FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—–May 25, 2021

Contact:  Lauren Regan, CLDC Executive Director and Senior Staff Attorney
[email protected] or (541) 687-9180

Eugene, OR —Today, the Civil Liberties Defense Center filed a federal civil rights lawsuit under Bivens v. Six Unnamed Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), the Federal Tort Claims Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act, against the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) and more than 40 of its correctional officers. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Eric King, whose constitutional rights have been continually violated since 2018 in retaliation for his political and anti-racist actions while incarcerated. The complaint alleges that BOP officers have collaborated with each other, and with white supremacist prisoners, to target, harass, and assault Mr. King. Moreover, King has been held in solitary confinement (the Special Housing Unit, or SHU) for over 1,000 days with no explanation or legal justification, in violation of BOP and federal statutory policy. He is currently one of only 80 people who have been held in the SHU for more than a year, let alone almost three years.

“I’m a human being with a family. I’ve been treated deplorably. For the last two years I’ve been stuck in a 6′ x 9′ cage, denied access to my family and my lawyers, and subjected to physical and emotional torture. They’ve done this because of my beliefs, not because of my actions – not because I’m a violent person, but because I disagree with their government. They treat me like I am not a human, and in doing so they reveal they are the true monsters. It shows how horrible this system is, not how horrible I am,” King said.

Eric King is an anarchist political prisoner serving a 10-year sentence for attempted arson of a government official’s office in Kansas City, Missouri, in September 2014. He acted in solidarity with the Ferguson uprising and rebellion — a movement that took place over the summer of 2014 in response to the Ferguson police murder of Michael Brown. At his sentencing, Eric spoke on the record about his political motivations for committing his criminal act, saying “The government in this country is disgusting. The way they treat poor people, the way they treat brown people, the way they treat everyone that’s not in the class of white and male is disgusting, patriarchal, filthy, and racist.”

“Eric King has faced chronic, targeted harassment, as well as severe emotional and physical torture, from BOP officers and known white supremacists working together, for over two years while held in solitary confinement. We reasonably believe this treatment has been in retaliation for his political views and First Amendment-protected activity. It is not acceptable or constitutional, and CLDC will not allow Mr. King’s civil rights to be eviscerated. He justly demands basic human respect and decent conditions. This type of abuse is rampant across the BOP, and needs to be condemned, and the federal criminal punishment system must be held to account,” said Lauren Regan, one of Mr. King’s attorneys with the  Civil Liberties Defense Center.

One incident of harassment and torture occurred in 2018, when King was ordered by correctional officers to a small storage room and office, where he was verbally and physically attacked. The black eye he suffered as a result of this attack is visible in the photograph to the right.

In the aftermath of this attack, the guard claimed King had attacked him, and as a result, King was placed in restraints for over eight hours, without any clothing or blankets.

While he was restrained, BOP guards further tortured him by threatening, suffocating and strangling him.

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The Civil Liberties Defense Center supports movements that seek to dismantle the political and economic structures at the root of social inequality and environmental destruction.

via Philly ABC

Ruchell Magee is one of the longest-held California prisoners who has been dubbed a political prisoner due to his spontaneous participation in the Marin Courthouse rebellion– the famous incident that spawned Black August. He is serving a sentence of 7 years to life for a nonviolent disagreement that landed him the wrongful charge of ‘kidnapping to commit robbery.’ Years later, he happened to be in the courthouse for unrelated reasons when Jonathan Jackson entered to free his brother and Black Liberation icon George Jackson. According to a sworn affidavit from one of the jurors, the jury voted for acquittal on charges from the Courthouse rebellion, however, this acquittal has been obscured and he continues his fight to expose this.

Ruchell is now 82 years old, and has spent more than 58 years in prison. From behind bars, he has been a positive force by helping many people with his tireless work as a jailhouse lawyer. He currently has a pro se motion pending review by the Supreme Court as well as a commutation application to be reviewed by the Governor. He is also parole eligible. Please join us Monday at Clark Park (stone platform near 45th and Chester) as we reach out to Ruchell to connect, offer solidarity, and see what all can be done to free him this year so that he can finally reunite with his family.

Because we are not aware of any political prisoners with a birthday in June, instead of birthday cards we will pass around cards for Palestinian freedom political prisoners: Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat, Khalida Jarrar, Layan Kayed, Ahmad Sa’adat, and Khitam Saafin.

Here’s the latest compilation of every other week updates:
https://nycabc.files.wordpress.com/2021/05/updates-18-may-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
[email protected]

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, May 18th, 2021
WHERE: your home (or wherever you happen to be)
COST: Free

With the COVID related restrictions and guidelines around this country beginning to be lifted or eased, it is as important as ever to recognize those inside prison walls who remain captive by the white supremacist structures that have continued to thrive throughout this pandemic. Between the proliferation of this deadly virus behind bars, the inequity in treatment of the disease to people of color, the unending stream of police killing Black folks, and the attempts to literally erase the already vastly understated mentions of America’s ongoing racist colonial history from school books, this country is having a historic year of maintaining white supremacy. Just this month it was revealed that the remains of the victims of the Philadelphia police bombing of the MOVE family’s house were either sent to be “studied” and gawked at by elite museums and universities or ordered by city officials to be burnt to ash. This latest obscene iteration of this country’s mission to control Black bodies with cruelty and indignity is just one of an immeasurable number.

With these injustices fresh in our minds, we turn to political prisoner Dr. Mutulu Shakur, who has actively fought against that bodily control by dedicating his life to the physical, political, and social health and well being of the Black community.

Read more at https://nycabc.wordpress.com/2021/05/16/tuesday-may-18th-letter-writing-to-dr-mutulu-shakur/

Write Dr. Shakur at
Mutulu Shakur #83205-012
FMC Lexington
P.O. Box 14500
Lexington, KY 40512

June 11th is upon us and with that, a new (long) call and links to their new zine.

“Against another year of state encroachment, against the restriction of free movement under the auspices of “safety,” against the continued brutalization of our friends in prison, we call for a renewal of solidarity on June 11, 2021: International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason & All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners. For 17 years, June 11th has been an occasion for celebration, mourning, and revolt. It has been a moment to breathe, to remember those fallen and those in cages, to remind ourselves of why we remain committed to the Beautiful Idea of anarchism. Through our letters, demonstrations, fundraising, and solidarity attacks we keep the beacon lit for those who have given years of their lives for their conviction that the State is a horror against which we must wager our lives.”

Download the zine [PDF for printing] [PDF for reading]

Read more at https://june11.noblogs.org

This is a brief instructional video, outlining how to write U.S. political prisoners, including a brief history of the Anarchist Black Cross. It’s intended as a resource to be shown at local political prisoner letter writing events, or watched by individuals looking to learn some basics about writing political prisoners. It was produced by a collaboration between Page One and Burning Books.

Much of the model presented here was developed over several years of practice by the New York City Anarchist Black Cross. Special thanks to the Buffalo Committee Against State Repression, the International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, the Friends of Jeff Luers, and the Family and Friends of Daniel McGowan.

Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu-qpGOwsSg

Find political prisoners to write at https://www.abcf.net/prisoner-info/

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For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/themoveorganization

These ‘old law’ prisoners include people like Leonard Peltier, Bill Dunne, Veronza Bowers and Dr. Mutulu Shakur. The time to release them is now.

“Davon-Marie Grimmer has been struggling to get help for more than year for her cousin, Kent Clark. Sometimes, when he calls from prison, he asks to speak with relatives who are no longer alive. Sometimes, he forgets the name of his cell mate.

“As far as I know, he hasn’t received any medical attention for the dementia, and he’s just so vulnerable in there,” Grimmer said. “He’s 66 years old. He can’t take care of himself.”

Clark is one of about 150 people in federal prison who time mostly forgot. This group of “old law” prisoners committed crimes before November 1987, when the law changed to remove the possibility of parole. But even with the grandfathered-in chance for parole — and despite a push to reduce prison populations — dozens of men in their 60s, 70s and 80s still have little hope of release.”

Read more at https://www.npr.org/2021/05/11/994273368/forgetting-and-forgotten-older-prisoners-seek-release-but-fall-through-the-crack

While the Panthers have become a staple of pop culture, veteran members of the group remain invisible.

On October 7, 2020, Jalil Muntaqim exited the Sullivan Correctional Facility in upstate New York a free man. A member of the Black Panther Party and its more militant, clandestine offshoot, the Black Liberation Army, Muntaqim was 19 years old at the time of his 1971 arrest, which was followed by his conviction three years later for the murder of two NYPD police officers, Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini. After nearly a half-century behind bars and over a dozen parole requests, Muntaqim’s parole was approved last September, one month before his sixty-ninth birthday.

Read the rest here. Write political prisoners here and here.

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Download this zine  by the Page One collective that highlights the 13 elders currently incarcerated for their participation in Black liberation movements. Write them, support them, bring up their names. Hand this information out at a protest, at a family dinner, or in your neighborhood. Let’s keep these names in our minds and hearts.