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Originally published to It’s Going Down

This past weekend we had the opportunity to sit in the woods with about 50 folks, mostly anarchists, engaged in prison organizing across North America. This is the 6th year for the North American Anarchist Black Cross conference and over those years there have been some genuinely exciting developments to come out of that space. One of the things that can be said to have come out of that space has been a very intentional anarchist presence in the September 9th Strike organizing. A strike that might not have looked as it has without the opportunity for cross pollination that the NAABC conference has provided. Let’s just say that it is fucking dope and we’re glad to have been a part of that space once again.

As anarchists who got our feet wet in regards to prison organizing through the traditional approach to anarchist political prisoner support and then transitioned to a much broader view of supporting prison rebellion, we feel the push and the pull of both locations. We aren’t interested in the tired debates of what constitutes a “political prisoner,” or scrambling over the same $20 bill we all seem to be passing around to one another. This shit is hard. It is hard to attack an intricately built series of interlocking systems of horrific oppression, but what is exciting is that we’re fucking doing it despite how impossible the task might be. Anarchists are collaborating in intensive ways with those on the inside to tear this shit apart. Can we get a “fuck yeah,” on that tip?

While we are firm believers in supporting people who go in on political or revolutionary charges, we are also firm believers that there are only going to be more opportunities created for folks to get free together when we broaden our approaches to tearing down the prisons. Right now we are seeing the broad social delegitimization of the prison industrial complex much in the same way we have seen the broad social delegitimization of police since Mike Brown’s murder and the Ferguson rebellion. This is an opportunity to connect with those on the inside, social movement prisoners or otherwise, and push at the fractures of carceral society. We intend to continue to use the space of Bloc Party to facilitate and highlight the ways in which this is happening, so we’ll be featuring some interviews over the coming weeks with people coming at this shit from all sides. We’re excited about that and can’t wait to share those.

From prison strikes to empty cells! Now for all that news from the bloc…

In the lead up to the North American Anarchist Black Cross conference there was another panel discussion featuring former political prisoners. You can catch a recording of the panel over at Unicorn Riot. Keep an ear out while watching for our favorite quote from former prisoner, Daniel McGowan:

“Whack communications management units!”

Yeah, Daniel, we agree that shit is whack.

At the time of writing this we received an update that Robert Seth Hayes, one of the longest held political prisoners in the U.S., had experienced a diabetic coma as of Monday, this being the third time in a two month period. There is no fucking reason anyone’s diabetes should be uncontrolled like this and it is clear he is experiencing gross medical neglect:

Seth has been suffering from uncontrolled diabetes for over 15 years now. His sugars go up to the 400’s, then down so low he falls into a diabetic coma. He has had 3 such code blue diabetic comas in the past 2 months. Each diabetic coma he goes into could end in death if not noticed and treated right away. We are asking that Seth be given an insulin pump/sugar monitor immediately to avert these near fatal incidents. He has just recently been seen by an outside Endocrinologist who recommended he be issued the device. The NYS DOCCS is aware of the situation and is moving in the right direction but it is not fast enough; we cannot afford to have another incident of low sugar. The last coma just happened earlier this week on Monday and Seth had to spend the night in the hospital. The sugar monitor sends a loud warning if his sugars are beginning to get either too high or too low and the pump allows him to use small dosages of insulin when needed along with his eating schedule and daily activity. We therefore urge you to call, write and fax to demand immediate provision of an Insulin Pump/Sugar Monitor to Robert Seth Hayes 74A2280. We are thankful that DOCCS has been more responsive to Seth’s medical needs lately, but Seth needs this device immediately!

PHONE, WRITE, FAX THIS DEMAND TO:

Carl J. Koenigsmann M.D.

Deputy Commissioner/Chief Medical Officer

NYS DOCCS Division of Health Services

Harriman State Campus, Building #2

1220 Washington Avenue

Albany, New York 12226-2050

Phone: 518-457-7073

Fax: 518-445-7553

Thank You for Your Time & Effort. It has and continues to make a difference!

Write to Seth and let him know he is in our hearts and on our minds:

Robert Seth Hayes #74A2280

Sullivan Correctional Facility

P.O. Box 116, Fallsburg, NY 12733-0116

To contribute to ongoing efforts supporting Robert Seth Hayes, please donate online here.

Walter Bond, animal liberation prisoner, released a letter and reflection on his courtroom statement in Utah some five years ago:

I remember that I am not adrift, I remember that I did what I could. I fought to make this Earth a better place for Animals and I remember that the only regrets I still truly harbor are the regrets of the human centric world in which I still live. And I don’t mean just within these prison walls. I mean a world in which Animals Lives are so cheap that they die by the billions upon billions and hardly a person cares. A world in which human supremacy has reached dizzying heights. A world in which the vanity of our species collective unconscious has turned our kind into a plague that ravages the Earth and breeds discord where once there was balance. A world of human filth and greed.

Walter is about halfway through his 12 year, 4 month sentence. Send some solidarity that way:

Walter Bond

37096-013

FCI Greenville

PO Box 5000

Greenville IL 62246

Marius Mason’s support folks are currently fundraising so that he can enroll in college courses. Marius and his support crew had this to say about the desire to take these classes:

Marius wants to study psychology in order to, in his words, gain a better understanding of how the mind works, to develop a deeper understanding of his own diagnosed gender dysphoria, and the way in which we all develop a sense of self and our relationship to the larger society. He adds, “When I am released I don’t want to be a burden to my family, I have a huge fine and will also have many costs to pay for my life-time of probation. It will be necessary to provide for those costs, in order to avoid a return to prison…and more than anything else, I’d like to think that I could contribute something meaningful to society, to be a help and support as so many others have helped me through these prison years.”

Please consider throwing some money his way! Daniel McGowan also wrote a letter that helped double the contributions for Marius’ college fund. We want to remind people that sharing these fundraisers through our networks is vital and actually has a tangible impact. From Daniel’s letter:

Marius is being held at a strange unit that is a combination of a CMU (Communication Management Unit), female death row (the federal system had one woman on death row) and a mental health unit (where people with significant mental health needs are kept but not treated). It is also a unit for women and Marius is the only male there. Prospects for release are not good and he has been there for 6 years now. Like the CMU I was held in, there are loads of problems- a tiny group of political dissidents and no programming coupled with intense censorship. Marius has a 22 year plus sentence and is trying to make a life for himself after prison while fighting very intense battles with the BOP to get medical treatment consistent with his gender. Early battles have been won on this front and Marius is now getting testosterone shots (first documented trans man to get this, by all accounts)… Educational pursuits behind the walls really helped my survival in prison. Like Marius, I was not able to take many courses as many correspondence courses have gone to an online format only. Marius has a very real chance though to pursue these efforts so that when he is out, he has a chance to acquire employment.

As a result prison officials have placed Scotte Elam and other IWOC organizers in a “Disciplinary Housing” & segregation unit and have enforced a communications blackout. They have also transfered Joshua Cartrette to a prison far away from his family. Josh’s family reports that the prison have been turning them away when they have gone to visit, prior to his transfer.

There is also a lengthy letter from Joshua about the repression he is facing on the inside. He could really use some support right now. Please send Josh “Zero”, books and letters to help him in his stint in solitary. He’s asking for books on sociology, history, economics, business, war, astronomy, just no fiction. Joshua Cartrette SID #12225965

Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution

2500 Westgate

Pendleton, OR 97801

In a classic move, the Missouri Department of Corrections has placed Joshua Williams, a young activist from the Ferguson uprising, in a level 5 unit. The unit he has been placed in is a violent environment where fighting and worse is the norm. This kind of retaliatory placement happens often with political prisoners, if folks remember this happened to Eric King and others in the past. Josh’s support folks have made a request for emails or calls to be made in hopes of getting him transferred out of that unit and hopefully to a prison closer to his family and support network:

Phone numbers: (573)-751-2389 and (573)-751-3222 Emails: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Message: “Hello, I am a concerned citizen contacting you on behalf of Joshua Williams #1292002, who is currently housed at the ERDCC in Bonne Terre, MO. Joshua Williams has been unjustly housed with violent offenders in level 5 at this facility, when he should be in level 2. Joshua Williams is a non-violent, wrongly convicted young man with no priors. Because the prison has jeopardized the safety of Joshua Williams and housed him haphazardly, we are also demanding that Joshua Williams be transferred to a facility closer to his home in St Louis, MO. We need Joshua Williams transferred from level 5 to level 2, and his transfer papers should be approved and in process immediately. I need this message to be passed on to the director, deputy director, and any other parties who can expedite this process. This is an emergency and of the utmost importance.” You can also drop Josh a line, because support means the world to folks behind the prison walls: Josh Williams #1292002

E.R.D.C.C.

2727 Highway K

Bonne Terre, MO 63628 As if NYABC wasn’t doing enough badass shit all the time, they’ve launched a new project in collaboration with Sacramento Prisoner Support called Project Fang. Project FANG is a much-needed attempt to fill a gap in the ongoing support work for earth and animal liberation prisoners in the United States. Below is detailed information about the fund; we extend an invitation for prisoners and their supporters to use it. For now, the fund is limited to earth and animal liberation prisoners in the United States and their visitors. With additional funding, we hope to expand access to the fund in the future. Initially, project FANG will be facilitated by NYC Anarchist Black Cross and Sacramento Prisoner Support. More folks may become involved in the project should the need and interest arise. You can donate by going to projectFANG or sending a check or money order payable to NYC ABC to:

project FANG c/o NYC ABC

Post Office Box 110034

Brooklyn, New York 11211 We’re continually inspired by everything folks are doing to provide meaningful support to folks who went in for political actions and those who got politicized after going in. We hope that we can all continue that work as well as create space for even more badass ways of breaking apart prison society.

To be quite honest, there is so much going on with prison related news that we’re having trouble keeping up! If you have something you’d like us to add in or cover, please go to the It’s Going Down submission page and send us that shit. We likely did not exclude it on purpose, but rather are just inundated with so much news ourselves.