Author Archives: abcfmatt

Political Prisoner updates from NYC ABC 7.13.2021

Here’s the latest compilation of every other week updates:
https://nycabc.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/updates-13-jul-2021-1.pdf

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.

NYC Books through Bars July 2021 bundle of books

tl:dr: Order at http://www.freebirdbooks.com/shop.html

Following June’s drive (over 330 books collected!) and a year after Freebird Books initiated this campaign, we focus on worker-owned publisher AK Press, a longtime supporter of NYC Books Through Bars and a leading publisher of literature on social justice and anarchism.

We have chosen a selection of titles that exemplify their ethos while exploring themes important for incarcerated readers. On previous drives we have featured Octavia Butler’s own influential speculative fiction. In Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements, we share the fruits of those influences: 20 short works of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and magical realism that connect visionary worlds with movements of social change. (Edited with Adrienne Maree Brown)

That anthology happens to be co-edited by the educator, writer, and spoken word artist Walidah Imarisha, the author of our second selection, Angels with Dirty Faces, a real life but poetic study of incarceration’s toll.

And in Fascism Today, Shane Burley provides a practical guide to understanding and combating a troubling political trend that did not end with the last administration.

About the Freebird book drive for NYC Books Through Bars
While NYC Books Through Bars operating out of Freebird’s basement is currently limiting in-person volunteering and drop offs due to COVID-19, book requests continue to pour in from prisons around the country: nearly 300 per week. In response to the challenges of accepting those donations during the pandemic, we have started a monthly program in which specific, in-demand titles can be purchased through Freebird at a discount.

Order the July bundle!

Eric King’s communication restrictions likely to end soon

Eric’s communication restrictions are set to expire July 7th! The last time the restrictions expired it took him about 2 weeks to receive his first piece of mail. Then, after 2 weeks the BOP renewed the restrictions for 6 more months.

Write him at

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

Please send letters in a white envelope on white paper, no postcards or greeting cards.

Eric is also pretrial right now so avoid conversations about his case please!

Water Protector sentenced to 8 years in Federal Prison for actions to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, July 1st, 2021
Water Protector sentenced to 8 years in Federal Prison for actions to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline
Contact: [email protected]

Des Moines, IA –On Wednesday Federal Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger sentenced Jessica Reznicek to 8 years in prison, followed by 3 years supervised probation, and a restitution of $3,198,512.70 paid to Energy Transfer LLC for the actions she took in 2016 to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. “I am saddened to be preparing for prison following today’s sentencing hearing. My spirit remains strong, however, as I feel held in love, support and prayer by so many near and far. Regardless of my sentence I am hopeful that movements to protect the water live on in the struggles against Line 3 and the Mountain Valley Pipelines. ” Jessica Reznicek

The judge sided with the Federal prosecutors and applied a domestic terrorism enhancement to Jessica’s case. The enhancement originated in the Bush era Patriot Act, which expanded the definition of terrorism to cover “domestic,” as opposed to international, terrorism. The prosecutor requested the enhancement claiming that Jessica’s acts of resistance were “violent”, “dangerous”, and sought to “intimidate the government”. The judge decided that this argument provided enough evidence to substantiate the enhancement, saying it was necessary to discourage others from taking similar actions. The enhancement increases Jessica’s sentence, but also has far reaching implications for broader social justice movements. This use of this enhancement interprets non-violent actions that challenge corporate profit as acts of terror against the government.

On today’s decision one of Jessica’s attorneys Bill Quigley stated, “Unfortunately, actions to protect our human right to water were found to be less important than the profit and property of corporations which are destroying our lands and waters. For a country which was founded by the rebellion of the Boston Tea Party this is extremely disappointing. But the community of resistance will no doubt carry on. And history will judge if Jessica Reznicek is a criminal or a prophet. Many of us are betting she’s a prophet.” In her statement to the court Jessica highlighted how the water system for her hometown of Des Moines is on the verge of collapse. The city water department has admitted that both the Des Moines and Racoon rivers are so polluted and low that in the upcoming weeks they might not be able to continue to use them to supply the capital with drinking water.

Meanwhile “victim” in this case Energy Transfer Partners and its subsidiaries are responsible for 313 reported spills since 2012 on liquid lines, 35 caused water contamination. In the last 5 years the company had more accidents harming people or the environment than any other operator. Jessica will remain on house arrest until she has to self-report for her sentence and plans to file an appeal within the 14 day window allowed by the court.###

FreeJessica#WaterIsLife#NoDAPL

Button fundraiser for Gage Halupowski

Via @genderended

We are selling these buttons sliding scale $1-$5 for Gage’s birthday to put $ on his books! Too order send $ to our payment apps and put “gage” in the notes and send us a screenshot! If you can’t donate write him a letter(.
Venmo: @ genderenders
Cashapp: $genderenders

Write Gage:
Gage Halupowski #21894460
Snake River Correctional Institution
777 Stanton Blvd.
Ontario, OR 97914– 8335

James River ABC Letter writing July 7th

Political Prisoner Letter Writing Night with James River Anarchist Black Cross
Wednesday, July 7th, 7-9 pm
Lamplighter (1719 Summit Ave)
Richmond, VA

Please join us as we relaunch our public monthly letter writing night. Sending love, support, and solidarity through the prison walls is an act of revolutionary caring.

**masks required inside**
**ramp entrance by request **
**materials provided **

Questions/Comments/etc. [email protected]

NYC ABC Political Prisoner updates- June 28th

Here’s the latest compilation of every other week updates:
https://nycabc.files.wordpress.com/2021/06/updates-28-jun-2021.pdf

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

June 29th – Letter-writing to Russell Maroon Shoatz

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, June 29th, 2021
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

One year and one month to the day of George Floyd’s murder the state sentenced his murderer to 22 1/2 years in prison. Are we supposed to be happy or feel relieved? Those of us engaged in prisoner support work know plenty of folks that spend much more time inside for much less, but also know prison is hell anyway you slice it (we don’t like to get caught up in the arguments of what constitutes a long sentence). Regardless, we trust he’ll be well cared for in there. And no, we’re not happy. And no, we’re not relieved. They sacrificed one of their own to take the fall for the rest still working their beats. Meanwhile, cops continue to murder, migrants are detained at an increasing rate, and Trump is still holding rallies. The uprisings of 2020 were a hopeful promise of what is to come, and now one year later we’re here wondering if anything has changed. All we can do is to continue our organizing projects, our mutual aid projects, and our solidarity work. For us at NYC ABC, that is supporting political prisoners through letter writing efforts.

This week, NYC ABC and Page One Collective ask you to write to a Black liberation political prisoner, the truly implacable Russell Maroon Shoatz, himself accused of taking action against the brutality meted out by cops on Black communities. Russell Maroon Shoatz is a dedicated community activist, founding member of the Black Unity Council, former member of the Black Panther Party and soldier in the Black Liberation Army. In 1970, along with 5 others, Maroon was accused of attacking a police station, which resulted in a cop being killed. This attack was said to have been carried out in response to the rampant police brutality in the Black community. For 18 months Maroon functioned underground as a soldier in the Black Liberation Army. In 1972 he was captured. Twice he escaped—once in 1977 and again in 1980, but both times he was recaptured and today he is held in Pennsylvania where he is serving multiple life sentences.

As with many of our imprisoned elders, Maroon faces health concerns and should immediately released. On June 17th 2021 there was an emergency action to get Russell his much needed chemo treatments which had been cancelled by DOC. Please stay tuned for more updates. 

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

Smart Connections/PA DOC
Russell Shoats #AF-3855
SCI-Dallas
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, Fl 33733

Registration open for Philly ABC’s Running Down the Walls

All info is at https://phillyabc.org/rdtw/

It’s that time again! Join us on September 12th for another #runningdownthewalls 5K to raise funds for #politicalprisoners! Proceeds will be split between Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Warchest fund that sends monthly stipends to 17 other political prisoners.

Register now at https://phillyabc.org/rdtw/
@mumiaabujamalofficial
@bringmumiahome
@thelastjamal

#RDTW is more than a 5K, it’s a day to amplify voices of comrades behind bars and lift them up in their struggles, and maintain material support. Over last 3 years we’ve raised $17,952 for current and former political prisoners. Let’s do it again this year!

See 2020, 2019, & 2018 reportbacks

Mumia is a former Black Panther, MOVE supporter, organizer and inspiration for the prison lawyers movement, award-winning journalist and author of several books and hundreds of columns and articles. Known as “the voice of the voiceless” for many years of speaking out about issues relating to working class people of color, prisoners, and more, he was targeted and framed for the murder of a cop in 1981. He was convicted on perjured testimony and manufactured evidence. It’s urgent that we come together for the freedom of Mumia, especially as he faces medical neglect on serious health complications, including congestive heart disease, liver damage, a severe chronic skin condition, and recent recovery from COVID-19. All hands on deck to #freemumia

The ABCF Warchest sends monthly stipends to PPs and POWs with insufficient, little, or no financial support. Since November 1994, the program has dispersed more than $150,000.

See the current Warchest recipients at https://phillyabc.org/rdtw/#warchest

Running is not required! You can also walk, bike, skate, roll, etc. If you can’t make it or would like to make additional contributions, please sponsor a participant either outside or inside prison, or one of each. Contact us for more info on sponsoring!
[email protected]

Mumia has been in prison for nearly 40 years. Together we are stronger than prison walls, and together we can bring Mumia home. Register now for this meaningful 5K run/walk/roll on September 12th and #runformumia!