Monthly Archives: January 2022

Leonard Peltier Tests Positive For COVID-19

The ailing 77-year-old Native American rights activist has been pleading for help in prison and was never given a coronavirus booster shot.
By Jennifer Bendery
01/28/2022
Huffington Post

Leonard Peltier, the ailing 77-year-old Native American rights activist who has been pleading for help from prison amid coronavirus lockdowns and still hasn’t received a booster shot, has tested positive for COVID-19.

“Today, Leonard tested positive for COVID,” Peltier’s attorney Kevin Sharp told HuffPost late Friday. “We are all very concerned, as is Leonard. He wanted people to know that he sends his love and appreciation for the years everyone has fought for him. And should he make it through this, he intends to continue speaking out for Native rights.”ADVERTISEMENT

Peltier began feeling “like shit” on Thursday and had a “rough night” of painful and persistent coughing, Sharp said. “He told me, ‘I hope this is just a bad cold, but I have never had a cold like this before.’”

Peltier has now been placed in quarantine for 10 days.

Peltier has been in prison for 45 years without any evidence that he committed a crime. The FBI and U.S. Attorney Office charged him with the 1975 murders of two FBI agents during a shootout on a Native American reservation ― something he has long said he didn’t do, even when it meant he could have been paroled if he’d said he did. His trial was riddled with misconduct, and even the U.S. attorney who helped put Peltier in prison decades ago is now pleading with President Joe Biden to grant him clemency because, he says, federal officials never had evidence that he committed a crime.

“Enough is enough. It’s time to send Leonard Peltier home to the care of an appropriate medical facility and the love and support of his family on the Turtle Mountain Reservation,” he said. “His unconstitutional conviction should not turn into a de facto death sentence.”

Peltier told HuffPost last week that his prison facility’s prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns and failure to provide him and other inmates with booster shots has left him ― and likely others ― unbearably isolated and preparing for death. He is particularly vulnerable to COVID given his serious health problems, which include diabetes and an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

“I’m in hell,” he told HuffPost. “Left alone and without attention is like a torture chamber for the sick and old.”

Leonard Peltier, 77, meets the criteria for having his prison sentence commuted, says the chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Leonard Peltier, 77, meets the criteria for having his prison sentence commuted, says the chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, on Wednesday urged Biden to commute Peltier’s sentence and send him home, given his age, illness and time served.ADVERTISEMENT

“I commend your administration’s commitment to righting past wrongs in our criminal justice system,” Schatz wrote to Biden. “In continuing that work as you consider recommendations for individuals to receive clemency, I write to urge you to grant a commutation of Leonard Peltier’s sentence.”

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the former longtime chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the longest-serving member of the Senate, has also called on Biden to send Peltier home.

A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons did not respond to a request for comment earlier Friday on why Peltier had not been transferred to in-home confinement given his age, declining health and time served.

Elder Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier contracts Covid 19 at USP Coleman 1 as BOP fails to follow CDC Covid Guidelines. ILPDC Demands Covid Release for Leonard Peltier

 For IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 29, 2022

For More Information Contact:
Carol Gokee 715-209-4453; or Jean Roach 605-415-3127: Kevin Sharp 615-415-0797

(COLEMAN, FL) On Friday January 28, 2022, Leonard Peltier tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid 19) virus at the United States Penitentiary at Coleman, FL (USP Coleman 1).

Leonard Peltier (Anishinaabe/Dakota) of the American Indian Movement (AIM)  is an internationally known political prisoner whose release has been called for by scores of Congressional representatives, the Dali-Lama, Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and hundreds of luminaries as well of millions of people around the globe. Recently Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) Chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) the Pro Tem of the United States Senate joined those calls for Presidential Clemency/Commutation for Leonard Peltier.

Leonard Peltier was unjustly convicted in the deaths of two FBI agents in a June 26, 1975, shootout in Oglala, SD between members of the American Indian Movement, defending the Oglala community and the FBI. Peltier’s two co-defendants were acquitted by reason of self-defense. Peltier, who was later extradited from Canada under questionable circumstances was tried separate. Peltier’s trial was replete with prosecutorial misconduct, falsified testimony, fabricated evidence, even the autopsy presented to the jury was done by an examiner who had never seen the bodies of the two agents. The former US Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, James Reynolds, who supervised the post-trial sentencing and appeals admitted they “shaved a few corners” and “we could not prove Leonard Peltier personally committed any crime on the Pine Ridge Reservation” in his letter to US President Joe Biden calling for Peltier’s release.

 Peltier is a 77-year-old inmate with a host of co-morbidities that should, according to CDC Guidelines, have prioritized him for a Covid Booster Shot. CDC guidelines call for booster shots at seven months, yet 11 months after Peltier received his Covid 19 vaccine, he had not received a booster shot. Visitors to USP Coleman 1 have noted the facility is not mandating vaccines for its guards or staff, Guards and staff were seen both without masks and improperly wearing masks, social distancing was neither encouraged nor enforced and booster shots had not, until recently, been available to any inmate at USP Coleman 1. Both the ILPDC and mutual aid organizations offered to donate N-95 masks for every inmate at Coleman were denied.

The United States Department of Justice, through the Attorney General issued guidelines for Covid Release to Home Confinement for inmates who were elderly and or had compromised immune system or Co-morbidities on March 26th and April 3rd, 2020. Leonard Peltier at 77 years old with a host of comorbidities including diabetes, hypertension, heart condition, and an aortic aneurysm undeniably meets those conditions. Furthermore, his home community on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota continues to request his return to his home community.

Now due to the reckless disregard of the United States Bureau of Prisons in failing to follow CDC Guidelines for Correctional and Detention Facilities (Correctional and Detention Facilities | CDC) has caused Mr. Peltier to face a virus that could end his life.

The ILPDC is demanding the United States Bureau of Prisons follow the guidance provided by the US Justice Department and release Leonard Peltier on Home Confinement to the Turtle Mountain Reservation. The ILPDC believes as former US Attorney James Reynolds wrote to US President Joe Biden, enough is enough. Leonard has suffered in prison for 46 years and now due to the inactions of the facility has caught a deadly virus.

The ILPDC Calls upon our family, relatives, friends, and supporters around the world to pray for Leonard’s health but to also take action by demanding their Senator calls upon the Warden at USP Coleman 1 and the Bureau of Prisons to IMMEDIATELY Release Leonard Peltier to home confinement. While he may currently need medical attention there is no question that his relatives at Turtle Mountain will endeavor to care for Leonard Peltier rather than the wanton indifference, he has been shown at USP Coleman as evidenced by his contracting this pandemic disease.

###

Monday January 31st: Philly ABC letter-writing for Toby Shone

In November 2020 a series of coordinated raids against anarchist website 325.nostate.net were executed by Counter-Terrorism cops in the UK as part of “Operation Adream.” Several properties in the South-West of England were searched and one person, Toby Shone, was arrested and charged under the Terrorist Act. Toby was originally charged with providing a service enabling others to access terrorist publications contrary to section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006, fundraising for terrorist purposes contrary to section 15 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and two counts of possession of information likely to be useful to a terrorist contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He pleaded not guilty to these charges earlier last year and was due to stand trial at Bristol Crown Court on October 6th, 2021. However, with no evidence to put before the court, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was forced to drop these charges on October 1st, 2021.

The attack on 325.nostate.net is a landmark attempt by the state to silence dissent and radical critical thinking. It can be seen as part of the general crackdown in the UK against protest, counter-information and alternative thinking and lifestyles as evidenced by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021 (which resulted in the Kill the Bill protests), and the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021, which extends the powers of spy cops and the reforms of the Judicial Reviews procedure. The investigation into 325 continues and cops continue to harass and attempt to intimidate people.

Toby was sentenced to 3 years 9 months in prison for 8 drug offences at Bristol Crown Court on October 13th, 2021 after Terrorism charges were dropped. The ‘drugs’ were psychedelics and medicinal plants (LSD, DMT, cannabis, THC oil, MDMA and magic mushrooms) found at two of the four properties raided by counter-terror cops in the UK South-West on November 18th, 2020 in their hunt for the administrator of 325.nostate.net.

Toby is in good spirits and remains strong. Join us in sending him notes of solidarity at this month’s online letter-writing event on Monday, January 31st at 6:30 pm! We will play an audio recording from Toby in his own words. If you are unable to make it, please drop him an email via emailaprisoner.com or send letters to:

Toby Shone A7645EP
HMP Bristol
19 Cambridge Road
Bishopston
Bristol
BS7 8PS
UK

Note: The current cost of postage from the U.S. to the UK is $1.30 if mailing from home. We also encourage sending birthday greetings to political prisoners with birthdays in February: Veronza Bowers (the 4th), Kamau Sadiki (the 19th), and Oso Blanco (the 26th).

For more information, see Philly ABC

Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners updated

From NYC ABC
We’ve finished the latest version of the NYC ABC “Illustrated Guide to
Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War” and it’s available for viewing
(and download). This update includes updated mini-bios, photos, and address changes for
several prisoners. Unfortunately, we are adding a prisoner to the guide
this month–whistleblower Daniel Hale.


Download at https://nycabc.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/nycabc_polprisonerlisting_jan2022.pdf

Leonard Peltier Pleads For Help Amid Constant COVID Lockdowns In Prison

The Native American rights activist, now 77 and ailing, says “fear and stress” from unbearable periods of isolation is breaking him and others.

Jennifer Bendery, Huffington Post.

Never mind that he shouldn’t be in a federal prison at all.

Leonard Peltier, the Native American rights activist whom the FBI put behind bars decades ago without any evidence that he committed a crime, tells HuffPost that his facility’s prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns and failure to provide at least some inmates with booster shots has left him ― and likely others ― unbearably isolated and preparing for death.

“I’m in hell,” Peltier said in a Friday statement, “and there is no way to deal with it but to take it as long as you can.”

Peltier, who is 77 and has serious health problems including diabetes and an abdominal aortic aneurysm, said “fear and stress” from the prison’s intense coronavirus lockdowns are taking a toll on everyone, including staff. He described conditions like having next to no human contact or access to phones sometimes for weeks, no access to regular showers or substantial food, and not even the ability to look out a window or have fresh air.

“Left alone and without attention is like a torture chamber for the sick and old,” he said.

Peltier’s facility, a high-security penitentiary in Florida called USP Coleman I, is currently one of 98 federal prisons at a Level 3 COVID-19 operational level, which means its COVID medical isolation rate is at the highest level. For the facility’s 1,335 inmates, this translates to no contact with other people within the facility and no visitation from anyone externally.ADVERTISEMENTStart your own journey towards school founding. Learn more today.Sponsored by BESWe know that students across the US are not receiving the education they deserve. Because we know, we must act. Here’s how one BES Fellow took action:SEE MORE

The Coleman facility has been in its latest COVID lockdown since Jan. 11, according to Peltier’s attorney, Kevin Sharp. It’s been imposing dayslong and sometimes weekslong COVID lockdowns dating back to March 2021. Some of the longer stretches were March 6-15, June 14-30, and Dec. 12-Jan. 4, said Sharp.

Peltier says it’s not just mentally excruciating to endure constant lockdowns. He said he and others on his cellblock still haven’t gotten their COVID booster shots. They should have been offered them by now; all people incarcerated in federal prisons gained access to the initial round of vaccines last May, which means it’s well past the six-month window for getting boosted to stave off potential serious illness or death.

In Peltier’s case, he got his first COVID-19 vaccination shot in January 2021 and his second in May 2021, according to Sharp, which means he was due for his booster in November. Peltier asks the prison’s medical staff “every chance he gets” when he and others in his cellblock will get their booster shots, said Sharp, and they always say they don’t know.

People living in prisons are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 because of factors like being in close quarters, poor ventilation in old facilities and the fact that some prison staff aren’t getting vaccinated. But when lockdowns mean being denied human contact for weeks at a time and no details on when a COVID-19 vaccine booster will be available, the situation feels untenable for inmates like Peltier.ADVERTISEMENTDiscover a World of Color When You Meet in Puerto RicoSponsored by Discover Puerto RicoIn Puerto Rico, you’ll find the ideal backdrop for your meeting or corporate event. Follow us and uncover all that our destination has to offer you.SEE MORE

“They are turning an already harsh environment into an asylum,” he said.

Leonard Peltier, the Native American rights activist who shouldn't even be in prison, says the "fear and stress" tied to constant COVID-19 lockdowns in his prison is breaking him and others.
Leonard Peltier, the Native American rights activist who shouldn’t even be in prison, says the “fear and stress” tied to constant COVID-19 lockdowns in his prison is breaking him and others.

It’s hard to know how many people within the massive federal prison system have not received their booster shots. There are currently 153,855 people incarcerated in federal prisons, of which 135,100 are in facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Donald Murphy, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, said the department isn’t making data publicly available relating to inmates’ booster shot rates. Instead, he pointed to the department’s COVID resource webpage, which includes data on the total number of COVID-19 vaccination shots that have been given to inmates and staff since last year.

“We are not breaking this number down to reflect booster shots only,” he said.

The Bureau of Prisons has received a total of 316,714 doses and administered 287,681 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to staff and inmates since it became available last May, according to its website. Those numbers include the two-dose vaccines offered by Pfizer and Moderna, and the one-dose vaccine offered by Johnson & Johnson.

As for the conditions Peltier described at the Coleman facility, Murphy declined to comment on “anecdotal allegations” or on “conditions of confinement for any particular inmate.”

He did say that the Coleman facility “is currently administering COVID booster vaccinations for inmates,” despite the fact that Peltier has not been offered one and has seen no signs of it being offered to other inmates on his cellblock.

Murphy also said the Bureau of Prisons follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance with regard to COVID-19 quarantine and medical isolation procedures.

Here’s Peltier’s full statement on the conditions inside Coleman, provided to HuffPost:

COVID has turned Coleman Prison back to the Dark Ages. I remember a time at Marion USP when I was put in solitary for so long, when 72 hours could make you start to forget who you were. I once wrote down who I was on the concrete floor under my bed, so if I forgot, I could read it back to myself. I traded my last cigarette for a pencil. I’d rush to the door when a guard left the meager plate of food, just to see a glimpse of another human being — even if it was one that hated me, it was another human and good for my mind for a minute.

I’m in hell, and there is no way to deal with it but to take it as long as you can. I cling to the belief that people are out there doing what they can to change our circumstances in here. The fear and stress are taking a toll on everyone, including the staff. You can see it in their faces and hear it in their voices. The whole institution is on total LOCKDOWN.

In and out of lockdown last year at least meant a shower every third day, a meal beyond a sandwich wet with a little peanut butter — but now with COVID for an excuse, nothing. No phone, no window, no fresh air — no humans to gather — no love ones voice. No relief. Left alone and without attention is like a torture chamber for the sick and old.

Where are our human rights activists? You are hearing from me, and with me, many desperate men and women! They are turning an already harsh environment into an asylum, and for many who did not receive a death penalty, we are now staring down the face of one! Help me, my brothers and sisters, help me my good friends.

Peltier is America’s longest-serving political prisoner. He’s been behind bars for 45 years for the 1975 murders of two FBI agents during a shootout on a Native American reservation ― something he has long said he didn’t do, even when it meant he could have been paroled if he said he did. His trial was riddled with misconduct and even the U.S. attorney who helped put Peltier in prison so long ago is now pleading with President Joe Biden to grant him clemency because, he says, federal officials never had evidence that he committed a crime.

His imprisonment has drawn protests from an astounding mix of international human rights leaders including Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and Coretta Scott King. Elected tribal leaders and the National Congress of American Indians have also passed resolutions urging clemency.

Biden is likely Peltier’s last chance at freedom before he dies in prison.

Write Leonard:
Leonard Peltier #89637-132
USP Coleman I
PO Box1033
Coleman, Fl 33521

www.whoisleonardpeltier.info

Mumia Abu-Jamal letter writing with NYC ABC- January 25th

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
WHERE: from wherever in the Matrix you happen to be
COST: Free

It’s hard to maintain hope as the pandemic rages on. We see the logical progression of capitalism before our eyes: crises accelerated by the pandemic that range from healthcare failures to food scarcity. As anarchists we know that to rely on the state is to be perpetually disappointed, yet this pandemic puts us in a paradoxical situation that we must contend with. One thing we have to be grateful for is our freedom in this overly-surveilled police state. No matter how rough and tough things get here on the outside, we know the conditions in prisons are worse now more than ever. One way to share some light with the folks stuck in cages is to write letters and maintain pen pal relationships. Given the current status of COVID, we continue to encourage folks to write from home with the hope we can resume public events in the near future.

This week we invite you to write to one of the most well known us-held political prisoners: Mumia Abu-Jamal, an African-American writer and journalist, author of six books and hundreds of columns and articles, who has spent the last 30 years on Pennsylvania’s death row and now general population. Mumia was wrongfully convicted and sentenced for the murder of a Philadelphia cop. The demand for a new trial and freedom is supported by heads of state, Nobel laureates, distinguished human rights organizations, scholars, religious leaders, artists, scientists and, as important, millions of folks like you and us. For more information, be sure to visit bringmumiahome.com.

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

Smart Communications/PA DOC
Mumia Abu-Jamal #AM8335
SCI Mahanoy
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, Fl 33733

Eric King’s mail ban is over (for now)

Eric King’s mail ban is over (for now) so please write him if you can. He would love to hear from people. It has been quite some time since he was able to receive letters from people outside his immediate family. (We have no idea whether there will be another mail ban).

Please do not talk about his case and be mindful, that all letters are read by prison officials and potentially scanned/saved.
Write
Eric King #27090-045
FCI Englewood
9595 West Quincy Avenue
Littleton, CO 80123

Eric has a wishlist for books. You can order books for me at tiny.cc/EK_Books

I Know What It Means to Strike at Rikers

by former political prisoner David Campbell / January 14

I helped organize a strike at Rikers during the first wave. Those striking now are not to be ignored.

This article was published in our Perspectives section. David Campbell is a writer and anti-fascist activist who helped organize a strike while incarcerated at Rikers Island in 2020. 

Two days ago, I read that there was a massive strike underway at Rikers Island. It brought back a flood of memories—dingy, scuffed white walls, clanging metal doors, a near-total dearth of comfort or privacy, and, perhaps strangely, a sense of solidarity so strong it moves me still.

In March of 2020, I was a prisoner in the Robert N. Davoren Center on Rikers Island. All my clothes were forest green. My bedsheets were stamped “DOC” in block letters. My neighbor on one side was a Dominican-American crack dealer with an imposing stature and infectious laugh; on the other, a tall, gaunt heroin addict from the Caucasus who I gave English lessons to two or three times a week.

The men in my 48-bed dorm all had their petty beefs and claims to a place on the totem pole. Who controlled the TV, who could use what phone, who was first in line for chow–these things take on oversized importance in jail. But all that changed when the pandemic hit. The Department of Correction seemed like it was trying to win a prize for most-bungled Covid response: It refused to take any serious attempt at mitigating the spread of the disease, testing for its presence, or social distancing, even as it claimed publicly that everything was under control. The extent of the response was to slap up posters advising us to social distance–a physically impossible feat–in twelve different languages. We were offered the most nonsensical advice to ward off Covid, like “drink green tea.”

After a week of mounting frustration at the DOC’s hypocrisy, they cut off our phones for several hours one morning. The phones are a lifeline in jail. They’re the only direct method of communication with the outside world. The reason, we were told, was to encourage us to clean our dorm. In fact, we had organized ourselves into cleaning crews, schedules and all, to make up for the fact that the institution was not taking any measures to protect us. This was the spark that lit the fire, and we went on strike. Suddenly, the fact that we all wore forest green and had DOC-stamped bedsheets mattered more than our backgrounds, convictions, or gang affiliations.

With near-unanimity, we refused to leave the dorms for work or institutional meals. When the phones came back on briefly, I communicated a list of grievances and demands to an activist friend on the outside, who spread the word on social media. We wanted masks, Covid tests, and cleaning supplies, and the immediate release of as many prisoners as possible, measures the Board of Correction had called for only days earlier. Prisoners on Rikers often share food and other scarce resources with each other, but once we went on strike, this practice became something else altogether. Volunteers began soliciting donations from among us and cooking giant collective meals. Though disputes still arose, they seemed less frequent and less frivolous.

Now, prisoners in RNDC are striking again. Our strike numbered about 90 and lasted one day. Theirs numbers 200 and has now gone on for seven. Their claims of being denied access to medical and mental health care, outdoor exercise, law library services, and humane living conditions are all entirely believable—I witnessed all of them first hand during my time there. 

This sort of refusal to comply is called a “stick-up” in Rikers lingo. A stick-up may not be an organized strike. A prisoner refusing to exchange his sneakers for the painfully thin DOC-issued shoes upon arrival, or refusing to allow himself to be transferred to another housing unit, for example, would be considered sticking it up. Sticking it up also refers to a broad range of less-than-noble goals and tactics; splashing a guard with urine because you haven’t been brought new video games in two weeks, for example.

But the sort of action underway at RNDC happens way more than you might think—it just tends to go unreported. One reason is simply because it’s less splashy. Stories of violence tend to grab attention. Another is that many of those incarcerated have no way to get word to the outside about their actions. Many, sadly, have no one to call. They often give away their phone calls, or sell them to other prisoners for things like ramen noodles or potato chips.

Nor do most have a frame of reference for strategic activism. Even after we had established a broad consensus to go on strike, for example, many of my fellow prisoners asked me what the point was. Striking prisoners may never think of themselves as “on strike” or communicate their actions to the outside world, let alone with a clear list of demands and grievances.

But within the walls, sticking it up is a fairly common occurrence. On Christmas Eve when I was incarcerated, the guards tried to pass my dorm over for its regularly scheduled commissary trip (the DOC is incredibly disorganized, and prisoners’ basic needs often go unfulfilled as a result). The gang members in my dorm led the charge and quickly placed themselves between the guard on his way out of the room and the gate, refusing to budge until we were all taken to commissary. It was the first stick-up I’d seen, and it worked.

I also heard several firsthand accounts from different sources during my time inside of a sit-down for racial justice in “the Five,” or the Anna M. Kross Center, another building on the island. One of the regularly scheduled officers at the housing unit in question was apparently widely disliked for constantly berating the inmates with racist remarks. The final straw came when she took a cheap shot at an inmate of Middle Eastern descent, cracking off a comment about terrorism. The Latin Kings, who ran the cellblock, convinced everyone to pack their belongings into trash bags, sit down on the floor, and refuse to move until the higher-ups were called. They were, and the offending officer was rotated to another post. 

It’s incredibly difficult to pass information in jail; the sit-down had happened during my sentence, but I only heard about it months later, when one of the participants was transferred into my dorm. A great deal of things are communicated by yelling out the windows, but this is an imperfect method, to say the least, especially when you can’t see the other person. My dorm and the other dorm on our floor went on strike together because we could communicate through the air vents. The dorms upstairs, however, never got on board. I later learned from guys who had been housed there at the time that they would have gladly joined in, if only they had known. 

When information does spread, though, it can be powerful. When we went on strike in March 2020, we were inspired in part by reports a fellow inmate’s girlfriend had seen on Twitter that prisoners in the Hudson County Immigrant Detention Center were on hunger strike, which she then reported to him over the phone. A few days prior, another guy had spread the word that his partner had told him during a phone call that inmates were “wil’in’ out in the Five” in protest of Covid conditions, a fact I believe also contributed to our later decision to strike.  

Prisoners, according to the DOC’s inmate handbook, do not have the right to organize protests of any kind. Beyond any official sanctions, the organizers—especially those brave enough to speak out to the media using their names—can be punished with time in solitary confinement or extensions of their sentence on Rikers, as well as unofficial forms of retribution.

When a number of prisoners flat-out refused to bury the unclaimed Covid dead on nearby Hart Island without personal protective equipment, they lost their “good time” (that is, time taken off of their sentence for good behavior) and were transferred en masse for their trouble. In August 2020, prisoners’ wages were drastically slashed, and a number of those in my dorm were simultaneously assigned the difficult job of cleaning the holding pens in the bowels of the New York City courts, which entails waking up at 5am only to be shackled and driven across town six days a week. Most stuck it up, and when I left the island in October of that year, they were still striking, racking up expensive infraction tickets and living under the threat of losing good time.

Other forms of retaliation are more subtle. Searches, for example, are used as a tool to repress prisoners’ ability to organize: even if they aren’t actually looking for anything, DOC staff can arrive at any moment, strip-search you, and trash your few belongings, often confiscating a seemingly random assortment of items in the process. A transfer to another housing unit, too, can be a vicious act of retribution. Imagine someone appearing in your bedroom and ordering you to throw everything you own into a trash bag within the next ten minutes; then spending somewhere between a few hours and a few weeks in a holding cell without a bed or possibly even running water or a flushing toilet, amid a constant flow of stressed-out new arrivals and forced transferees like yourself; and finally arriving in a housing unit where you may not know anyone, and where you’ll likely be forced to take the most uncomfortable bed, or, in some cases, jumped in. 

Those of us who went on strike in March 2020 were comparatively fortunate in this regard. The DOC hierarchy had planned to transfer us all to different housing units as a way to punish us and break our momentum, but that never materialized. Many of the strikers were actually released by the DOC in the two days that followed the strike, and in the turmoil of the first wave, those of us left behind were not targeted for retaliation by the institution.

The most frustrating thing for me is that most of the men currently on Rikers could be immediately released too, and it would pose no problem to anyone. Three-quarters of the men I was locked up with were released overnight in the wake of our strike, part of an ultimate total of 1,477 people released during the first wave of the pandemic. Four months later, only 13% of those men had been rearrested. I think of those brave strikers in the building I was forced to call home not long ago, and I can only hope they are as successful. 

Sundiata Acoli turns 85 today. Help free him.

Sundiata Acoli should not be spending his 85th birthday in prison. He has been incarcerated for over 48 years, serving twice his original sentence. We ask that you participate in his Freedom Fast and sign a petition for his release. #BringSundiataHome

Sign a postcard to Governor Murphy asking him to commute Sundiata’s sentence.

Sign petition for Sundiata’s freedom

Write Sundiata:
Clark Squire (aka Sundiata Acoli) #39794-066
FCI Cumberland
P.O. Box 1000
Cumberland, MD 21501

Call-in to support political prisoner Oso Blanco at USP Victorville!

CALL OUT IN SUPPORT OF POLITICAL PRISONER OSO BLANCO & INDIGENOUS PRISONER RIGHTS AT USP VICTORVILLE, 9AM – 5PM PST

Check out freeosoblanco.org/blog/call-in-support-of-indigenous-prisoner-rights-at-usp-victorville/   for more details

January 13, 2022

Stand with Indigenous prisoners at USP Victorville! Tell BOP prison officials and staff to respect Native religious rights and practices!

On behalf of all Native and Indigenous prisoners held at USP Victorville, we call on prison officials and staff to cease and desist from violating the religious rights of Native and Indigenous prisoners being held at USP Victorville.

During the first week of December 2021, prison staff purposefully destroyed the sacred sweat lodge at USP Victorville, also removing medicine bags and other materials from Indigenous prisoners. These actions are violations of religious rights of those held at USP Victorville. Furthermore, counselor Villanueva has withheld BP-8 forms from said prisoners, not coming around the unit in order to prevent them from filing a formal complaint about these blatant religious rights violations.

According to the Bureau of Prisons website, “Chaplaincy Services Branch ensures the Constitutional religious rights of inmates.” This is obviously not the case at USP Victorville, where Chaplains Northway and Kelvington continually infringe upon the religious rights of Native and Indigenous people held at the prison. As confirmed in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), these basic rights must be respected and adhered to.

As Indigenous prisoners at USP Victorville are denied to even raise their legitimate grievances within the prison system, along with the continued denial of basic religious rights, and the destruction of their sweat lodge, we are urgently requesting emails and phone calls to BOP prison officials in order to rectify these gross violations of prisoners’ rights.

Immediate Demands:

1) Immediately provide proper materials so that the prisoners themselves can rebuild the sweat lodge destroyed by prison officials. The energy involved in the process of rebuilding has significance for Indigenous religious purposes, so the work should and must be done by them. Materials needed to rebuild the sweat lodge include willows, rocks, and untreated firewood (as it is illegal to burn treated construction wood in the State of California).

2) Ensure prison staff are properly trained on what they can and cannot do in regards to Native/Indigenous religious ceremonies

3) That prisoners be given immediate access to BP-8 forms so they can file a formal complaint.

THURSDAY, JAN. 13, 2022, SEND EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS TO THE FOLLOWING:

USP Victorville
P.O. Box 5400
Adelanto, CA  92301
General email: [email protected]
General phone: 760-530-5000


Melissa Rios, BOP Regional Director, Western Regional Office (209-956-9700; [email protected], Bureau of Prisons, Western Regional Office, 7338 Shoreline Drive, Stockton, CA 95219)


Michael Carvajal, BOP Director Washington DC Central Office (202-307-3198; [email protected], Bureau of Prisons, Central Office, 320 First Street, NW, Washington, DC 20534)

Draft email/letter:

Dear _____,

It has come to my attention that Indigenous prisoners at USP Victorville are being denied their religious rights, and that their sacred sweat lodge was demolished by prison staff. On top of these gross violations, prisoners are being prevented from accessing BP-8 forms which would allow them to file a formal complaint.

Seeing as all their modes of regress have been denied, I am asking you to please do your job and ensure that those held captive at your facility are provided the religious tools and basic rights for which they are entitled. 

According to the Bureau of Prisons website, “Chaplaincy Services Branch ensures the Constitutional religious rights of inmates.” This is obviously not the case at USP Victorville, where Chaplains Northway and Kelvington continually infringe upon the religious rights of Native and Indigenous people held at the prison. Furthermore, counselor Villanueva has withheld BP-8 forms from said prisoners, not coming around the unit in order to prevent them from filing a formal complaint about these blatant religious rights violations.

As confirmed in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), these basic rights must be respected and adhered to.

I ask you to immediately grant these three demands and enable Native prisoners held within your facility to practice their religious rights.

1) Immediately provide proper materials so that the prisoners themselves can rebuild the sweat lodge destroyed by prison officials. The energy involved in the process of rebuilding has significance for Indigenous religious purposes, so the work should and must be done by them. Materials needed to rebuild the sweat lodge include willows, rocks, and untreated firewood (as it is illegal to burn treated construction wood in the State of California).

2) Ensure prison staff are properly trained on what they can and cannot do in regards to Native/Indigenous religious ceremonies.

3) That prisoners be given immediate access to BP-8 forms so they can file a formal complaint.

Sincerely,

_____

Phone script:

Hi _____, my name is _____, and I’m calling on behalf of the Indigenous and Native prisoners held at USP Victorville. It has come to my attention that they are being denied their religious rights, and that their sacred sweat lodge was demolished by prison staff. On top of these gross violations, prisoners are also being prevented from accessing BP-8 forms which allow them to file a formal complaint.

Seeing as all their modes of regress have been denied, I am asking you to please do your job and ensure that those held captive at your facility are provided the religious tools and basic rights for which they are entitled. 

According to the Bureau of Prisons website, “Chaplaincy Services Branch ensures the Constitutional religious rights of inmates.” This is obviously not the case at USP Victorville, where Chaplains Northway and Kelvington continually infringe upon the religious rights of Native and Indigenous people held at the prison. Furthermore, counselor Villanueva has withheld BP-8 forms from said prisoners, not coming around the unit in order to prevent them from filing a formal complaint about these blatant religious rights violations.

As confirmed in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), these basic rights must be respected and adhered to.

I ask you to immediately grant these three demands and enable Native prisoners held within your facility to practice their religious rights.

1) Immediately provide proper materials so that the prisoners themselves can rebuild the sweat lodge destroyed by prison officials. The energy involved in the process of rebuilding has significance for Indigenous religious purposes, so the work should and must be done by them. Materials needed to rebuild the sweat lodge include willows, rocks, and untreated firewood (as it is illegal to burn treated construction wood in the State of California).

2) Ensure prison staff are properly trained on what they can and cannot do in regards to Native/Indigenous religious ceremonies.

3) That prisoners be given immediate access to BP-8 forms so they can file a formal complaint.

Sincerely,