In Contempt #30: Dan Baker Set to Be Released, Call-In for Rashid Johnson

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

June 11th is the international day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners. The June 11 site doesn’t seem to have published any reports of the day’s activities, but listings on IGD prior to the day included:

• June 8th: June 11th letter-writing to anarchist prisoners. Charlottesville, VA. More info here.
• June 9th: Puget Sound Prisoner Support Benefit Show and Radical Zine Fair, Bremerton, WA. More info here.
• June 11th: Portland, OR. June 11th letter-writing to anarchist prisoners. Wilshire Park, 3 PM. More info here.
• June 11th: Eugene, OR. June 11th letter-writing to anarchist prisoners. Monroe Park, 5 PM. More info here.
• June 11th: Houston, TX. June 11th day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners. More info here.
• June 11th: Cincinnati, OH. June 11th day of solidarity long-term anarchist prisoners. More info here.
• June 11th: Minneapolis, MN. Film-screening and letter writing. More info here.
• June 11th: New Orleans, LA. Film-screening and letter writing. More info here.
• June 11th: Philadelphia, PA. Bike ride and letter-writing. More info here.
• June 11th: Queens, NYC. June 11th day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners. More info here.

Statements for the day were published by anarchist prisoners Eric King, Marius Mason, Xinachtli, and Michael Kimble. Anarchist and antifascist prisoner Dan Baker is due to be released very shortly, and is requesting help with re-entry. You can donate to his release fund here. Poisoned Candy Press have printed a collection of his writings as a pamphlet to help raise money for his release fund, which you can order from their etsy store.

Also, mark you calendars, because July 25th is the international day of solidarity with anti-fascist prisoners. Already, folks in Portland have an upcoming event planned.

Uprising Defendants and Other Ongoing Cases

As in previous months, the movement to stop Cop City and save the Atlanta forest remains the focus of intense repression. Unoffensive Animal published an update on the situation of imprisoned forest defenders at the start of June, and Unicorn Riot have published an interview with Charley Tennenbaum, one of the defendants being held for allegedly distributing flyers with information about the killers of Tortuguita.

Near the end of June, the DeKalb District Attorney withdrew from 42 cases against forest defenders, including the 29 domestic terrorism charges. The cases will still be prosecuted under the jurisdiction of the Georgia Attorney General, but the local DA’s withdrawal from the case is an important development. From the Atlanta Community Press Collective’s coverage of the story:

“It is clear to both myself and the Attorney General that we have fundamentally different prosecution philosophies,” [DA] Boston stated, adding that she has a commitment to her local electoral base to “only proceed on cases that I believe I can make beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“District Attorney Boston’s decision to not prosecute those charged with crimes related to the stop cop city movement is a clear sign that there is no evidence to support those arrests. When a prosecutor publicly comes out and says she doesn’t want to pursue a criminal case—everyone should sit up and listen,” said former state and federal prosecutor Alex Joseph. “District Attorney Boston’s entire job is to send people to prison. If she says the evidence isn’t there, believe her.”

Boston noted that her differences with Carr arose despite her confidence that both prosecutorial teams had access to the same information about the cases.

“This confirms what we knew all along: that the domestic terrorism charges were a baseless overreaction meant to quell dissent against the Cop City project,” said Josh Lingsch, attorney for one of the defendants charged with domestic terrorism in December. “While we are grateful that Ms. Boston finally spoke up, it cannot undo the harm experienced by the defendants who were initially jailed on these unfounded charges. The onus is now on Chris Carr to do the right thing and drop the charges against these defendants.”

In a Twitter post released moments after the announcement, Attorney General Chris Carr said that his office will continue to pursue the domestic terrorism charges. The tweet accuses protestors of crimes for which none of the domestic terrorism defendants have been formally charged.

Boston added that, in addition to disagreements with AG Carr about the ability to prosecute the cases beyond a reasonable doubt, the DA office’s participation in prosecution against Cop City opponents took a toll on her personal life. She claimed that her address had been shared publicly and she had received direct threats for her participation in the prosecution.

“This has impacted my family, my husband, my children because we’ve had to have extra security. I’ve had to really be a lot more careful of a lot of my movements,” Boston stated.

Boston’s announcement came one day after Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) Director Mike Register announced he is stepping down from his position with the GBI to take a position as Director of Public Safety in Cobb County, a suburb just north of Atlanta. The GBI is one of the agencies on the joint task force assigned with investigating and prosecuting the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement. GBI Special Agent Ryan Long signed all the domestic terrorism warrants taken out against alleged members of the movement.

Earlier this week, it was reported that AG Carr denied District Attorney Boston move to exclude an attorney who was acting as a legal observer during the March 5, 2023, arrests from forthcoming indictments against the movement. Boston said that decision was one of issues “that ultimately led me to make the decision that I have made here now.”

Boston is not the only one to express doubt over the prosecutorial approach taken by the attorney general’s office. Earlier this month, Magistrate Judge James Altman said there was “[not] a lot of meat on the bones,” in reference to money laundering and charity fraud charges leveled by the attorney general’s office against three bail fund organizers for their work in relation to the movement against Cop City.

For more recent coverage of the movement, see Crimethinc’s article Living in an Earthquake, and recent episodes of The Final Straw Radio and Kite Line Radio. At time of writing, eleven people are currently incarcerated in connection with the movement, with eight of them having requested public support.

At the University of South Florida, 5 people are now facing charges after having been arrested at a protest to defend diversity in higher education and oppose Ron DeSantis’s agenda. A petition has been set up calling for the charges to be dropped, and you can donate to their legal funds here. See here for a document collecting more information about the case and how to get involved.

Adam Walton, a George Floyd Uprising defendant from Chicago, is due to be released soon. You can donate to his release funds here.  Jacob Gaines, another Uprising defendant, is now at a halfway house, and funds are being raised to help him re-enter the outside world, and another fundraiser has been set up for Portland Uprising prisoner Gavaughn “Vibez” Streeter. The fundraiser for Pittsburgh Uprising prisoner Da’jon Lengyel is also still active.

General Prison and Abolitionist Media News

Reports have been received that revolutionary prisoner and organizer Kevin “Rashid” Johnson has just had his cancer treatment interrupted and been thrown in solitary confinement. A comrade writes:

“He is in Administrative Segregation, following a treatment visit at the hospital. This is something [the radiation treatments] that he has been doing for some time now. He states that he has about 2 weeks of treatment left & he thinks that they are trying to disrupt the treatment.  He has no property in the cell, It’s stripped bare, no blanket, sheets, nor mattress. The toilet is not working, no running H20.

The pigs had been acting strange since last week, constantly surveilling him, even while in then BR. The report they got that they trashed his cell & were gathering all of his property while he was away for his treatment. He thinks it is a set up.

He thinks there should be a phone & email zap.”

There is a request to contact the following people:

Sussex I State Prison Warden Beth Cabell, Lead Warden, Phone:  (804) 834-9967, Snail mail address: 24414 Musselwhite Drive Waverly, VA 23891

Director of Health Services, VADOC, Steve Herrick: [email protected] and [email protected].  (804) 887-8118

Director of Corrections, VADOC, Harold Clarke: [email protected]   (804) 674-3000

Texas anarchist prisoner Noah “Kado” Coffin was recently moved to the Gist unit in Beaumont. IDOC Watch have published an interview about Lionel Russell, a prisoner who died as a result of inhumane conditions and inadequate mental health support while being held in solitary confinement at Pendleton CF.

Mongoose Distro continues to regularly publish new prisoner writing, including revolutionary North Carolina prisoner Joseph “Shine White” Stewart on draconian gang policies, Virginia prisoner David Annarelli on a prisoner killed by the Virginia DOC’s medical neglect, and excerpts from an upcoming book by Texas prisoner Seth Yates.

Scalawag Magazine have run their annual Abolition Week, focused on writing by prisoners and about prisons, including an article on prison geography from George Floyd Uprising prisoner Richard Hunsinger. One area of focus has been making music in prison, with a contribution from Virginia prisoner and musician David Annarelli, an interview with imprisoned Virginia rapper Young Tali on recording and producing music in prison using phone calls, a new music video from North Carolina Death Row prisoner Alim Braxton, and a history of music-making in Southern prisons. Another focus has been on the experiences of Palestinians, with a series of articles looking at Gaza through an abolitionist lens.

NEW: A first-hand account of violence, neglect, and abuse in Alabama prisons.

"You hear a lot about the prisons from people outside—the general public, lawmakers, etc.—but this is the true version, straight from the inside. We can't be silenced anymore." https://t.co/7IYwPQmXjv

— Scalawag (@scalawagmag) July 2, 2023

Other articles have included North Carolina prisoner KC Johnson on love in prison, Canadian prisoner Zakaria Amara on solitary confinement, anonymous prisoner GZ on prison censorship, Florida prisoner Ezzial Williams on prison tech and the high cost of “free” tablets, Federal prisoner Jacob Goethe on medical negligence, Kriston Dowdell describing the situation inside Alabama prisons, Chanell Burnette on being an incarcerated mother, Ohio prisoner Heather Jarvis on menstruating behind bars, and anonymous Georgia prisoner EJ on mourning and grief in prisons, as well as an exploration of environmental racism in prisons and the issue of pregnancy and abortion while incarcerated.

The SF BayView also has a report on the California legislature voting to reject a proposal to spend $360.6 million on expanding San Quentin State Prison.

International

The French state has officially banned the environmental movement Soulevements de la Terre/Earth’s Uprisings, arresting a number of people accused of being connected to the group. You can read a statement of solidarity with Earth’s Uprisings here, along with a message from Serge, who is currently recovering from a life-threatening head injury inflicted by the French police. This article puts the French situation into the context of growing state repression against environmental movements internationally. In more positive news from France, anarchist Ivan Alocco has now been released from pre-trial detention.

In the UK, there’s a call for donations from Bristol Anarchist Black Cross, who are struggling with the costs of continuing to support twenty people still serving prison sentences from the 2021 Bristol riot. Cases connected to the riot continue to move through the courts, with defendants Foxy and Danny having recently been convicted and moved to HMP Channings Wood. Defendants connected to Palestine Action’s campaign of direct action against the Israeli arms manufacturer in Elbit have also been going through the British courts, with four people being sentenced to prison for one action against an arms factory, while others are facing trial for separate actions.

In news from Israeli prisons, the Palestinian political prisoner Walid Daqqah has been denied early release, despite suffering from a rare cancer that cannot be adequately treated while in prison, and there’s a call to free Layan Kayed, a masters’ student who has been detained for her political organizing.

Anarchist Black Cross Moscow update on anarchist and anti-fascist prisoners 19th of June 2023

As usual, we start with (relatively) good news. Krasnoysk anarchists Danil Ivanov and Ilya Vinogradov were given 5 and 3.5 years probational sentences respectively… pic.twitter.com/slkO3Exgkw

— Autonomous Action (@avtonom_org_en) June 19, 2023

Belarus Anarchist Black Cross have published an update on the situation of anarchist political prisoners in Belarus, and Moscow Anarchist Black Cross have a round-up of news about anarchist and anti-fascist prisoners in Russia. Autonomous Action also have a number of other stories about Russian anarchist and anti-war prisoners, including a fundraiser to pay for a lawyer for Mikhail Lazakovich, facing terrorism charges for an alleged direct actions against a military recruitment centre, a report on how anti-war anarchist prisoner Alexey Rozkhow was taken from Kygyrzstan to Russia, anarchist prisoner Azat Miftakhov revealing how the security services used his bisexuality to undermine his situation in prison, and the court statement of Igor Paskar, who’s just been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for anti-war actions, as well as a general article on the importance of legal fundraising for good lawyers.

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, and check out the Antirepression PDX site for updates from Portland cases. The status of pre-trial defendants changes frequently, but to the best of our knowledge they currently include:

Tyre Means 49981-086
USP Atwater
P.O. Box 019001
Atwater, CA 95301

Kelly Jackson 50288-086
FCI Phoenix
Federal Correctional Institution
37910 N. 45th Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85086

Margaret Channon 49955-086
FCI Aliceville
PO Box 4000
Aliceville, AL 35442

Gavaughn Streeter #19203494
Oregon State Penitentiary
2605 State Street
Salem, Oregon 97310

You can donate to Gavaughn’s post-release fundraiser here.

Malik Muhammad #23935744
Oregon State Penitentiary
2605 State Street
Salem, OR 97310

Cyan Waters Bass #23905849
Oregon State Correctional Institution
3405 Deer Park Drive SE
Salem, Oregon 97310

Montez Lee 22429-041
FCI Ray Brook
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 900
Ray Brook, NY 12977

Matthew White #21434-041
FCI Terre Haute
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. BOX 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808

Matthew Rupert #55013-424
USP McCreary
P.O. Box 3000
Pine Knot, KY 42635

José Felan #54146-380
FCI Terre Haute
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 33
Terre Haute, IN  47808

Dylan Robinson 45802-013
USP Leavenworth
P.O. Box 1000
Leavenworth, KS  66048

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

Andrew Augustyniak-Duncan
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Andrew Duncan-Augustyniak / QN9211
SCI Rockview
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733

Nicholas Lucia 06868-509
FCI Petersburg Low
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 1000
Petersburg, VA 23804

Ellie Brett 14822509
FCI Petersburg Medium
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 1000
Petersburg, VA 23804

John Wade 14762509
FCI Beckley
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 350
General & Legal Mail
Beaver, WV 25813

Alvin Joseph 1002016959
Hays State Prison
PO Box 668
Trion, GA 30753

Richard Hunsinger 16066-509
FCI Forrest City Low
P.O. Box 9000
Forrest City, AR 72335

Shamar Betts 22080-043
FCI Hazelton Federal Correction Inst.
P.O. Box 5000
Bruceton Mills, WV 26525

Diego Vargas 55070-424
FCI Allenwood Medium
PO Box 2000
White Deer, PA 17887

Adam Walton 55322-424
FCI Allenwood Medium
PO Box 2000
White Deer, PA 17887

Olivia Marie Hull
Kent County Correctional Facility
703 Ball Avenue NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Howard Eugene Nall #586907
Newberry Correctional Facility
13747 E. County Road 428
Newberry, MI 49868

T’Andre Buchanan 67637-060
Milan FCI
PO Box 1000
Milan, MI 48160

Upcoming Birthdays

Gage Halupowski

Gage was arrested at a counter demonstration against a far-Right rally in Portland, Oregon on June 29th, 2019 and had been locked up at the local county jail since that day with a high bail. Gage accepted a non-cooperation plea deal, plead guilty to an assault charge, and was sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison.

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.

Oregon now offers electronic communications via the GettingOut service at gettingout.com.

Birthday: July 1

Address:

Gage Halupowski #21894460
South Fork Forest Camp
48300 Wilson River Highway
Tillamook, Oregon 97141-9799

Evgeny Rubashko

An anarchist from Belarus who was sentenced to 5 years in prison on charges of organization of actions that disrupted public order during post-election protests in Belarus. The criminal case was opened under the Article 342.1 (gross violation of public order) for participation in protests and the Article 361-1.1 (participation in an extremist organization). He reported tortures (plastic bag on the head, beatings, etc.) You can read his speech to the court here.

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: July 9

Address:

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

Rubashko Evgeny Alexandrovich
ST-8, ul. Sovetskaya, 22A
Zhodino, 222163
Belarus

Vladislav Zenevich

Vladislav Zenevich, an antifascist from Minsk, was detained on November 30 under Art. 342 part 1 (gross violation of public order). Earlier Vlad was detained on the march on November 1, severely beaten, the next day he was fined. A search was also conducted in his apartment. On February 23, 2021, sentenced to 3 years of custodial restraint. On June 3, he was transferred to an open-type correctional facility.

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: July 10

Address:

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

230025, Grodno, ul. Lidskaya 29b, k. 32, Belarus
Zenevich Vladislav Vladimirovich

Siyanda Mngaza

Siyanda is a young Black woman serving a four-and-a-half year sentence for defending herself from a racist attack.

UK prisoners can be emailed using emailaprisoner.com

Birthday: July 16

Address:

Siyanda Mngaza
HMP Eastwood Park
Falfield
Wotton-under-Edge
Gloucestershire
GL12 8DB
United Kingdom

Dakota Moss

Ferguson-related prisoner sentenced to 20 years for stealing guns for people to use during the non-indictment riots in November 2014.

The Federal system uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to Dakota then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: July 17

Address:

Dakota Moss #11400-025
FCI Jesup
2680 301 South
Jesup, GA 31599

Derek Cannon

Derek Cannon is serving life without parole after being wrongly convicted of murder during the 1993 Lucasville Uprising, based on the testimony of jailhouse witnesses who have since confessed to lying about the case. For more about Derek’s case, see “Let Lucasville Uprising Prisoners Tell Their Own Stories!” in the NLG Review. Due to his connection to the uprising, he is still a frequent target for staff harassment, even decades later.

Ohio now uses ConnectNetwork/GTL, so you should be able to contact Derek via ConnectNetwork.com.

Birthday: July 21

Address:

Derek Cannon
#221-663
Lebanon CI
PO Box 56
Lebanon, OH 45036

Jessica Reznicek

Jessica is a land and water defender who has worked with and lived in the Des Moines Catholic Worker community for 10 years. In 2016, Jessica took a stand against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. In 2017, Jessica and another person took direct action and disabled construction machinery in order to protect the land. No one was injured by their actions, and the land was protected from the flow of oil for an additional six months.

On February 6, 2021, Jessica pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to damage an energy facility and on June 30, 2021, was sentenced to 8 years in prison. She received the ‘federal crime of terrorism’ enhancement and was ordered to pay over 3 million dollars in restitution and three years of supervised release. She reported to federal prison on August 11, 2021. Jessica has a deep love for nature, camping, swimming, hiking, theology, music, gardening, laughter and eco-sustainability, as well as a commitment to self-discovery through deep relationships cultivated in intentional faith-based community living.

The Federal system uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to Jessica then you’re best off just sending her a card or a letter.

Birthday: July 25

Address:

Jessica Reznicek #19293-030
FCI Waseca
Post Office Box 1731
Waseca, Minnesota 56093

Dzmitry Dubovski

Dzmitry Dubovski is a Belarusian anarchist, sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was arrested late last year and charged with several arson attacks on government buildings. He previously spent 10 years on the run after being accused of some direct actions that took place in 2009-2010.

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: July 29

Address:

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

IK №3, karantin
211322, p. Vit’ba,
Vitebskiy r-n, Vitebskaya obl.
Dmitry Nikolaevich Dubovski

cover photo: fabio fortini via Flickr under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0)