Monday, November 1, 2021

In Contempt #10: Anarchist & Antifascist Prisoner News, Political Prisoners Released, George Floyd Repression Updates

photo: @AshAgony

Welcome to the tenth installment of In Contempt, your monthly one-stop shop for state repression news, political prisoners birthdays and updates, and information about how to support those being targeted by the State in the aftermath of the George Floyd rebellion.

With so much to cover, let’s dive right in!

Political Prisoner News

Antifascist prisoner Daniel Baker has now been sentenced to 44 months in federal prison for internet posts encouraging resistance to any far-right coup attempt. You can read an analysis of his case from Natasha Lennard in the Intercept here, and listen to an interview on This Is America about the case with radical attorney Brad Thomson here.

Dan’s support crew write:

Dan’s attorneys will begin the appeals process within the next two weeks to have a panel of judges in the 11th circuit court review and possibly return a lesser sentence. He will be housed at the Federal Detention Center in Tallahassee, Florida for the next estimated 3-6 weeks before receiving placement in a more long-term detention center.

If you’d like to support Dan, you can do so by sending donations to his PayPal account: DanBakerDonations@gmail.com or write him a single sided, fewer than 5pg letter (no photos, no colored envelopes, no address labels) directly at the address provided below. We will post an updated address when he is placed at a more long-term facility.

In a last minute update, his support crew reports that he is currently being held in Atlanta for two weeks, for ways to send money, go here, write here:

Daniel Alan Baker Reg. No.
25765-509
PO Box 150160
Atlanta, GA 30315
Cell 335

Anarchist political prisoner Eric King’s case is slowly continuing, as he had his first evidentiary hearing on October 14th, which was covered on twitter by Unicorn Riot. Eric King’s lawyers at the Civil Liberties Defense Center have a dedicated page about his case here. Portland ABC are organizing a Samhain/Halloween fundraiser event for Eric on October 31st.

In some very welcome good news, legendary Black Liberation prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz has finally won compassionate release, and David Gilbert is also being released on parole. You can watch a new short film about Maroon’s release here. In sadder news, former George Jackson Brigade prisoner Rita “Bo” Brown has passed away. Supporters of environmental/water protector prisoner Jessica Reznicek have designed new fundraiser shirts to spread awareness of her case.

The Spirit of Mandela Coalition, a movement in support of US-held political prisoners, organized a tribunal over October 22-25th to draw attention to human rights violations against political prisoners. The tribunal comes from a proposal first suggested by Jalil Muntaqim, and featured contributions from former political prisoners including Jalil, Oscar López Rivera, Pam Africa of the MOVE organization, Sekou Odinga and others. You can read a report from the tribunal here.

The 2022 edition of Certain Days, the long-standing political prisoner support calendar, has now gone to the printers, and pre-sales have now begun.

Coming up, friends and supporters of Keith LaMar/Bomani Shakur, who’s facing execution for charges from the Lucasville Uprising, are organizing a justice rally and 5K fundraiser event in Chicago on November 13th.

Ongoing Cases

The Civil Liberties Defense Center have published an update from the Drop the Charges Coalition. While a lot remains to be done, the update does show how much has already been achieved by pushing back against state repression:

Austin

  • The Drop The Charges Coalition started in Austin last summer and a majority of the city’s 178 charges have been dropped due to the success of rallies, press conferences, and a petition targeting the District and County Attorney to drop the charges against all uprising protesters.

Phoenix

  • The Phoenix Police Department and Maricopa County collaborated to criminalize protesters last summer by charging protesters with felony gang charges, claiming the protesters were in a gang because they wore black and chanted anti-police slogans together.
  • Mass Liberation Arizona responded by initiating the Drop the Charges MCAO (Maricopa County Attorney’s Office) campaign, which has led to all 39 cases from the uprising to be dropped with prejudice.

Minneapolis

  • Amidst historic protests like the burning of the Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd Precinct, Minnesota Uprising Arrestee Support (MUAS) supported many arrestees and prisoners that are still incarcerated and awaiting sentencing, such as Montez Lee, Matthew White, and Jose Felán. Most local political prisoners from the uprising are from Minneapolis.

Atlanta

  • Many charges, even low-level misdemeanors, have not been dropped in Atlanta. A network of organizations came together this year to continue to fight to drop all charges against protesters and create long-term support for those facing legal repercussions.

Detroit

  • Detroit Will Breathe is supporting the Shelby 5 who face felonies in Shelby Township, Michigan.
  • After filing a lawsuit against the City of Detroit for Detroit Police’s violent response to protests, the City of Detroit responded to the lawsuit with a counterclaim and claimed the protesters were suing them as part of a civil conspiracy to injure cops and destroy property. CLDC and the Protect the Protest coalition submitted an amicus brief, and the Countersuit was eventually dismissed.

Tallahassee

  • The Tallahassee Community Action Committee are still fighting to get the charges of the Tally 19 dropped. The Tally 19 are a group of protesters who were protesting the grand jury decision last year to not indict police officers involved in the murder of three different Black men who were killed between March and May of 2020. At this protest, they faced a militarized attack at the hands of five different law enforcement agencies, and are facing charges with sentences ranging from one to 10 years.

Portland (Oregon)

  • Almost a third of the federal charges from the uprising came out of Portland because many protests in the city occurred on federal property, and this was used to trump up charges against protesters.
  • While almost half have been no-complainted or dropped, many of them have been pursued.
  • Videos of police brutality in Portland were spread across social media, and many claimed that tactics used in Portland should be deemed illegal. In turn, CLDC and Oregon Justice Resource Center helped file civil rights lawsuits to combat State repression.

A new site, Uprising Support, has just been launched, aiming to gather news and information about uprising defendants in one central location.

In Portland, a petition has been launched to demand that all charges are dropped against Alexander Dial, a local antifascist who has spent 18 months under restrictive bail charges for his alleged role in helping to defend Portland residents from far-Right violence.

Defendants in Hamilton, Ontario, facing charges for a rail blockade in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en struggle, have now settled their case by taking a non-cooperating plea deal, with all defendants avoiding imprisonment.

Vice have published an article on the case of Josh Renaud, a journalist who is facing potential hacking charges after noticing a vulnerability on a publicly available government website and reporting it to the relevant government department so it could be fixed.

In another unusual case, lawyer Steven Donzinger has been sentenced to six months on contempt charges brought by Chevron in retaliation for his work with indigenous communities resisting the oil giant in Ecuador, a conviction that has been condemned by Amnesty and a UN working group, among others. He’s now been ordered to report to prison to begin his sentence, and The Nation has published a new interview with him, conducted shortly before his sentence began.

Other Prison News

Michigan Abolition and Solidarity recently published a new zine, covering the impact of Covid-19 inside Michigan prisons. Prison organizer Kevin “Rashid” Johnson has been transferred from Ohio back to his home state of Virginia, while anarchist prisoner Sean Swain has been transferred from Virginia back to his home state of Ohio, and there is now a call-in campaign in support of him, as he is being faced with the threat of being transferred out of state again.

IDOC Watch and Prison Lives Matter have organized a rally against long-term torture and abuses within the Indiana prison system, for Friday October 29th in Indianapolis.

The North Carolina prison system has switched over to banning paper mail, following in the footsteps of other states such as Pennsylvania. As previous editions of In Contempt have covered, the shift from paper mail to electronic communications offers increased opportunities for private companies and the state to monitor those on the outside communicating with prisoners.

The Prisons Kill podcast has a new interview up with Anniebelle, the mother of Hakeem, who was killed at USP Atlanta in 2020. You can donate to the Hakeem Campbell justice fund here.

Mongoose Distro has published a new article from Texas anarchist prisoner Comrade Z, giving an update on his fight against the Texas prison system.

In other recent news from abolitionist media projects, Perilous Chronicle has a report on deaths in the Pima County Jail in Arizona, and recent episodes of Kite Line have included a two–part series on the struggle against jail expansion in Monroe County, Indiana, a report from Perilous on Minnesota’s shadow prison, and updates on political prisoners Jessica Reznicek and Marius Mason.

International News

Belarus ABC continue to publish their regular monthly updates about repression in that country, and the Final Straw Radio recently broadcast an interview with a Belarus ABC member giving more insight into that situation. Moscow Anarchist Black Cross have also published a round-up of their recent local repression news.

Two Greek anarchists have gone to court on charges of allegedly murdering a drug dealer in Exarchia, in a trial which seems to be ongoing at time of writing, and will continue into late November. A number of banks in Athens have been attacked in solidarity with the defendants. You can watch a short film about the trial here.

In Brazil, antifascists are facing charges for allegedly setting fire to the statue of a notorious colonizer in São Paulo, and are raising funds for their legal defense.

In Bristol, UK, it’s been a busy month. The Final Straw broadcast an interview that gives a good overview of the situation. Ryan Roberts, the first defendant to plead “not guilty” in response to charges from the Bristol riot earlier this year, has now gone to trial and been convicted on serious charges. There are currently another five prisoners held on charges connected to the same riot who’ve publicly requested support, with numerous others awaiting trial, and Bristol ABC continues to run a fundraiser for them here. In a separate case in the same city, anarchist prisoner Toby Shone has now been convicted on drugs charges, following a failed attempt to try and prosecute him on terrorism charges for alleged involvement in running the insurrectionist website 325.

Uprising Defendants

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. See Uprising Support for more info. The status of pre-trial defendants changes frequently, but to the best of our knowledge they currently include:

Isaiah Willoughby 49960-086
FDC SeaTac Federal Detention Center
PO Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198

Desmond David-Pitts 49970-086
FCI Sheridan
PO Box 5000
Sheridan, OR 97378

Kelly Jackson 50288-086
FCI Sheridan Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. BOX 5000
Sheridan, OR 97378

Tyre Means 49981-086
USP Beaumont
PO BOX 26030
Beaumont, TX 77720

Montez Lee
Sherburne County Jail
13880 Business Center Dr. NW
Suite 200
Elk River, MN 55330-1692

Matthew White #21434-041
USP McCreary
P.O. Box 3000
Pine Knot, KY 42635

José Felan
Sherburne County Jail
13880 Business Center Dr.
NW Suite 200 Elk River, MN 55330-1692

Matthew Rupert
Sherburne County Jail
13880 Business Center Dr. NW
Suite 200 Elk River, MN 55330-1692

David Elmakayes 77782-066
FDC Philadelphia
PO BOX 562
Philadelphia, PA 19105

You can donate to David’s legal funds here.

Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal 70002-066
FDC Philadelphia
PO BOX 562
Philadelphia, PA 19105

Andrew Augustyniak-Duncan 176417
Allegheny County Jail
950 2nd Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Christopher West 161218
Allegheny County Jail
950 Second Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

You can also buy fundraiser clothing for Christopher “Brother Hush” West here.

Lavier Pounds 194234
Allegheny County Jail
950 2nd Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Alvin Joseph 99529156 (POSTCARDS ONLY)
Gwinnett Co Jail
2900 University Parkway
Lawrenceville, GA 30043

Develcho Waller 73223019
Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility
PO BOX 730
Lovejoy, GA 30250

Judah Bailey 73219019
Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility
PO BOX 730
Lovejoy, GA 30250

Ellie Brett 14822509
Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility
PO BOX 730
Lovejoy, GA 30250

John Wade 14762509
Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility
PO BOX 730
Lovejoy, GA 30250

Joseph Jett 1910905 (POSTCARDS ONLY)
Clayton County Jail
9157 Tara Boulevard
Jonesboro, GA 30250

Shamar Betts
Champaign County Jail
204 E. Main St.
Urbana IL 61801

Andrew Carlisle 1902379
C/O Securus Digital Media Center- Fulton County Jail
PO Box 989
Lebanon, MO

Dashun Martin 73222019
Metropolitan Detention Center
PO BOX 1500
Los Angeles, CA 90053

Andrew Garcia-Smith 02324-509
FCI Williamsburg
PO Box 340
Salters, SC 29590

Upcoming Birthdays

Ed Poindexter

One of the “Nebraska 2,” Black Panthers convicted in 1971 for the murder of a police officer. In the 1990s, Nebraska’s parole board recommended Poindexter and his co-defendant Mondo for release due to their exceptional conduct, accomplishments and recommendations but the Pardons Board– the Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of State– refused to grant them a hearing.

Their conviction was controversial and has never been accepted as legitimate by many in the African American community in Omaha. Poindexter and Mondo were suspects- before there was any evidence- because they were leaders of the National Committee to Combat Fascism (NCCF), an offshoot of the Black Panther Party.

Important: Ed has a cataract that makes it impossible for him to read. If you would like to write him a letter, it must be typed with 18 point or larger font. Put a large note on the envelope so that he knows that you are aware of his eye issues and have included a letter in a type that he can read. The Nebraska Department of Corrections does not plan to allow him to have surgery because “he has one good eye.”

Birthday: November 1

Address:

Edward Poindexter #27767
Nebraska State Penitentiary
P.O. Box 22500
Lincoln, NE 68542
United States

Ladislav Kuc

Animal liberation activist convicted of attacking a McDonald’s in which no one was injured.

Birthday: November 4

Address:

Ladislav Kuc
Uvtos
Gucmanova 19/670
Priečinoik 7
920 41 Leopoldov
Slovakia

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 Phoenix
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733

Andrei Marach

Antifascist from Brest. Detained on 2 March 2021 on suspicion of involvement in a criminal organisation of anarchists and gross violation of public order (Articles 285 and 342 of the Criminal Code). Andrei has a history of repression, he was serving an administrative arrest in early August 2020.

Belarusian prisons will usually only accept letters in Belarusian or Russian, so if you don’t speak one of those languages your best bet is to email your message to belarus_abc(AT)riseup.net or use this online form and they should be able to translate your greetings and pass them on.

Birthday: November 10

Address:

(Belarusian or Russian letters only – use this form for English messages)

SIZO-1, ul. Volodarskogo 2, Minsk, 220030
Andrei Marach

Dzmitry Rezanovich

Dzmitry Rezanovich is an anarchist from Gomel. Arrested on the night of 28-29 October 2020 close to Ukrainian border by Belarusian border guards together with Sergey Romanov, Dmitry Rezanovich and Ihar Alinevich. Charged with terrorism and illegal possession of firearms. According to the prosecutor’s office, he and his comrades organized several arson attacks in Soligorsk and Mozyr against state institutions. Right now is held in KGB Prison in Minsk.

Belarusian prisons will usually only accept letters in Belarusian or Russian, so if you don’t speak one of those languages your best bet is to email your message to belarus_abc(AT)riseup.net or use this online form and they should be able to translate your greetings and pass them on.

Birthday: November 12

Address:

(Belarusian or Russian letters only – use this form for English messages)

Glavpochtamt, a/ya 8, Minsk, 220050, Belarus
Rezanovich Dzmitry Grigorevich

Thomas Blackmon

Thomas Blackmon is one of the prisoners wrongfully convicted in the aftermath of the historic Lucasville Uprising.

Ohio uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Ohio, Inmate ID: 185-291”.

Birthday: November 12

Address:

Thomas Blackmon
#185-291
OSP
878 Coitsville Hubbard Rd
Youngstown OH 44505

Rasheem Matthews

Rasheem Matthews is one of the prisoners wrongfully convicted in the aftermath of the historic Lucasville Uprising.

Ohio uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Ohio, Inmate ID: 223-185”.

Birthday: November 22

Address:

Rasheem Matthews
#223-185
OSP
878 Coitsville Hubbard Rd
Youngstown OH 44505

Dontrell Baker

Dontrell Baker is a former Ferguson prisoner who has completed a sentence connected to the Ferguson uprising and is now incarcerated for a different incident.

Missouri uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Missouri, Inmate ID: 1282093”. His Jpay access is often restricted.

Birthday: November 24

Address:

Dontrell Baker #1282093
MECC,
18701 Old Hwy 66,
Pacific, MO 63069

Josh Williams

A staple of the Ferguson rebellion, Josh Williams was sentenced to 8 years in prison for his actions in attempting to light fires near a Quick Trip gas station, which others quickly extinguished, during a protest against the killing of Black 18 year old Antonio Martin by police in Berkeley, Missouri on Christmas Eve 2014. You can learn more about Josh by reading some of his words here. A support site has been set up for Josh, and they reported in May 2021 that “Josh has been held in solitary confinement on 23 hour lockdown since the beginning of the uprisings in June of 2020. He has limited phone privileges and hasn’t been able to go outside.”

Missouri uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Missouri, Inmate ID: 01292002”. His Jpay access is often restricted.

Birthday: November 25

Address:

Joshua Williams #1292002
Potosi Correctional Center
11593 State Highway O
Mineral Point, MO 63660


by In Contempt via It's Going Down
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