Archive
Tuesday, June 2nd – Letter Writing for Marius Mason
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free
Are there things worth dying for? For going out into the world, mid-pandemic, and risking infection for? Of course there are! But going back to work early to please a boss or pushing folks into work to salvage a crumbling capitalism aren’t two of them. Standing up to systems of oppression in the face of murderous cops is worth it and over the last week, we’ve seen brave folks get together to say cops won’t murder Black folks with no response. The state’s reaction will likely be harsh, the punishments draconian, and still folks rise up. In NYC ABC, we focus work on those living under repression in prison for actions taken in the ongoing quest for justice. Although we remain quarantined from our in-person communities, the work continues. Therefore, instead of coming together at The Base in Brooklyn, we ask that folks participate in keeping prisoners from being more alienated than they already are, by writing from home. Please post a photo of your addressed envelope on social media and tag us (with your return address blurred out) and we will share it, building digital community while our analog community stays indoors and washes its hands. This week, collaborating with comrades from Page One Collective, in an early reply to the call for June 11 actions, we focus our every-other-week letter-writing on eco-anarchist political prisoner Marius Mason.
Marius Mason is an anarchist, environmental, and animal rights prisoner. In March 2008, he was arrested by federal authorities for charges related to two acts of property destruction that occurred in 1999 and 2000 – damaging an office connected to GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) research, and destroying a piece of logging equipment. No one was injured in either act. He faced a life sentence before accepting a plea bargain in September 2008.
Mason was sentenced on February 5, 2009 in federal court in Lansing, Michigan. He received almost 22 years – the longest sentence of any Green Scare prisoner. An appeal for a reduction in his sentence was denied in 2010.
Marius was quarantined starting April 25, when he tested positive for the corona virus. Marius has underlying factors that make him vulnerable to COVID 19, and legal options are being pursued, thanks to his attorney. More information at supportmariusmason.org
Please take the time to write a letter to Marius (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Marie (Marius) Mason #04672-061
FCI Danbury
Route 37
Danbury, Connecticut 06811
Tuesday, May 19th – Letter Writing for Jeremy Hammond & Eric King
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, May 19th, 2020
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free
As COVID 19 continues to rear its ugly head and capitalism continues to exploit vulnerable communities made even more vulnerable in the wake of the pandemic, we have no choice but to continue our work as well. Although we remain quarantined from our in-person communities, our friends behind the walls are experiencing a level of isolation and danger to which our chosen social isolation cannot compare. Therefore, instead of coming together at The Base in Brooklyn, we at Page One Collective are (virtually) joining our friends at NYC ABC to maintain some semblance of a bi-weekly letter-writing tradition. We ask that folks participate as well, so we can do our best to keep prisoners from being more alienated than they already are, by writing from home. Please post a photo of your addressed envelope on social media and tag us (with your return address blurred out) and we will share it, building digital community while our analog community stays indoors and washes its hands.
This week we are focusing on two anarchist folks who have both had particularly rough years, even by the standard of the hell that is prison. Please join us in sending them some much needed love and support as they navigate their respective situations amidst the pandemic.
Jeremy Hammond is an anarchist computer hacker from Chicago. In November 2013, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for leaking the personal information of 860,000 customers of private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) through the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. This information revealed that Stratfor spies on activists, among others, at the behest of corporations and the U.S. government. In early September 2019, Jeremy was transferred to Virginia and called against his will to appear before a grand jury. He was jailed at the same spot as Chelsea Manning, who was also being held for grand jury resistance, until March 12, 2020. Because of COVID, he is now stuck at Grady County Jail awaiting transfer back to a federal facility to resume his original sentence. For more information visit freejeremy.net.
In May 2019 Eric King was indicted by a grand jury in the District Court of Colorado for a new federal felony charge of Assaulting a Federal Official. This charge is based on what the government says happened during the interview in the Florence storage room with a Lieutenant. Eric now faces up to 20 additional years in federal prison and is fighting this charge while still in the custody of his accusers. Eric is pre-trial, do not mention his current charges.
Eric is a vegan anarchist prisoner serving a 10 year sentence for an attempted firebombing of a government official’s office in Kansas City, Missouri in September 2014. Eric was charged with throwing a hammer through a window of the building, followed by two lit Molotov cocktails. The criminal complaint states that both incendiary devices failed to ignite. We encourage folks to send him a card or letter and spread the word about him if not already doing so. More information can be found at supportericking.org.
Please take the time to write a letter to Jeremy and Eric (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Jeremy Hammond #151960859
Grady County Jail
215 North 3rd Street
Chickasha, Oklahoma 73018
Eric King #27090-045
FCI Englewood
9595 West Quincy Avenue
Littleton, Colorado 80123
Tuesday, May 5th – Letter Writing for Sundiata Acoli & Dr. Mutulu Shakur
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, May 5th, 2020
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free
Normally around this time of year, NYC ABC would be printing May Day cards for our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinners. Clearly, times have changed. We are also excited to be collaboratively organizing letter-writing nights with Page One Collective. And while the events will be collaboratively organized, instead of coming together at The Base in Brooklyn, we are asking folks to keep letter-writing on your minds and keep prisoners from being more alienated than they already are by writing from home. Please post a photo of your addressed envelope on social media and tag us (with your return address blurred out) and we will share it, building digital community while our analog community stays indoors and washes its hands. This week we turn our focus to Sundiata Acoli and Dr. Mutulu Shakur, Black Panther Party members serving time for charges connected to Assata Shakur and/or her successful 1979 prison break and escape.
A New York Black Panther, Sundiata Acoli endured two years of prison awaiting trial for the Panther 21 Conspiracy Case. He and his comrades were eventually acquitted on all the bogus charges. The case was historic and a classic example of police and government attempting to neutralize organizations by incarcerating their leadership. As a result of this political attack and because of the immense pressure and surveillance from the FBI and local police Sundiata, like many other Panther leaders went “underground.” On May 2, 1973, Sundiata Acoli, Assata Shakur and Zayd Shakur were ambushed and attacked by state troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike. Assata was wounded and Zayd was killed. During the gun battle a state trooper was shot and killed in self defense. Sundiata was tried in an environment of mass hysteria and convicted, although there was no credible evidence that he killed the trooper or had been involved in the shooting. He was sentenced to thirty years. Sundiata was ordered released on parole by a state appeals court in New Jersey in September 2014 when the court ruled the parole board had “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” when it previously denied him parole. The State of New Jersey appealed the decision and won. More information: sundiataacoli.org
In 1987 Dr. Mutulu Shakur was sentenced to 60 years imprisonment for his role in the Black Liberation Movement. In March 1982, Dr. Shakur and 10 others were indicted by a federal grand jury under a set of U.S. conspiracy laws called Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) laws. These conspiracy laws were ostensibly developed to aid the government in its prosecution of organized crime figures; however, they have been used with varying degrees of success against revolutionary organizations. Dr. Shakur was charged with conspiracy and participation in the Black Liberation Army, a group that carried out actual and attempted expropriations from several banks. Eight incidents were alleged to have occurred between December 1976 to October 1981. In addition, he was charged with participation in the 1979 prison escape of Assata Shakur, who is now in exile in Cuba. After five years underground, Dr. Shakur was arrested on February 12, 1986. While he was on the street, Dr. Shakur challenged the use of methadone as a tool of recovery for addicts. He believed in natural remedies instead and, based on those beliefs, founded the Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of North America. Many people credit Shakur with saving their lives. Dr. Shakur has worked to free political prisoners and to expose government abuses against political organizers. While in prison, he has struggled to create peace between rival gangs. More information: mutulushakur.com
Please take the time to write a letter to Sundiata and Mutulu (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Sundiata Acoli* #39794-066
FCI Cumberland
Federal Correctional Institution
Post Office Box 1000
Cumberland, Maryland 21501
*Address envelope to Clark Squire
Dr. Mutulu Shakur #83205-012
FMC Lexington
Post Office Box 14500
Lexington, Kentucky 40512
Tuesday, April 21st – Letter Writing for Bomani Shakur
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, April 21st, 2020
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free
We are deep enough into this pandemic to see how power is exploiting both it and the folks considered disposable–essential workers (delivery drivers, grocery workers, et al) and prisoners. Prisoners are being infected and dying at a rate far higher than those on the outside. At the federal level, the bureau responsible for their well being (yes, we understand it’s an oxymoron), keeps blaming underlying health conditions instead of taking responsibility and freeing those with high risk factors for infection. To keep the focus on prisoners, NYC ABC continues our support via every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing events. We are also excited to announce that starting with this event, we are organizing collaborative letter-writing nights with Page One Collective. And while the events will be collaboratively organized, due to where we are in history, and the importance of keeping everyone safe, those events will be organized here. That means we are asking you to take on the work of writing letters from home. Please post a photo of your addressed envelope on social media and tag us (with your return address blurred out) and we will share it, building digital community while our analog community stays indoors and washes its hands. This week, we respond to the call for a month of action in support of Bomani Shakur.
Bomani Shakur went to prison in 1989, at the age of 19, sentenced to seventeen years to life for defending himself during a robbery in which he was shot in the legs. At the time, Bomani was, by his own account, selling drugs to survive and it was not until his imprisonment that he became politicized. While in prison, Bomani read authors like Frantz Fanon and Noam Chomsky and developed his politics into those of a revolutionary. In 1993, the prison in which Bomani was being held rose up after the implementation of rules and sanctions by a new warden who was likely looking to incite violence to justify plans to expand the prison’s supermax wing. The uprising lasted eleven days and in the end nine prisoners and a guard were killed. Bomani was among those framed for the killings, probably due to his political organizing prior to the uprising. There is abundant evidence that runs contrary the the state’s contentions. For more information, check out keithlamar.org
Please take the time to write a letter to Bomani (and share a photo of your completed envelope with us online):
Bomani Shakur* #317117
Ohio State Penitentiary
878 Coitsville-Hubbard Road
Youngstown, Ohio 44505
*Address envelopes to Keith LaMar.
Tuesday, April 7th – Letter Writing for Ramsey Orta
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, April 7th, 2020
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free
For well over a decade, NYC ABC has organized around the idea of keeping anarchists involved in political prisoner organizing and political prisoner support communities working with anarchists. We are one part of a movement to free our folks and see the end of prisons. Until those days come, we provide every other week support via political prisoner letter-writing events. Due to where we are in history, and the importance of keeping everyone safe, those events will be organized here, but you will have to take on the work of writing letters from home. Please send us a photo of your addressed envelope (with your return address blurred out, which we can also do for you) and we will share this via social media, building digital community while our analog community stays indoors and washes its hands. This week, we focus on Ramsey Orta, currently locked in solitary confinement without basic safety measures in place to curb coronavirus, as it enters New York state prisons.
Ramsey Orta filmed the killing of Eric Garner by NYPD cops. The video traveled far, but it wouldn’t get justice for Ramsey’s dead friend. Instead, the NYPD has exacted their revenge through targeted harassment and eventually imprisonment — Orta’s punishment for daring to show the world police brutality.
Please take the time to write a letter to Ramsey (and send us a photo of your completed envelope):
Ramsey Orta 16-A-4200
Mid-State Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 2500
Marcy, New York 13403-0216
BK/NY – Tuesday, May 24th – Letter Writing Dinner for Oscar Lopez Rivera and Kojo
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, May 24th, 2016
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
Does anyone still remember that feeling that was being pushed on us from all sides about eight years ago? You know, the feeling that hope and change were just around the corner and if we just bought into the bullshit one more time we would really see a significant shift in politics. Well, now we’re being fed the same shit sandwich, but with different condiments. And we have a president who has done nothing for the folks who risked their lives and freedom for the liberation of their people. NYC ABC doesn’t claim to have the ability to free our comrades with the stroke of a pen. However, with several strokes of several pens, we can support those very comrades via our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinner. This week we are writing to Kojo Bomani Sababu and Oscar López Rivera.
Kojo Sababu is a New Afrikan Prisoner of War, currently serving a 55 year sentence for actions with the Black Liberation Army. Kojo and Oscar attempted to escape from prison and was convicted of one count of conspiracy for an alleged escape plan that included the use of rockets, hand grenades, and a helicopter.
Oscar López Rivera was born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico on January 6, 1943 and moved to Chicago with his family at the age of 12. He was a well-respected community activist and a prominent independence leader for many years prior to his arrest. In 1975, he was forced underground, along with other comrades. He was captured on May 29, 1981, after 5 years of being persecuted by the FBI as one of the most feared fugitives from US “justice.”
If are unable to join us on Tuesday, you can still write to Oscar and Kojo :
Oscar López Rivera #87651-024
FCI Terre Haute
Post Office Box 33
Terre Haute, Indiana 47808
Kojo Bomani Sababu* #39384-066
USP Canaan
Post Office Box 300
Waymart, Pennsylvania 18472
*Address envelope to Grailing Brown
BK/NY – Tuesday, November 10th – Letter Writing for Eric King
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, November 10th, 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
This week we are writing to fellow anarchist Eric King. Eric is currently being charged in federal court with an attempted firebombing of a government official’s office in Kansas City, MO. in 2014. Since his arrest, Eric has been repeatedly fucked with by guards and other prison officials. He has been held in solitary confinement since January 2015 and will likely remain there for the duration of his trial. For much of his time behind bars, Eric was denied vegan food. Thanks to a campaign of support from both inside and outside the walls, Eric was finally given access to the food that matched his ethics and politics. In addition to his initial denial of a vegan diet, Eric has also been denied medical care which he has repeatedly requested. Eric’s most recent battle from inside prison has been with mail confiscation. Apparently, the “people” who handle the mail in the prison thought that Eric’s incoming mail was actually addressed to the trash can as that is where it ended up. Once again, thanks to support outside, the mail situation seems to have recently gotten better. Now is the best time for us to send love and support to Eric by way of flooding the mailroom.
Despite all of this treatment, Eric has been able to keep up good spirits when he can and is fully invested in resolving his legal situation. He has been writing a lot during his time, including a lot of poetry. There is a fundraiser and support T-shirt sale that is ongoing and can be found here: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/0yoZc
If for whatever reason you will not be joining us this Tuesday, you can write to Eric at:
BK/NY – Tuesday, October 13th – Letter Writing for Jeremy Hammond and Barrett Brown
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, October 13th, 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
This week we are writing to Jeremy Hammond and Barrett Brown, both of whom are imprisoned in relation to the hacking of the private intelligence firm Statfor.
Jeremy Hammond is an anarchist computer hacker from Chicago. In November 2013, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for leaking the personal information of 860,000 customers of private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) through the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. This information revealed that Stratfor spies on activists, among others, at the behest of corporations and the U.S. government.
In October 2012, Barrett Brown was indicted on three counts related to postings on websites such as Twitter and YouTube. Later in December of that year, Barrett was indicted by a federal grand jury on twelve additional counts related to data from the Stratfor information leak carried out by hackers from Anonymous. Despite his lack of direct involvement in the operation and stated opposition to it, he faced these charges for allegedly pasting a hyperlink online. On January 23, 2013 he was indicted a third time on two more counts, relating to the March 2012 FBI raid(s) on his apartment and his mother’s house. In April, Brown pleaded guilty to three reduced counts. In January 2015, he was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison.
Manchester, Kentucky 40962
Barrett Brown #45047-177
FCI Three Rivers
Post Office Box 4200
Three Rivers, Texas 78071
The deal, as always, is that you come bringing only yourself (and your friends an Read more…
BK/NY – Tuesday, September 15th– Letter-Writing for Russell Maroon Shoatz
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, September 15th, 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
It has been great to be apart of and to attend so many inspiring events this September, and we are just barely through half of it. From the amazing turnout and response to this years Running Down the Walls, to the wonderful vibes at the Dead Prez, Rah Digga, Rebel Diaz and Tef Poe show, to the discussion and call to action with the No New Animal Lab campaign, to the Party Against Prisons, and the upcoming The Promise Of Anarchism: An International Panel Discussion. We have certainly kept ourselves busy, but could not feel better doing so. We want to keep this momentum going in this week’s letter writing night for activist, author, and soldier Russell Maroon Shoatz.
Russell is a dedicated community activist and founding member of the Philadelphia based organization Black Unity Council, which eventually merged with the Black Panther Party (1969). In 1970, along with 5 others, Maroon was accused of attacking a police station, which resulted in an officer being killed. This attack was said to have been carried out in response to the rampant police brutality in the Black community. For 18 months Maroon functioned underground as a soldier in the Black Liberation Army. In 1972 he was captured. Twice he escaped—once in 1977 and again 1980, but both times he was recaptured and today he is held in Pennsylvania where he is serving multiple life sentences.
We expect to see you on Tuesday. If you can’t make it, please take the time to write a letter to Russell at:
Russell Maroon Shoatz #AF3855
SCI Graterford
Post Office Box 244
Graterford, Pennsylvania 19426-0244
Brooklyn – Tuesday, August 4th – Letter-writing for Luke O’Donovan
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, August 4th, 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
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If you missed our event last week on the International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners, you missed out on a a great deal of inspiring videos of antifa action and inspiring speakers discussing the way the state punishes those who take action against fascism across the world.
It is with fighting fascism in mind that we focus our next political prisoner letter-writing dinner on Luke O’Donovan. On New Year’s Eve of 2013, Luke was seen dancing with and kissing other men at a house party. Later in the night he was insulted with homophobic slurs, and attacked by several people. Luke unsuccessfully attempted to escape, at which point several witnesses reported watching between 5 and 12 men ganging-up on Luke and stomping on his head and body, evidently with the intent to kill him. Luke was called a faggot before and during the attack. Throughout the course of the attack, Luke and five others were stabbed. Luke was subsequently imprisoned and charged with five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon as well as one count of attempted murder while none of the other individuals involved in the altercation were charged.
Luke’s trial concluded on August 12, 2014, when he accepted a plea deal. While initially facing over 100 years in prison, the deal Luke accepted includes two years in prison and eight years on probation. At the time of sentencing, the judge added to the negotiated plea that Luke will be banished from the state of Georgia, except for one small county away from his home, family, and friends, for the eight years of his probation.
While we expect to see you on Tuesday, if you can’t make it, please take the time to write a letter to Luke:
Luke Patrick O’Donovan #1001372271
Washington State Prison
Post Office Box 206
Davisboro, Georgia 31018
Read more…
NYC Anarchist Black Cross 