optimism? Yeah, right. We know better than that. Not only does 2017 mean looking down the barrel of an orange fascist presidency but it marks another calendar year that comrades who have fought for the revolution are stuck behind bars. This week NYC ABC will be writing to those closest to us, those held captive in New York State prisons: Jalil Muntaqim, Robert Seth Hayes, Herman Bell, David Gilbert, and Reverend Joy Powell.
Jalil Muntaqim and Robert Seth Hayes, both former Black Panthers, have been frequenting prison support news wires for the past few months; unfortunately for nothing positive. Jalil has been in the SHU (Special Housing Unit) since December 6th as a result of him teaching a Black history course. Although this course was approved by the prison administration, they have decided they didn’t like the accuracy of what he was teaching and threw him in the SHU as an ongoing effort to censor him. To read his explanation of the situation, read here.
Robert Seth Hayes continues to experience life threatening medical problems with (unsurprisingly) no help from the state. He was told on October 12th that he needs an insulin pump to help monitor his diabetes but the prison has still failed to deliver this life saving mechanism to him. Read more information and how you can support him fight for the medical care he requires here.
Herman Bell is also a former Black Panther who has been locked up for four decades. Like Jalil and Seth, he was yet again denied parole in 2016. Each time, the board – always made of up former law enforcement personnel and former prosecutors — reviews his very impressive record, the Bachelor’s and Master’s college degrees he has attained since being locked up, his job offers, his numerous letters of support from family, friends, and community members from many walks of life. They have before them evidence of all the ways Herman has helped so many people throughout the course of his confinement and is still leading a positive and progressive life despite being locked up now over four decades. See the petition for his latest parole request and hear from Herman his thoughts on his latest parole board appearance here.
David Gilbert was moved in 2016 to Wende Correctional Facility, luckily closer to some close comrades and unfortunately farther from others. David is a long time anti-racist and anti-imperialist who is serving a life sentence for his involvement as a white comrade to the Black Liberation Army during an attempted expropriation, better known as the Brinks Robbery. He has continued the struggle while held captive. For more information, see here.
Reverend Joy Powell was warned by the Rochester Police department that she was a target because of her speaking out against corruption. On many occasions, Rev. Joy held rallies and spoke out against the police brutality and “police justifications” in Rochester, New York. As a result, she was accused and convicted of 1st Degree Burglary and Assault. Rev. Joy has filed multiple grievances for sexual assault and religious discrimination among other things, as well as been repeatedly denied medical attention for her diabetes and asthma. For more information on how you can help support, read here.
We hope you’ll join us Tuesday to send these lifetime revolutionaries some love and solidarity. If for some reason you have something more “important” to do, then you can write to them from the comfort of your home office:
Jalil Muntaqim* (Anthony Jalil Bottom) #77-A-4283
Attica Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 149
Attica, New York 14011-0149
*Address the envelope to Anthony Bottom and the letter to Jalil.
Robert Seth Hayes #74-A-2280
Sullivan Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 116
Fallsburg, New York 12733-0116
Herman Bell #79-C-0262
Great Meadow Correctional Facility
11739 State Route 22
Post Office Box 51
Comstock, New York 12821-0051
David Gilbert #83-A-6158
Wende Correctional Facility
3040 Wende Road
Alden, New York 14004
Reverend Joy Powell 07G0632
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 1000
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2499
Read more…