Ohio Prison Officials Come Down on Sean Swain on September 9th

From Sean Swain

Although Sean has been a vocal supporter of the prison strike in his writings and radio segments, for a variety of reasons he determined that it would not be a strategic moment for him to participate in other ways.

Nonetheless, due to his reputation with the Ohio Department of Corrections, he faced targeted investigation of his activities and belongings and he and several of his associates were strip searched. Some of his writings were also confiscated and he now faces disciplinary procedures less than a month before he goes before the parole board.

The prison is using “Security Threat Group” classification to target Sean’s published anarchist writings and classifying the list of possible prison strike tactics he gave in his last segment as “possible threats.”

Please keep an eye on seanswain.org for updates on Sean’s situation as his disciplinary hearing and parole board date approach.

Full transcript:

The fascists are at it again.

They’re really sticking it to me for not making their prison completely unmanageable on Sept 9^th. It appears they’re really disappointed in me for my lack of resistance. As you’ll recall from my previous radio segment about September 9^th, I decided it would be unwise for me to participate. I figured that’s what the fascists wanted from me. It appears no good deed goes unpunished. So here’s what went down here at Warren Corruptional:

On September 8^th Officer Spencer, a cross-eyed security threat group attack dog with an oddly shaped head, came to the law library and strip searched me. He didn’t explain and I didn’t ask, because in my experience fascists—particularly of the oddly shaped head variety—simply like to see me naked. Spencer then searched my work area and then left the library and went to my cell, where he told my cell mate that I’m a weirdo.

Yeah, I’m a weirdo. After he used his authority to force me to show him my genitals.

Go figure.

Spencer then went through my property and confiscated two things: first, the script from my last radio segment where I didn’t advocate resistance and second, a statement that I wrote that was published and mailed to me and screened by the prison mailroom. I’ve left the remaining pile of paper work just as he left it, in case he wants to come back and read some of my really good stuff like Fugitive Thoughts: Essays on Political Violence or Last Act of the Circus Animals.

Anyway, Spencer then took his oddly shaped head to another block and confiscated reading material from another prisoner—reading material that I had handed that prisoner on the recreation yard the previous evening. And that means that these wackos were watching me on security cameras while I did push-ups on the rec yard. They’re really obsessed with me. Clothes or no clothes. Very creepy.

I’m telling you right now if they pull out a Twister game and baby oil, I’m calling the Prison Rape Elimination Act Hotline.

So, after confiscating a bunch of really good reading material, Spencer and his oddly shaped head returned to the law library where he made two other law clerks get naked and then he confiscated the printer, making it totally impossible for anyone to do any legal work or to obtain any existing legal work saved on the computers. Keep in mind this is all happening on September 8^th, the day before the work stoppage promoted by a national call out.

So the day before the work stoppage, prison fascists were apparently doing everything in their power to demoralize us and prevent us from showing up for work the next day. And took the necessary equipment so that, even if we did show up, we couldn’t get any work done anyway.

But it turns out this plot didn’t originate in Spencer’s oddly shaped head. No. According to the contraband control slip showing the chain of custody, Spencer turned over my script and published statement to Lt. Champlin, the gang coordinator, who then turned the materials over to Investigator Jones, (if that is his real name) and Jones then turned them into Warden Chae Harris. So this nonsense came straight from the top. Chae Harrris ordered me punished for not supporting the national call-out and for not taking his prison away from him.

According to the chain of custody paper, the radio segment from September 4^th that was broadcast and is governed by the FCC (who has no problem with it), became a “letter with possible threats.” Apparently, prison fascists cannot solve the cosmic question of what a threat is from what a threat is not (unlike the FCC who already settled the question) and so prison fascists came up with the category of “possible threats” which are typically issued against “possible people” I guess. Also my published statement that was confiscated became a “possible STG booklet.”

STG means “Security Threat Group”—a gang. So I’m accused of possessing a “gang booklet.” You know, because Crips and Bloods and the Aryan Brotherhood all put out glossy recruiting brochures, right?

Ridiculous.

These ass-clowns now have me facing discipline for not organizing resistance at their prison. To make matters worse, months ago I gave Warden Harris a copy of Last Act. If he wanted more good reading, he didn’t have to send an odd-shaped head attack dog to stare at my genitals and tear my cell up and cripple the operation of his own law library. He could have simply asked for it.

When he and I talked, he had a bas-relief of The Last Supper on his shelf and a Bible on his desk. He now silences the state’s torture victims and punishes me for perfect rule compliance.

Yeah, that’s what Jesus would do.

As it now stacks up, I face some kind of discipline in the prison’s kangaroo court process less than a month before I see the parole board. Clearly, they want to make me regret not taking their prison away from them. All the stuff I said I wasn’t talking about, I wish I had. And I now wish all of it was happening.

I guess I’ll hang up now and tear up this script and eat it before the Gestapo can see it and accuse me of possible threats for telling the truth—and make me get naked again.

Creepy. Really creepy.

This is anarchist prisoner Sean Swain from Warren Corruptional in Lebanon, Ohio. If you’re listening, you are the resistance.