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Sep 3, 23

In Contempt #32: Running Down the Walls, Epona Rose Released, Prisoner Uprising in Milwaukee

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

September sees a big date in the political prisoner support calendar, as Running Down the Walls events will be held on September 17th in LA, Philadelphia, NYC, Lowell, Richmond, Portland, Seattle, Chicago and the Bay Area.

August saw both the long-running tradition of Black August marking the anniversary of George Jackson’s death, and the International Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners marking the executions of Sacco and Vanzetti. You can learn more about the week in this interview from the Final Straw Radio show.

The week was marked in the best possible way by the release of long-term German anarchist prisoner Thomas Meyer-Falk, freed after almost 27 years inside. Messages for the week were shared by Ambro, an anarchist prisoner in Chile, and Thanos Xatziaggelou, a Greek anarchist prisoner. Events marking the week were held in a number of places, including Dresden, Germany, Santander, Spain, Tbilisi, Georgia, Bloomington, Indiana, San Francisco, California, Turku, Finland, Warsaw, Poland, Potsdam, Germany, Prague, Czechia, Montevideo, Uruguay, Biel, Switzerland, and Leipzig, Germany.

As of late July, the friends and family of long-term Black Liberation prisoner Ed Poindexter were still asking for urgent support to keep the pressure on prison officials as Ed’s health continues to decline.

Ongoing Cases

August saw some good news from the court, as a Portland jury threw out Andy Ngo’s attempt to sue two activists who he alleged to be “antifa.” Read a statement from the Civil Liberties Defense Center on the case here.

Epona Rose is a trans woman who was being held in a men’s prison after defending herself against an attack in Flagstaff, Arizona. A march and rally was held to mark her court date on August 28th, and you can donate to her legal funds here. Donations can also be sent to brokebackwolfpack on paypal, venmo or cashapp. The Free Epona Rose site wrote in a recent update:

At the same time that supporters were beginning to rally outside the courthouse on 8/28 for Epona’s arraignment, the court announced a drastic reduction in bail from $500,750 to $10,000.

While still an excessive amount, the reduction put bail in reach for the first time since Epona was arrested nearly three weeks earlier. Tucson Bail Fund, a “Black-led abolitionist revolving bail fund,” was able to mobilize to pay it later that same day.

That same evening, Epona was released from Coconino County Detention Facility to a small crowd of cheering supporters, friends, and family.

The struggle, however, is far from over, and is going to require continued diligence and prayer.

Epona is required to stay in the state of so-called Arizona, show up for all probation check-in appointments and court dates, pay her lawyer, and pay an assortment of other legal expenses and fees, on top of providing herself with food, clothing, and shelter.

Let’s continue showing up for our friend in tangible and proactive ways! Nobody should be punished for surviving an attack! Our next demand is for the court to drop all charges!

The International Antifascist Defense Fund are currently supporting an antifascist facing charges after a confrontation with a neo-Nazi Active Club member at an Oregon Pride event. A report read:

This altercation happened after right-wing groups assembled in Oregon City to protest an LBGTQ+ pride event. However, antifascists may have been the least of their problems that day, as the reactionary goons once again proved that no one hates fascists like other fascists. The protest turned embarrassing for the anti-trans and homophobic bigots when a crew of Portland, Oregon-based Proud Boys couldn’t keep track of who they were supposed to be protesting. They had a running beef with certain members of the local neo-nazi scene, and took the opportunity to attack members of the Rose City Nationalists (RCN), a crew also based in Portland that is part of the broader neo-nazi “active club” network.

While there is a certain entertainment value in watching fascists beat each other up, the police in Oregon City still opted to arrest and charge an antifascist in the midst of it all – one of many comrades who have suffered consequences for standing up to bigoted, authoritarian violence, and who need ongoing support. If you’d like to help us continue to help them, please consider donating to the Defence Fund.

Participants in the campaign against Camp Grayling, a National Guard base in Michigan, have faced surveillance and repression including GPS trackers being placed on their cars.

Supporters of Peppy and Krystal, two long-term Pittsburgh activists facing charges stemming from a protest against an anti-LGBTQ+ bigot, have released a new tri-fold handout about their case. Download the flyer here.

Supporters are also encouraging people to continue to send letters to Peppy at:

Butler County Prison
c/o Brian DiPippa
#42322 PO Box 9156
Seminole, FL 33775-9156

General Prison News and Abolitionist Media Projects

The Millennials Are Killing Capitalism podcast recently broadcast a new interview with the Uprising Support crew on their work fighting repression after the 2020 uprising.

Unicorn Riot has published a detailed report from Donaldson Correctional Facility in Alabama, where a prisoner was briefly able to take a guard hostage on the morning of August 13th.

Another disturbance is confirmed to have taken place at Perryville women’s prison in Arizona in mid-August. In Alabama, supporters gathered outside of the Kilby Correctional Facility in protest of inhumane conditions.

In Milwaukee, an multi-racial prisoner uprising took place in late August. Local news reported:

A chaotic scene unfolded inside the Milwaukee County Jail as 27 inmates…barricaded themselves inside a library. Inmates barricaded themselves in for more than an hour before deputies punched a hole in the window of the library and sprayed pepper spray inside, according to prosecutors.

A news release from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office attributed the incident to inmates not being happy with gym time coming to an end and “expressing that, generally, they wanted more ‘open’ recreational time.”

“We were not told any of the details from the sheriff until we got the criminal complaint,” said Milwaukee County Supervisor Ryan Clancy. He leads the committee with some oversight of the jail. Clancy says the conditions inside likely played a role in what he described as an uprising.

“The people in our custody are not looking to uprise to be jerks. They’re doing it because the conditions there have been terrible for so long,” he said.

The 27 inmates in the barricade are now charged with obstructing officers and disorderly conduct.

As this column was going to print, a prisoner rebellion has also broken out in Minnesota, after 100 prisoners refused to to return to their cells.

IDOC Watch are calling for calls and emails in support of Khalfani Malik Khaldun, a long-time prison organizer who’s currently being held in a cell without wi-fi, meaning he cannot use the prison-provided tablet to contact his loved ones.

Hunter Poppenger, a young anarchist prisoner from Detroit, is recovering after being stabbed inside prison, and there’s a request for people to send him messages of support at:

Hunter J. Poppenger MDOC #532491
Gus Harrison CF
2727 E. Beecher St.
Adrian, MI 49221

Michigan Abolition and Prisoner Solidarity have published a new zine by Michigan prisoner Jonathan “Prynce-G” Summers, exploring the use of the “Security Threat Group” label as a tool of repression. Jonathan can be contacted at:

Jonathan Summers #459083
Chippewa Correctional Facility (URF)
4269 W. M-80
Kincheloe, MI 49784

Issue 16 of the anarchist prisoner zine Fire Ant has just been released, with contributions from Sean Swain, Marius Mason, Michael Kimble, Eric King, and Thomas Meyer-Falk, as well as a letter from Adam Shelby Fleming, an anarchist prisoner held in North Carolina’s supermax unit. Adam is requesting assistance in helping to self-educate while inside, and can be contacted at

Adam Shelby Fleming #1365295
Granville Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD, 21131

You can read more of Adam’s writing at Mongoose Distro here.

Friends of Geremy Sledge, an artist and activist imprisoned in the Texas system, are fundraising for his upcoming parole bid. ABO Comix, a project which publishes work by queer prisoners including Geremy, are also raising funds to help with emergency medical bills for someone close to one of their deceased contributors.

Unicorn Riot have published an analysis of helicopter footage from the largest mass arrest in recent Minnesota history.

The Prison Lives Matter blog has published a new piece from revolutionary North Carolina prisoner Joseph “Shine White” Stewart on the issues caused by under staffing at Granville Correctional, and Mongoose Distro continues to publish new prisoner writing regularly, including Jason Renard Walker on violence at USP Beaumont and some autobiographical writing from Texas prisoner Ross Hartwell.

Kite Line Radio recently broadcast a feature from the Inside Out program connecting college students with incarcerated ones, along with the latest monthly roundup from Perilous Chronicle.

 

International

A major police operation has taken place targeting the anarchist newspaper Bezmotivny in Italy, with ten comrades arrested on terrorism charges. You can read more analysis of the situation here. Alfredo Cospito continues to recover from his hunger strike, but continues to face repression such as frequent denial of his mail, and there’s a call to flood the prison with letters and postcards trying to reach him.

You can read recent reports from ABC Belarus on the situation facing anarchist and antifascist prisoners here and here. They have an updated prisoner list and are encouraging people to pick a prisoner to support with regular donations. The Belarusian state continues to hand out harsh repression, such as sentencing human rights activist Anastazja Łojka to seven years in prison for “inciting social hatred against police officers” by writing a report on the persecution of anarchists and antifascists. Friends of antifascist activist Kristina Cherenkova have just confirmed that she’ll be in prison for another 8 months.

In the UK, Sarah Jane Baker is a trans woman who’s being held in a men’s prison after she made a speech at Trans Pride where she talked about punching TERFs. You can keep up with the campaign to free her on twitter, facebook and instagram, as well as on her website. The UK prison system has also seen a preventable death recently, after Jason Thaxter hung himself at HMP Whitemoor.

The Iranian state has arrested at least ten women’s rights activists in the province of Gilan, as the anniversary of the start of the Jin Jiyan Azadi/Woman Life Freedom uprising approaches.

Tensions are high in the Israeli prison system, with one report stating that 1,000 prisoners were preparing to launch a hunger strike around August 17. As of August 28, at least six Palestinian prisoners were known to be continuing with hunger strikes, while several others had called theirs off after winning concessions.

A call has gone out to support Indonesian anarchists facing repression, and an anti-authoritarian prisoners’ union in Indonesia is fundraising to help publish their members’ writing.

Russian anarchist prisoner Azat Miftakhov is currently due to be released on September 4th, but a new case is being opened against him, which may be used as a pretext to keep him inside. An international day of solidarity with Azat is being organized for September 2.

Atlanta Forest Defendants

According to Unoffensive Animal, the current list of Atlanta Forest/Cop City defendants is:

People who can accept any letter type or length:

  • pen and marker only
  • mail is scanned digitally to jail
  • mail takes about 3 weeks to arrive

Charley (they/them)

ADDRESS:
JAILATM.COM BARTOW COUNTY JAIL
CAROLINE TENNENBAUM #376204
925B PEACHTREE ST NE
BOX 2062
ATLANTA , GA 30309 USA

Victor

ADDRESS:
VICTOR PUERTAS
095610252
6B 215B
P.O Box 248
Lumpkin GA 31815 USA

People who can only accept usps postcards:

  • premetered usps postcards (buy from a US post office or from usps.com)
  • no alterations
  • blue or black ink only, sometimes drawings get rejected

Luke

ADDRESS:
LUKE HARPER X2312491
DEKALB COUNTY JAIL
4415 MEMORIAL DRIVE
DECATUR, GA 30032 USA

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:

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 Thomson
U.S. Penitentiary
PO Box 1002
Thomson, IL  61285

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

Carlos Matchett 73583-050
FCI Schuylkill
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 759
Minersville, PA 17954

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

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

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

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

Aleksandr Belov

An anarchist from Belarus who was detained on 29 July 2021 and given five years in prison on charges of organisation of actions that disrupted public order during post-election protests in Belarus.

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: September 1

Address:

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

Aleksandr Andreevich Belov
IK №22, Brest region, Ivacevichy,
225295, stanciya Damanava, PO Box 20
Belarus

Leonard Peltier

American Indian Movement activist jailed since 1977 after being framed for shooting two FBI agents. Prosecutors and federal agents manufactured evidence against him (including the so-called “murder weapon”); hid proof of his innocence; presented false testimony obtained through torturous interrogation techniques; ignored court orders; and lied to the jury.

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 Leonard then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: September 12

Address:

Leonard Peltier
#89637-132
USP Coleman I
P.O. Box 1033
Coleman, FL 33521

Sean Swain

Long-term anarchist prisoner and contributor to projects such as the Final Straw Radio and Fire Ant zine. Ohio now uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Ohio, Facility: Ohio Department of Rehabiliation and Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “A243205”.

Birthday: September 12

Address:

Sean Swain #A243205
OSP Youngstown
878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd
Youngstown, OH 44505

Greg Curry

Falsely convicted in the aftermath of the historic Lucasville prison uprising. You can learn more about Greg by reading his writings or listening to his interview with the Final Straw. Greg is currently working on an appeal against his wrongful conviction, so if you know a good attorney then please hit him up!

Ohio now uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Ohio, Facility: Ohio Department of Rehabiliation and Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “A213159”.

Birthday: September 26

Address:

Greg Curry #213-159
Toledo C.I.
2001 East Central Ave.
Toledo, OH 43608

Jorge P. Cornell (King Jay)

Inca of the North Carolina Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, community organizer who worked to broker truces and end gang violence and was given 28 years on a racketeering charge. You can learn more about King Jay by reading this profile of him. The Final Straw also broadcast two interviews with supporters, Sara Lee and Savannah, involved in solidarity efforts at the time of his trial.

Again, King Jay is held in the Federal system, so you can only contact him via Corrlinks if he’s added you as a contact.

Birthday: September 29

Address:

Jorge P. Cornell #28152-057
FCI McKean
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701

photo: on Flickr Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0)

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A monthly report on prison rebels, State repression, and news from an abolitionist perspective.

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