from Anathema
Volume 6 Issue 5 (PDF for reading 8.5×11)
Volume 6 Issue 5 (PDF for printing 11×17)
In this issue:
from Philly ABC
Join us for our monthly letter-writing to political prisoners that we hold on the 4th Monday each month. To observe social distancing, we will hold this event online once again on the secure video platform, Jitsi. We will post the link on social media the day of, or message us beforehand for the link.
In honor of the International Day of Solidarity with Anti-Fascist Prisoners, this month we’re writing letters to Gage Halupowski, an anti-fascist political prisoner serving an insane six year prison sentence stemming from a counter protest to a far right rally in Portland, OR on June 29th, 2019.
From the Antifa Sacramento prisoner list:
If you’re looking for different ways to engage with Gage when sitting down to write that first letter, here are a few things to keep in mind – not only is he an anti fascist but he also is a radical environmentalist and an anarchist. So, discussing history, politics or the ideologies of those movements as well could be a good place to start. He is also a fan of the fantasy novel series, The Wheel of Time and looks forward to reading all 12 books in the series while he’s in, so if you’ve read those or would like to he’d love to discuss them with you.
If you are unable to join us, please send Gage a letter anyways:
Gage Halupowski #21894460
Snake River Correctional Institution
777 Stanton Blvd.
Ontario, OR 97914-83305
from Facebook
An all-day event of skill building workshops to strengthen our
individual and collective capacities to survive, heal, build, attack,
imagine, and live in anti-cop, anti-capitalist, and anti-authoritarian
ways.
Workshops all day…….BYO seating
Free screenprinting…..BYO fabric
Open grill…………..BYO food
Email us with any accessibility questions: hereandnowzines@riseup.net
~*Schedule*~
1-2 Screenprinting, Anything But Obedience
2-3 Authentic relating games, Prop Werks, Boosting 101,
3-4 Reimagining consent, accountability, and justice, Graffiti
4-5 Demo safety & tactics, Guerilla Gardening 101, The Anti-Capitalist and Anti-Colonial Roots of Harm Reduction
5-6 Discussion on fear & uncertainty, Parkour, Slingshot making
6-7 Trains, Introduction to herbal first aid, Political Prisoner Support
7-8 #!/bash/back, Trauma Support for Anarchists
8-9 Invisibility, Internet Security 101 & Intro to Tails OS
[Saturday, July 25, 2020 at 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
Bartram North]
from Philly Justice
Panic over “Antifa” and “anarchist agitators” has reached a fever pitch in this country, thanks to Donald Trump and his state media parrots at Fox News, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, and other far right and white nationalist outlets. This scapegoating has been discussed and debunked at length in other outlets.
It was this hysteria that was used to justify the mob of (almost entirely) white men who “patrolled” the Fishtown neighborhood of Philly on June 1st, 2020. According the the organizers of the mob, and the ones giving interviews, they were there to prevent looting and rioting where they lived. The truth of how this mob was formed, which we discuss at length below, is far different.
However one needs only look at the video and photos recorded from that evening to see that the group was not any sort of defense-minded community patrol, but a pack of bigots looking for easy targets to intimidate and assault to feel powerful after seeing 2 days of furious protests and riots aimed both at the cops they call family and friends, but also the white supremacist power structure that remains in place in this country and all the ways it harms Black people.
The members of the mob were unable to contain themselves. They identified people who were supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement and attacked them viciously.
Two medical professionals, who happened to witness the attack, stopped their car to help one of the people Goodwin and co. assaulted. While one of them rendered aid, Richard Goodwin returned to smash the window of the medic’s car.
Goodwin changed his shirt between attacks, but the shoes, shorts, hair, build and tattoos all match. It was also confirmed by eyewitnesses that Goodwin broke the window.
The other medic was in the back seat of the car when the window was smashed and was showered in broken glass.
Despite their being several cops nearby enough to hear the breaking window, and the yelling exchanged between Goodwin and the medics, Goodwin mysteriously escaped being detained or arrested. Even more strangely, despite being identified over the next few days on social media and alternative media like Idavox, Richard Goodwin was still not arrested. As of this writing, Goodwin has finally been named in the Inquirer, but still has not been arrested or charged.
This is likely because Richard Goodwin has a brother, Joe Goodwin, who is a longtime cop in the 26th precinct, which is the precinct that enabled Richard Goodwin and his cohorts to harass and assault people on the night of June 1st. Despite having been identified in multiple outlets, Richard Goodwin has not been arrested or charged for this attack. Even more suspiciously, Joey Goodwin was in uniform and working in Fishtown that evening.
Even more unsettling, as covered in BillyPenn, this mob was not simply an organic event in response to the rioting. It was, in fact, PHILADELPHIA POLICE OFFICERS from the 26th prescinct who had gone door to door to claim that “Antifa were coming to loot.”
For those keeping score, here are the facts of the events of June 1st:
The PPD behavior in Fishtown, the several days of even more disgusting attacks by violent racist reactionaries at Marconi Plaza in South Philly, including the Proud Boys, and the police violence against Black Lives Matter protesters in this city have made it clear that the PPD is not a neutral party simply enforcing the laws of the land. It is on us to defend ourselves and see the PPD as another adversary in the fight for Freedom, Justice and Equality.
Since, as of this writing, he has not been arrested and is still at large and a danger to others, people should be aware that Richard Goodwin lives at 2981 Aramingo Ave. He works in the building trades, possibly as a roofer.
People should be also aware that Richie Goodwin has a previous manslaughter conviction.
Mayor Kenny and Commissioner Outlaw are probably aware of vast corruption in the PPD, and the 26th and 1st precincts involvement in the racist mobs in Fishtown and Marconi Plaza. In that case, they are running a smokescreen and dragging their feet in holding the cops accountable. The other option is that they have lost control of the PPD, and the PPD has decided they are no longer going to prevent violence against those that want to curb their power and influence in this city. Not only that, but the PPD are going to encourage and condone those attacks, and defend those that perpetuate them from being held accountable. Either way, we will be working to identify EVERY person who has participated in these mobs and further exposing how the PPD was a their partner in terrorizing parts of this city.
More Philly Justice to come.
from Facebook
Why don’t you live for the people!
Why don’t you struggle for the people!
Why don’t you die for the people!
Learn more about the struggle for housing at https://philadelphiahousingaction.info/2020/
[Friday July 17, 7:00am
The city is moving ahead with plans for a Friday eviction. It’s time for all of us to join together to defend the camp. All hands on ceck, please spread the word!]
from Viscera
Join us Sunday, July 19th for our next virtual reading discussion and hang-out! We’ll be reading Seaweed’s Land and Freedom:
Drawing from histories of rebellion, Seaweed begins a conversation with fellow anarchists about struggle, strategy, subsistenence, or past, and our future. What kind of communities do we need to exist to support long-term rebellion against Capitalism? What would it mean to create insurrectionary movements for subsistence? What kind of relationships might arise from long-term ecologically-based struggles? This book is an invitation to explore these ideas.
(Note that this is the full version, not the excerpts uploaded to the anarchist library – you can also buy the book in full from us or Little Black Cart)
Related, optional pieces to consider are Seaweed’s appearance on The Brilliant as well as Bellamy Fitzpatrick’s An Invitation to Desertion for comparison (or here for the pdf).
As usual, we’ll be meeting on jitsi in room Viscerapvd – the password changes each time, so contact us beforehand! Casual discussion from 1:30-2:30, reading discussion until 4!
from Twitter
URGENT: John Bramble of the Vaughn 17 is on hunger strike. The Vaughn 17 continue to be retaliated against in PA. They have now been in solitary for 3.5 yrs in retaliation for a prison uprising that the State couldn’t prove they participated in.
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.]
Antifascist researchers using the pseudonym Firestorm on Fash we able to track the racist social media posts from Constable Pete Dardas of the Berk County Sheriff’s Department. His Facebook posts are littered with meme’s about “Black on Black crime” and “refusals to apologize for being white.” He regularly posts racially insensitive content in response to the recent wave of removals of confederate and other racist monuments.
As you might expect, he posts plenty of anti-ANTIFA propaganda as well as sexist content. He also posts a ton of sexually charged content, which makes us wonder if the memes are indicators of his behavior in real life, or more importantly, on his shift.
Finally, he posted a diatribe in response to the George Floyd Uprising where he includes some thoughts on the Philadelphia Police Commissioner. He includes his belief that protesters who block highways deserve to be run over, his desire to shoot and kill protesters, his belief that blue lives matter over Black lives and that BLM should be labeled a terrorist organization.
Dardas uses his social media to make veiled threats toward minority groups and activists and given his position of power at the Berks County Sheriff’s Department, it’s clear that his is an absolute danger to the community. After this dox dropped, an understandably outraged community contacted the Berks County Sheriff’s Department calling for Constable Dardas’ removal and as of July 8th, the Dardas had officially resigned.
Submission
On a recent rainy night, some companions found an Amazon truck lurking in the shadows of a residential building, and with a quick and quiet scope of the scene, damaged and immobilized the truck in under a minute before melting back into the shadows.
An attack of this scale can sometimes feel futile against this many-headed corpse, as more often than not, a new head grows back in its place. But in reality, these small acts are a much larger part of prefiguration and the practice of embodying the world we want to live in now, rather than waiting for the right conditions for a popular uprising to storm all Amazon warehouses and end them once and for all. Even an uprising of that size would not stop the capitalist machine and society that brought them into being.
These small daily attacks, while fucking up a driver’s day and costing Amazon a set of new tires, also builds a culture of rejection that goes much much deeper than an occasional boycott. What may be blown off as insignificant inconveniences that are easily fixed and replaced, for us is a building of techniques and tactics, affinities and affirmations of an embodied rejection of the society that allowed Amazon to exist in the first place.
These seeming inconsequential acts teach us how to show up and look out for each other, act on our own accord, and in that process naturally create a culture that openly opposes the death cult of capitalism.
What are the small gestures and attacks that can teach us to act on our own and run as a pack?
Acting autonomously is not as out of reach as we have been taught to believe.
from We Love Lore
We are the family, friends, and loving community of Lore Elisabeth (Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal), a community care worker in Philadelphia. Our beloved Lore has dedicated her entire life to serving people and making them feel better. She provides essential, life-sustaining services to the most vulnerable Philadelphians as a care worker. She supports community members who live with HIV and chronic illnesses to access medical and critical care, often at her own expense. She has maintained multiple studios in massage therapy and provides regular outcalls to elders and clients who cannot leave their homes. She is the irreplaceable rock of support for her family through health crises. We all love and depend upon her incredibly generous spirit every day. If you’re seeing this fundraiser, then you may be among the countless Philadelphians (and beyond!) whose lives have been improved or even saved by this selfless volunteer.
Federal authorities raided Lore’s home in the early morning hours of June 15, 2020, in a manner that was meant to intimidate her housemates and neighbors. It has now been publicly revealed that their surveillance and raid tactics are an attempt to discourage public demonstration. She is currently being held in custody pending a trial for charges with enhanced federal penalties despite hundreds of other protestors being charged with property crimes in state court.
All proceeds to this fundraiser will support Lore. Funds will be withdrawn exclusively to a single-purpose account owned and managed by Lore’s brother Karl, strictly for this support. We are all united in our ongoing support for her and for an end to police brutality. We look forward to welcoming her home to the family, friends, and community who love and depend upon her so much.
from Philly ABC
Sunday, September 6, 2020
11 am sharp (Yoga warm-up at 10am)
FDR Park
Philadelphia Anarchist Black Cross presents our third annual Running Down The Walls (RDTW)! Join us for another revolutionary 5K run/walk/bike/skate and day of solidarity. In light of COVID-19, please bring a face mask and follow social distancing recommendations. 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, bike, skate or roll. 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 is co-sponsored by the campaign to Free Russell Maroon Shoatz — long-term Black liberation prisoner held in SCI Fayette. Join us as we celebrate the release of Chuck Africa earlier this year, commemorate the life of Delbert Africa, and raise some funds for the freedom struggle of another Philly comrade, Maroon.
After spending 48 years in prison, Maroon turns 77 on August 23rd while also battling cancer during a global pandemic. He needs our support now more than ever.
Fighting Stage 4 cancer, [I have] for 10 months been on various types of chemotherapy at SCI-Fayette, have watched 3 prisoners die of cancer, and my single cell was taken to make room for suspected COVID-19 prisoners, will be transferred to SCI-Dallas for another operation to remove a cancerous growth soon. The struggle continues!
– Political Prisoner, Russell Maroon Shoats/z
Philadelphia RDTW 2020 is dedicated to amplifying the voices of our comrades behind bars, lifting them up in their struggles, and maintaining material post-release support.
If you cannot make it to the event or would like to make an additional contribution, please sponsor a participant either outside prison or inside or one of each. Contact us for more information on sponsoring!
Proceeds will be split between the Warchest Program and the campaign to Free Russell Maroon Shoatz. The ABCF Warchest program sends monthly stipends to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have insufficient, little, or no financial support.
Register for the 5K
Thanks for your support by running/walking/biking/skating the 5K! Everyone must fill out the following form to register NO LATER THAN AUGUST 24TH so that you receive your official shirt the day of the event.
The registration fee of $40 confirms your place at the event and it is preferred that this be paid by PayPal before the day of, although cash and money orders to Tim Fasnacht can also be accepted at the event. Additional funds over the $40 base fee raised through sponsorships are more than welcome (see our fundraising tips below).
After submitting the following registration form, please allow 24 – 48 hours for your confirmation email. Check your Spam folder if the message does not appear in your Inbox. If you did not receive a confirmation email, please get in touch with us at phillyabc[at]riseup[dot]net.
Tips to Get Sponsors for your 5K Participation
Many runners will pay the $40 registration fee on their own but if you would like to get sponsored instead, here’s a few tips and ideas to get you started.
History
Since 1999, the Anarchist Black Cross Federation, political prisoners and support organizations across the country participate in Running Down The Walls (RDTW). This annual 5K run/jog/walk/roll/bike event is to show solidarity and raise funds for numerous political prisoners in North America. Funds raised are typically split between the ABCF Warchest and a community group chosen by the host group. Each year, incarcerated comrades participate by running inside prison. This event brings us closer together each year, strengthens our bond, and lets prisoners know they are not forgotten! Read RDTW statements from current and former PP/POWs.
The Warchest program receives funds from ABC chapters and individuals every month and then disperses the funds to the prisoners in the program. Since initiation in November 1994, the program has dispersed more than $75,000. The current Warchest recipients are:
In past years, Running Down the Walls was held in Albuquerque (NM), Arcata (CA), Ashland (OR), Bellefonte (PA), Bloomington (IN), Boston (MA), Brooklyn (NY), Buffalo (NY), Chicago (IL), Denver (CO), Hamilton (Ontario), Elmore (AL), FCI Sandstone (MN), Inez (KY), Los Angeles (CA), Marion (IL), Middletown (CT), Minneapolis (MN), USP Navosta (TX), Oakland (CA), Pelican Bay (CA), Phoenix (AZ), Riverside (CA), Seattle (WA), Tucson (AZ), and Toronto (Ontario).
from Dreaming Freedom Practicing Abolition
Due to COVID19, the prison has us coming out for phones, showers, kiosks, meals and recreation in cohorts of 21 or 22 cells (roughly 38 prisoners per cohort). Initially, we were in cohorts of 5 cells with 45 minutes per cohort. Now we are in phase two. The problem is that while the cohort size has more than quadrupled, the time out of cells hasn’t. We have eight phones on the block. Staying in touch with family and friends is of the utmost important to us. So phone time is priority.
We get two day room periods (phone, shower, kiosk time) per day for 1 hour each period. Do the math. Everyone cannot use the phones. This creates hostility between prisoners. Everyone wants to call home and check on their loved ones. We have had to negotiate phone time so there are no fights. Everyday, there is an incident. But we know we have to work together.
The incident last night was an attempt by an officer to stoke hostilities between us. Burning us for day room time and telling us to blame certain prisoners was a divide tactic. We don’t need this stuff, especially right now. We are stressed and worried we will be back on lockdown due to the uptick in infections. Some people have never developed a cooperative attitude until now. Because they have to. Our peace is fragile.
The administration is aware of the problems over the phones. It is prison wide. People have written to the Superintendent and the Deputies about the problem. They need to reign in these officers who create problems and difficulties for prisoners. The administration has asked us to be patient and work with them during this crisis. All we want is the same cooperation and patience. Some officers want us to fight each other to justify their creating a more oppressive environment than what we already have. Some officers wish we were locked down completely with no communication to the outside world. We cannot let that happen.
from It’s Going Down
As prison abolitionists, many of us have been fighting in solidarity with and alongside imprisoned comrades for many years. But in the post-outbreak world, the COVID-19 pandemic has birthed new and increasingly complicated challenges, as the virus spreads like wildfire and the State locks prisoners down, moves them, and we become increasingly cut off from those we are in direct contact with.
Despite this, we have seen some of the most inspiring organizing on both sides of the prison walls in the past few months as thousands have taken to the streets across the so-called US to demand #FreeThemAll and prisoners have launched uprisings and hunger-strikes. Now, as COVID-19 cases again pick up steam and the rebellion enters into its second month, moving forward we want to take stock of existing strategies and tactics; discussing what has worked, and what needs work.
Towards that end, we reached out to folks involved in Oakland Abolition and Solidarity (formally Oakland IWOC) and the Philadelphia chapter of the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement to find out what’s been working in their regions and how we can build off of these lessons.
IGD: In some states, economies are beginning to re-open. How do you see this impacting what will happen inside prisons? Are prisoners a part of any of the phased re-opening plans in your state (if they have any), and what do you expect to happen to the small amount who have been furloughed from their sentences?
Oakland Abolition and Solidarity: Transfers between prisons are restarting, they were suspended for approximately 2 months. Some facilities never really instituted plans that allowed for social distancing. One has had 3 confirmed CO cases, though we suspect more. Others have had larger outbreaks and a number of deaths. Very little else was done system wide other than cancel all visitation. Some measures like removing every other phone in order to create more distance are experimental and end up further limiting people’s access to resources and connections without alternatives. Other measures have been instituted like staggered meal times. Public Information Officers are also not answering their phones or returning calls.
CA released a smaller number of people relative to the size of its population, and there’s reason to believe that the Governor of California has exaggerated the amount of people released during the crisis.
Beyond that, people have widely expressed the really intense psychological effects of just knowing that the COs are going in and out everyday with little or no screening, and that they are the only vectors for exposure. So it’s up to the care and discretion of guards to what extent prisoners are exposed. This is cause for extreme concern, even maddening.
Philly RAM: As state economies re-open there will be a higher demand for goods produced via prison labor; the conditions in which that labor takes place further increases the likelihood the already-vulnerable will contract the virus. Even in Pennsylvania (which is slowly easing up in the southwest) prisoners are being made to manufacture masks, antibacterial soap, medical gowns, and disinfectant.
IGD: For those of us on the outside, we’ve been experimenting with different tactics while also trying to maintain social distancing. The car blocs and caravans were an ingenious work around to that dilemma for the current moment. But what comes next? How do we create opportunities for mass pressure campaigns that work beyond just a honk-in or call-in?
Philly RAM: COVID-19 makes organization and action even harder than before. We believe that we can make progress using small IRL demonstrations and things such as lock-ins in addition to call-in campaigns and caravans. But what’s even more important is getting as much info and resources as possible inside the prisons.
IGD: A critique we have heard from people inside, is that our struggles in their eyes have at times reinforced the idea of there being good/bad prisoners – this playing out through the process of demanding and petitioning for selective release. How do we as abolitionists move forward with a demand to “free them all” without ultimately relying on piecemeal concessions?
Oakland Abolition and Solidarity: One of our points of unity reads, “We reject labels given by the State such as ‘guilty,”criminal,’ or ‘gang member.’ We do not choose who we work with based on these or other simple moralistic designations.” We would certainly add “violent/non-violent” “safe/dangerous,” and any other such designation to this list. It is built into our practices and language to ignore the myriad ways that the State pits prisoners and all people against each other. We reject all reforms or policies that reinforce these or further entrench these hierarchies. Free them all is and has always been our cry. Prioritizing older and more compromised/ vulnerable folks may be acceptable in this time, but never give an inch to the narrative that some prisoners are “safe” and others “dangerous” recognizing that these narratives ultimately redound to the benefit of the carceral system.
Philly RAM: A concept we’ve discussed in the effort to counter hierarchical tendencies is that the carceral state and its culture criminalizes so many aspects of our lives (whether we’re inside a physical cage or not). That the capitalist State designates who is within its bounds and worthy of moral consideration. This is a point of solidarity we share with those inside the prisons – to differing extents we all find ourselves against the US carceral system.
IGD: As the pandemic drags on, Black and Brown communities are shouldering the majority of the deaths and the heartache – this is most clear in rural communities where epicenters have been inside prisons, jails, detention centers, meat and produce packaging plants and warehouse style working conditions. These spaces all share the reality of being largely hidden from “the public.” How do we help keep these struggles connected to each other and in the forefront of the minds of people that are already overly inundated with media?
Oakland Abolition and Solidarity: Collaborative, real time, and engaged content. Seeking and building active collaborations that are rooted in a recognition of the connection between struggles. Example, looking for and seeking to support mutual aid structures that are popping up in “prison towns.” Fusing a meaningful, material backbone for ongoing conversations and collaborations.
Philly RAM: Keep communication open with comrades on the front-lines, then plug in to fulfill the needs of the people. Some good examples we’ve seen are medical fund campaigns, supporting striking workers, and gathering clothes/tools necessary for folks exiting prisons right now (among others).
IGD: Based on what you have seen either in your own organizing or those of comrades, what have abolitionists done in the past few months that has had the most impact and generated the best results? Also, what walls or limits, either in terms of the State refusing to budge or our own capacity, have we run up against in our organizing that we must now figure out how to get over and move beyond?
Oakland Solidarity and Abolition: It feels like the State is winning right now and setting the tempo, but our job remains unchanged. However, success can’t only be measured in whether or not the State bends to the will of the people. People building frequent, reliable, and solid relationships and communication channels with people in our county jails over the last few months has been extremely impactful. People inside having access to a larger media platform to have their stories heard, taken seriously, and acted upon creates empowerment, and greater collaborations that can be built on.
One weakness that we’re observing though is the need to be more creative with taking care, providing support, thinking strategically, and supporting accountability in our collective organizing. There are fewer built in chances to see, check-in with, and support each other. There’s more isolation, both inside and out. We need to be more vigilant about filling those gaps, and it takes more intention. Moreover, the landscape is shifting really rapidly, and it can easily overwhelm people’s personal capacity.
We must continue fostering collaboration and collectivity. It’s time to be more vigilant and disciplined.
Philly RAM: From what we and our comrades have done and seen and seen from others, it’s been the commissary drives, online workshops, and education opportunities have really served to bring people together and uplift the spirits of those inside or outside. Establishing skills in care work and teaching each other help us for any future situations that might arise.
IGD: In your own words, in the current COVID-19 period, what do you think comes next in the fight for abolition?
Oakland Solidarity and Abolition: Desperate times call for desperate measures. The current moment shows us who, what, where, and why of what ‘desperate’ is. It’s our job as abolitionists from wherever we are to fight the desperation, death, and indignity around us and our neighbors.
Everything about this world is becoming more naked. Violent mechanisms survive best in the dark and they’re finding fewer places to hide. I think our job is to be loud and quicker about everything that happens, and be creative about illustrating and interpreting the shifts. But ultimately this is just a piece.
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.]
Inspired by the spirit of the Political Prisoners Birthday crew, here’s a short listing of some rebel prisoners who have upcoming birthdays in July.
For an introduction on how to write to prisoners and some things to do and not to do, go here. If you have the time, please also check IWOC’s listing of prisoners facing retaliation for prison strike-related organizing.
In recent years, July 25th has also been commemorated as an international day of solidarity with Jock Palfreeman and all antifascist prisoners, so you might want to do something for that, like raising funds for the International Antifascist Defence Fund or the Bulgarian Prisoners’ Association, emailing Belarus ABC to ask them to translate your message and pass it on to one of the several Belarusian antifascist prisoners, or whatever else seems appropriate to you.
Happy birthday to our comrades Ilya Romanov and Oleg Sentsov from Russia, and to Nina Droz Franco from Puerto Rico, who’ll be celebrating their birthdays in freedom this year!
On a less positive note, everyone should support the defendants facing charges related to their alleged participation in the George Floyd uprising – this list of our imprisoned comrades needs to be getting shorter, not longer. So far, I’m only aware of an organized defence campaign for Colin and Urooj in New York, but there must be many others out there facing serious charges with less organized support. At the time of writing, both Colin and Urooj have been bailed out.
SAMANTHA SHADER #83823-053
MDC BROOKLYN
P.O. BOX 329002
BROOKLYN, NY, 11232
Please do not write anything to pre-trial defendants that could in any way have a negative impact on their trial, and keep an eye out for changes in their status
Eric King has also been facing a particularly brutal time of it lately, and is currently under incredibly harsh restrictions. Please support any calls coming from his support crew, and donate to his legal fund ahead of his upcoming trial.
If you would like to buy a nicely-designed face mask while also raising money for a Lucasville Uprising prisoner’s legal costs, Greg Curry has you covered – check out his store here.
Much as I hate to see even more of our lives and communications being enclosed by tech companies, it seems inescapable at the moment, so for anyone who doesn’t want to leave their house to buy stamps/cards/envelopes or to send mail, a reminder that many prisoners can be contacted electronically, via Jpay or similar services.
Corey Smith
A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the state has now dropped its attempts to criminalize Corey Smith in relation to the uprising, he is facing continued retaliation, as he has been moved to Pennsylvania, where he is being held on lockdown indefinitely (via placement on PA’s Restricted Release List) on vague and questionable grounds. More than two 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 “NU0456”.
Birthday: July 14
Address:
Smart Communications/PADOC
Corey Smith
NU0456
SCI Camp Hill
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733
Kevin Berry
A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the court found Kevin Berry not guilty on all charges in relation to the uprising, he is facing continued retaliation, as he has been moved to Pennsylvania, where he is being held on lockdown indefinitely (via placement on PA’s Restricted Release List) on vague and questionable grounds. More than two years later, these prisoners are still being abused for staying in solidarity with one another against the state.
Kevin Berry is a contributor to the Vaughn 17 “Live From the Trenches” zine, and also wrote a June 11th statement for last year’s day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners.
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 “NT0583”.
Birthday: July 17th
Address:
Smart Communications/PADOC
Kevin Berry, NT0583
SCI Benner Township
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733
from Fundrazr
Nicknamed the gravy seals, this group of white reactionaries have repeatedly threatened and assaulted innocent people, causing those assaulted to be sent to the hospital.
In mid-June, our friend was tasked to be present for a multi-cultural story time in the park, so the participants would be safe. As attendees left when the event ended, a group of people attacked our friend and others, causing multiple injuries. When our friend was taken to the hospital, they received X-rays and CT scans in addition to immediate care for a broken nose. Additionally, they have multiple cracked and broken teeth.
Here is a note from them: “On June 15th, while attempting to pull another person away from getting attacked by a mob of right-wing reactionaries, I was assaulted. I had 4 people gang up on me, hitting me in the face and kicking me in the legs. While I am lucky to have insurance, it will not cover the necessary dental work; I have at least three cracked teeth. I want to get fixed up and back to trying to help others as quick as I can, and would appreciate any help in handling this necessary medical expense.”
Our friend is an active member of the Industrial Workers of the World and larger local organizing community. In return for frequently showing up for others in need, we’d like to show up for them like they have historically shown up for all of us.
If you’re not able to financially contribute, please spread the world and share with your network! Thank you in advance for your support.
