Its payday for many of us. Donate to the ABCF Warchest and support political prisoners imprisone for decades!

The Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) initiated the Warchest program in November 1994 to send monthly checks to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have been receiving insufficient, little, or no financial support during their imprisonment. Its purpose is to collect funds from groups and individual supporters and send that money directly to commissary accounts of vetted Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War (PP/POW) via monthly checks. Since its inception, we have distributed over $130,000 in funds.

Watch the Warchest video here.

As Sekou Odinga (a former POW recipient) wrote, “Thanks much for the support you’ve been organizing, I really appreciate it. After not having any or very little support for so long, it now seems like (people) have all of a sudden realized that I am alive.”

Collecting Money

We are consolidating efforts going on around the country in support of PP/POWs in order to substantially aid such prisoners. There are many such efforts going on. Prisoner supporters are often small in number and finance, so it is usually difficult to meet the material needs of PP/POWs. We may be small pockets of resistance, however, we are also part of a much larger struggle. Former POW Ojore Lutalo said, ‘our enemy is consolidating their efforts against us, we have to do the same.’ One way this is done is through collecting monthly donations from groups or individuals. Many of us cannot afford more than $5, $10, or $20 per month. Alone, this does not amount to much. But, when we pool our resources and give that amount to one Warchest, we are able to make progress. The success we have had thus far attests to this. In the first several years, we were able to increase the number of prisoners we support with consistent support of up to $60 per month. Due to financial restraints in 1999, we were forced to reduce the monthly aid to $40 per recipient. However, since then we significantly increased the number of recipients, and in 2020 we increased the monthly stipend to $50 for the 19 current recipients.

Still, the need is more than we can offer at this time. With your help, we can change this– become a regular contributor, or contact us with your ideas! You can, for instance, support Running Down the Walls, an annual 5K held in and out of prisons all over the U.S. that raises money for the Warchest. Please help this much needed program expand and increase the number of prisoners supported and the amount they receive. There is any number of ways that you can do so. If you want to put on a benefit, please contact one of our chapters first so we can supply you with promotional and informational literature.

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Where Does This Money Go?

All Warchest recipients are verified as political prisoners or prisoners of war based on international standards. The current Warchest recipients are:

• Xinachtli (Alvaro Hernandez)
• Jalil Muntaqim
• Joe-Joe Bowen
• Jaan Laaman
• Oso Blanco
• Malik Bey
• Hanif Shabazz Bey
• Sundiata Acoli
• Ruchell Cinque Magee
• Chip Fitzgerald
• Veronza Bowers
• Mutulu Shakur
• Eric King
• Abdul Azeez
• Ed Poindexter
• Kamau Sadiki
• Ronald Reed
• Leonard Peltier
• Doug Wright

Ways to Donate

Check or money order: made out to Tim Fasnacht and send to Tim Fasnacht, P.O. Box 8682, Lancaster, PA 17604.

CashApp: $timabcf

PayPal: www.paypal.me/abcfwarchest  (or send your donation to [email protected])

Venmo: TimFasnachtABCF

If you’d prefer to stay anonymous or are donating in the name of an organization, let us know.

A question that comes up often is ‘how to write to political prisoners’? We wanted to share some resources:

How to write Political Prisoners video
How to write a letter (c/o NYC ABC)
ABCF Support Guide
Prisoner list on ABCF.net
Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners (c/o NYC ABC)
PP Birthday calendar

Download the latest update here.

“NYC ABC, along with several other individuals and prisoner support
crews, now send hard copies to all political prisoners and prisoners of
war we support.

If you consistently mail the latest updates to a specific prisoner,
please let us know so we can insure there’s no overlap. The goal is to
have copies sent to all of the prisoners we list.

We’ve also been told that some prisoners are not receiving the copies
sent in, yet we aren’t getting rejection notices. If you are in steady
contact with a prisoner, please ask them whether or not they are
receiving the updates and let us know.”

Free ’em all,
NYC ABC
Post Office Box 110034
Brooklyn, New York 11211
[email protected]

WHAT: NYC ABC Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, March 9th, 2021
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

Hey, everyone, who likes sweet and sour? Us, too! But what we’re being fed right now by the state’s lapdog–corporate media, is saccharine sweet to keep some of us placated, ultra sour to keep others of us divided, and 100% rotting us from the inside. This steady diet of nothing keeps most of us distracted from the hammer held above our heads, just out of sight, ready to fall when we step out of line. For those who refuse the distraction, who face the full brunt of state repression, NYC ABC and Page One Collective again come together to show support. Please join us this week in writing letters to water protector and grand jury resister Steve Martinez.

Steve Martinez, an Indigenous and Chicano activist who participated in the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) on the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota in 2016, is being held on charges of contempt of court for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury.

Steve invoked the Fifth Amendment in an effort to avoid participation in the grand jury. The Fifth Amendment protects individuals from being forced to testify against themselves in court. In a common procedure intended to coerce testimony, the judge in the case granted Steve immunity, meaning that he could no longer be charged with crimes associated with his testimony. In so doing, the judge created the conditions by which Steve could be forced to testify or jailed if he refused to do so. Steve can now be held for as long as the grand jury before which he has been called remains empaneled. For more information and resources on grand jury resistance, visit supportstevemartinez.com

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

Steve Martinez
Burleigh County Detention Center
PO Box 2499
Bismarck, ND 58502

Please donate to Steve’s defense fund at https://www.gofundme.com/f/supportstevemartinez

Hello friends, comrades & government voyeur (sic) creeps! 

Recently the fucking pukes at the bureau decided it’d be best to cut off my mail again…. this along with the telephone ban, essentially strangling my contact with the outside world… all this while pre-trial… ugh. Really its fucking exhausting and it gets really old, This is systematic and intentional and a vindication of both my revolutionary spirit/actions inside, and the AMAZING Support from our community. 

It was really amazing throughout December, getting to reconnect with dear friends…. And getting to meet so many great new people. Truly I felt so loved and supported coming off the first mail ban, It blew me away to have so much solidarity and support. Unreal love. 

I’m hoping to have the mail shit overturned before six months, in the meantime. We have trial in early October. I’m asking everyone to keep me in mind, to encourage trial attendance, to call out the BOP (at every level), to pls keep in touch with the site-either checking for updates or dropping a line. 

To all the folks that have sent magazines and books holy fuck thank you! You’ve spoiled me endlessly. To everyone who came out on New Year’s eve to make some noise. Job well done we have got to be vocal and visible and put a spotlight on the Bureau. 

Ok friends, I’ll update again soon. Thank you for everything  🙂

-EK

More via supportericking.org

We wanted to let you know that Eric King’s trial has been pushed to October 12th in the U.S District Court of Colorado in Denver.  This was granted by the Judge because Eric’s lawyers requested a continuance, in part, based on gaps in the discovery (legal documents shared between both parties) and that FCI Florence is closed to legal visits (the site of the incident in question needs to be inspected). 

Eric continues to be held in segregation at FCI Englewood and has been held there a minimum of 23 hours a day for 551 days or over 1 year and 6 months. The United Nations  has stated that being held in solitary confinement/segregation over 15 days constitutes ‘torture’ and we fully agree. Eric has not only been held in segregation but has experienced near constant  harassment, many incident reports and is now not allowed to receive mail from outside (other than his immediate family) for the second time, for sketchy reasons. Eric wrote a pretty amazing description of life in segregation recently. Read it at https://solitarywatch.org/2020/09/30/voices-from-solitary-flipping-the-script/

While you cannot write Eric directly, you can still send him books and magazines. In fact, when Eric was last allowed to write, he expressed how much he appreciated the deluge of books he received from supporters. Please check out Eric’s list at tiny.cc/EK_Books  and order 1-2, or what you can! He is a voracious reader and helps him deal with the situation before him. 

Eric’s lawyers continue to plow through discovery and prepare for trial. The Civil Liberties Defense Center, who represents Eric, is a non-profit organization that relies on donations to fund its solid  work. You can donate to them at https://cldc.org/donate/  Note “Eric King legal defense” in the memo section. 

Eric is facing up to 20 years for an incident in which he was actually assaulted. He needs your support. Please follow us on social media and continue to hold him in your hearts. We will let you know when there are more concrete requests. 

Read Eric’s latest poem 
https://supportericking.org/2021/03/02/can-you-feel-the-heat-rising/

Check out the Eric King playlist 2.0 at http://tiny.cc/hx3rtz
(Certain elements of Eric King’s support crew does not endorse this playlist. LOL)

Follow Eric on social media.
web: https://supportericking.org
fb: https://facebook.com/SupportEricKing/
twitter: https://twitter.com/SupportEricKing
instagram: https://instagram.com/supportericking/

Our friends at Burning Books is selling this amazing grab bag of DVDs and CDs for just $20 that will benefit the release funds of long-time political prisoners. Support them if you can!

Are you a Luddite, fearful of the technocratic evils of streaming, desperately clinging to the good ole days of shiny Digital Video Discs and Compact Discs? If so, these limited Obsolete Media Grab Bags are just for you! For $20, you receive at least 2 DVDs and 2 CDs that have been staunchly occupying otherwise useful shelf space here at Burning Books! We’ve got less than 2 dozen, so get them while you can.

100% of sales from these grab bags go towards helping newly released long-term political prisoners. Finally, you can support our allies in the struggle while simultaneously indulging in a mystery package of these surprise relics! You’ve been waiting a long time for this, we know, so order now (and figure out if your player still works later).

PRESS ADVISORY
###

WATER PROTECTOR STEVE MARTINEZ TAKEN BACK INTO CUSTODY FOR REFUSAL TO COOPERATE WITH GRAND JURY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 3RD, 2021

PRESS CONTACTS:
Chava Shapiro
[email protected], (415) 857-0507
James Clark, Attorney with the National Lawyer’s Guild
[email protected], (512) 572-0028

MARCH 3RD, 2021 — Water Protector Steve Martinez has been taken back into federal custody in Bismarck, North Dakota today following an appearance before the federal Grand Jury. Martinez is also being fined $50 a day for every day he maintains his refusal to give testimony. He continues to stand in solidarity with his Indigenous relatives and Water Protectors by refusing to testify or cooperate with this secretive and unjust process.

On February 24th, after being jailed for 19 days for refusal to cooperate with the Grand Jury subpoena served to him, Martinez said:

I was served another subpoena before I was released, making it the third one. My lawyers are working hard to keep me from being imprisoned for standing up for my constitutional rights as an American citizen. After having my rights stripped from me, I was imprisoned with no charges for 19 days. Even with the work of our legal team, the chances are high that I will be imprisoned once again for up to 18 months or the duration of the grand jury. I humbly ask for your continued prayers & support as I continue to speak volumes through my silence. Thank you. MNI WICONI, WATER IS LIFE.

Martinez was previously subpoenaed in 2016 to a Grand Jury allegedly seeking information regarding the injuries incurred by Sophia Wilansky in November 2016 at Standing Rock; a now infamous night where law enforcement used fire hoses on Water Protectors in freezing temperatures. Wilansky was gravely injured, nearly losing her arm, and unable to receive emergency medical transport due to the blockades implemented by law enforcement and the State of North Dakota. Martinez acted as a good Samaritan on that night, driving Wilanksy in his vehicle to receive emergency medical care. He was then summoned to appear before a grand jury and refused to cooperate.

Four years later, Martinez is once again being targeted by the government and detained for his principled refusal to participate in a secret process that has historically been highly susceptible to politically motivated abuses. “The secrecy of federal grand jury proceedings and the unfettered power and discretion that federal prosecutors have in the proceedings makes federal grand juries ripe for abuse against dissident political activists and their movements,” said James Clark, a lawyer with the National Lawyers Guild. “Mr. Martinez’s saga with federal grand juries seems to have already been characterized by a number of procedural abuses and irregularities, such as his incarceration last month by a magistrate judge who lacked legal authority to order it,” Clark continued.

Chava Shapiro, a legal worker and supporter of Martinez since 2016 said “We are all standing in solidarity with his choice to invoke his constitutionally protected right to silence to the Grand Jury. Political activists know that Grand Juries have historically been used as a tool of political repression against Indigenous people in their efforts to maintain sovereignty, push the United States government to honor treaties, and achieve self-determination for their relatives and nations. The best and safest choice for Steve and for all those who protect the water is to maintain silence in the face of this Grand Jury.”

MORE INFORMATION ON GRAND JURIES AND RESISTANCE TO THEM

Grand Jury Resistance:
http://grandjuryresistance.org/
https://ncresiststhegrandjury.wordpress.com/

Grand Jury Resistance Workshop:
https://vimeo.com/243975492

Previous Press on Steve Martinez & Grand Jury Resistance:
https://theintercept.com/2021/02/19/standing-rock-indigenous-water-protector-imprisoned/
WAYS TO SUPPORT STEVE MARTINEZ
Letters of support may be directed to:
Steve Martinez, Burleigh County Detention Center, PO Box 2499 Bismarck, ND 58502

Support Steve: https://www.gofundme.com/f/supportstevemartinez

To learn more about Steve Martinez and the Water Protectors visit www.waterprotectorlegal.org and www.SupportSteveMartinez.com

Questions regarding support should be directed to [email protected]

There are 2.3 million people in U.S. prisons and jails, and 67% of those are people of color. Many are there as a result of widespread prosecutorial misconduct.
Episode 26 is the first of a two-part webinar examining this issue. Joining us is Curtis Flowers, a Black man from Mississippi who spent 23 years fighting for his freedom because of a racist prosecution. His disturbing story was covered in depth in season 2 of the popular podcast, “In the Dark.”

Joining him will be Alan Bean, Executive Director of Friends of Justice, which advocated to free Flowers for more than 12 years.

Finally, Jeffrey Deskovic, another exoneree, attorney, and founder of the Deskovic Foundation will speak about efforts to end prosecutorial misconduct and how to get involved.

Moderated by CCF Chair of the BOD Steve Downs. Register on Zoom http://bit.ly/curtisflowers or watch live on Facebook on Friday, March 5, at 2:30 PM EST at http://www.facebook.com/civilfreedoms/live

Our friends at Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners calendar collective have released their March 2021 Prison Break column on It’s Going Down. See a preview below and check out the full article here.

Though a short month, much indeed went down in February. We mourn the passing of activist and musician Anne Feeney as well as former Chicago 7 defendant Rennie Davis, both of whom fought tirelessly to create a better world. In early February, detainees at the St. Louis “Justice Center” took control of the facility for several hours, while reports emerged of officers at a jail in Oregon pepper-spraying prisoners who were being isolated for possible COVID-19 exposure. It was revealed in early February that political prisoner Bill Dunne had contracted COVID-19, and in the last days of February it was publicized that Mumia Abu-Jamal has also contracted the virus. Meanwhile, the crisis in Texas prisons and jails—and in Connecticut—continues to deteriorate, with important and tragic details here and here.