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!
Political Prisoner News
In political prisoner news, Prison Radio has shared a report from a recent visit with Mumia Abu-Jamal. Mumia also records regular segments for Prison Radio, which you can listen to here.
A fundraising appeal has been set up for Sekou Odinga, a former Black Panther and political prisoner who is facing serious health issues. Former political prisoner Zolo Azania is also fundraising after being hit with a high car repair bill, supporters report that, “Zolo would like to avoid excessive charges for the dealership to store his car. If Zolo cannot pay this repair bill he risks losing his car altogether. Zolo appreciates any donation but please be as generous as you can. You can send donations to him via Zelle, Venmo or Cash App ($ZoloAzania5). His accounts are under “Zolo Azania.”‘
Anarchist prisoner Eric King’s support crew have shared a recent update, mentioning that Eric is currently suffering from too much pain to be able to reply to letters. You can donate to his pre-release funds here. From Eric’s support site:
Mail is so difficult to predict and letters take a lot longer to clear the special investigation services mailbox than articles.When he gets a stack of mail it could be from last week or from 2 months ago it’s difficult to tell. Eric has been getting some amazing letters and he wants to answer them all but in the last few months his health problems that have developed over years of medical neglect and 5 years spend in isolation cells have left him so much pain writing letters is excruciating. He wanted to let folks know that he’s probably going to be unable to write in the next couple months leading up to hopefully at some point a halfway house placement. We know everyone is desperate and waiting for news, we assure you we are as well. That August estimate didn’t really age well did it ⌚?
He sends his love thanks and support. He’s nervous and excited about re-entering the world after 10 years of development he missed out on. He’s super giddy about the December release of this project that they have worked so hard on.
The Anarchist Black Cross Federation of Orange County pushed back their “Pushing Down the Walls” burpee marathon to November 18th.
As pre-orders for the Certain Days calendar have now begun, and the calendar has now been printed, you can also order copies of the calendar to be sent to prisoners here.
Mongoose Distro has published a new article by Chicano anarchist political prisoner Xinachtli.
Finally, long-time eco-anarchist prisoner Marius Mason has been moved to Texas. Write to Marius here:
#04672-061
FMC Fort Worth
P.O. Box 15330
Fort Worth, TX 76119
In a recent message, Marius wrote:
Dear friends and family,
I am now at FMC Ft. Worth, as of September 18, and am waiting to find out what possible timelines it will take or even if I will be allowed to continue my transition surgically. I continue to take my HRT therapy and am meeting other trans inmates here – all transwomen who are oftentimes waiting for THEIR transfer to a female facility! I am hoping that this policy will continue to help many trans people, but am concerned that this policy may be in danger of reversal if the far right has their way! Please continue to fight for trans and queer people in prison, as so often we are invisible to the wider public and easier to shove under the rug and hide. I know that it is the support that we have from our community on the outside that helps our cause and gives us care and strength.
Thank you very much for your support in letters and cards this past year – I have a list of everywhere I got mail from, but it is packed up in my property and in a box on its way to Texas right now! I have even gotten a few letters at my new address here – but also, sadly, a few documents saying that the intended letter was returned to sender because of the new rules here at FMC Ft. Worth. So, to lessen the aggravation for anyone kind enough to write to me – here are a few of the different rules…
1) all letters have to be written on only one side of the page and are limited to 5 pages.
2) no letters that are on colored paper or on cardstock.
3) any photos must be sent through a company and not directly from the sender. No more than 25 photos will be accepted.
4) all acceptable letters will be photo-copied in black and white and that copy given to the inmate.
I am sorry to say that all the beautiful original artwork that I have received over the years will not be allowed into this facility. That is a great sadness to me, as I have been given such amazing original art from so many great people from all over the world. Thank you, everyone, for keeping me in their thoughts and including me in their outreach and educational work. I am so encouraged by the campaigns that continue to run bravely in the face of the worst destructive efforts – long live the Wild Free Earth!
I want to make more of an effort to reach out to you all – especially as it will be harder to write as many emails or send as many letters as I have before (which never seemed enough then). I will be facing a higher monthly fine payment now, as Congress has asked the prison administrators to enforce higher payments….but I will use the website more to compensate.
Thank you all, again – for taking this journey with me, for seeing me through so many years and over so many hurdles….I am constantly humbled and warmed by the power of solidarity. Together, we are strong!
Current Cases, Atlanta Forest, and Uprising Defendants
It’s Going Down recently interviewed Leif, a trans man in Northern Ohio facing assault charges for defending a drag event from neo-Nazis. You can find more information about Leif’s case here. Leif has now had his assault charges dropped and accepted a plea for a misdemeanor charge that will not lead to jail time. The International Antifascist Defence Fund have helped to support Leif, as well as another person serving a six-month sentence for a similar confrontation in Sacramento. They’re also helping with the case of an antifascist who’s facing trial after the January 2021 clash with fascists in San Diego.
Victor, an indigenous land defender held at an ICE facility after being arrested as part of the Atlanta Cop City struggle, has written a statement sharing his thoughts for indigenous people’s day, and a revolutionary prisoner in the Texas system has also shared some thoughts about the fight against Cop City. Write to Victor at the address listed below.
Bail has been denied to Pittsburgh based activist Peppy, who is facing heavy charges stemming from protests at a university against an anti-LGBTQ speaker. A message on his support site wrote:
Follow Krystal and Peppy’s support site here.
General Prison News
Revolutionary prisoner Kevin Rashid Johnson has been transferred to solitary confinement after an obvious set-up where he was moved into an empty cell which had a knife planted in it. Rashid’s supporters write:
We are calling for a sustained phone and email zap on behalf of Comrade Rashid. The list of demands is given below along with the numbers and email addresses of officials to be contacted.
List of demands
1. Release Kevin Rashid Johnson from solitary
2. Return all of his personal property
3. End the targeted harassment and set-ups of him
4. Stop interfering with his litigations and outside communications
5. End the abuses in Virginia prisons, especially Red Onion and Wallens Ridge State Prisons.
____________________
Complaints should be made and sent to:
Warden Kevin McCoy, Sussex 1 State Prison, Phone 804-834-9967, Email [email protected]
Virginia DOC Director Chadwick S. Dotson, Phone 804-674-3081, Email ChadwickDotson@vadoc.virginia.gov
Corrections, Division of Institutions Beth Cabell, Phone 804-834-9967, Email [email protected]
The Missouri prison system has banned friends and family of prisoners from sending books and magazines in, even via third-party retailers such as Amazon.
ABO Comix are fundraising for the family of a prisoner that they work with, and DC IWOC are fundraising for the needs of an outside organizer who’s been diagnosed with cancer. Another fundraising effort is running for Michael Kimble, an anarchist prisoner in Alabama who needs help hiring a new attorney for a sentence reduction effort.
The Texas-wide prison lockdown that began in September has now been lifted. The lockdown was officially described as an effort to combat drugs, but some prisoners have questioned this and suggested it was actually an attempt to suppress prisoner unrest after a particularly brutal staff beating at Coffield Unit. From a Texas Tribune article:
On Sept. 5, an inmate at the Coffield Unit stabbed a correctional officer in a high security unit. TDCJ officers responded to this incident with excessive force and prison system spokesperson Amanda Hernandez told The Texas Tribune established protocols were not followed.
After an internal review of that incident, seven correctional officers were fired and another six officers resigned.
“The inmate is recovering at the hospital,” she said. “This incident was forwarded to the Office of Inspector General for criminal investigation.”
TDCJ did not release the name of the inmate who was hospitalized after he was beaten by correctional officers.
Alabama prisoner Ashley Caswell is suing the Etowah County Detention Center after she was arrested for “endangering a fetus” and then denied medical treatment throughout her pregnancy and forced to give birth in a jail shower, an experience that almost killed her. You can read a press release from Pregnancy Justice, one of the groups backing her lawsuit, here.
Imprisoned Texas writer Jason Walker has written about the case of Roderick Johnson, a prisoner who made headlines in the 2000s after being used as a sex slave, who has now ended up back in the Texas prison system.
Mongoose Distro continues to publish new prisoner writing regularly, including Virginia prisoner David Annarelli on subjects such as the Virginia prison system censoring art and antisemitic prison guards.
Abolitionist radio show Kite Line recently broadcast an episode on surveillance and social media, featuring research from a course bringing together Indiana university students with students held inside the Indiana prison system. Also in Indiana, IDOC Watch report that the law library at Plainfield CF has been closed indefinitely without explanation, and staff brutally attacked a prisoner at Westville Control Unit.
A jazz concert in support of Lucasville Uprising death row prisoner Keith Lamar was held in Los Angeles on October 6th, and Keith also recently met with Martin Luther King III.
International
Israel’s escalating attacks on Gaza have been accompanied by increasing repression against Palestinian prisoners, with the far-Right minister Ben-Gvir personally joining in on a raid of prisoners’ cells, while thousands of prisoners have engaged in actions such as hunger strikes. Basque political prisoners also engaged in a one-day hunger strike in solidarity with Palestine, and the international crackdown on Palestine solidarity movements has seen the German state announcing its intention to ban the prisoner solidarity network Samidoun. Defendants associated with Palestine Action, the direct action network targeting the Israeli arms industry which has recently launched in the US, are facing a number of upcoming trials in the UK, and you can donate to their legal funds here.
In France, the “December 8” case, involving defendants associated with Black Lives Matter and Kurdish liberation, has finally reached a trial, almost three years after the original arrests. You can learn more about the case in this recent episode of the Final Straw Radio and on the December 8 blog. The verdict will be delivered on December 22.
Italian anarchist prisoner Alfredo Cospito’s appeal against the incredibly repressive “41 bis” prison regime has now been rejected by the courts. Meanwhile, another Italian police operation, Scripta Scelera, continues to bring charges against defendants suspected of involvement with the anarchist newspaper Bezmotivny, with at least one defendant held in pre-trial detention.
Belarus Anarchist Black Cross have published their latest monthly roundup of news about anarchist and antifascist political prisoners in Belarus. The Russian Arkadiy Kots Band have released a new music video using artwork from Belarusian and Russian political prisoners:
A new statement from Russian anarchist political prisoner Ilya Shakursky has been translated into English. Moscow Anarchist Black Cross have stopped supporting Kirill Brik, a defendant in the Tyumen case who is taking a co-operating plea deal. Lev Skoryakin, a Russian anarchist seeking asylum in Kyrgyzstan after fleeing prosecution in Russia, has been kidnapped and his current location is unknown.
Atlanta Forest Defendants
According to Unoffensive Animal, the current list of Atlanta Forest/Cop City defendants is:
People who can accept any letter type or length:
pen and marker only
mail is scanned digitally to jail
mail takes about 3 weeks to arrive
Victor
ADDRESS:
VICTOR PUERTAS
095610252
6B 215B
P.O Box 248
Lumpkin GA 31815 USA
Uprising Defendants
See Uprising Support for more info, and check out the Antirepression PDX site for updates from Portland cases. To the best of our knowledge they currently include:
Tyre Means 49981-086
USP Atwater
P.O. Box 019001
Atwater, CA 95301
Kelly Jackson 50288-086
FCI Phoenix
Federal Correctional Institution
37910 N. 45th Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85086
Margaret Channon 49955-086
Currently in transit, check the BOP inmate locator for updates
Gavaughn Streeter #19203494
Columbia River Correctional Institution
9111 NE Sunderland Ave
Portland, OR 97211
You can donate to Gavaughn’s post-release fundraiser here.
Malik Muhammad #23935744
Oregon State Penitentiary
2605 State Street
Salem, OR 97310
Cyan Waters Bass #23905849
Oregon State Correctional Institution
3405 Deer Park Drive SE
Salem, Oregon 97310
Montez Lee 22429-041
FCI Ray Brook
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 900
Ray Brook, NY 12977
Matthew White #21434-041
FCI Terre Haute
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. BOX 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808
Matthew Rupert #55013-424
USP McCreary
P.O. Box 3000
Pine Knot, KY 42635
José Felan #54146-380
FCI Terre Haute
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808
David Elmakayes 77782-066
FCI McKean
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701
Andrew Augustyniak-Duncan
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Andrew Duncan-Augustyniak / QN9211
SCI Rockview
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733
Ellie Brett 14822509
FCI Petersburg Medium
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 1000
Petersburg, VA 23804
John Wade 14762509
FCI Beckley
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 350
General & Legal Mail
Beaver, WV 25813
Alvin Joseph 1002016959
Hays State Prison
PO Box 668
Trion, GA 30753
Richard Hunsinger 16066-509
FCI Forrest City Low
P.O. Box 9000
Forrest City, AR 72335
Diego Vargas 55070-424
FCI Allenwood Medium
PO Box 2000
White Deer, PA 17887
Howard Eugene Nall #586907
Newberry Correctional Facility
13747 E. County Road 428
Newberry, MI 49868
T’Andre Buchanan 67637-060
Milan FCI
PO Box 1000
Milan, MI 48160
Upcoming Birthdays
Ed Poindexter
One of the “Nebraska 2”, Black Panthers convicted in 1971 for the murder of a police officer. In the 1990s, Nebraska’s parole board recommended Poindexter and his co-defendant Mondo for release due to their exceptional conduct, accomplishments and recommendations but the Pardons Board– the Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of State– refused to grant them a hearing.
Their conviction was controversial and has never been accepted as legitimate by many in the African American community in Omaha. Poindexter and Mondo were suspects – before there was any evidence – because they were leaders of the National Committee to Combat Fascism (NCCF), an offshoot of the Black Panther Party.
Important: Ed has a cataract that makes it impossible for him to read. If you would like to write him a letter, it must be typed with 18 point or larger font. Put a large note on the envelope so that he knows that you are aware of his eye issues and have included a letter in a type that he can read. The Nebraska Department of Corrections does not plan to allow him to have surgery because “he has one good eye.”
Birthday: November 1
Address:
Edward Poindexter #27767
Nebraska State Penitentiary
P.O. Box 22500
Lincoln, NE 68542
United States
Ladislav Kuc
Animal liberation activist convicted of attacking a McDonald’s in which no one was injured. Unoffensive Animal will mail letters submitted via their website, but ask for donations to cover postage costs.
Birthday: November 4
Address:
Ladislav Kuc
Uvtos
Gucmanova 19/670
Priečinoik 7
920 41 Leopoldov
Slovakia
Dwayne Staats
One of the two Vaughn 17 defendants to be convicted for taking part in the Vaughn prison uprising of early 2017. Dwayne and his co-defendant Jarreau “Ruk” Ayers bravely admitted to their own parts in the uprising, and then, free to testify openly without fear of incriminating themselves any further, tore holes in the prosecution’s attempts to convict anyone else – as he put it, “we’d accept being stabbed in the chest to present others from getting stabbed in the back”. To learn more about Dwayne in his own words, you can read his account of the whole case here, check his writings on the Vaughn 17 site, his recent letter to the Kentucky Attorney General, or his contribution to the Vaughn zine, “Live from the Trenches”.
Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NT0000”.
Birthday: November 10
Address:
Smart Communications/PADOC
Dwayne Staats, NT0000
SCI Camp Hill
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733
Andrei Marach
Antifascist from Brest. Detained on 2 March 2021 on suspicion of involvement in a criminal organisation of anarchists and gross violation of public order (Articles 285 and 342 of the Criminal Code). Andrei has a history of repression, he was serving an administrative arrest in early August 2020. On September 6, 2022, Andrei was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
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: November 10
Address:
(Belarusian or Russian letters only – use this form for English messages)
IK-17, ul. 1-ya Zavodskaya, 8, g. Shklov, 213004, Belarus
Andrey Igorevich Marach
John Wade
John B. Wade is a Black Atlanta activist facing charges related to the George Floyd Rebellion in the Summer of 2020. He was arrested on November 2nd, 2020 in an inter-agency raid along with two others, Vida Jones and Ellie Brett. They faced charges related to a string of arsons against government property and police cruisers. Wade has been repeatedly harassed by law enforcement since the beginning of the mass rebellion. You can read some of his words here.
John Wade was sentenced on 2/28/22 to a mandatory minimum of 5 years (to include time served) after conviction on his federal charges. His projected release from federal prison is in January, 2025, but he has other pending state charges from the summer of 2020.
The Federal system uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to John then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.
Birthday: November 11
Address:
John Wade #14762509
FCI Beckley
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 350
General & Legal Mail
Beaver, WV 25813
Dzmitry Rezanovich
Dzmitry Rezanovich is an anarchist from Gomel. Arrested on the night of 28-29 October 2020 close to Ukrainian border by Belarusian border guards together with Sergey Romanov, Dmitry Rezanovich and Ihar Alinevich. Charged with terrorism and illegal possession of firearms. According to the prosecutor’s office, he and his comrades organized several arson attacks in Soligorsk and Mozyr against state institutions. On 22 December 2021, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison.
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: November 12
Address:
(Belarusian or Russian letters only – use this form for English messages)
Rezanovich Dmitry Grigorievich
IK № 22, st. Domanovo, a/ya 20
g. Ivatsevichi, Brestkaya oblast’
225295, Belarus
Thomas Blackmon
Thomas Blackmon is one of the prisoners wrongfully convicted in the aftermath of the historic Lucasville Uprising.
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 “185-291”.
Birthday: November 12
Address:
Thomas Blackmon
#185-291
OSP
878 Coitsville Hubbard Rd
Youngstown OH 44505
Victor Puertas
Indigenous land defender arrested at the South River Music Festival in so-called Atlanta, GA. After spending months inside DeKalb County without bail set or being indicted for a crime, he has now been transferred to an ICE facility where he again sits without bail.
Birthday: November 13
Address:
Victor Puertas
095610252
6B 215B
P.O Box 248
Lumpkin GA 31815 USA
Rasheem Matthews
Rasheem Matthews is one of the prisoners wrongfully convicted in the aftermath of the historic Lucasville Uprising. 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 “223-185.”
Birthday: November 22
Address:
Rasheem Matthews
#223-185
OSP
878 Coitsville Hubbard Rd
Youngstown OH 44505
T’Andre Buchanan
T’Andre Buchanan is a George Floyd Uprising prisoner who was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after a 3 day trial where he was found guilty of interference with commerce by means of robbery and tampering with evidence.
The Federal system uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to T’Andre then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.
Birthday: November 22
Address:
T’Andre Buchanan #67637-060
Milan FCI
PO Box 1000
Milan, MI 48160
Dontrell Baker
Dontrell Baker is a former Ferguson prisoner who has completed a sentence connected to the Ferguson uprising and is now incarcerated for a different incident.
Missouri now uses Securus, so you can send him a message by creating an account at securustech.online, clicking “emessaging – launch account,” then searching his name while selecting “State: Missouri, Inmate ID: 1282093.”
Birthday: November 24
Address:
Dontrell Baker #1282093
C/O Digital Mail Center-Missouri DOC
PO Box 25678
Tampa, FL 33622-5678
Josh Williams
A staple of the Ferguson rebellion, Josh Williams was sentenced to 8 years in prison for his actions in attempting to light fires near a Quick Trip gas station, which others quickly extinguished, during a protest against the killing of Black 18 year old Antonio Martin by police in Berkeley, Missouri on Christmas Eve 2014. You can learn more about Josh by reading some of his words here. A support site has been set up for Josh, and they reported in May 2021 that “Josh has been held in solitary confinement on 23 hour lockdown since the beginning of the uprisings in June of 2020. He has limited phone privileges and hasn’t been able to go outside.”
Missouri now uses Securus, so you can send him a message by creating an account at securustech.online, clicking “emessaging – launch account,” then searching his name while selecting “State: Missouri, Inmate ID: 01292002.” His tablet access is often restricted.
Birthday: November 25
Address:
Joshua Williams #1292002
C/O Digital Mail Center-Missouri DOC
PO Box 25678
Tampa, FL 33622-5678
photo: UCLA School of Music
More Stories
Mutual Aid and Autonomous Disaster Relief Groups Mobilize in Wake of Hurricane Helene
Don’t Panic, Stay Tight: Frontline Reflections on Block Cop City
Oakland Tenants Fighting Eviction Picket KP Market, Threatening Boycott