BREAKING: Daniel McGowan Back in Prison

UPDATE (5 Apr): Thanks to some great work by Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) attorneys Alexis Agathocleous and Rachel Meeropol, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) blinked and have allowed Daniel McGowan to return to the halfway house. Make no mistake, without  media coverage, radical attorney intervention, and the attention from folks on the streets, all over the world, Daniel would still be at MDC and would likely have spent the remainder of his sentence there. Through negligence, ignorance, or malevolence (or, as we presume, a mix of the three), the BOP targeted Daniel with an outdated regulation that has been struck down by the court as unconstitutional and allegedly removed from the BOP in 2010. Maybe they thought no one would notice.

While Daniel is going back to the halfway house, if you haven’t already seen it, you should watch this news report. The reporter for the Huffington Post puts it best: “Absolutely, this story is crazy.”

Original Story:
We got word late yesterday that Daniel McGowan was told he wouldn’t be issued a pass to go to work the next day. According to his keepers at the halfway house, this denial came at the direction of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). When he followed up, Daniel was told that it wasn’t merely a denial of a work pass, but a restriction on all movement. When asked if that meant federal marshals were coming to get him the next day, the halfway house administrators told him they didn’t know.

The state, and its for-profit halfway house minions, were clearly in collusion. This is just another way that opacity is used to mindfuck folks left to twist in the wind, not knowing what the future holds.

From our understanding, the reason for his re-imprisonment is directly related to an article Daniel recently wrote for the Huffington Post. An attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights has been to visit Daniel at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Once we know more, we’ll pass the information on.

For now, take time to send Daniel a card or letter. Let him know that regardless of how the state treats him, we have his back.

Write to Daniel at:
Daniel McGowan #63794-053
MDC Brooklyn
Post Office Box 329002
Brooklyn, New York 11232

For more information, visit supportdaniel.org

Daniel McGowan released from prison!

Earth Liberation Front political prisoner and Rockaway native Daniel McGowan was released from the Communication Management Unit (CMU) in Terre Haute, Indiana this morning. He was driven by federal authorities to Indianapolis International Airport, where he met up with his wife.

Though the two have been able to visit during Daniel’s imprisonment, today marked the first time in years that they could hug, hold hands, or make any physical contact (save for a few month stint when Daniel was in general population in Marion, Illinois– between the CMU there and the one in Terre Haute). The two flew back to New York City together, where they were met by a small group of close friends at the airport.

From the airport, Daniel had one hour to make it to the halfway house, where he will be living for as long as the next six months. Though he has secured employment, it is unclear when he can start work (at the discretion of the halfway house, not his new employer). Until he has had time to settle in, there are more questions than answers.

After being released from the halfway house, Daniel will be under supervised release for three years.

Regardless, this is great news and we’re excited to see our comrade on the other side of the wall.

Please remember that prisoner support doesn’t end when a comrade is released. Through halfway houses, supervised release, parole, or probation, there is usually state supervision beyond the initial sentence. Also, prison is traumatic. And of course there is the stigma of being a former prisoner that effects nearly every aspect of one’s life. All of this adds up to the less obvious, but equally necessary, support needed when our loved ones come home.

Welcome back, Daniel! We love you!

THE OMFG DANIEL MCGOWAN IS COMING HOME BOOK SALE!

So local friend, comrade, and all around good guy Daniel McGowan gets released to a halfway house in December. To raise funds for his release, Book Thug Nation and Family & Friends of Daniel McGowan are organizing a book sale. For this thing to work, you have to donate books. NOW! The details are below.

WHAT: 7th (and LAST!!!) Annual Benefit Book Sale for Daniel McGowan
WHEN: 11am to 7pm, Saturday, September 29th, 2012 [rain date: Sunday, September 30]
WHERE: Bedford Ave & North 6th Street (NE corner), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York 11211
COST: There will be books priced for any budget

This will be the FINAL Benefit Book Sale for Daniel McGowan!!!

Daniel is going to halfway house in December which is wonderful news. However, he is not out of the woods yet. This book sale is your chance to help with prison expenses such as overpriced phone calls and prison necessities as well as the expenses of transitioning back to life on the outside— the car ride back to New York, rent, clothes that might fit him now, and all the other little things that he’ll need to live halfway in, halfway out of the criminal injustice system. Prisoner support does not end with release but this will most likely be the last book sale to happen in support of Daniel while he’s in prison. We’ve had great success and good times with these book sales in the past and with your help, this last one will be EPIC.

On Saturday, September 29^th, Book Thug Nation and Family & Friends of Daniel McGowan will be having an all-day book sale to raise money for Daniel’s legal defense, commissary, and coming home fund. The sale will be held at the Book Thug Nation book tables on Bedford Avenue and North 6th Street in Williamsburg Brooklyn.  Along with great books at inexpensive prices, there will be music, a table with Daniel t-shirts, merchandise and literature and maybe even some free food! If you can’t make it to the book sale, please consider donating to Daniel today (http://tiny.cc/danieldonation).

To make the sale happen we NEED your book donations— preferably ahead of time.  Please see the list of guidelines below for what to donate. The best way to donate is to bring your books to the Book Thug Nation storefront at 100 North 3^rd Street (between Berry and Wythe Streets) from 12-9pm any day before the sale. Please be sure to tell whoever is working that the books are specifically for the Daniel McGowan Benefit Sale. You can also bring books to North 6th Street and Bedford Avenue the morning of September 29^th or contact krazdale@gmail.com to make specific arrangements for donating.

DONATION GUIDELINES

BOOKS WE WANT:

• Contemporary and Classic Literary Fiction (e.g. Murakami, Nabokov, Plath, Safran Foer, Hemingway, Didion, Poe, Bolano, et cetera)
• Non Fiction on topics such as:
• History
• Sociology
• Women’s Studies
• African American
• Latino/a
• Art
• Eastern Religion
• Alternative Health/Nutrition
• Dictionaries and Thesauruses (these books will be donated directly to NYC Books Through Bars)

Books we DON’T want:

• Pulp fiction (a.k.a drug store paperbacks, best-sellers, e.g. Danielle Steele, Michael Crichton, Anne Rice, Tom Clancy, et cetera)
• Cook Books
• Self Help

Books that aren’t sold on the day of the sale will be held for future benefits or donated to NYC Books Through Bars.

Brought to you by Book Thug Nation, bookthugnation.com

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE to donate books before Daniel come home, so DO IT!