Filed under: Anarchist Movement, Editorials, Featured, Political Prisoners, US
On this day in 2012, our comrades, the Nato 3, Brent Betterly, Brian Jacob Church and Jared Chase were arrested.
The NATO 3 were arrested on May 16, 2012 in the lead up to the anti-NATO protests in Chicago, Illinois. They were originally charged with 11 felony counts under the Illinois state version of the USA Patriot Act including material aid for terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism & possession of an incendiary device. What surfaced after their arrest were that two undercover cops, “Mo” and “Gloves” had been trying to entrap these three activists and others as part of Chicago’s surveillance & targeting of the local activist community.
The NATO 3 went to trial on January 21, 2014, were acquitted of all terrorism counts on February 7. They were found guilty of possession of an incendiary device with the intent to commit arson, possession of an incendiary device with the knowledge that another intended to commit arson and mob action.
On April 25, 2014, Brian Church was sentenced to five years, Brent Betterly to six years, and Jared Chase to eight years. In November 2014, Brian Church was released on parole. In April 2015, Brent Betterly was released on parole. In April 2016, Jared was sentenced to an additional year in prison for squirting a shampoo bottle of his human waste at a correctional officer.
Jay Chase remains in prison at Pontiac Correctional and his release date has been extended two times now. Currently, he is set to be released in June 2019 but that could change as Jay receives incident reports and has lost good time. He was diagnosed with Huntingdon’s Disease, a horrible illness that results in personality changes, irritability, impulsiveness and impaired judgment. Jay is not receiving treatment for this disease from the Illinois Department of Corrections and does not receive much support from the movement.
On this anniversary, please reach out to Jay or send him some books. Check his list here.
Write:
Jared Chase
M44710
P.O. Box 99
Pontiac, IL 61764
More Info:
https://freethenato3.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/Free-the-NATO-3-172345546229824