Filed under: Anarchist Movement, Announcement, Incarceration, Political Prisoners, Repression
Update from Daniel Baker’s support crew and how you can show him solidarity.
This Tuesday, October 12th Daniel Baker appeared for sentencing in the court of Judge Allen Winsor. For those who love and care for Dan, this resulting sentencing was bittersweet. Dan was facing up to 10 years and a combined possibility of $1,000,000 in fines on 2 counts of transmitting a communication in interstate commerce containing a threat to kidnap or injure for which a jury found him guilty in early May.
Anarchist and anti-fascist political prisoner Daniel Baker was sentenced today.
His sentence was 44 months in federal prison. https://t.co/lLQNSOUc5f
— Brad Thomson (@BradThomsonNoP) October 12, 2021
Tuesday Afternoon after 2 hours of debate between counsel and the Judge, Dan was sentenced to a total of 44 months in prison, $200 in special assessment fees, and 3 years supervised release upon completion of his sentence. In addition to his sentence, the court found that the two guns in his apartment at the time of the arrest were subject to forfeiture. Of the 44 month sentence (two counts to be served concurrently), he will be in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons for an additional roughly 28 months, have to pay $200, and complete 3 years probation after his sentence has been served. He may also be eligible for a slightly earlier release pending competition of specialized programs within the prison system itself. We are respectfully withholding details on those programs pending permission from Dan himself to share more information publicly.
At this time, we are not sharing too much beyond what is public record out of respect for Dan and his loved ones in this very difficult time. This was not the sentence we were hoping for, but it is a far cry from the worst he could have received. The defense argued that other similar cases, typically politically right, with tangible victims and clearer means and motives to execute the threats with which they were charged received far lesser sentences than the suggested sentence Dan was facing. Judge Winsor was of the mind that these cases were too dissimilar and that the more widespread nature of the distribution of the perceived threat(s) Dan posted on the internet posed more danger to the community/public and warranted a longer sentence.
Army veteran and #YPG volunteer against ISIS, Daniel Baker has been given a 3.5 year sentence for calling for armed protests on Facebook in defense against far-Right demonstrations at the #Florida capitol, called directly after J6. https://t.co/tN29lQHcYb pic.twitter.com/0FFYEs5wv9
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) October 12, 2021
Dan’s attorneys will begin the appeals process within the next two weeks to have a panel of judges in the 11th circuit court review and possibly return a lesser sentence. He will be housed at the Federal Detention Center in Tallahassee, Florida for the next estimated 3-6 weeks before receiving placement in a more long-term detention center.
If you’d like to support Dan, you can do so by sending donations to his PayPal account: [email protected] or write him a single sided, fewer than 5pg letter (no photos, no colored envelopes, no address labels) directly at the address provided below. We will post an updated address when he is placed at a more long-term facility.
Daniel Baker #25765-509
FCI Memphis
P.O. Box 34550
Memphis, TN 38184
United States