Political Prisoner Updates on Vaughn 17, “Zero,” Dion, Joshua, & Casey

Dion Ortiz is a 22 year old Water Protector from San Felipe Pueblo. He was targeted and charged with a federal felony for his actions protecting the water and fighting for indigenous sovereignty at Standing Rock. Dion took a non-cooperating plea on October 22, 2018 and served most of his prison sentence at FCI Sandstone in Minnesota, where Rattler continues to serve his sentence. They asked the youth to rise up, and Dion answered that call. Water is life.”

Casey Brezik: Casey was recently transferred to the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Please take a minute to write to him and/or donate to his post-release fund! Thanks!

Write to Casey:

Casey Brezik #1154765
WRDCC
3401 Faraon
St. Joseph, MO 64506

Vaughn 17: There is currently a phone zap campaign called for the Vaughn 17. From the Facebook event page:

The Vaughn 17 were accused of a prison riot in Smyrna, Delaware, February 2017. They went through two trial sessions and almost all of the charges for the majority were either dropped or found not guilty. Recently the prisoners of both trial sessions, plus 4 prisoners whose chargers were dropped, were moved to Camp Hill PA, near Harrisburg. This move was supposed to be temporarily and only for classification purposes.

This is also a great time to ask officials why all 7 of the #Vaughn17 prisoners at Camp Hill are still being held in solitary. Most were found not guilty of all charges against them, they don’t have any write-ups from their time in DE, and none of them should be on lockdown.

— Philly Anti-Repression (@phlbailfund) April 8, 2019

To this day the group is facing the following violations:

– property from a transferred facility is missing or incomplete
– no further phone calls allowed ( besides one initial 5 min call after
transfer happened)
– the entire group is being held in segregation / or 23 and 1 solitary
confinement
– Camphill is refusing to provide meals as punishment to often

We need you to call the officials and tell them that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Read more here.

Josh “Zero” Chartrette: Former prison organizer and long-time anti-racist, Josh is now out prison and looking for support on the outside. From his GoFundMe:

Hello folks, my name is Josh. Several years ago I was jumped by two white supremacists because I’d started working with anti-racist activists in my hometown. While defending myself, I ended up injuring one of the attackers and while in the hospital he told the police that I was the one who initiated the fight. Confident in my innocence I went to trial and lost. I was convicted of assault and given 9 years in prison.

Now consider, if you will, life as an anti-racist activist in prison. I’ll spare all the details, but while in prison I became heavily involved in other forms of activism; working to overcome gang violence and racism, working for prisoner’s rights and restorative justice as alternatives to incarceration, among other things. Because of my activism I spent more than four years in solitary confinement.