from We Love Lore
Hello fellow Lore supporters and friends! We are thrilled to announce that Lore will be home no later than the end of this year. Thank you all for contributing in so many different and meaningful ways to make this happen. This could not have happened without each and every one of you holding Lore in the light for more than two years of darkness and uncertainty. The work to make Lore, her family, and her community whole again will continue, but this is a time to look forward to that work with gratitude and hope.
On Thursday, July 28, Senior Judge R. Barclay Surrick of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sentenced Lore to serve 30 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release (aka – probation), and to pay restitution for two counts of civil disorder (18 U.S. Code § 23). Because Lore has already served over 25 months at FDC Philadelphia, and with credit for good behavior that she has earned during that time, this ruling means that Lore could be released from detention as early as this fall 2022. We will let you know when we have a firm date for that release. It will be a time for great celebration with Lore, her family, and community.
Judge Surrick’s sentence falls far below the four years sought by government prosecutors and even below the minimum time suggested by federal guidelines for Lore’s charges. His decision was informed by 50 letters of support from Lore’s community, witness testimony to Lore’s life and character, an impassioned defense by her attorneys, and ultimately by a stirring allocution statement by Lore that brought many of her 40 supporters attending in the gallery to tears.
Earlier this year, Lore entered into a plea agreement with the government that would reduce her charges significantly, from arson charges that carried mandatory minimum sentences of seven years each. In a 2021 report, the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) and the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) project at the City University of New York called Lore’s charges a shocking example of prosecutorial overreach to disrupt and suppress the movement against police violence. We will continue to work in solidarity with others facing charges and repression from the summer of 2020.
We are profoundly grateful to Lore’s attorneys Paul J. Hetznecker and Marni Jo Snyder, to the 700+ donors who raised funds for Lore’s defense and well being, and to the countless people who wrote letters of solidarity and support to sustain Lore during this excruciating ordeal.
While we are taking this as a win and allowing ourselves to breathe and celebrate, support needs are not over. Lore and her family and community will need support to raise funds for the restitution she is required to pay which exceeds $96,000. We will be sending updates and starting a fundraising blast for that in the near future. Additionally, please continue to share and donate to Lore’s commissary fund via PayPal, Venmo, and Cashapp, send letters and photos, and support our peers in ending the persecution of activists and community builders. In her statement to the judge, Lore observed that prisoners like her were all capable of tremendous growth if just given a little support. She gets that support from you. Inside the FDC, she has quickly become an advocate for other incarcerated women and we look forward to her leadership in their support for years to come.
