So What if They Did Rob the Banks?

Posted on 2017/04/30 by Bloomington ABC

From Plain Words

In March of this year, an international call for solidarity during the week of April 17-23 was made[1] for anarchists arrested for allegedly robbing banks in Aachen, Germany back in 2013 and 2014. Continue reading →

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New Blanket Felony Charges Pressed against J20 Arrestees

Posted on 2017/04/30 by Bloomington ABC

An Unprecedented Use of Punitive Charges as a Tactic of Mass Intimidation

From Crimethinc

On January 20, when downtown Washington, DC was crowded with massive protests against Trump’s inauguration, police cordoned off an entire city block and mass arrested over two hundred people, slapping the same charge of felony riot indiscriminately on every one of them.

On April 27, the prosecution filed a superseding indictment adding several more felony charges to each of these defendants: inciting to riot, rioting, conspiracy to riot, and destruction of property. About half of the defendants are also charged with the same count of assault on a police officer. This is punitive charging: the intention is clearly to terrorize the defendants into taking plea deals so that these inflated charges will never come to trial. Continue reading →

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Help Marius get vegan milk!

Posted on 2017/04/29 by Bloomington ABC

From Support Marius Mason

Marius reported last week that Carswell has removed soy milk from the commissary. Fortified soy milk is one of the few ways Marius is able to get the nutrients he needs while staying vegan in prison. Soy milk is not only important to Marius but also for other prisoners who need access to dairy alternatives for their various individual dietary needs. We ask that friends and supporters call into Carswell at 817-782-4000 and ask that they make soy milk accessible again.  Thank you for your call!

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June 11, 2017: Communication is a Weapon

Posted on 2017/04/26 by Bloomington ABC

From June11.org

By now it is a platitude to speak of the isolation and silence that prisons strive to impose. Every week another one of our imprisoned friends tells us that their mail is getting fucked with, the phones on their unit are “broken,” or that our publications are being rejected with no recourse.

For us, one of the most exciting elements of June 11, 2016 was the proliferation of words and ideas shared between and from anarchist prisoners.  Along with spreading material solidarity internationally and keeping the names of our comrades on our lips, our contribution to facilitating that communication is one of our most important tasks. While the starting point of our project was support for Marius Mason and Eric McDavid (the first of whom remains imprisoned in an extremely restrictive unit, while the latter has been freed!), it has been through a spreading web of communications that we have expanded the scope of our project to solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners around the world.  This year, we are seeking to emphasize this communication.

Continue reading →

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Help get Marius out of Carswell!

Posted on 2017/04/14 by Bloomington ABC

From Support Marius Mason

Greetings,

The campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons will be hosting its second annual national convergence this Summer! Last year’s convergence gathered activists and revolutionaries from across the country to explore the intersections of the environmental movement and the struggle to end mass incarceration. We also took our voices to the streets of DC, together with former prisoners and banners declaring support for those yet to win their freedom, we blocked the entrance to the Bureau of Prisons as well as the major intersection between the FBI and the Department of Justice!

This year’s convergence is taking place from June 2nd through 5th in the Denton/Ft. Worth region of North Texas. Registration is now open, sign up today by clicking here! It’s free to register, we ask only for a sliding scale donation. 

One reason we are excited to bring the 2017 FTP convergence to North Texas is the launch of the Close Carswell Campaign.  Those who focus attention on support for political prisoners may know of the infamous Carswell federal prison, located in Ft. Worth, Texas. The facility houses over 1,500 prisoners who allegedly have special health-related needs. Carswell is surrounded by toxic military Superfund sites from the Air Force base where it is co-located.

Carswell has housed many prominent voices from the inside, from current residents Marius Mason and Aafia Siddiqui to former political prisoners Lynne Stewart and Helen Woodson. The goal of the Close Carswell Campaign is to immediately shut down the overly-restrictive Administrative Unit, which BOP states only contains 24 beds, and call attention to the general conditions of the facility. For years, prisoners and their loved ones have been documenting abuses with little to no response from the Bureau of Prisons.

Join us June 2nd – 5th to learn more about the Close Carswell Campaign and to take action directed at this toxic prison! Click here for convergence registration.

Environmentalists have long recognized Texas as the financial headquarters and political stronghold of the global oil and gas empire, and prison abolitionists know Texas as home to one of the most brutal and corrupt state prison systems in the country. It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate setting to discuss the intersections of ecological resistance and mass incarceration. We look forward to seeing you in June as we continue to build our movement to Fight Toxic Prisons!

With love and solidarity,

xxxxx

Keep up to date at FightToxicPrisons.org

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April Cage Flight: Letter writing to international prisoners

Posted on 2017/04/12 by Bloomington ABC

APRIL 24
7pm
Boxcar Books
408 E. 6th St

In honor of May Day and the spirit of solidarity that knows no borders we’ll be discussing the situations of and writing letters to international prisoners.

We’ll be writing to Nikos Romanos, Jock Palfreeman, Debbie Vincent, Kara Wild, and Fernando Barcenas.

Cage Flight is a monthly prisoner info and letter writing night. We meet the last Monday of every month at Boxcar Books.

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Stand With Me in Solidarity By Khalfani Malik Khaldun

Posted on 2017/04/05 by Bloomington ABC

Stand With Me In Solidarity

by Khalfani Malik Khaldun

 

March 10, 2017

Dear Comrades,

After being segregated again for the fourth time since my release to general population on Nov. 21, 2014, from a stretch of 20 years doing 23-1, news came today of a small victory.

My two disciplinary appeals were ruled on. The first level appeal of Providing Inadequate Urine Sample was denied. I’m preparing the second level appeal to be sent to the IDOC headquarters in Indianapolis, IN.

We won this one! The B-215 Unauthorized Possession of Property (TV Remote Control) got modified down to a C-353 Unauthorized Possession of Personal Property. This change caused my new release from segregation to be April 4, 2017 instead of July 1, 2017.

If we can cause the final reviewing authority to thoroughly scrutinize the appeal by writing him to advise him to correct this injustice, maybe he will do so. My contact visits were taken away because of the guilty urine test. So I am pleading with you to write to: Robert D. Buggher (Final Review), Legal Services Director, Indiana Dept. of Correction, E334 Indianian Government Center-South, 302 West Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204.

Please state the following: “Leonard McQuay, 874304: 1) Case No. 17-01-0013 was not conducted in compliance with the policy and procedures 01-02-107 Urinanalysis Program. The test cup was faulty and did not temp. That is not Leonard McQuay’s fault. He did not test for drugs either. 2) He was denied evidence meant for preparing my case for his hearing, and was denied the requested picture of the sample. Plus there was a statement from Ofc. Ewers, a key witness during the test. 3) Appeal should be granted on these bases alone. An alternative to it would modify the charge B-203 Refusing to Test. Yet as the conduct report clearly states, he provided a Urine Sample. We feel it could be modified to a C-347 Refusing to Obey an Order. Doing this would allow him to regain contact visits with his family.”

Thank you for your continued support. Peace and Blessings to you all.

 

In Solidarity,

Bro. Khalfani Malik Khaldun

874304 Leonard McQuay

PO Box 1111 Q-512

Carlise, IN 47838

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April 6th: Inside/Outside Organizing to End Mass Incarceration in Indiana

Posted on 2017/04/05 by Bloomington ABC

Thursday April 6th

6-7:30 pm

Bridgwaters Lounge of the Neal Marshall Black Culture Center

This event will feature a call-in from long-term prisoner and activist Angaza Iman Bahar, at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, who has founded an organization called IDOC Watch inside the prison, in order to put an end abuse and censorship by staff, improve conditions within the prison, and improve prisoners’ access to resources. He will discuss what lead to IDOC Watch being founded, the role of prisoners’ struggles in social movements, and what people on the outside can do to support IDOC Watch.

Before the call-in there will be a discussion on mass incarceration facilitated by Fidelia Igwe, a Masters student in African American and African Diaspora Studies at IUB who is studying mass incarceration and it’s effect on Black communities.

The goal of the event, other than education, is to recruit people to work with the IDOC Watch outside support committees.

Facebook event here.

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March Cage Flight: Letter writing for MOVE prisoners

Posted on 2017/03/21 by Bloomington ABC

MARCH 27
7pm
Boxcar Books
408 E. 6th St

This month we’ll be writing to members of the MOVE Organization, a group formed in Philadelphia in the 70s fighting for black liberation, experimenting with communal living, and publicly demonstrating against racism, police brutality, and many other issues. In 1985 the city of Philadelphia bombed the MOVE house, killing 11 people including 5 children and destroying over 65 homes.  9 MOVE members were sentenced to 30-100 in prison following a previous attack on MOVE by the city. Four of them – Charles, Delbert, Janet, and Janine – have birthdays coming up in April. We will be learning more about the MOVE Organization, state repression against them, and writing letters to its still-imprisoned members.

More info on MOVE here.

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March 14: Militant Resistance to the AIDS Crisis

Posted on 2017/02/28 by Bloomington ABC


MARCH 14, 2017
7pm
Boxcar Books
408 E. 6th St

Bloomington Anarchist Black Cross presents five short films on militant resistance to the AIDS crisis.

In the Tradition of Stonewall (1994, 29 min)
A short documentary on the unpermitted breakaway march organized by ACT UP on the 25th anniversary of Stonewall.

Holding Steady Without Screaming (1995, 11 min)
A short film subtitled “I Can’t Scream Because I Have to Hold the Camera Steady”

…by any means necessary (1994, 6 min)
An angry experimental film based on a text by Kiki Mason.

The Ashes Action (1996, 29 min)
A short documentary on the October 11, 1992 action in which individuals held a Political Funeral for those lost to AIDS, throwing the ashes of friends and lovers on the White House lawn.

David Wojnarowicz (1994, 2 min)
A short piece on queer desire in a time of plague, from the No Alternative home video.

The Anarchist Movie Night is a free monthly film series on freedom and subversion. Showing documentaries, features, cult films, and experimental shorts of an anarchic sort.

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