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, July 3rd – Letter-Writing for Cleveland Five

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, July 3, 2012
WHERE: CAGE – 83A Hester Street New York, New York 10002 (directions below)
COST: Free
Hold on to something solid, because we have a bomb to drop on you. With Independence Day upon us, we have something startling to share. NYC ABC, collectively, could not give two shits about this holiday! Sacrilege, we know. Sarcasm aside, the state, writ large, and the United States government in particular, has nothing to do with independence and we’re not going to bore you with another polemic arguing as much. Nothing speaks as clearly to how little the U.S. government cares about independence than its production and treatment of political prisoners. In opposition to this logic, we again host our every-other-week Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner. This week we are writing to five pre-trial comrades, entrapped by the state— the Cleveland Five.

In the run-up to May Day actions planned across the country, the FBI took to its “go to” strategy– entrapping folks to distract from the actions at hand, draw resources from our communities, and attempt to scare us with heavy-handed arrests and prosecutions. Five folks from Ohio, most closely associated with Occupy Cleveland, were arrested and charged in an alleged plot to destroy a municipal bridge.

PLEASE REMEMBER: The Five are pre-trial. Take care with what you write and do not talk about the case. Scavil and Connor have written public letters, as has the father of one of their comrades. These are good starting points to begin conversations with them.

If you are unable to make it to dinner, please take the time to write a letter to these comrades at:
Brandon Baxter #57972060
Anthony Hayne #57975060
Joshua Stafford #57976060
Connor Stevens #57978060
NEOCC
2240 Hubbard Road
Youngstown, Ohio 44505

Douglas L. Wright*
150 High Street NW
Warren, Ohio 44481
*Please be sure to include Doug’s middle initial, L., when addressing letters to him as there are two Douglas Wrights at Trumbull County Jail in Warren.

For more information, visit http://cleveland5justice.org