Monthly Archives: May 2020

Eric King cannot receive or send mail for 6 months!

Political prisoner Eric King has been hit with a major restriction from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) this week. He cannot receive mail or correspond with anyone other than his wife and mother for at least 6 months. This is fairly unprecedented and comes at a horrible time, as Eric is fighting his criminal charges in federal court and can use all the support he can get.

Not only is this cruel but its over the top as Eric is already on severe communications restrictions (no phone, no visits) and is in segregation for 23 hours a day minimally (going on two years). He really needs our help right now and while he cannot receive letters from the general public, it seems he can still receive books and magazines.

Please send softcover books and magazines only. (we suggest 3 at a time). If the content is questionable, it is better not to send it. FCI Englewood is heavily censoring Erics incoming literature.  Books can be sent from the publisher, Amazon or a website similar to Amazon. 
Eric King #27090-045
FCI Engelwood
9595 W. Quincy Avenue
Littleton, CO 80123

We also ask that you donate to his legal defense fund so we can mount a strong defense to Eric’s charge of assault on a government official (which carries a max of 20 years). You can donate at https://fundrazr.com/e1cKo1 Every donation helps and please share if you can with friends and on social media. Background on his case is at https://truthout.org/articles/incarcerated-anti-fascists-report-targeted-beatings-by-guards/

Follow Eric so you can keep up on whats going on:
https://supportericking.org/
https://www.facebook.com/SupportEricKing/
https://twitter.com/supportericking
https://www.instagram.com/supportericking/

Listen to the Free Eric KIng playlist!

The Bureau of Prisons are just letting people die

As you know, many of our political prisoners are imprisoned in the federal prison system or Bureau of Prisons. The response to COVD from the BOP has been mostly smoke and mirrors. They talk shit about home confinement but then deny most people including those whose convictions are related to any ‘violence’, ‘terrorism’ or whether they have ICE detainers. We have no faith in this system to give our people justice. Below are the latest stats. Show support for our political prisoners by writing them and asking them what they need. Find addresses at https://www.abcf.net/prisoner-info/

Here is your Bureau of Prisons- COVD report for Saturday May 29th:
* 1,649 COVD positive federal prisoners
* 192 COVD positive BOP staff (1 death still unreported)
* 3,582 prisoners and 420 staff have recovered.
* 56 BOP facilities & 35 halfway houses have active confirmed cases. (75% OF BOP FACILITIES HAVE COVD.)
* 66 people in federal prison have died of COVD

Total BOP Population:
135,739 people in 122 BOP-managed prisons/jails
12,529 people in halfway houses/home confinement etc.


Take action for Jalil Muntaqim

Elder political prisoner Jalil Muntaqim Hospitalized with COVID-19

Widely respected elder Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom), who in his teens joined the Black Panther Party, and who was convicted at 19 and has been incarcerated for 49 years in NYS prisons on a 25-year minimum sentence, became ill last week, and has tested positive for COVID-19. His health deteriorated over the weekend and he has been hospitalized since Monday.

For months, public health experts, faith leaders, Congress members, and hundreds of others have warned NYS officials that the prisons are potential death traps in the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing this, a New York State judge on April 27th ordered Jalil’s temporary release from Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, NY, based on his extreme vulnerability to the virus. Jalil is 68 years old and suffers from serious chronic health conditions that can make COVID-19 deadly.

However, NYS Attorney General Letitia James, acting on behalf of NYS DOCCS Commissioner Anthony Annucci, appealed the ruling, blocking Jalil’s release and forcing him to remain in prison. Just as we feared, Jalil, who was ordered released a month ago, eventually contracted COVID-19.

Tomorrow, May 28th, a NYS Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments from Jalil’s attorney and the DOCCS attorney. We ask you to call and tweet the AG and DOCCS commissioner today and tomorrow urging them to withdraw the appeal so that Jalil can be released from the hospital to the community, where he has medical and other support awaiting him, rather than be returned to the prison where his recovery will be impeded, and where he will again be vulnerable to contracting another COVID-19 infection.

Here’s what you can do:

TWEET!

@TishJames @NewYorkStateAG Withdraw your appeal of Judge Shick’s 4/27 order releasing Anthony Bottom. If you had not appealed/blocked his release, Mr. Bottom wouldn’t have contracted COVID & wouldn’t be seriously ill now. Withdraw the appeal so he can go home, recover & stay safe

@NYSDOCCS Cmr. Annucci should withdraw his appeal of the release of Anthony Bottom. On 4/27, Judge Stephan Schick ordered Mr. Bottom’s release to protect him from COVID-19, but DOCCS appealed, blocking release. Now he is ill. Withdraw appeal so he can go home, recover & stay safe

CALL  the Attorney General and Commissioner

Attorney General  Letitia James – (718) 560-2040

Sample Script For AG:

My name is [X]. I am calling to urge the AG to withdraw her appeal of the release of Anthony Bottom, DIN# 77A4283, which was ordered by Sullivan County Supreme Court Judge Stephan G. Schick on April 27. Had the AG not originally appealed that decision, Mr. Bottom would not have contracted COVID-19, as he recently did, and would not be seriously ill and in the hospital now. The AG’s appeal was responsible for his current life-threatening illness. She must now withdraw her appeal so that Mr. Bottom can return to his community after he recovers from COVID-19 and avoid being re-infected. The communities that elected her, and whom she claims to represent, demand this of her.

Commissioner Annucci – (518) 457-8126

Sample Script For Commissioner:

My name is [X]. I am calling to urge Commissioner  Annucci to withdraw his opposition to the release of Anthony Bottom, DIN#77A4283. On April 27, Sullivan County Supreme Court Judge Stephan G. Schick ordered Mr. Bottom’s release to protect him from COVID-19, but DOCCS appealed and he was not released. Predictably, Mr. Bottom contracted the virus and now he is hospitalized with COVID-19. If DOCCS had not appealed this decision, Mr. Bottom would not have contracted COVID-19, as he recently did, and would not be in the hospital now. DOCCS should withdraw the appeal so that Mr. Bottom can return to his community after he recovers from COVID-19 and avoid being re-infected. Alternatively, the Commissioner should expedite and ensure approval of Mr. Bottom’s supplemented request for medical parole. 

Pack the Virtual Courtroom – Thursday, May 28 at 1:00 pm

Oral arguments on the appeal of the decision to release Jalil will be streamed live.Link to hearing on Thursday, May 28 at 1:00 pm Go to the homepage of the court: http://www.nycourts.gov/ad3/ *click the box at the bottom that says “Court Session Webcast” 

Bill Barr Promised to Release Prisoners Threatened by Coronavirus — Even as the Feds Secretly Made It Harder for Them to Get Out

Celebrity prisoners like former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort have been granted home detention, but a secret Bureau of Prisons policy has kept all but 1.8% of federal inmates behind bars, where the virus rages. Read more at https://www.propublica.org/article/bill-barr-promised-to-release-prisoners-threatened-by-coronavirus-even-as-the-feds-secretly-made-it-harder-for-them-to-get-out

Virtual letter writing for Eric King & Jeremy Hammond

NYC Anarchist Black Cross has been promoting letter writing to political prisoners for many years and the COVD-19 pandemic has not slowed them down at all. Check out their latest announcement for their upcoming virtual letter writing event.

eric king_jeremy hammond_FB

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, May 19th, 2020
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

As COVID 19 continues to rear its ugly head and capitalism continues to exploit vulnerable communities made even more vulnerable in the wake of the pandemic, we have no choice but to continue our work as well. Although we remain quarantined from our in-person communities, our friends behind the walls are experiencing a level of isolation and danger to which our chosen social isolation cannot compare. Therefore, instead of coming together at The Base in Brooklyn, we at Page One Collective are (virtually) joining our friends at NYC ABC to maintain some semblance of a bi-weekly letter-writing tradition. We ask that folks participate as well, so we can do our best to keep prisoners from being more alienated than they already are, by writing from home. Please post a photo of your addressed envelope on social media and tag us (with your return address blurred out) and we will share it, building digital community while our analog community stays indoors and washes its hands.

This week we are focusing on two anarchist folks who have both had particularly rough years, even by the standard of the hell that is prison. Please join us in sending them some much needed love and support as they navigate their respective situations amidst the pandemic.

Jeremy Hammond is an anarchist computer hacker from Chicago. In November 2013, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for leaking the personal information of 860,000 customers of private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) through the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. This information revealed that Stratfor spies on activists, among others, at the behest of corporations and the U.S. government. In early September 2019, Jeremy was transferred to Virginia and called against his will to appear before a grand jury. He was jailed at the same spot as Chelsea Manning, who was also being held for grand jury resistance, until March 12, 2020. Because of COVID, he is now stuck at Grady County Jail awaiting transfer back to a federal facility to resume his original sentence. For more information visit freejeremy.net.

In May 2019 Eric King was indicted by a grand jury in the District Court of Colorado for a new federal felony charge of Assaulting a Federal Official. This charge is based on what the government says happened during the interview in the Florence storage room with a Lieutenant. Eric now faces up to 20 additional years in federal prison and is fighting this charge while still in the custody of his accusers. Eric is pre-trial, do not mention his current charges.

Eric is a vegan anarchist prisoner serving a 10 year sentence for an attempted firebombing of a government official’s office in Kansas City, Missouri in September 2014. Eric was charged with throwing a hammer through a window of the building, followed by two lit Molotov cocktails. The criminal complaint states that both incendiary devices failed to ignite. We encourage folks to send him a card or letter and spread the word about him if not already doing so. More information can be found at supportericking.org.

Please take the time to write a letter to Jeremy and Eric (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):

Jeremy Hammond #151960859
Grady County Jail
215 North 3rd Street
Chickasha, Oklahoma 73018

Eric King #27090-045
FCI Englewood
9595 West Quincy Avenue
Littleton, Colorado 80123

Article about David Gilbert: “He Was One of New York’s Most Famous Prisoners. Now He’s One of Its Oldest—and Most Vulnerable.”

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s father and other aging prisoners are begging the courts to release them during the pandemic.

Chesa Boudin as a boy with his dad, David Gilbert. Courtesy of Chesa Boudin

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was at home cooking on Saturday afternoon when his dad, David Gilbert, called from a prison in upstate New York. Boudin was glad to hear his father’s voice. But he was worried about his old man: Someone in the cell next to him had tested positive for the coronavirus.

At 75, Gilbert is one of the oldest prisoners in the state. Even calling his son is risky for him now, since hundreds of guys at Shawangunk Correctional Facility share the same phones to call home. Before dialing his son, Gilbert wrapped the receiver with an undershirt to avoid touching it to his face. He would hand-wash the shirt after returning to his cell.

More at https://www.motherjones.com/author/samantha-michaels/

June 11th: International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason and All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners.

COVD or not, the June 11th International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason and All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners continues. Now in its 16th year!

From the call:
“The context of June 11th this year is one in which our lives have been wrenched out of normality. A scary time, but also a time for innovation. And an especially important time to remember and support our imprisoned loved ones. While calls to release people from jails, prisons, and ICE detention facilities during the pandemic are growing louder and having some success, it’s likely that many of our comrades’ names will not be on the list for early release.

Whether it’s due to marginalized identities, terrorism enhancements, a history of standing up to guards and prison administration, or just being an outspoken anarchist, this means that their long sentences and already abhorrent health care and mistreatment could carry even worse consequences.”

More info via:
https://june11.noblogs.org
[email protected]
https://twitter.com/supportmarius

Sekou Odinga on “Millenials are Killing Capitalism” podcast

Be sure to check out this interview with former politcal prisoner Sekou Odinga!

In this episode we are honored to interview Sekou Odinga. Odinga is a former member of Malcolm X’s Organization of Afro-American Unity, a founding member of New York Chapter of the Black Panther Party and one of the falsely charged New York Panther 21. He was also a founding member of the International Black Panther Party chapter which set up an embassy in Algeria.

After returning to the US, Odinga joined the Black Liberation Army. In 1984 he was convicted of multiple charges, including the liberation of Assata Shakur. While he contested the charge legally, after serving almost 34 years for the conviction, he has acknowledged that he is honored to be connected with the Assata’s liberation.

Sekou Odinga shares reflections, memories and lessons from the struggles of his era. He also joins us specifically to highlight the need to bring home political prisoners. The political prisoners from his generation are all elders, many of them with compromised immune systems, who have all served decades in prison for their political activity. 

Introducing… The Free Eric King Playlist

A list of songs and artists compiled by vegan anarchist political prisoner Eric King. Compiled from his prison cell, where he’s facing an additional 20 years on trumped up charges. Enjoy the songs, read about and write to Eric, and let’s bring him home where he belongs!

With songs by Against Me!, Ryan Harvey, Taylor Swift, The National, Liz Phair, Bon Iver, The Shins, Demi Lovato, Janelle Monáe, Tim Barry, Eric Church and Laura Jane Grace.

Listen and donate via https://fundrazr.com/e1cKo1
https://supportericking.org