In Contempt #56: DFW Support Committee on Resisting Repression, Casey Goonan Launches Hunger Strike, Reports of Uprising at Alligator Alcatraz

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!

Feature: Interview with Dallas Fort Worth Support Committee on Pushing Back Against Repression

We we reported in last month’s column, a wave of repression has hit the DFW region of Texas, following a noise demo outside of an ICE facility in July. As a recent statement from the DFW chapter of the National Lawyers Guild wrote about the case:

On July 4th, a noise demonstration took place outside of the ICE Prairieland Detention Center in Texas. What was a typical pro-immigrant protest has turned into a massive federal investigation, with 16 defendants now facing criminal charges. The National Lawyers Guild (NLG), the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, the TexOma region of the NLG, the San Antonio Chapter of the NLG, and the Mass Defense Committee of the NLG stand in support of the Prairieland Defendants.

Community members went to the Prairieland Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Alvarado, Texas, to rally against ICE’s violent and relentless attacks on immigrants, and to express solidarity with those imprisoned inside the detention center. There was a planned noise demonstration at the facility, where fireworks were used, and other loud noises were made. Making noise outside of jails is an extremely common form of protest, extending solidarity to those behind bars. As the rally went on, ICE agents called the local police department. After local police arrived, one officer claimed to have sustained a minor injury to his neck by what the state claims was a gunshot. In response, the government has arrested 16 people, some through raids and traffic stops. Yet, through all of the federal government’s criminal complaints, only two people have been described as alleged shooters.

Due to unchecked state repression, people present at the noise demonstration are now facing decades of prison time and years of pre-trial detention, regardless of their actions or knowledge. For weeks, local and federal agents have terrorized friends and family members of those arrested at the rally, serving no-knock warrants and conducting widespread surveillance. Multiple people arrested were not even at the demonstration on July 4th. Most defendants remain detained without formal charges, without legal representation, and in limbo between state and federal jurisdiction. Finding attorneys has been extremely difficult given the incredibly repressive behavior of the government.

We are witnessing state repression in real time. It is clear that police and prosecutors hope that the deplorable conditions of imprisonment will break the defendants and compel cooperation under duress. State and federal agents are wielding their power to silence people who dissent, to terrify and deter the public from exercising their rights to protest, and to make an example of the Prairieland Defendants in order to quash anti-ICE speech. The government seems determined to criminalize everyone even remotely related to the July 4th rally, regardless of their level of involvement. The flurry of arrests and severe charges are meant to suppress political organizing and free speech.

Lawyers who have visited the defendants say Johnson County Jail’s conditions are reprehensible. At least two defendants have been placed in solitary confinement without any explanation. One defendant was forced to clean the walls of feces left by a previously held prisoner. The defendants’ ability to communicate with friends and family outside the jail has been restricted at least twice, without any notice or explanation. At least three of the defendants are being strip-searched regularly, even though they are in solitary confinement. Two of the defendants are vegan and were not fed appropriate food. The jail has denied multiple defendants necessary medical accommodations such as a basic pillow and blood pressure medication, resulting in serious pain and potentially lasting injury. Additionally, trans individuals have been dead-named and misgendered by the jail, the media, and their own state-appointed attorneys, even though their names have been legally changed to reflect their gender.

Making matters worse, the majority of the defendants are under federal investigations, yet are still being held on state charges. The state’s actions reflect their aim to criminalize people who stand up to ICE’s excesses. We have seen similar repression in Atlanta, Georgia, Spokane, Washington, and Los Angeles, California. It is abominable to arrest and detain people simply for their proximity to an alleged offense, in the absence of probable cause. The state’s case has failed to afford the defendants their due process and is a clear violation of their rights.

So far, a fundraiser has been launched to support those arrested, a zine has been made to print out and distribute, and a website has also been set up. Wanting to know more about the campaign to support those facing repression, we reached out for an interview with the DWF Support Committee.

IC: Can you tell us about what’s been happening in Texas this month?

DFWSC: The month of July was really hard. The Trump administration and its FBI have been relentlessly terrorizing friends and family of the defendants across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, raiding their homes, and in one case, literally tackling them on the street and placing with a bag over their head in an attempt to force them to talk. The repression that we are experiencing is like nothing that we have dealt with before. This has also meant the total number of defendants has increased, mostly, it seems, following a manhunt for someone the state alleges was involved with the protest on July 4th. The total number of defendants we’re aware of is now seventeen.

On the legal front, things remain at a standstill. In Texas, you can be held without being formally indicted on a case like this for at least 90 days, and until the federal government decides to move forward, they can leave people in detention limbo. We’ve heard lawyers call this “the speedy trial loophole,” and it means defendants do not have access to federal public defenders; the few defendants who have been assigned state-level public defenders have been told by those very lawyers that they won’t talk to the defendants until they are formally indicted by the state. Most defendants need to go the public defender route at this point because, given their charges, private lawyers are quoting extremely high retainer fees. It’s a very stressful situation because people are really suffering in this shitty county jail with very minimal access to lawyers. It leaves us asking, Why is nothing moving? If the government thinks it has such a strong case, why not move forward? Honestly, at this point, we suspect the state prosecutors and the feds are stuck. They probably have no evidence of the outlandish claims they’re making, and they want to memory hole our loved ones so that no one asks any questions and everyone subsequently forgets about them. But we won’t let the state do that to our friends and family.

The big positive of the last few weeks has been the efforts to bring people together so that we can remain strong, both for ourselves and for our people inside. This includes making sure that other people know about their stories and what is happening to our loved ones. Isolation only furthers the state’s power. We win when we stick together. The initial protest was an effort to show solidarity with those detained and brutalized by ICE, and so we on the outside need to follow that intention and show bravery and solidarity of our own.

IC: Can you tell us the ways that people’s rights have been violated following the raids? A recent update posted to GiveSendGo paints a very frightening picture, alleging that people have been offered bribes and denied legal counsel. What’s going on?

DFWSC: The state continues with their wave of force against the defendants and their families and friends. Johnson County Jail gives defendants the runaround by providing inconsistent information about the length of time defendants have supposedly lost access to commissary and in-person visits for being “on punishment.” Defendants have informed us that they have been put in solitary with no explanation as to why. One reported that they were moved to a solitary unit where the cell walls were covered in feces, and they were given rags and made to clean the feces.

We truly do not know the full extent of the defendants’ experiences in the jail because we are just now beginning to have more consistent contact with some of the defendants. Legal counsel has been minimal, and even then, the jail has even denied some lawyers visitation when they’ve gone to see the defendants. In Texas, you are required to file paperwork proving you can’t afford a lawyer before a state attorney is assigned to you. Our people’s paperwork has been denied for being apparently ‘incomplete,’ even though the jail itself instructed the defendants to fill out minimal information on the forms.

Friends have been detained and interrogated just for going to visit folks. Defendants are being violated by regular strip searches, sometimes even multiple within a day even when they’re held in solitary. This process also includes correction officers ransacking people’s cells, and in one case, taking a defendant’s notes from their lawyer meetings. This is obviously a scare tactic intended to isolate the defendants from the outside world and leave them vulnerable.

IC: What are the best ways for people to support the defendants at the moment?

DWFSC: The GiveSendGo fundraiser is a great way for people who have extra funds to throw in for legal support. We also ask that people write to the defendants and show that there are people out there who do care and support them. We all know the horrors of the carceral system, so we need to let the defendants know they aren’t alone in there.

Some people have started organizing letter writing events and fundraisers across the country. We really appreciate that kind of initiative, solidarity, and momentum. Our main goal right now is making sure our people inside know that they’re loved and supported, and it’s great to see so many people from around the world coming out to show that. We want to encourage more solidarity across struggles and geographies.

IC: It seems like the case really hasn’t made the news in wider anti-Trump circles, do you have any thoughts about why that is? Are there any requests you would make of people in terms of helping to publicize the situation?

DWFSC: We think this is a test case for how the state enacts their repression of the left and liberation struggles moving forward. We already see that they have started moving and arresting people in the Pacific Northwest. But in terms of the larger media narrative, we don’t really have a good answer on that. It’s possible they don’t want this to reach the public eye for a couple different reasons. They can see that people are already angry, that people are already standing up. Something like this depicted across mass media could inspire people to take more action or enrage more people that the state is suppressing protestors like this. The government wants to carry out its political repression as clandestinely as possible. They don’t want to show how angry people are, they don’t want the larger public to know that people are rising up, that people have the power to resist and protest their government, that normal people have the power to stand together and take action in the face of authoritarianism. It could also be just the brief nature of news cycle; now that the initial fantastical story has passed, the state hasn’t released any more tantalizing evidence. They haven’t released the video footage they allegedly have, they haven’t moved forward with any legal process, they’re just sitting on it. So there’s a very real possibility the government is realizing they overplayed their hand and want to keep things in the confusing haze of the early days.

As for how people can spread the word about this situation, the best answer would be to talk about it: talk about it with your groups, your friends, your families. Share the story across social media platforms. We’re really grateful some folks have started making some graphics and posts about this situation. The main message to share is that the official government story makes no sense and that the real terror is the groups of armed masked officers kidnapping people off the street. This is something that doesn’t have to be spoken about in purely leftist circles. This is a story of authoritarian oppression, and it won’t stop with us.

IC: It seems like there’s a danger where on the one hand, there’s a temptation to erase the militancy from a movement to appeal to liberal supporters, and then on the other hand, people can just glamorize images of militancy in a way that can actually let the state set the agenda by not questioning what really happened. Do you have any thoughts on how to avoid these traps?

DWFSC: The fact of the matter is that we don’t know what happened that night. With so little information like this, it can be an easy trap to fall into, to regurgitate the state’s narrative. This is even more important when the claims in this case are so dubious. If you read the official complaints, you’ll see how little evidence there is, and the fact is that we know our people were planning on coming home that night. We know that there was a noise demonstration planned, and we know that the reason people planned any form of resistance to ICE is because of the authoritarian policies of the state, not only here in Texas but across the country. When talking about this situation, speak to what we do know: 1) people were arrested for protesting the government and 2) the state lies. Regardless of what happened on July 4th, no one deserves the treatment the defendants have been subjected to, and this whole situation is an attempt to squash dissent and destroy the movement.

For information you can follow along with updates on the GiveSendGo fundraiser and on the website.

IC: We’ve seen suggestions that two of the defendants are now cooperating – is there anything you can say about this, and how might it affect how support is organized going forward?

Because of the way this case is being handled and how slow it’s progressed on the legal front, it’s really difficult to discern the full picture of information like that. However, if you read the federal complaints, you’ll see some statements attributed to defendants, so it’s likely that, in the heat of initial arrest, some defendants made choices that we on the committee think were a mistake. But we consider that type of mistake very different from “cooperating.” For us “cooperating” means active and ongoing participation in the state building a case against other defendants. Everyone involved in the defense committee at this point is committed to solidarity, and we support people exercising their constitutional rights. This situation should be a good reminder to everyone else that the safest and smartest thing to say to the police is absolutely nothing. You have a right to remain silent, and you should use it.

IC: Anything else you’d like to state? 

DWFSC: We are currently coordinating a day of solidarity at the 90-day mark of the defendants’ arrests after the July 4th demo: Friday, October 3rd, 2025. The 90-day mark is significant because under Texas law, the defendants can only be held in jail for 90 days without an indictment.

Adam King, the sheriff of the Johnson County Jail, where most of the defendants are being held, was arrested and faces felony sexual harassment and retaliation charges as of August 28, 2025.

On August 7th, seventeenth person, Susan Kent, was arrested in relation to this case. Dario Sanchez was also indicted at the state level, unlike all other defendants with state charges.

Our fundraiser has also surpassed $30,000. All defendants have been assigned state public defenders or retained counsel at the state level. However, there has been no movement in the federal cases.

Defendants’ horrible jail conditions have continued however and many remain in solitary or segregated units away from the general population. Defendants are facing mandatory strip searches every time they leave their cells. To combat these conditions, we organized a few phone zaps targeting Johnson County Judge Christopher Boedeker, which seemed to reduce the number of strip searches to which defendants were being subjected.

Since this interview was conducted, the Defense Committee have issued a further statement:

We are aggrieved to report that the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has arrested another member of the Dallas-Fort Worth community in relation to the July 4th Prairieland ICE Detention Center protest, bringing the total number of defendants in the case to seventeen. This person, Susan Kent, was also a member of the DFW Support Committee, the defense committee for the Prairieland Defendants. Like the rest of the defendants, their bond amount is set to an absurd and prohibitive $10 million dollars. We denounce this escalation by the state in its desperate attempts to criminalize people showing solidarity with those being kidnapped by ICE and to undermine dissent against rising authoritarianism.

From the beginning, this case has been rife with inconsistencies, unbelievable accusations, and violence against the defendants and their loved ones. We do not know the state’s allegations against Susan, but we believe this arrest is part of the state’s attempt to terrorize the residents of Dallas-Fort Worth. To arrest someone well over a month after the July 4th event signals the state’s dogged attempt to tear through this community. Susan was actively working to support the defendants, to advocate for them to get the best legal defense possible and encourage them to exercise their constitutional rights. Forcing this person to endure the same horrific conditions as the defendants they were working to support fits the state’s tactics of repression in this case: brutalizing defendants’ family members, conducting violent raids, subjecting defendants to solitary confinement, incessantly strip searching defendants, and other cruelty, such as forcing a defendant to clean feces off the walls of their cell. This case is emblematic of the outrageous arrests happening around the country, including in Spokane, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, as well as the unnecessary federalization of police in Washington DC, all while legal cases against protestors in Los Angeles are falling apart due to lack of evidence. These actions by the state are not meant to seek justice or truth. They instead intend to terrify us and fracture solidarity among our movements. But we won’t let them succeed.

Our friends and loved ones sought to show support for immigrants and ICE detainees facing brutal violence at the hands of the state. The Prairieland defendants are not terrorists. The real terrorists are the ICE agents kidnapping people off the street, destroying families and communities. We are devastated at Susan’s arrest, but we are not deterred. We call on all those who support resistance and seek a freer world to stand up against this brutality and repression. For more information about the Prairieland defendants and how you can help raise funds for their defense, please go to dfwdefendants.wordpress.com or donate to the crowd fundraiser at givesendgo.com/supportDFWprotestors.

As well as the main fundraiser, a second has been set up to support the family of Maricela Rueda, and the Screwston Anti-Fascist Committee are now selling t-shirts and posters to fundraise for the defendants. You can find an updated version of the Prarieland Defendants support zine here, and another zine has been made specifically to highlight the case of Des Revol, along with a printable design for “zines are not a crime – free Des” buttons. You can find more about Des’ case at his Instagram.

Casey Goonan Kicks Off Hunger Strike in Solidarity with T. Hoxha

In the UK, Palestine-related pre-trial prisoner T Hoxha is on a hunger strike over her conditions, and has been joined by US prisoner Casey Goonan, who‘s next hearing is scheduled for September 23rd, The UK continues to see widespread repression against the Palestine solidarity movement in the wake of the banning of Palestine Action.

For a deep-dive on the hunger strike, check out a recent interview with Millennials Are Killing Capitalism here. A recent post to social media reported:

An immediate transfer of care for T Hoxha to a hospital in Northampton Healthcare Trust must be actioned. It is now day 21 of her hunger strike and medical neglect by your prison has since resulted in fever, persistent headache on the left side of her head, vomiting after taking vitamins, continued jaw pain, shedding hair and skin discoloration. Her condition is now considered in the “danger zone” by an advance nurse practitioner.

That an advanced nurse practitioner was not made aware of her case until Day 17 is incredibly improper practise for the treatment of prisoners on hunger strike, failing to begin a food refusal log until Day 5 of the hunger strike and failing to appropriately maintain this since as well as, the failure to provide consistent regular medical attention, providing electrolyte sachets and monitoring have proved HMP Peterborough to be incapable of fulfilling their duty of care to prisoners in their custody.

T has simply demanded her rights to fair treatment as an unconvicted prisoner of conscience. We are aware of the methods by which her rights are being removed by your prison as means of intimidation and isolation.

Another Sodexo prison, HMP Bronzefield, is currently in the media and public discourse due to two deaths, an assault and forced excessive lock up of prisoners last month. Given this, I am certain that HMP Peterborough will be soon also be investigated for direct medical neglect and abuse of authority in light of the seriousness of this matter.

The medical necessity of socialisation is a fact. Depriving T of the right to maintain correspondence with her community, or prevent her contribution to the improvement of your prison through work and classes indicates a concerted effort by the prison, you, to silence and allow physical harm to come to a prisoner in your care.

For a toolkit on how to support the hunger strike, go here. Casey also issued the following statement upon launching his hunger strike in solidarity, writing:

Today I learned about T Hoxha, a Pal Action prisoner in the UK who is on day 16 of their hunger strike at HMP Peterborough. As of 4pm eastern time, August 26, 2025, 2 out of 3 of her demands have been met, but she is still on strike to demand that the prison release the mail they have been withholding from her.

As captives imprisoned for our participation in the Palestinian liberation movement in the west, we have a responsibility to each other across borders to pursue our lives in prison with the same steadfastness as the Palestinian Prisoners movement held captive in ‘Israeli’ prisons.

The states we have been captured by are the enablers of the Zionist entity’s accelerated genocide of Palestinians, as well as the ongoing genocides of black and indigenous people who’s lands they continue to occupy.

As the Western left continues to move from crisis to crisis, avoiding their responsibilities to Palestine, we are all that we have. By we I am referring to people facing repression for their support for Palestine, the people who are truly sacrificing. Such as T Hoxha, who has suffered through 16 days of starvation just to get her mail.

The Palestine solidarity movement in the west cannot abandon people like her who have risked
their lives and continue to do so in resistance to the intolerable condition of genocide.

As of today one of my cellmates and I are on hunger strike at Santa Rita jail until her demands are met.

Solidarity with T Hoxha and all prisoners of the Palestine Solidarity movement!

Raze the walls!
Liberate all prisoners of the settler empire!
Casey Goonan

For more updates and ways to support Casey, go here. Check out a zine about the hunger strike here.

Black August and Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners

August sees two major dates in the prisoner solidarity calendar, Black August and the International Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners.

Texas prisoner Kwaneta Harris recently wrote on the importance of Black August for Truthout, and The Final Straw Radio interviewed Oregon uprising prisoner Malik Muhammad, who discussed their Black August practices and experiences.

Interview with anarchist prisoner, Malik Muhammad, serving a 10 year concurrent Oregon & Federal sentence for participation in the 2020 uprising speaks on organizing in prison, solitary confinement, communication with the outside, #BlackAugust & morethefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2025/08…

— The Final Straw Radio (@thefinalstrawradio.bsky.social) 2025-08-17T14:20:28.112Z

For the Week of Solidarity, The Final Straw interviewed a participant in the new Solidarity International project, which brings together a number of groups around the world including Blue Ridge and Philadelphia ABCs, and organized a discussion with people involved in supporting prisoners held in Belarus, Russia and the UK.

As yet there’s not a full list of events held during the week yet, but events confirmed so far include Berlin, Dresden, Potsdam, and Hamburg, Germany, and Bristol, UK.

Running Down the Walls

September 21st will see the 26th annual Running Down the Walls events happening all over. So far, events have been confirmed in New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, Eugene, OR, Chicago, IL, Bloomington, IL, Lowell, MA, Portland, OR, and Miami, FL. A Pushing Down the Walls event (burpee contest) will also be taking place on November 8th in Southern California.

Mumia Abu-Jamal Medical Alert

There’s an urgent medical alert for long-term Black Liberation prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose eyesight is rapidly deteriorating due to medical neglect. His support team write:

Mumia’s eyesight is deteriorating at an alarming rate.

An independent expert ophthalmologist has confirmed the progression of his eye disease by analyzing Mumia’s most recent eye exams. She reports that he needs surgery and medically necessary treatment “immediately” or faces the possibility of “permanent blindness.”

Mumia’s vision has plummeted from 20/30 with glasses in 2024 (near normal) to 20/200 today—legally blind—because the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PA DOC)failed to adequately monitor his vision and delayed his urgently necessary medical treatment and surgery. The PA DOC has known since at least March of 2025 that Mumia needed eye surgery. Exams from 2024 – 2025 showed a sharp deterioration, demanding immediate intervention. Despite knowing the urgency, they waited until July to act and then pushed surgery off to an unspecified date in September.

Mumia believes he now suffers from “diabetic retinopathy”stemming from a diabetic coma that he endured after being given an improper and unmonitored dose of steroids for a skin disease in 2015. Mumia asserts that the PA DOC is “slow-walking [him] to blindness”in 2025 – another egregious case of the prison’s medical neglect, medical harm, and inability to treat Mumia’s medical needs.

Court records already document this pattern: (a) negligence in monitoring lab reports that led to the diabetic coma, and (b) deliberate denial and delay of his hepatitis C treatment that left him with cirrhosis.

For information on a recent phone-zap and how to apply pressure to support Mumia, go here.

Editor’s Note: After this column was first published, it was announced that a “message was just received from Mumia’s attorney Noel Hanrahan on Sept. 2: As a result of widespread and persistent pressure, Mumia finally received cataract 2 laser surgery on his left eye today and can now see very clearly.  But we must remain vigilant, consistent, and make sure that he sees a retinal specialist to treat his additional diagnosis that threatens his eyesight.”

Political Prisoner News

Due to ongoing mail digitization programmes, there are new addresses for political prisoners Fran Thompson and Ronald Reed:

Nebraska Correctional Center for Women
State of Nebraska Department of Correctional Services
Fran Thompson #93341
Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Ronald Reed #219531
Minnesota Correctional Facility – Lino Lakes
Post Office Box 247
Phoenix, Maryland 21131

You can find the latest version of the NYC ABC listing of political prisoners here.

Former political prisoner Eric King recently appeared on the Dugout podcast and received a Jen Angel Anarchist Media Grant for his work interviewing other political prisoners. A Kickstart has also been set up for Eric’s new book, here.

Former Black Liberation prisoner Dhoruba Bin Wahad is fighting cancer and recently had a crowdfunder taken down, and so is requesting funds are sent directly via Cashapp to $Dhoruba.

As part of their Abolition Week, Scalawag Magazine has published an article by Chicano anarchist prisoner Xinachtli on the colonial history of Texas Rangers, along with an article by one of his support committee on Xinachtli and his case.

Uprising Defendants, Stop Cop City and other Ongoing Cases

The Frederick 4 cases have kicked off in court, with all three defendants so far being sentenced to probation, plus 32 hours community service for one defendant. At least two defendants plan to appeal their sentences. The next court date, and the last of the non-jury trials, is currently scheduled for September 23rd.

The dismissal of the Domestic Terrorism charge against Marsicano represents the latest in a series of legal setbacks for the state as it moves forward with its expansive effort to prosecute those who mobilized to '#StopCopCity':

— Unicorn Riot (@unicornriot.bsky.social) 2025-08-28T21:57:46.782Z

Stop Cop City defendant Jamie Marsicano has had their domestic terrorism charge dropped, and a judge ruled their rights had been violated. As Unicorn Riot reported:

Jamie Marsicano, one of dozens of defendants embroiled in the sprawling legal backlash brought against opponents of “Cop City,” had a state-level Domestic Terrorism charge dropped in DeKalb County on Thursday. The dismissal represents the latest in a series of legal setbacks for the state as it moves forward with its expansive effort to prosecute those who mobilized to stop Cop City, a massive police training compound south of metro Atlanta in the South River Forest.

More than 29 months after Jamie was arrested and charged under Georgia’s domestic terrorism statute for their participation in the movement against Cop City, the state hadn’t brought an indictment against the North Carolina resident, leaving them in limbo as they waited for a decision from the court regarding their charge and potential trial.

In a ruling issued August 14, Judge Gregory Adams determined the pending charge had disrupted Jamie’s life to the point that their due process rights had been violated. Further, Adams agreed with the defense’s argument that the state was delaying Jamie’s indictment in order to get a tactical advantage in the ongoing Racketeering Influenced Criminal Organization (RICO) case unfolding in neighboring Fulton County. The court also found that Marsicano’s right to a speedy trial had been violated.

Chris “Big Tex” G, an antifascist in Texas, is facing new charges, having previously beaten older ones. You can donate to his legal defense funds here.

An activist in Texas is facing hate crime charges for spray painting slogans against Israel.

Also in Texas, 22 people have been arrested in Houston at a protest outside the Israeli consulate.

Anti-ICE protester Adrienne Villa was arrested by state police on 6/13/25. Four days later, her bail was set at $1.33 million, a sum far beyond her means. Hours after her bail hearing, she was found hanging in a cell within the courthouse’s lockup and pronounced dead at 4 AM.

— Econ Analytica (@econanalytica.bsky.social) 2025-08-21T23:01:09.546Z

The LA Public Press has an analysis of the charges that were brought against 71 people as a result of resistance to ICE earlier this summer, and VPS Reports has a story in the Daily Kos concentrating specifically on the case of Adrienne Villa, who died by hanging in an LA jail after having bail set at $1.33 million.

In Spokane, WA, all failure to disperse charges against anti-ICE protesters have been dismissed, although it sounds like there’s a risk the charges will be re-filed.

Seattle George Floyd Uprising defendant Tyre Means has been released and is asking for donations to help rebuild his life. An updated version of the Support Uprising Prisoners zine is available here, and Heatwave Magazine recently ran a feature on the work of the Uprising Support collective, which has been turned into a printable zine here.

Court Calls for Alligator Alcatraz to Close as Reports of Uprising Emerge

NEW: Immigration Detainees Revolt at Notorious Florida Detention Camp, Report Saysunicornriot.ninja/2025/immigra…

— Unicorn Riot (@unicornriot.bsky.social) 2025-08-29T10:42:40.233Z

Following a lawsuit launched by the Miccosukee tribe, a federal court has ordered a halt to construction of the ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ facility, which is built on Miccosukee land, and has called for the site to be closed within 60 days, although the state of Florida is now appealing the ruling. As of the end of August, reports of an attempted uprising at the facility are beginning to emerge.

As Unicorn Riot reported:

Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, Everglades, FL – According to reporting by Noticias 23/Univision, an uprising took place on or around Thursday, August 28 at the notorious immigrant detention center called ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ by some and the ‘Everglades Concentration Camp’ by others. The site has drawn widespread condemnation due to severe human rights and environmental violations and is in the process of closing.

Noticias 23/Univison reports that three detainees contacted them by phone and that alarms could be heard in the background of calls from the facility. At least four people detained at the rapidly-constructed detention camp, ordered shut down by a federal judge on Wednesday, have been reportedly injured in the uprising. The number of guards injured is currently unknown.

Guards reportedly used tear gas and indiscriminate beatings to regain control of the facility when an unknown number of suffering captives began to revolt, presumably to attempt to escape. Detainees who contacted the Miami-Fort Lauderdale Spanish-language news outlet said that they could hear fire alarms as well as the sound of helicopters circling the facility.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), tasked with running the facility, denies that any such events took place and did not respond to requests for comment according to Noticias 23/Univision. However, details reported in this incident are consistent with an earlier August 6 report by NBC 6 South Florida, in which detainees calling the news station reported general chaos, mass beatings by guards, and the likely death of an injured or sick person seen laying on the floor “dying” with no medical care available. The FDEM replied to NBC 6’s inquiry for their earlier story by insisting “these claims are false.” Detainees at the camp went on hunger strike in July stretching into August but the Department of Homeland Security repeatedly insisted this was not happening.

According to Noticias 23/Univision’s August 28 report, statements made by detainees who reached their reporters by telephone included the following. Quotes in Spanish reported by Noticias 23/Univision have been rush translated into English and may contain minor errors:

“They started yelling because a person had received news that a relative had died, and then they began shouting for freedom. At that moment, a prison team entered and started beating everyone. Right now everything is chaotic, and there’s a helicopter above. They’ve beaten everyone here, a lot of people have bled. Brother, tear gas. We are immigrants, we are not criminals, we are not murderers.”

“There are helicopters overhead and a lot of people bleeding.”

“They are beating us, they are mistreating us.”

(Through tears): “We are being mistreated, we are being beaten. It’s the emergency alarm, please help us.”

Read the full article here.

Resistance to ICE Continues

Resistance continues against existing camps and other attempts to set up new facilities elsewhere, including the proposed Camp Baker elsewhere in Florida and the Moshannon Valley Processing Center near Philipsburg, PA. The US state is attempting to push ahead with construction of other new sites across the country, such as in Southwest Nebraska, all of which can be potential targets for resistance.

It’s Going Down recently interviewed Alissa Azar on the ongoing resistance to ICE in Portland.

In El Paso, Texas, people are demanding the release of Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago, a community organizer and DACA recipient currently detained in ICE custody.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia will be held in the US in ICE custody until at least early October, as his legal battle continues.

According to The Guardian: 

The arrest of a US army veteran who protested against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has raised alarms among legal experts and fellow veterans familiar with his service in Afghanistan.

Bajun Mavalwalla II – a former army sergeant who survived a roadside bomb blast on a special operations mission in Afghanistan – was charged in July with “conspiracy to impede or injure officers” after joining a demonstration against federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in Spokane, Washington.

Legal experts say the case marks an escalation in the administration’s attacks on first amendment rights. Afghanistan war veterans who know him say the case against Mavalwalla appears unjust.

Read the full article here.

UPROAR and Collective Punishment in Virginia Prisons

UPROAR organized a protest in Richmond at the end of August opposing abuse and neglect in VADOC, the Virginia prison system. They have a new campaign responding to reports of widespread collective punishment across Red Onion, Keen Mountain, and River North:

Reports from Red Onion (Wise Co.), Keen Mountain (Buchanan Co.), and River North (Grayson Co.) describe a new “privileges & incentives” regime that imposes collective punishment — confiscating tablets/TVs and slashing visits, phone access, recreation, and commissary from people who did not offend. We also possess a verbatim memo from Red Onion implementing these policies.

Virginia DOC’s statewide rule, Operating Procedure 861.1 (Inmate Discipline), requires discipline to be individual, post-conviction, and time-limited, with safeguards for limited commissary access, legal/attorney communication, and minimum out-of-cell time. The reported practices contradict those requirements.

They’re also organizing a campaign in defense of Cameron Harper at Keen Mountain, who had a knife planted in his cell to justify retaliatory charges. On September 17, they’ll be organizing court support for Austin Arocho, who’s facing new felony charges after setting himself on fire in protest at his conditions.

Mail Digitization in California Prisons

Oakland Abolition & Solidarity have shared an update on the fight against mail digitization in California. They write:

Mail digitization if not immediate in CA remains possible whatever the timeline or present state of Sacramento’s deliberation. Our mandate remains the same though – to build and fight – and now that we have a better grasp of the campaign landscape, we can work on next steps. Our formation has particular strengths of analysis and motion compared to the civil rights and policy oriented nonprofit sector, and correspondingly it’s time to assess just what is “in our wheelhouse” and stretch a bit beyond it.

Conclusions Mail digitization if not immediate in CA remains possible whatever the timeline or present state of Sacramento’s deliberation. Our mandate remains the same though – to build and fight – and now that we have a better grasp of the campaign landscape, we can work on next steps. Our formation has particular strengths of analysis and motion compared to the civil rights and policy oriented nonprofit sector, and correspondingly it’s time to assess just what is “in our wheelhouse” and stretch a bit beyond it.

Read the full report here.

General Prison News & Abolitionist Media Updates

A rally in support of wrongly imprisoned firefighter Brian “Hakyim” Simpson was held in Portland, Oregon on August 9th.

Vaughn 17 prisoner Jarreau Ayers has launched a new podcast, the Yard Talk.

Should non-profits be turned to in search of legal protection from fascism? Dylan says—“Another responsibility a lot of us have… is to be really sober and direct and loving in how we communicate the diagnosis of the historical period that we are privileged to be part of. Which is to say…” 1/🧵

— Outlaw Podcast (@outlawpod.bsky.social) 2025-08-20T14:43:26.513Z

The Outlaw podcast recently had an episode on non-profits and state repression.

Texas prisoner Jason Renard Walker has published several new articles on his blog, covering TDCJ and Securus staff members using their position to carry out identity fraud, the Jeffrey Epstein case, and his experiences with the white supremacist El Paso mass shooter.

Mongoose Distro has published another article by Ronin Grey on forced detention in psychiatric hospitals.

The support team for Lucasville Uprising prisoner Greg Curry held a successful fundraiser in Detroit in late August, and are planning another for October.

The San Francisco Bay View have marked Black August with an article on the campaign to free Donald “C-Note” Hooker, a writer imprisoned in the California system.

Bryan Hooper, another wrongfully convicted Black man in Minnesota, is hoping to be freed from his life sentence after the state’s key trial witness recently admitted to the murder Hooper was convicted for. unicornriot.ninja/2025/after-2…

— Unicorn Riot (@unicornriot.bsky.social) 2025-08-23T06:46:33.216Z

Unicorn Riot has coverage of the campaign to free Bryan Hooper, who has spent 27 years in the Minnesota prison system for a murder that someone else has now confessed to, and a look at the current state of mail censorship and book bans in the Federal system.

The anti-carceral collective No Estamos Todes have given an interview on the current state of the prison system in Chiapas, Mexico.

Scalawag Magazine runs an annual Abolition Week in August, showcasing writing by prisoners and about the prison system, with this year’s articles including trans Texas prisoner Xandan Gulley on staff-arranged fights, a poem by New York prisoner E Paris Whitfield, New York prisoner Corey Devon Arthur on new rulings allowing staff to record strip searches, Texas prisoner Lanae Tipton on mental health care in prison, an article on the links between the IDF and ICE, a report on the launch of a poetry collection by US Palestinian political prisoner Shukri Abu Baker of the Holy Land 5, and an article on the similarities between ICE and military recruitment by anti-ICE activist Samantha Hamilton and current detainee Alma Bowman.

International

As this column was being put together, a massive uprising has kicked off in Indonesia. Expect more updates soon, but you can contribute to a solidarity fund here. A post from the Anarchist Black Cross wrote:

Palang Hitam / ABC Indonesia asks if it is possible to organise solidarity demonstration/action at the Indonesian embassies in foreign countries. We ask comrades from various countries for help.

The mass uprising in Indonesia is facing severe repression. Dozens of people are confirmed missing, at least 6 people have been killed. Many are injured. Thousands of people have been arrested. Police have been attacking the universities. Police and army check points are setting up everywhere. Many people are being arrested for live streamings and counter-info blogs and social medias are being tracked and comrades arrested. NGOs, liberal/left unions and student union stewards are helping the repression.

In UK news, IWOC has published a report on anarchist ex-prisoner Toby Shone facing continuing hassle when crossing the UK border, along with two new articles from prisoner Kevan Thakrar looking at the reality of the UK’s prison expansion project, and conditions inside England’s torture units.

In Greece, anarchist Andreas Floros has been acquitted in the “Revenge Conspiracy” case, while Barış Erhan, a Turkish revolutionary who had to flee to Greece, has been sentenced to 74 years after being wrongfully convicted of people smuggling.

There’s a call for a long-term campaign of sending mail in to Italian anarchist prisoner Alfredo Cospito to break the isolation the state is imposing on him.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society has published a report on abuses against women prisoners held in Israel’s Damon prison in August, and Samidoun report that Abdul-JabbarJarrar has been sentenced to an additional year of administrative detention on the anniversary of the death of his wife. Wafa Jarrar. Samidoun is also calling for the freedom of Lebanese and Syrian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Mohammed Khatib, the European coordinator for Samidoun, is currently threatened with deportation from Belgium.

Unicorn Riot has an extensive report looking at the repression of the Palestine solidarity movement in Germany, while the International Antifascist Defense Fund has made a contribution to help antifascists in Augsburg, Germany, repair their homes after they were damaged in police raids.

In Chile, the trial of Aldo and Lucas Hernández, anarchists accused of taking actions against the police, continues.

Belarus ABC have published a round-up of news about anarchist political prisoners in Belarus in recent months, along with the first part of an in-depth interview with former anarchist prisoners Akihiro Gaevsky-Khanada and Andrey Chepyuk.

ABC Moscow have shared news of the birthdays of Russian anarchist and antifascist prisoners Savely Frolov, Nikita Uvarov and Bogdan Yakimenko, and have news on the case of Dmitry Osyagin, an anarchist who has been sentenced to 15 years for sabotage actions against a court building and anti-government comments.

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:

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 Petersburg Medium
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 1000
Petersburg, VA 23804

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
USP Lee
PO Box 305
Jonesville, VA 24263

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

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

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

Upcoming Birthdays

The Political Prisoners Birthday Calendar project has been revived, and you can find the September version of the calendar here.

Aleksandr Belov

An anarchist from Belarus who was detained on July 29th 2021 and given five years in prison on charges of organization 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)

Belov Aleksandr Andreevich
Prison No. 4, ul. Krupskoy, 99A, Mogilov,
212011, Belarus

John Bramble

A former Vaughn 17 defendant and contributor to the Vaughn uprising zines “Live from the Trenches” and “United We Stood” and other publications, such as the May 2020 and August 2021 issues of Anathema. Johnny has continued to organize and agitate against the prison system from within. As a result, he is still being held in solitary confinement.

Johnny is looking for anarchists, autonomists, and other radicals to regularly correspond with.

Delaware uses Getting Out for email messaging, so you can also send him a message by going to gettingout.com, setting up an account, and then adding him as a contact using his inmate number #405202.

Birthday: September 1

Address:

John Bramble #405202
Delaware DOC – 1101
PO Box 96777
Las Vegas, NV 89193

Bogdan Yakimenko

Bogdan Yakimenko is a Russian antifascist prisoner serving a 4 year sentence after being convicted in the “Antifa United” case. Letters to Russian prisoners must be written in Russian (you can use automatic translation services to help with this), and can be sent using the service prisonmail.online.

Birthday: September 3

Address:

Yakimenko Bogdan Tarasovich, b. 1999
SIZO-1, Matrosskaya Tishina St., 18,
107076 Moscow, Russia

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
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Mail Processing Center
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!You can buy merch to support Greg here.

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
878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd
Youngstown, OH 44505

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.

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 Butner Low
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 999
Butner, NC 27509

cover photo via Radical Graffiti