In Contempt #51: Thousands Hit the Streets Against Deportations and Authoritarian Crackdown, ‘Imaginary Crimes’ Tour Kicks Off

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!

Protests Erupt Following DHS Abduction of Mahmoud Khalil and Crackdown on Palestine Solidarity

"The group…dismissed the threat as “manufactured by Barnard administrators” to clear the protest…The student group launched its sit-in…in response to the expulsions of student protesters…" www.msn.com/en-us/news/u…

— It's Going Down (@igd.bsky.social) 2025-03-06T20:52:36.822Z

The Trump administration has moved to attack professors and international students, some permanent legal residents, by revoking their visas, abducting them off the streets, and throwing them into detention prisons – all for engaging in protests and speaking out in solidarity with Palestine. In early March, this wave of repression kicked off with the abduction and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a move that was celebrated by the far-Right, ironically under the guise of “fighting anti-Semitism,” despite Khalil being attacked under a law from 1952 that targeted Jews. Pro-Israel groups were quick to claim credit for the growing suppression of anti-war students, stating that they were providing information to US officials. These actions also follow a push from the Heritage Foundation, one of the architects of Project 2025, to dismantle and suppress the Palestinian solidarity movement. The Trump administration is also using this move as a battering ram to attack public education as a whole, as the state pushes to reorganize elite institutions in its own image – with administrators seemingly only happy to comply.

As Momodou Taal, who recently left the US after being targeted multiple times for his activism stated on social media:

The repression of Palestinian solidarity is now being used to wage a wholesale attack on any form of expression that challenges oppressive and exploitative relations in the U.S. … For every person that has remained silent, just know that you are not safe either. Is the imprisonment of those who speak out against a genocide a reflection of your values? Is this the kind of nation you want to live in?

There has been mounting condemnation against the abductions by ICE, kicking off demonstrations and solidarity rallies across the US, as DHS also continues to carry out draconian raids against immigrant communities, directly targeting labor organizers like Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez in the Pacific Northwest, and provoking a constitutional crisis by invoking the Aliens Enemies Act, in a move which forced hundreds of migrants into a hard labor “anti-terrorism” super-prison in El Salvador.

Labor union for Kilmar Garcia, who the Trump administration claims was sent "by mistake" to horrific hard-labor prison camp, puts out statement condemning this atrocity. In #Maryland, Garcia's wife and community are also rallying in protest to demand his return. www.smart-union.org/smart-stands…

— It's Going Down (@igd.bsky.social) 2025-04-04T19:28:44.649Z

The Trump administration, through both a build up of repressive infrastructure and a well-funded media apparatus, is pushing to expand the boundaries of state violence and normalize the brutalization of dissidents and immigrants. Congress is already pressing various universities to disclose names of both international students involved in anti-war protests and students arrested during the recent wave of solidarity action. It’s imperative that we all step up and put work into building social movements and take action in the streets against this rising authoritarianism.

#BREAKING: POMONA COLLEGE SAYS IT WILL TURN OVER STUDENT DISCIPLINARY RECORDS TO CONGRESS:Pomona College said it would comply with a congressional request to hand over all disciplinary records related to pro-Palestine activity on campus.These schools are fascist collaborators

— People’s City Council – Los Angeles (@pplscitycouncil.bsky.social) 2025-03-29T03:32:50.241Z

From inside an ICE prison in Louisiana infamous for human rights abuses, Mahmoud has published an open letter which you can read here. A zine version for printing can be found here. formatted as a printable zine. Khalil writes:

For analysis, check out “Why Mahmoud?” from the Lake Effect Collective, which explores how the case fits into Trump’s wider repressive strategy, “Why Trump Is So Desperate to Keep Mahmoud Khalil in Louisiana” by Shawn Musgrave at the Intercept, which looks at the different legal environments in New York and Louisiana, and an article by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg and Ethan Corey in the Appeal, that breaks down the brutal history of abuses at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center.

"As organizers noted that 370 people have been arrested in the Boston area by ICE in the last week—with officials calling some "collateral" in Trump's mass deportation campaign—demonstrators chanted, "Free Rumeysa, free them all!" and "Come for one, face us all!" www.commondreams.org/news/rumeysa…

— It's Going Down (@igd.bsky.social) 2025-03-28T07:59:12.828Z

Beyond the specific case of Mahmoud Khalil, other attacks have included the detention and threatened deportation of Badar Khan Suri from Georgetown, following a public campaign against his wife, who is a US citizen from a Palestinian background, Momodou Taal at Cornell, Leqaa Kordia and Yunseo Chung from the Columbia encampment and Rumeysa Ozturk from Tufts, have also all been detained after being targeted for speaking out in solidarity with Palestine. Currently, Öztürk’s legal team is fighting for her to receive access to medical care, as they continue to fight with the Trump administration in court for her release.

HAPPENING NOW: 1000+ U.S. Jews are outside ICE headquarters in NYC demanding the release of Mahmoud Khalil and protest the Trump-Musk deportation agenda. We are Jews for freedom and democracy saying #FreeMahmoud

— IfNotNow🔥✡️ (@ifnotnowmovement.org) 2025-03-20T23:14:06.262Z

As part of the wider crackdown, Marco Rubio claims to have canceled more than 300 visas of people connected to the Palestine solidarity movement. According to a report in the Times of India, hundreds of international students have received emails asking them to “self-deport” for their solidarity with Palestine, which could be something as minor as sharing a social media post. Meanwhile in Canada, Montreal writer Yves Engler served a five-day prison sentence for harassment and obstruction of justice after describing a supporter of Israel as a “genocide supporter” and “fascist” on social media.

Today in a powerful display of cross-movement solidarity, immigrant rights activists and Palestine activists mobilized together in Newark to demand freedom for Mahmoud Khalil and ICE out of our communities!

— Sam Carliner (@saminthecan.bsky.social) 2025-03-28T17:04:18.117Z

Protests and demonstrations in solidarity with Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, and others targeted by the Trump administration are spreading. Labor unions which several targeted students belong to have launched campaigns and organized rallies in solidarity. Trump Tower in New York was flooded by demonstrators with Jewish Voice for Peace, who shut down the lobby of the building, demanding freedom for Khalil and denouncing fascist attacks on Palestinian solidarity activists.

Jewish Voice for Peace is occupying Trump tower to demand Mahmoud Khalil’s release, no muslim ban ever and to stop arming Israelwww.instagram.com/p/DHJWluoAV1v

— Elia Ayoub (@ayoub.bsky.social) 2025-03-13T19:10:12.111Z

Demonstrations in solidarity with targeted students have been organized across the country, mobilizing thousands in rallies and marches on campuses and in city centers. Students have organized walkouts on campus and at Columbia university in New York, Jewish students carried out a lockdown and rally to demand freedom for Khalil.

Western Washington labor showing up in solidarity with, and demanding the release of, union members who have been detained by ICE

— Richard Becker (@rbb360.bsky.social) 2025-03-28T00:55:31.003Z

Demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine have also continued on campus, with demonstrators at UCLA taking over a building demanding divestment from the UC board of regents.

🚨🚨🚨UCLA STUDENTS BUILDING TAKEOVERRIGHT NOW- students have take over the engineering 4 building & renamed it Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh"DISCLOSE, DIVEST, WE WILL NOT STOP WE WILL NOT REST!""UCPD KKK IOF YOURE ALL THE SAME!"

— People’s City Council – Los Angeles (@pplscitycouncil.bsky.social) 2025-03-19T18:47:30.273Z

Political Prisoner News

The campaign to free Chicano anarchist political prisoner Xinachtli recently held a public meeting in Austin, Texas.

The Rattling the Cages series of talks continues, and the most recent event, “Looking Back at the George Jackson Brigade,” can be watched online here.

A transcribed version of the George Jackson Brigade talk is available as a printed zine here, and the previous event, “Abolition is a Family Affair” has also now been turned into a zine. The zines and videos from all previous events are now collected on a single page at the Zinn Education Project.

Eric King also has another upcoming book, A Clean Hell: Anarchy and Abolition in America’s Most Notorious Dungeon, looking at experiences from the ADX Supermax. Other writing projects from former political prisoners include A Luta Continua, a zine series about global solidarity from James Kilgore, and City Time, a new history of Rikers’ Island from David Campbell and Jarrod Shanahan. You can read a review of City Time from Certain Days Collective member and Rattling the Cages co-editor Josh Davidson here. Josh Davidson also recently interviewed the author of a new biography of former political prisoner Martin Sostre.

The Certain Days Collective have now put out a call for submissions for the 2026 calendar, with a deadline of Friday, May 31st for outside contributors and June 14th for prisoner submissions.

Unicorn Riot have published a new video and accompanying article on Leonard Peltier’s release after 49 years in Federal custody.

Mumia Abu-Jamal was recently interviewed by Turkish outlet Evrensel.

As part of the Trump administration’s wider attacks on trans people, earth liberation prisoner Marius Mason has now been moved back to a women’s prison. You can now write to Marius by sending letters to:

Marie Mason #04672-061
FCI Danbury
Route 37
Danbury, CT 06811

Supporters of elderly Black Liberation prisoner Imam Jamil Al-Amin, formerly known as H Rap Brown, are finishing a documentary about his case, and are seeking donations to help finish the film and get it released.

Brian “Peppy” DiPeppa has recently shared short statements, saying:

When I read your letters, my soul escapes this place to walk alongside you, to commune; and with a big inhale I share our smiles with others experiencing incarceration. Thank you for reaching through these windowless walls. Respect and solidarity to all the bravehearts!

And:

May we find inspiration and creativity in these challenging times. Let us be guided by friendship and self determination. May we mind our pace, study our ancestors, listen to our storytellers and run towards expansive freedom and autonomy. Solidarity to all those held captive by the state and their loved ones on the outside, your work is felt even if it is not always the most visible.

Peppy has recently been moved to a new facility. Write to Peppy here:

Brian DiPippa #66590-510
FCI Elkton
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O Box 10
Lisbon, OH 44432

George Floyd Uprising Defendants, Stop Cop City and Other Ongoing Cases

11 out of 12 defendants facing charges in a case connected to resistance against the Mountain Valley Pipeline recently accepted non-cooperating plea deals, which did not involve any prison or jail time. An interview with one of the defendants has now been turned into a printable zine.

The new wave of resistance against Musk and Tesla has already begun leading to some arrests, with one woman in Colorado facing felony charges for alleged actions against Tesla dealerships. 404 Media have published an article on how three alleged Tesla vandals were identified by law enforcement, and an archived, non-paywalled version, is available here.

Cara and Celeste, who are facing charges connected to an alleged mink liberation action, have a court date scheduled for April 21st in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, where the defense will present a motion arguing for their charges to be dismissed. Donations to their legal funds can be made via Philly ABC here.

Several defendants from the Stop Cop City RICO case have filed civil lawsuits seeking damages from the City of Atlanta and Atlanta police over their treatment. The Final Straw Radio also recently broadcast an interview with one of the RICO defendants alongside one of the organizers of the upcoming Stop Cop City: Imaginary Crimes tour, which will be visiting over 60 cities.

The support crew for Jack in Atlanta have released an update for March:

We just wanted to provide a brief update on where things are at with Jack and his case. First, some good news! Jack was recently given permission to leave Georgia for a week to spend time with his family in Florida. He was able to leave the Atlanta metro-area for the first time in over a year and was able to jump in the (freezing cold) ocean which brought him a lot of joy (see above :^)). He also just celebrated his birthday and was grateful to spend it with friends and family after spending his last one in Fulton County Jail.

Jack’s case continues to move forward at a very slow pace. His last court date was on December 2^nd. At this court date the state argued 8 motions to admit various things into trial. These included alleged reimbursements from the nonprofit entity at the center of the stop cop city RICO case for things like stickers and yard signs, photos of Jack from the city council meeting where funding for cop city was approved, and a video and article that the state alleges connect Jack to a New Years Zapatista gathering in the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico. The prosecution believe these things prove that Jack is a leader of the movement. They did not, however, demonstrate how any of these things are related to the act he is being charged with. The Judge was skeptical of the states narrative and told the prosecution that they should not expect anything related to the RICO case to be admitted. She said she would have to review the motions before issuing a verdict on them and that she would do so before the end of 2024. As of March 2025, she has not ruled on the motions and no next court date has been scheduled.

It has been over a year now since Jack was arrested in his home. He continues to have an ankle monitor and an 8pm curfew despite not being convicted of any crime. In the face of this state repression, Jack remains strong and grateful for all the support he has in his life.

We still need to raise the remaining funds required for Jack’s legal defense, consider dropping him some coin for his birthday. Tabling materials and additional resources can be found here, please continue to uplift Jack and all Stop Cop City defendants!

With love
-Jack Support Crew

An updated zine of current George Floyd uprising prisoners is available to print here, along with a zine of recent writings from Portland uprising prisoner Malik Muhammad. Pennsylvania uprising defendant Khalif Miller has now completed his federal sentence and been moved to a state prison to serve a state sentence for violating parole. His new address is:

Khalif Miller
#QQ9287
Camp Hill
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733

The ongoing state attack on reproductive rights has escalated, with the Texas Attorney General bringing felony charges against a midwife for allegedly providing abortions. An article from TruthOut write:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the arrest of Maria Margarita Rojas on March 17. The Houston-area midwife faces up to 20 years in prison for allegedly performing illegal abortions — a second-degree felony — and practicing medicine without a license. The chilling announcement marks Texas’s first criminal case against a health care provider since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Two of Rojas’s employees, Jose Ley and Rubildo Matos, were also arrested.

Before her arrest, Rojas ran Clínicas Latinoamericanas, a group of low-cost health clinics primarily serving northwest Houston’s Spanish-speaking community. Three facilities were effectively shut down on March 20, when a judge granted a temporary restraining order filed by Paxton’s office. Patients seeking affordable, necessary health care such as ultrasounds, vaccinations and medical exams for immigration procedures will now have to look elsewhere for services.

The Trumpian DOJ has moved to charge Luigi Mangione, suspect in the killing of a United Healthcare CEO, with the death penalty.

Fight Against Mass Deportations and Detention

Attacks on immigrant communities continue to ramp up, as people mobilize to push back. TruthOut have published an article looking at ICE’s partnership with companies such as GEO Group to provide the capacity for mass incarceration of migrants. In one example of this, CoreCivic plans to re-open a recently closed detention center to hold families in South Texas.

Recent examples of high-profile attacks on migrant activists have included the detention of Jeanette Vizguerra in Colorado and Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino in Washington. Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian engineering student, has also been detained in Alabama on unclear grounds.

La Resistencia continue their long-running work organizing with detainees at the Northwest Detention Center, and report that Venezuelan migrants detained at the NWDC are facing potential transfer to Arizona and then to Guantanamo or El Salvador’s brutal prisons, despite their requests for deportation. A mass rally was recently held outside of the NWDC. The Seattle Times reported:

Hundreds of union members and other protesters gathered outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma on Thursday evening to rally against the detainment of two Washington residents being held there.

The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, called on union members and community supporters to gather outside the Northwest ICE Processing Center to demand the release of “union siblings” Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez and Lewelyn Dixon, both of whom have lived in the U.S. since they were young teenagers.

Juarez, a 25-year-old union farmworker and activist, was arrested Tuesday morning in Sedro-Woolley while driving his partner to work. A member of the Indigenous Mexican Mixteco community, Juarez has organized for farmworker rights in Washington since he was 14 years old. Other union organizers said they feared Juarez was targeted by ICE because of his activism.

Dixon, a green card holder, is an SEIU Local 925 member who works as a lab technician at UW Medicine. She has lived in the U.S. for more than five decades, having left the Philippines when she was 14. Friday will be Dixon’s one-month mark of being held at the facility.

Protesters framed the arrests not only as attacks on immigrants but also attacks on union workers and free speech rights. Several people held signs calling Juarez a “political prisoner.”

The Tacoma chapter of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) reported on the recent rally outside of the facility:

Solidarity with all immigrants and refugees! Today, we attended the rally at the Northwest Detention Center right here in Tacoma to support all immigrants detained in immigration detention.

The labor movement showed up in force, multiple labor unions, community members and organizations demanding the release of immigrant union members and leaders, Lewelyn Dixon member of SEIU Local 925 and union leader Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez of Familias Unidas por la Justicia

We know that these attacks against immigrant and undocumented communities as well as labor unions by the capitalist class have been happening for decades, even centuries at this point. They are systemic and structural, and are part of the root causes; capitalism, imperialism and colonialism. We continue the fight!

Mother Jones has a detailed story on the cases of Venezuelans who have already been labelled as gang members and sent to El Salvador, with many of them seeming to have been targeted solely on the basis of having tattoos.

A new “United States Disappeared Tracker” can be found here.

Labor union for Kilmar Garcia, who the Trump administration claims was sent "by mistake" to horrific hard-labor prison camp, puts out statement condemning this atrocity. In #Maryland, Garcia's wife and community are also rallying in protest to demand his return. www.smart-union.org/smart-stands…

— It's Going Down (@igd.bsky.social) 2025-04-04T19:28:44.649Z

The labor union which Maryland resident Kilmar Garcia belongs to has issued a statement attacking his deportation to a hard-labor prison camp in El Salvador. According to the Trump administration, his removal was caused “by mistake.” A judge has recently ruled that the Trump administration must return him to the US and Garcia’s family is currently holding demonstrations in solidarity with his battle to fight deportation.

The Trump administration has dropped a lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs, a private company running migrant shelters which was accused of widespread child abuse. The Texas Tribune reports:

According to allegations in the 2024 lawsuit, Southwest Key employees, including supervisors, raped, inappropriately touched or solicited sex and nude images of children beginning in 2015 and possibly earlier… Children were warned not to report the alleged abuse and threatened with violence against themselves or their families if they did, according to the lawsuit. Victims testified that in some instances, other workers knew about the abuse but failed to report or concealed it, the complaint said.

Oakland Abolition & Solidarity took part in a recent demonstration against the proposal to re-open FCI Dublin as an ICE detention center. They report:

A coalition of immigration advocates, prison survivors, abolitionists and others mobilized and initiated the call for a mass demonstration in Dublin on March 1. We and dozens of other groups endorsed the call.

From a thank you email from the Dublin Prison Solidarity Coalition to the hundreds of people who attended and supported the call:

“As organizers of the March 1 ICE OUT OF DUBLIN rally, we want to thank all of you tremendously for demonstrating our collective demand that the shuttered Dublin women’s prison never be turned into an ICE detention center!

Over 500 people heard powerful testimony from Dublin abuse survivors, ICE detention survivors, and their loved ones about the horrors of staff sexual abuse, medical neglect, retaliation, solitary confinement, and family separation in both Bureau of Prison (BOP) and ICE facilities. We waved banners and homemade signs, chanted, distributed flyers and informational cards, and committed ourselves to continuing this fight.

They also highlight that California governor Gavin Newsom has vowed to veto a bill that would limit collaboration between the California prison system and ICE.

Our March newsletter is out!- Hundreds turn out against reopening FCI-Dublin for ICE detention- Mills College's push for its own police department implodes- The latest b.s. from Gov Newsom- Fighting back against anti-homeless ordinances- How to support and tap in!mailchi.mp/6e7949422cfe…

— Oakland Abolition & Solidarity (@oaklandabosol.bsky.social) 2025-03-15T16:32:31.904Z

Demonstrations and protests continue across the US against ICE. Students continue to organize walkouts against attacks on migrants, communities are banding together to denounce ICE raids, and rallies call for the closure of ICE prisons and to denounce collaboration with law enforcement.

Northeastern University Police Scheme Defeated

Oakland Abolition & Solidarity report that a recent attempt to create a new police department for Northeastern University in Oakland has now been abandoned. They write:

Last month it was reported that the administration of Mills College, now a subsidiary campus of Northeastern University, was trying to create its own new police department that would police not only the campus but a vast swath of the flatlands of East Oakland and had pledged $20 million to make it happen.

Central to this scheme was Clay Burch, a former OPD captain who scored a gig as the “Global Site Security/Regional Security Director” for Northeastern. Burch partnered up with “East Oakland Neighbors”, a group recently brought to life last month by two people who do not live in East Oakland. EON has only one project – an advocacy campaign to pressure the city into welcoming this new police department. The initial proposal by Northeastern was detailed in a Memorandum of Understanding  presented to the city in August 2024  is the product of lobbying the city on “campus security” since 2023. The proposal though was blocked by the City Attorney who cited legal problems with the project as it was then described. The response of EON was to plan a networking and public relations campaign dubbed “Special Election Initiative” looking to extract pledges of support for this police department from candidates in Oakland’s upcoming April special election for mayor.

EON embarked upon creating a series of surveys, the first of which was circulated in February. The hope was to use these survey results as a tool to spin the imposition of  more police as a legitimate and popular demand.

The first survey is over and we here at AbSol have obtained the results. And as skewed and curated as the survey questions were, the results aren’t exactly delivering what EON was looking for:

– 67.5% of the 400 plus respondents explicitly opposed the creation of a university based police department
– Majority of respondents replied they felt “reasonably safe,”citing “traffic safety” most often as their public safety concern.

So is the project moving forward?

Well, after the press coverage of the surprising scheme and an ad hoc mobilization of Oaklanders opposed to more policing, Northeastern is disavowing Clay Burch who suddenly no longer works for Northeastern. Resigned? Fired? Northeastern refuses to specify but either way, Northeastern wasn’t happy and Burch is gone.

“Recent reports and rumors that Northeastern University is planning to build a police force to patrol and surveill East Oakland are categorically false and completely without merit. No such agreement exists. Assertions to the contrary made to East Oakland Neighbors and the Oaklandside reporters are false and misleading. The information these assertions were based on were attributed to a former Northeastern employee who misrepresented the university’s position.” – Nikki Lowy, Northeastern’s “Director of City & Community Outreach & Programming” in an email to EON

So Burch is gone, Northeastern isn’t pushing the project as initially described and the fakey “neighborhood group” is left empty handed having gotten survey results that leave their doomloop narrative and push for more cops unsupported.

With Northeastern hitting “reset”,  EON has called off their  “Special Election Initiative” while turning their focus towards possible future schemes.

Stay tuned.

To get in touch with the Oakland residents mobilizing ad hoc around this, you can email oaklandcare@protonmail.com

For more reporting, see this article for Oakland Side.

Abolitionist Organizing Updates

Crimethinc has published a report from the recent Florida Abolitionist Gathering. From the report:

From February 28 to March 2, hundreds of abolitionists and anarchists from across the country converged in Gainesville for the first Florida Abolitionist Gathering (FAG). Across a passionate weekend of workshops, films, food, debate, ritual, and protest, the contours of a robust regional resistance movement came into focus. The intergenerational, heavily queer and trans, and strongly multi-issue and anarchist group of abolitionists that converged in Florida articulated an expansive vision of liberation anchored in the urgent need to dismantle the prison-industrial complex in all its manifestations. The gathering showed that even as liberals wring their hands about the death of democracy, scrappy groups of organizers continue to fight back—and sometimes win—deep within the belly of the beast.

Mongoose Distro has recently shared a new edition of the prisoner zine IB64, parts two, three and four in Sean Swain’s series of letters to the Ohio prison system director Annette Chambers-Smith, and a direct action report from the Texas prison system from Comrade Z. Comrade Z is appealing for more people to get involved in organizing with him, and can be contacted through Securus or by writing to:

Julio A. Zuniga “Z” #1961551
PO Box 660400
Dallas, TX 75266-0400

Reports from prisoners also suggest that the Hughes Unit and Roach Unit in the Texas prison system both saw uprisings recently, although there is no outside media coverage of this at present.

In Indiana, IDOC Watch have established Solidarity Links, a new emergency phone line, and recently organized phone zaps in support of Muslim prisoners facing harassment during Ramadan and Khalfani Malik Khaldun who had been moved to the mental health unit, both at New Castle CF.

Jailhouse Lawyers Speak continue to fundraise for their Housing & Resource Centre, which is now functioning but needs a privacy fence.

The Sundiata Jawanza freedom campaign are still requesting that people write letters in support of his parole application, with a deadline of May 19, 2025. An upcoming “Unchain Sundiata Jawanza – Free ‘Em All!” letter-writing event is planned for April 15th, both in-person in Pittsburgh and remotely through zoom.

A fundraiser event for Lucasville Uprising prisoner Greg Curry, featuring house DJs, art by Lucasville prisoners, and a call from Greg himself, was held in Detroit at the end of March. More updates about Greg’s freedom campaign can be found at his support team’s instagram.

Bloomington ABC are holding an event on Sunday April 6th to help form new support networks for queer prisoners.

The Final Straw Radio recently interviewed Ohio prisoner Jay Ward about a hunger strike he was taking part in. You can contact Jay at:

James Ward A517461
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Mail Processing Center (OMPC)
884 Coitsville-Hubbard Road
Youngstown, Ohio 44505

The new prisoner support formation UPROAR has organized a number of phone zaps supporting Kevin “Rashid” Johnson and other prisoners at Red Onion State Prison in Virginia. You can keep up with them at their instagram or through their contact form here.

Rashid himself recently published a new interview on the 2016 prison strikes, as well as articles on the racial double standard in charges against abusive prison guards, the role of rural Virgininia prisons in propping up local economies, and the use of attack dogs in the Virginia prison system.

Fight Over Death Penalty Continues

March saw a notable spike in executions across the US. The scheduled execution of David Wood in Texas was blocked by a court, but Jessie Hoffman Jr was executed in the first Louisiana execution for 15 years, along with Aaron Gunches in Arizona, Wendell Grissom in Oklahoma and Edward James in Florida. Moises Sandoval Mendoza is currently scheduled to be executed in Texas on April 23rd.

General Prison News and Abolitionist Media Updates

Why is the government obsessed with labeling activists on the left terrorists?Find out on our first episode — “Everyone’s a Terrorist with @mloadenthal.bsky.social ” — out now wherever you get your podcasts.

— Outlaw Podcast (@outlawpod.bsky.social) 2025-03-19T19:27:04.600Z

There’s a new podcast out, Outlaw, which discusses state repression and resistance movements pushing back against it.

A Texas lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow trans people to be charged with “gender identity fraud,” although it seems unlikely that the bill will make it into law in the near future.

The Texas prison system is facing continued criticism for its failure to respond to a DoJ investigation which found that children in Texas’ juvenile prisons were subject to excessive force, sexual abuse and prolonged isolation.

Inquest magazine has published a major report on the prisoners burning themselves at Red Onion in Virginia, along with an article by Virginia prisoner Shebri Dillon on how she ended up with a 39-year sentence.

Jarrod Shanahan has a new interview in Truthout looking at the recent New York prison guard strike in wider historical and social context.

Incarcerated Texas writer Jason Renard Walker has published three new articles on the Trump administration, looking at his authoritarian policies and nazi symbolism, racist dogwhistles, and contradictions and lies.

Unicorn Riot continues to cover Minnesota prisoner Philip Vance’s efforts to overturn his conviction, and also published a new article on criminal charges being brought against Michelle Skroch, the director of nursing who was in charge of the Beltrami County Jail in Minnesota at the time that 27-year-old inmate Hardel Sherrell was killed by medical neglect.

International

Freedom News has a report from a talk given by former UK anarchist prisoner Toby Shone in Brighton. Sean Middlebrough, a Palestine solidarity prisoner held in the UK prison system, has started a podcast, Diaries of a Political Prisoner. Novara Media has a new article on the Filton 18 in the UK, and which you can read here. From the report:

As things stand, Kamio’s trial is set for November 2025 – 15 months after her initial arrest along with nine fellow activists affiliated to protest group Palestine Action. Until then she will languish in prison, serving the equivalent of a two and a half year sentence without being found guilty of any crime. When the group finally stands before a jury, there is a strong chance they will not be convicted. Over the last four years, Palestine Action’s activists have often been acquitted by juries on the grounds of “necessity to save Palestinians lives”.

On 6 August, Palestine Action published a video which it said showed “a glimpse of how actionists used a repurposed prison van to break inside” the facility. The video shows a van crashing through a fence as activists shout “go, go go!” This was the first time Palestine Action targeted Elbit’s £35m research and development site in Filton, and the action cost the company over £1m in damages.

Elbit, the maker of the Iron Sting precision-guided bomb, provides up to 85% of the land-based equipment procured by the Israeli military and about 85% of its drones, according to Database of Israeli Military and Security Export. It has over a dozen sites across the UK. Palestine Action claims that its disruptive protests are behind the closure of three of them.

On 6 August, and in the days after, police swooped on Kamio and nine others. In late November, the police made a further eight arrests via another spree of home raids across the UK, some at gunpoint. The group, most of whom are in their twenties or thirties, are currently being held at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, HMP Bronzefield and HMP Eastwood Park on charges of criminal damage, violent disorder and aggravated burglary, albeit with a “terrorism link” that the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) says it will argue at the point of sentencing.

Ellie’s mother Emma was also arrested in the days after the Filton action, on suspicion of affray and aggravated burglary. Emma, a small business-owner living in Wales, said riot police raided her home without a warrant, despite having already arrested her daughter. “I was half naked [when they came in],” she said “They seized my work laptop, and my 16-year-old’s school laptop, handcuffed me and then led me away.”

Emma was kept by the police in solitary confinement for five days. “I disappeared from my family almost a week before they released me without charge and without apology, my life and my business upside down. I was left traumatised, in prison scrubs, 150 miles from my home, feeling like an animal. [My crime] was raising a young woman with a great moral compass.”

The International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund have been supporting defendants facing charges for resisting deportations in London, and report that so far, three groups of defendants, numbering 14 in total, have all either had their charges dropped or been acquitted.

Unoffensive Animal have managed to interview Sindre, a Swedish animal liberation prisoner who has just been released from a closed psychiatric ward.

Chilean anarchists have issued an international call for anarchist and anti-carceral poets. Meanwhile, Chilean anarchist prisoner Marcelo Villarroel has reached 17 years in prison, having been held for over a year past the end of his sentence. Chilean comrades have also shared an update on the case of anarchist prisoners Aldo and Lucas Hernandez, as well as the conditions of isolation faced by anarchist prisoner Francisco Solar.

My report for @thenation.com on Viktor Orbán's attempt to track down counter-demonstrators of a 2023 neo-Nazi rally in Budapest. A French court will soon decide on the extradition of one of them: Rexhino "Gino" Abajaz.www.thenation.com/article/worl…

— Harrison Stetler (@harrstetler.bsky.social) 2025-03-27T11:04:28.374Z

Salvatore “Ghespe” Vespertino, an anarchist accused of an explosive attack against a fascist bookstore in Italy, has been arrested in Spain and extradited to Italy, where he is now being held in Spoleto prison.

Greek anarchist prisoner Nikos Maziotis has shared new writings, including one looking at his case and the history of the Revolutionary Struggle group, and a contribution given to the launch of his comrade Pola Roupa’s book “State Against Commune.”

Moscow ABC report that 18-year-old anarchist Lyubov Lizunova has been transferred to a prison colony in Tomsk, and have shared birthday greetings for anarchist prisoner Andrey Chernov.

The Nation has published an important report on the Budapest Antifa case and the Europe-wide co-operation with Orban’s far-right government in attacking antifascists. Gino, one of the defendants, has now been released, and faces a hearing on April 9 which will decide if he is deported from from France to Hungary.

Uprising Defendants

See Uprising Support for more info, and check out the Antirepression PDX site for updates from Portland cases. You can also check With Whatever Weapons for regularly-updated zines listing current prisoners. To the best of our knowledge they currently include:

Tyre Means 49981-086
USP Victorville
US Penitentiary
P.O. Box 3900
Adelanto, CA 92301

Margaret Channon 49955-086
FCI Tallahassee
P.O. Box 5000
Tallahassee, FL 32314

Malik Muhammad #23935744
Snake River Correctional
777 Stanton Blvd
Ontario, OR 97914

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

Matthew White #21434-041
USP Terre Haute
PO Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808

Matthew Rupert #55013-424
USP Big Sandy
US Penitentiary
P.O. Box 2068
Inez, KY 41224

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

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

Khalif Miller #QQ9287
Camp Hill
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733

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

John Wade #1003510744
PO Box 3877
Jackson, GA 30233

Aline Espinosa-Villegas #22814-509
FMC Carswell
P.O. Box 27137
Fort Worth, Texas 76127

Address letter to Angel, address envelope to Aline A Espinosa-Villegas.

Mujera Benjamin Lunga’ho #08572-509
FCI Beaumont Medium
P.O. Box 26040
Beaumont, TX 77720

Christopher Tindal 04392-509
FCI Cumberland
PO Box 1000
Cumberland, MD 21501

Upcoming Birthdays

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah

Lebanese revolutionary political prisoner held in French prisons since 1984. There is currently a call for an international day of solidarity on April 2nd, and April 17 is traditionally observed as Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. A court recently ordered his release, but the French state appealed against the ruling, so the final decision is currently scheduled to be made in June.

Birthday: April 2

Address:

Mr. Georges Ibrahim ABDALLAH
2388/A221
CP de Lannemezan
204 rue des Saligues
BP 70166
65307 LANNEMEZAN
France

Hanna/Anna Pyshnik

Hanna Pyshnik (Chympajesh) was detained on 22 March 2022 in Mozyr and shares anti-fascist views. According to the prosecution, she “shot a video of helicopters and sent it to a destructive media resource” – Art. 361-4 of the Criminal Code (assistance to an extremist formation).

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: April 2

Address:

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

Pyshnik (Chimpoyesh) Anna Gennadyevna
IK № 4, ul. Antoshkina 3, Gomel, 246035

Roy Brown

Ferguson rebel convicted of looting during the Ferguson uprising, along with other unrelated robbery charges. Missouri uses Securus, so you can send him a message by going to securustech.net, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Missouri, Inmate ID: 1310047”.

Birthday: April 20

Address:

Roy Brown #1310047
C/O Digital Mail Center-Missouri DOC
PO Box 25678
Tampa, FL 33622-5678

Pavel Shpteny

Pavel Shpetny was detained on 2 March 2021 under a criminal case against the anarchist movement from Brest region. ABC Belarus add “We are unaware of his political views, but since he is detained under the anarchists’ case, we consider it important to support him in every possible way.”

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: April 22

Address:

(Belarusian or Russian letters only – use this form for English messages)
IK № 2, ul. Sikorskogo, 1 g. Bobruysk, 213800, Belarus
Pavel Aleksandrovich Shpetny

Mumia Abu-Jamal

Mumia is an award winning journalist and was one of the founders of the Black Panther Party chapter in Philadelphia, PA. He has struggled for justice and human rights for people of color since he was at least 14 years old; the age when he joined the Party. In December of 1982, Mumia, who moonlighted by driving a taxi, happened upon police who were beating his brother. During the melee, a police officer was shot and killed. Despite the fact that many people saw someone else shoot and then run away from the scene, Mumia, in what could only be called a kangaroo court, was convicted and sentenced to death. During the summer of 1995, a death warrant was signed by Governor Tom Ridge, which sparked one of the most effective organizing efforts in defense of a political prisoner ever. Since that time, Mumia has had his death sentence overturned, but still has a life sentence with no opportunity for parole.

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 Mumia as a contact by searching his name or “AM8335.”

Birthday: April 24

Address:

Smart Communications/PA DOC
Mumia Abu-Jamal #AM8335
SCI Mahanoy
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733

Janiis Mathis

A former Vaughn 17 defendant.

Delaware uses Pigeonly for digital mail services.

Birthday: April 24

Address:

Janiis Mathis
SBI# 00492275
Delaware DOC – 1101
PO Box 96777
Las Vegas, NV 89193

cover photo: Tacoma IWW