Letters to Forest Defenders

from Instagram

On Sunday, February 18 at 5pm we are hosting a letter writing event for Jack Mazurek, a forest defender from Atlanta who was recently incarcerated. Bring pens, paper, envelopes, and stamps if you have them!

In Contempt #37: Movement in Solidarity with Palestine Faces Repression; First Cop City Trial Stalls

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.]

Uprising Defendants

See Uprising Support for more info, and check out the Antirepression PDX site for updates from Portland cases. To the best of our knowledge they currently include:

David Elmakayes 77782-066
FCI McKean
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701

Anthony Smith
14813-509
FCI Fort Dix
Federal Correctional Institution
Satellite Camp
P.O. Box 2000
Joint Base MDL, NJ 08640

Upcoming Birthdays

Luis Sierra (Abdul-Haqq El-Qadeer)

A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the state has now dropped its attempts to criminalize Luis in relation to the uprising, Vaughn defendants continue to face retaliation. Luis is also a contributor to “Live from the Trenches,” the Vaughn 17 zine.

Delaware appears not to have an inmate email system.

Birthday: February 19

Address:

Luis Sierra
James T. Vaughn Correctional Center
1181 Paddock Rd
Smyrna, DE 19977

 

Khalif Milller Needs Your Court Support

from Mastodon

Khalif Miller needs your court support!! Khalif Miller was one of three co-defendants with Anthony Smith that was prosecuted federally for his actions during the uprising in 2020. He has been held in prison for more than 3 years and is also facing state charges. Please come support our comrade on Friday in court!

Friday 1/26/24, 9am
1301 Filbert St, Philadelphia, Room 707

Flyer with text included in post, and pictures of Khalif Miller

In Contempt #35: Repression Strikes Toronto Palestinian Solidarity Activists, Community Rallies for Victor Puertas

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.]
In this column, we present our monthly roundup of political prisoner, prison rebel, and repression news, happenings, announcements, action and analysis. Packed in as always are updates, fundraisers, and birthdays.

There’s a lot happening, so let’s dive right in!

Political Prisoner News

Philadelphia ABC have shared a reportback from their recent Running Down the Walls event.

Cop City, Uprising Defendants, and Other Ongoing Cases

Ant Smith, a George Floyd uprising defendant, was sentenced recently in Philadelphia to 1 year and 1 day. He has been out on bail so will probably have to go back in for about another 9 months.

Uprising Defendants

See Uprising Support for more info, and check out the Antirepression PDX site for updates from Portland cases. To the best of our knowledge they currently include:

David Elmakayes 77782-066
FCI McKean
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701

Upcoming Birthdays

Fred “Muhammad” Burton

Fred Burton is one of the Philly 5, a group of men accused of an alleged attack on a police station that left one officer killed. He was sentenced to a life term for murder. Burton has maintained his innocence since his arrest. His preferred name is Muhammad, but envelopes should be addressed to Fred Burton.

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility,” choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “AF3896”.

Birthday: December 15

Address:

Smart Communications/PA DOC
Fred Burton
AF3896
SCI Somerset
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida
33733

Alejandro Rodriguez-Ortiz

A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the state has now dropped its attempts to criminalize Alejandro in relation to the uprising, all Vaughn-related prisoners continue to be targets for retaliation. Years later, these prisoners are still being abused for staying in solidarity with one another against the state.

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NW2883”.

Birthday: December 17

Address:

Smart Communications/PADOC
Alejandro Rodriguez-Ortiz, NW2883
SCI Rockview
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733

Jonathan Rodriguez

A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the state has now dropped its attempts to criminalize Jonathan in relation to the uprising, all Vaughn-related prisoners continue to be targets for retaliation. Years later, these prisoners are still being abused for staying in solidarity with one another against the state.

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NU0434”.

Birthday: December 31

Address:

Smart Communications / PA DOC
Jonathan Rodriguez – NU0434
SCI Rockview
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL, 33733

Monday December 4th: Reportback Mailing and Card-writing

from Philly ABC

rdtw-2022-reportback-zine.jpg

In lieu of our usual monthly letter-writing event, we will be mailing printed copies of our 2023 Running Down The Walls reportback to the political prisoners and prison rebels who participated from behind the walls, and to the 15 political prisoners supported by the ABCF Warchest.

Join us this Monday at 6:30pm, at Iffy Books (319 N. 11th St. ) as we package and mail the reportbacks. Snacks and supplies are provided. We encourage people who want to discuss ideas on how to support political prisoners and prisoners of war to come hang out, and sign cards for political prisoners with birthdays in December: Fred “Muhammad” Burton (December 15th) and Casey Brezik (December 30th).

Running Down The Walls 2023 Reportback

from Philly ABC

We’re pleased to report the success from the sixth annual Philadelphia Running Down The Walls in support of political prisoners and prisoners of war, and the movement to #StopCopCity.

Before we go any further, we’d like to give the biggest shout-out to the prisoners that participated from inside the walls. The joint inside-outside participation is one of the most important parts of this yearly event. Our inside participants this year included:

Jerome Coffey – SCI Pine Grove
Mumia Abu-Jamal – SCI Mahanoy
Paul Kali Hickman – Vaughn Correctional Center
John Bramble – Vaughn Correctional Center
Beans (Abednego Baynes) – SCI Mahanoy

With a light breeze, partial cloud coverage and temperatures staying around 75 degrees, the weather could not have been much more ideal for a 5k run/walk/roll/cheer. The first wave of what would end up being around 300 participants, began arriving around 10am in FDR park. After some time for checking in, setting up tables, and hanging banners, Sheena Sood kicked off another amazing yoga warm-up in the grassy area in front the Boathouse Pavilion.

The event was emceed by Gabe Bryant from the #FreeAnt Committee and the Campaign to Bring Mumia Home. As the yoga concluded, Gabe amped up the crowd to start the 5K, but not before having a comrade read aloud a statement in solidarity with the Weelaunee forest defenders, including those facing repression and behind bars, in honor of Tortuguita, and calling for the release of Victor Puertas.

[L]ess than two weeks ago, Georgia’s Attorney General issued RICO indictments against over 60 people who they allege to be a part of a “criminal” conspiracy to stop Cop City. And yet, the struggle continues! … This is why it is of national importance to raise funds to support the defense of the Weelaunee forest [and] fortify the struggle.

We can take action by calling for the release of Victor Puertas, who is being held in ICE detention after his arrest at a music festival in the Weelaunee Forest.

From city to city, and however long it takes, we will ensure that Cop City never gets built!

Sometime between 11:00 – 11:30am, the first contingent lined up and kicked off the run/walk/roll/cheer after a countdown. The second group doing a hybrid jog/walk took off ten minutes later, with the fastest pace group taking off ten minutes after that. Those who stayed behind cheered and handed out water as participants completed their laps. Upon the return of all three groups, we began reading aloud solidarity statements by political prisoners Eric King, and former political prisoners Jalil Muntaqim, and Ray Luc Levasseur.

In between statements we gathered for a group photo, and took time for speakers and performers. The first speaker was Russell Shoatz III–son of beloved ancestor, freedom fighter, and former political prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz. Along with decades of work with different groups and committees in the movement to free political prisoners, he is one of the Maroon Legacy Keepers that organize the Annual Maroon Memorial and Prisoners’ Families Brunch, and the Homegrown Maroons Retreats. He spoke of his active support for Running Down The Walls since its inception, and brought forward examples of the liberation of his father and Sundiata Acoli, to demonstrate the importance of the many facets of solidarity propelled by this event.

It probably is a triple or quadruple edged sword in a lot of ways. Of course, there is the solidarity, which is probably at the top of the list. … Obviously, it is the workout and the conditioning and training. And even if we’re not conditioning training, if we just come out for one day and give ourselves some workout, the intersection with the self love there, with the workout, is heavily important there. Then the political work around the political prisoners and folks who are still incarcerated, and the fundraising that happens here, happens to support a lot of people who need the money.

[Y]esterday I was at Porchfest in New York and I was able to be chilling with Sundiata. And so that’s because of y’all. … He’s home because of this style of work. … You coming out and running brought people like Sundiata home. … I couldn’t have, my sisters couldn’t have, my family couldn’t have liberated my father without you. Without you doing this work, we could not have done it. So, again, keep coming out. Keep doing this work.

Next, we had some outstanding performances from Philly-based artist, YahNé Ndgo. YahNé is a longtime and respected organizer involved several campaigns to free political prisoners, including Mumia Abu-Jamal, Kamau Sadiki, and Imam Jamil Al-Amin. She is also an organizer of the Annual Maroon Memorial Prisoners’ Families Brunch, Homegrown Maroons Retreats, Black Lives Matter Philly, and more. The second of two songs she performed was her incendiary single Philly Work: A Rally Cry.

The final speaker was a member of MXGM Philly, talking about the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement within the larger New Afrikan independence movement, the six principles of unity, and why MXGM supports the movement to Stop Cop City.

Following were more statements read aloud from current political prisoners Oso Blanco and Xinachtli Luna Hernandez, and former political prisoner Fidencio Aldama Perez (Español).

The event concluded with some final announcements from the #FreeAnt defense committee and organizers from #SaveTheMeadows. A huge thanks went out to all of Ant’s supporters for helping to spread the word via letters, social media posts, and rallies, and for the ongoing court support. The new sentencing date is currently November 28th. Please come out in numbers and pack the courtroom, the hallways, and streets outside! The Save the Meadows crew announced an upcoming Stop Cop City solidarity event–a festival of workshops, skill sharing, and presentations taking place the following weekend.

We give many thanks to MXGM Philly for organizing this epic and empowering event with us again, and the ~300 people who participated in person or remotely–inside or outside prison–from California, Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Washington, and internationally from Ontario and Japan.

We’d like to thank Unicorn Riot, Hate5six and Marcus Rivera for filming the event. We thank Food Not Bombs Solidarity for the snacks and refreshments, IWW, Socialist Rifle Association, Iffy Books, and Mobilization for Mumia for tabling, and to Latziyela and Come On Strong for their expert help printing the shirts. We thank the Save the Meadows crew and Free Ant defense committee for the announcements, Gabe Bryant for emceeing, and Sheena Sood for leading the yoga warm-up.

Together we raised $12,812 to be split between jail/legal support for folks facing repression from alleged connection to the #StopCopCity movement, and the ABCF Warchest that sends monthly stipends to 15 political prisoners and prisoners of war with little or no financial support. A full breakdown of Warchest funds in and out since 1994 is available here (updated July 2023). Funds available beyond the reserved amount needed for the monthly stipends will be disbursed as one-time donations to other political prisoners who demonstrate financial need, or to the release funds of the next comrades to come home.

We look forward to more successes in the next year as we further the struggle to free all political prisoners, and ensure that a Cop City is never built!

In Contempt #34: Marius Mason Moved, Kevin Rashid Faces More Repression

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.]
In this column, we present our monthly roundup of political prisoner, prison rebel, and repression news, happenings, announcements, action and analysis. Packed in as always are updates, fundraisers, and birthdays.

There’s a lot happening, so let’s dive right in!

Political Prisoner News

In political prisoner news, Prison Radio has shared a report from a recent visit with Mumia Abu-Jamal. Mumia also records regular segments for Prison Radio, which you can listen to here.

Uprising Defendants

See Uprising Support for more info, and check out the Antirepression PDX site for updates from Portland cases. To the best of our knowledge they currently include:

David Elmakayes 77782-066
FCI McKean
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701

Upcoming Birthdays

Dwayne Staats

One of the two Vaughn 17 defendants to be convicted for taking part in the Vaughn prison uprising of early 2017. Dwayne and his co-defendant Jarreau “Ruk” Ayers bravely admitted to their own parts in the uprising, and then, free to testify openly without fear of incriminating themselves any further, tore holes in the prosecution’s attempts to convict anyone else – as he put it, “we’d accept being stabbed in the chest to present others from getting stabbed in the back”. To learn more about Dwayne in his own words, you can read his account of the whole case here, check his writings on the Vaughn 17 site, his recent letter to the Kentucky Attorney General, or his contribution to the Vaughn zine, “Live from the Trenches”.

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NT0000”.

Birthday: November 10

Address:

Smart Communications/PADOC
Dwayne Staats, NT0000
SCI Camp Hill
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733

 

Wooden Shoe Books and Books Behind Bars

from Instagram

Wooden Shoe Books is partnering with Books Behind Bars @booksbehindbarsnj for a book drive in honor of @penamerica Prison Banned Books Week: October 25-31. Books Behind Bars is a prison abolition project that mails free books to incarcerated people. To participate, come down in person to the Wooden Shoe and purchase a book to be donated to Books Behind Bars. The deadline is November 24th. Every book you buy/donate before November 24th will be matched by a generous foundation. This means your donation has double the impact!We know that more books are banned in prisons than anywhere else in the country, and censorship efforts everywhere are increasing at an alarming rate. From an anarchist and abolitionist standpoint, sending free books to our incarcerated community members is a radical act of solidarity, mutual aid, and love. Please join us in this effort. Come down (until 11/24) and pick out any book of your choosing to be donated to our friends on the inside.

Beyond the Razor Wire, the Streets

from downas

Gaza just broke out of prison.” – مريم البرغوثي (Mariam Barghouti)

A massive jailbreak this morning” – Radical Haifa

Many people are unaware that the u.s. government holds hundreds of political prisoners & prisoners of war captive for their participation in liberation struggles. Even fewer realize that among them are people caged for supporting Palestinians: the “Holy Land 5” are a group of people who the u.s. imprisoned for running a Palestinian charity after they were targeted by the zionist anti-defamation league & surveilled by the FBI.

In addition, many current u.s.-held political prisoners have made their support for the Palestinian cause clear. They include Mumia Abu-Jamal, Oso Blanco, Marius Mason, Malik Muhammad, Victor Puertas, Jessica Reznicek, & others.

Rather than get caught up in arguments about legitimate violence (or anything, really) with radlibs & zionists, we propose that opponents of colonial captivity worldwide seize this opportunity to support the antagonists of prison regimes, concentration camps, & police states. We can draw attention to their struggles through militant education, vocal public support, & attacks on the systems & structures that keep them prisoner.

If you’d like to share information or coordinate around anti-oppression prisoners held by nation-states other than the u.s., consider reaching out:

email username – dowwnas email domain – proton.me

Monday, August 28th: Black August Letter-writing

black-august-card-writing.jpg

In August 1979, the first official Black August took place when incarcerated people came together to commemorate the deaths of brothers Jonathan and George Jackson, who were killed after the Marin County Courthouse Rebellion (Jonathan in August 1970 and George in August 1971). Prisoners in San Quentin started this tradition of daily exercises to sharpen their minds, bodies, and spirits in honor of the collective principles of self-sacrifice, inner fortitude and revolutionary discipline needed to advance the New Afrikan struggle for self-determination and freedom.

Black August now takes place all month as an invitation to reflect on the history of the Black freedom struggle, to celebrate those who have come before, and to commit to continuing this fight for justice and liberation. We invite you to remember, reflect, learn, and unlearn, by connecting with Black freedom fighters still behind bars and/or donating to the post-release fund of Ruchell Magee –the sole survivor of the Courthouse Rebellion who was just released earlier this month after 67 years of imprisonment.

Join us and Malcolm X Grassroots Movement Philly chapter this coming Monday, August 28th at 6:30pm online as we share a compilation of audio commemorations and inspiration from Black August and take time to send out letters and cards to political prisoners from Black liberation movements.

Download a PDF of the Black August illustration by Kevin Rashid Johnson laid out as a card to print. Check prisonersolidarity.com for Black Liberation prisoners to send cards to.

To get more information on the history of Black August, see an in-depth article on Ruchell, “Slave Rebel or Citizen?” by Joy James and Kalonji Jama Changa. Kiilu Nyasha, one of Ruchell’s strongest supporters for decades, wrote this classic: Ruchell Cinque Magee, sole survivor of the Aug. 7, 1970, Courthouse Slave Rebellion.

We’ll also encourage sending birthday cards for U.S.-held political prisoners with birthdays in August and September: Bill Dunne (August 2nd), Eric King (August 2nd), Hanif Shabazz Bey (August 15th), Ronald Reed (August 31st), and Leonard Peltier (September 11th).

Running Down the Walls Events To Take Place Across US

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.]

Announcing annual Running Down the Walls events happening across the US to benefit political prisoners.

Since 1999, prisoners and supporters throughout North America have participated in the annual event known as Running Down the Walls (RDTW) often running or walking simultaneously in many cities and prisons at once.

This is a non-competitive 5K run/jog/walk/roll in order to raise awareness and funds for political prisoners. Over the years, we have raised thousands of dollars and lots of awareness around the struggle to free political prisoners. Many places will be hosting RDTW 2023 on or around Sunday, September 17th – see participating cities below.

An important component of Running Down the Walls is the solidarity runs that take place throughout numerous cities. Solidarity runs that are held in our communities are designed to illustrate, through several small collective actions, that we have not forgotten our comrades locked up behind prison walls. Runs that are held in prisons are designed to both politicize other prisoners and to illustrate that the acts of solidarity have been heard.

This annual event is also one of the primary fundraisers for the ABCF Warchest Program – a fund designed to assist political prisoners who normally received little or no financial support with monthly checks. Other funds raised should be used to support local groups of your choosing, whether that is your own organization or another group you’d like to support. The choice is yours.

Planned runs for 2023

Philadelphia
September 17, 2023
11 am sharp (Yoga warm-up at 10am) at FDR Park
Registration deadline is September 3rd.

In Contempt #31: New Support Campaigns Rally Across the US Against Repression

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.]

In this column, we present our monthly roundup of political prisoner, prison rebel, and repression news, happenings, announcements, action and analysis. Packed in as always are updates, fundraisers, and birthdays.

There’s a lot happening, so let’s dive right in!

Political Prisoner News

Upcoming dates in the political prisoner support calendar include the international week of solidarity with anarchist prisoners from August 23-30th, and Running/Pushing Down the Walls events that will be taking place in several locations, including Philadelphia on September 17th and Los Angeles on October 21st.

General Prison News and Abolitionist Media

Anarchist prisoner Sean Swain is being profiled by a new youtube channel, and Rebellious Hearts, a new collective founded by Dwayne “BIM” Staats and Jarreau “Ruk” Ayers from the Vaughn uprising, now has an instagram page.

Uprising Defendants

See Uprising Support for more info, and check out the Antirepression PDX site for updates from Portland cases. To the best of our knowledge they currently include:

David Elmakayes 77782-066
FCI McKean
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701

Upcoming Birthdays

Lawrence Michaels

A former Vaughn 17 defendant, and contributor to the Vaughn zines, “Live from the Trenches” and “United We Stood.” While the state has now dropped its attempts to criminalize Lawrence in relation to the uprising, he, like all of the Vaughn 17, deserves respect and support for making it through the entire process while staying in solidarity with his co-defendants and refusing to co-operate with the prosecution.

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NW2894”.

Birthday: August 14

Address:

Smart Communications / PA DOC
Lawrence Michaels – NW2894
SCI Frackville
P.O. Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733

 

Running Down The Walls 2023!

from Philly ABC

RDTW 2023

Philadelphia Anarchist Black Cross and MXGM Philly invites you to our sixth annual Running Down The Walls (RDTW)! Join us for another revolutionary 5K run/walk/roll and day of solidarity amplifying the voices of our comrades behind bars, lifting them up in their struggles, and maintaining material support. If you would like to participate in light yoga and warm-up stretches before, please arrive by 10am and bring a mat if you can.

Running is not required! You can also walk, roll, or cheer. 5K is two loops around the park and at a walking pace will take about 45-60 minutes. Light refreshments and socializing will take place in the park afterward.

This year’s event will benefit the ABCF Warchest, and community and Weelaunee forest defenders facing repression from the ongoing efforts to #StopCopCity. Join us as we once again raise energy and funds for the freedom of political prisoners and the struggles they are caged for.

Cop City Will Never Be Built!

Vive vive Tortuguita!

#StopCopCity #DefendWeelaunee #JusticeForTort

This year marks a milestone in the Warchest program as we surpassed $205,000 in funds raised! Due to the abominable conditions that political prisoners and freedom fighters are subjected to, and the prevalence of health issues from medical neglect, they need our support now more than ever. Join us as we celebrate our successes this last year and build momentum for the struggles ahead!

If you cannot make it to the event or would like to make an additional contribution, please sponsor a participant either outside prison, inside prison, or one of each. Contact us for more information on sponsoring!

We will ship official shirts nationwide to people who register to participate remotely, pay online and leave their shipping address in the comment box!

Proceeds will be split between the Warchest Program and legal aid to support arrestees from the movement to Stop Cop City. The ABCF Warchest program sends monthly stipends to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have insufficient, little, or no financial support.

[Sunday, September 11, 2022
11 am sharp (Yoga warm-up at 10am)
FDR Park

Deadline is September 3rd. Don’t wait until the last minute!]

June 11 reportback

Submission

In recognition of June 11th, international day of solidarity with Marius Mason and all long-term anarchist prisoners, we held a group bike ride and movie screening to raise funds for the anarchist prisoner war fund and support for a local anarchist. Starting at Rittenhouse Square, we biked west, taking over the street and playing music. Once we arrived at the screening location, we were greeted by snacks, drinks, June 11th stickers, and lit distroed by Dead Drop & Suburbicide. This included June 11th statements by Marius Mason, Eric King, and Xinachtli. We watched the film Okja together. At the end of the night, we raised $200 to split between the two funds above.
Empty the Prisons and Burn Them!

June 11th Bike Ride & Movie Screening

from Mastodon

June 11th is coming up! It’s the international day to support long-term anarchist prisoners. Some people in Philly are putting together a bike ride and film screening. It’s not our event, but we wanted to help spread the word.