Unicorn Riot Reporter Attacked By White Vigilantes Screaming “Kill Em!”

  • June 16, 2020 4:56 pm

from It’s Going Down

[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]

Unicorn Riot reporter Chris Schiano was attacked by a vigilante gang of white men armed with baseball bats and guns while reporting on the group defending the Christopher Columbus statue in Philadelphia’s Marconi Plaza.

“You’re so scared. Aren’t you embarrassed?” asked the man who initiated the attack on Schiano, later identified by antifascist researchers as John P. Alice, 36, of Philadelphia, owner of JA Painting and Remodeling. Alice began the attack by hitting Schiano’s bicycle with a metal bat. “So what do you think about how Christopher Columbus cut off the hands of people who didn’t bring him enough gold?,” Schiano asked, continuing to report. “They were fucking savages back then,” answered one of group. In total, the group numbered around 100 people, almost exclusively white.

At that point, a man hit Schiano in the head while his bicycle was grabbed. Though police were watching, they did not intervene. “If you’re gonna talk shit, get the fuck out of here,” said the man with Schiano’s bike as he dumped it on the sidewalk. At that point, another man grabbed Schiano and shoved him while a third man, wearing a Frank Rizzo t-shirt, pulled a knife and slashed both tires on Schiano’s bike. (Rizzo was a former Philadelphia Police Commissioner and Mayor with a long history of brutality, corruption, and racialized policing).

Schiano continued to film the vigilantes from the sidewalk for a few more minutes before he rushed by another man, identified by antifascist researchers as Michael Renzulli, Block Captain for 12th and Ritner, and the owner of Philly’s Finest Construction. A police officer then threatened Schiano with arrest for inciting a riot. Antifascist researchers quickly identified the officer as Captain Louis Campione. Antifascists also identified Anthony Fusco as one of the men present. Police did not arrest anyone in connection with the incident.

“We are aware of the groups of armed individuals ‘protecting’ the Columbus statue in Marconi Plaza. All vigilantism is inappropriate, and these individuals only bring more danger to themselves and the city,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney tweeted the following morning. “We are also aware of an apparent assault caught on video tape, as well as possible restrictions placed on journalists filming the event. These incidents are under investigation at this time.”

According to some reports, Michael Renzulli has been removed from his current post following the incident. Currently, there is a call from pro-police residents to rally in support of Renzulli, who they say has been reassigned to another part of the city.

Car Protest Demands Philadelphia Officials Release Prisoners To Save Lives In Pandemic Crisis

  • April 10, 2020 11:14 pm

from Unicorn Riot

Philadelphia, PA – Protesters gathered by car outside city hall to demand that Philly Mayor Jim Kenney and other city officials take swift action to release prisoners from local jails as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis intensifies. Jails and prisons have become some of the largest epicenters of coronavirus outbreaks in the USA, due to their close quarters and unsanitary conditions.

Unicorn Riot reported from the scene at Philadelphia’s city hall:

[Youtube Video Here]

A call for the car protest was spread by the local chapter of the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement (RAM), a self-described “political movement dedicated to freeing people from bondage and building resistance in the United States.”

The demonstration was organized by Decarcerate PA, ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project, Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, Philadelphia Bail Fund, and Media Mobilizing Project.

During the past two weeks Unicorn Riot has covered other physically-distant car demonstrations demanding the release of prisoners during the pandemic — a #NeverAgain demo outside the home of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in St. Paul, MN and a demo to #FreeThemAll in downtown Denver, CO.

Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration Launch

  • May 31, 2015 9:42 am

from facebook

Food! * Poetry! * Education! * Discussion! * Action!

Pennsylvania prisons hold over 5000 people serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. In PA, a life sentence means your natural life–it is a sentence that condemns you to die in prison – which is why many choose to call it Death By Incarceration.

We believe that sentencing people to Death By Incarceration is a violation of their human rights and an affront to the humanity of us all. That’s why Decarcerate PA, Human Rights Coalition PA, Fight for Lifers, and Right To Redemption are launching a campaign to end Life Without Parole sentencing in PA. Join us Saturday, June 6th to launch this campaign.

Saturday June 6th
Vineyard Church, 123 S. 51st St.
(51st and Sansom, two blocks from the 52nd street stop on the Market Frankford Line)
3:30pm – 6:30

For more info see http://decarceratepa.info/CADBI

Locked Down, Locked Out with author Maya Schenwar

  • December 1, 2014 12:01 pm

From Decarcerate PA

Decarcerate PA and Wooden Shoe Books presents…

Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better looks at how prison tears families and communities apart, creating a rippling effect that touches every corner of our society. Through the stories of prisoners and their families, as well as her own family’s experience of her sister’s incarceration, Schenwar shows how the institution that locks up 2.3 million Americans—and decimates poor communities of color—is shredding the ties that, if nurtured, could foster real collective safety.

The destruction does not end upon exiting the prison walls: the 95 percent of prisoners who are released emerge with even fewer economic opportunities and fewer human connections on the outside than before. Locked Down, Locked Out shows how incarceration takes away the very things that might enable people to build better lives.

Looking toward a future beyond imprisonment, Schenwar profiles community-based initiatives that foster antiracist, anticlassist, prohumanity approaches to justice. These programs successfully deal with problems—both individual harm and larger social wrongs—through connection rather than isolation, moving toward a safer, freer future for all of us.

“This book has the power to transform hearts and minds, opening us to new ways of imagining what justice can mean for individuals, families, communities and our nation as a whole.” -Michelle Alexander, Author of The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

—

Maya Schenwar is Editor-in-Chief of Truthout, an independent social justice news website. She has written about the prison-industrial complex for Truthout, The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Jersey Star-Ledger, Ms. Magazine, Prison Legal News, and others. She is the recipient of a Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Chi Award and a Lannan Residency Fellowship, both for her writing on prisons. Previous to her work at Truthout, Maya was Contributing Editor at Punk Planet magazine and served as media coordinator for Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

Sunday December 7th
7pm
Wooden Shoe Books
704 South St

Poster

Holiday Cards to Prisoners!! People’s Paper Co-op and Decarcerate PA

  • November 17, 2014 3:32 pm

from Holiday Cards to Prisoners!! People’s Paper Co-op and Decarcerate PA

[November 18th 6pm-8pm

Temple Contemporary 2001 N 13th St, Philly]

Please join the People’s Paper Co-op and Expungement Project Decarcerate PA and Temple Contemporary for a rare night of paper making, letter writing, and reflections from former prisoners and criminal justice reform activists.

Hear amazing speakers, make paper, and send holiday cards for prisoners to mail to their families and friends!

The People’s Paper Co-op has been working with Temple students and community members to create hundreds of handmade blank paper cards. During the event we will be packaging these cards and sending them to prisoners across Pennsylvania. These cards can be used by prisoners to send something special, something that took many hands and a transformative process to make, to their friends or family members. This will create points of exchange across the state while acting as a vehicle for bringing students, former prisoners, and community activists together to discuss these issues.

Poster