Posts Tagged ‘fire to the prisons’

PITTSBURGH: Autonomous May Day Action for 5 Global Demands

Saturday, May 2nd, 2020

Anonymous submission received on 05.02.20


On May Day, an autonomous group of individuals carried out a series of banner drops in Pittsburgh in support of the 5 global demands.

In this time of crisis, it is more important than ever that we prioritize the safety and well-being of our neighbors and communities over the profits of the owning class or a quick return to “normal”. Too many of us in Pittsburgh believe that the course of the response to this pandemic is out of our control, that we can only make the best of plans and actions handed down from on high by politicians, landlords, and business owners. It does not have to be that way. With these banners, we are spreading awareness of the possibilities of collective action, hoping to foster the knowledge that we as people can make the decisions that will keep us and our people safe, housed, and secure despite the changes that the virus has made necessary. These problems are systemic, and our demands are inextricable from one another. We cannot have homes for all if we do not cancel rent, debt, and mortgage, or if prisoners are released without healthcare and homes to go to. Our power lies in our autonomy and our solidarity—together, we can all protect one another.


Demand 1: Free Healthcare

Free testing, treatment, and medical care for all. We must be able to seek access to preventative and emergency care without fear of debt or incarceration. With health insurance tied to employment, millions of newly unemployed people have lost access to medical care in the midst of a pandemic.

172856_003

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, over 2 million Pennsylvania residents had unpaid medical debt. As the health crisis continues, we must expect this number to increase dramatically. We need to radically expand access to COVID-19 testing and make healthcare available for all people, regardless of class, employment status, and ability to pay. In response to the crisis, the government has funded a $2 trillion dollar stimulus package that functions primarily to bail out billionaires. This is proof that we have the capability to take drastic measures to protect vulnerable populations during this crisis; what we lack is the political will. For this reason, the masses of unemployed and working people must come together to demand a radical new approach to health care access in this country. We need to stop protecting corporations and the exploiting classes. We need testing, treatment, and healthcare for all, and we need it now! 


Demand 2: Workers Decide

Work can only continue on our terms. Guaranteed benefits and expanded insurance for the unemployed. Paid sick leave, hazard pay and worker protections for essential sectors. Any essential service must adopt strict protective measures for workers and their families.

190826

We call on Governor Wolf and the state legislature to defend workers’ right to decide how and when they go back to work, once widespread testing, tracing and necessary protective measures have been made free, accessible, and available. Workers across the globe are communicating and organizing together to resist premature reopening of businesses and worksites. Workers in “essential” industries such as healthcare, sanitation, food production, and retail are coming together to demand appropriate protections and compensation. If workers aren’t given paid sick leave, hazard pay, worker protection, and personal and medical protection, there will be hell to pay when we strike. We demand that employers stop asking workers to risk their lives for their employer’s accumulation of wealth!

162558_001


Demand 3: No Paying, No Debt

Cancel rent and mortgage payments, utility and bill collections and all debt payments for the duration of the pandemic. No work means no pay. The unemployed cannot be forced to choose between survival and settling their debts.

111519

Prior to COVID-19, two in five Americans and three in five renters across the United States would have been unable to afford a $400 dollar emergency expense. According to reports, about 59% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, with 44% struggling to make payments on their bills and credit card debts. In Pittsburgh, 22% of residents live at or below the poverty line, significantly higher than that of the state average of 13.3%. Comparisons of today’s economy to the 2008 financial crisis indicate that we are heading for a collapse that could eclipse the recession of twelve years ago. We cannot repeat our past mistakes. The $2 trillion stimulus package that was passed in late March must work for the people, not Wall Street. 

Even with the $1200 stimulus check, many who are out of work will not be able to make their payments. If we are unable to work, we are unable to pay. The unemployed cannot be expected to bear the burden of debt during the pandemic.

We call upon the Pennsylvania state legislature to sign on to bill HR 6515 introduced by Representatives Sara Innamorato and Summer Lee of Allegheny County, Representative Elizabeth Fiedler of Philadelphia and Representative Danielle Friel Otten of Chester County, to suspend rent and mortgage payments during the COVID crisis. Moreover, we challenge landlords and banks to open their ‘rainy day funds’ to their lenders, and tenants and individuals to organize with their neighbors through the Pittsburgh Union of Regional Renters.


Demand 4: Free Prisoners

Release high-risk inmates and those held on bail from jails and prisons immediately. Release all immigrants and asylum seekers held in detention centers. Provide care for those infected and adequate minimum distance requirements for remaining inmates. Prison cannot mean a guaranteed death sentence.

100_1389 (1)

Formerly incarcerated folks have reported to Jailbreak (a jail after-care support group) the poor conditions of those currently inside Allegheny County Jail. N95 masks given with the seals broken, 1 roll of toilet paper per week to be shared with a cell-mate, limited access to soap, medical care and testing, just to name a few. If the state is going to keep people in the jail, it is paramount that they treat all those behind their walls in a safe and humane manner. 

Dr. Debra L. Brogen, the newly appointed Director of the ACHD, must do more. Those inside must have proper access to basic hygiene and medical needs, including testing anyone that has even 1 symptom. If Dr. Brogen does not act, the jail will inevitably become a death camp. With how easily the virus transmits we know cases are rising daily. As of May Day 2020, there are 27 positive tests for those incarcerated—out of only 48 total tests. There are over 1,600 people currently locked up. We believe in the end of the industrial prison complex. Free Them All!


Demand 5: Homes For All

Shelter the houseless. Halt eviction proceedings. Sheltering in place is the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Open unoccupied homes and hotels to anyone who needs shelter. End the criminalization and sweeps of houseless encampments.

104245_002

Housing is a human right, and collectively we have the capability to house everyone. Renters across the region are still facing the prospect of houslessness, eviction, and increases in their rent, while landlords sit idly by waiting for our rent checks. Moments of crisis such as this pandemic force us to make a choice: safety and security for the people, or profits for those who own the buildings we live in? 

Seventy percent of Americans are under lockdown orders. Although banks and homeowners have been offered forgiveness for late-payments and adjustments to mortgages, many of our most vulnerable are left without a safety net yet again. In a small sample of houseless individuals in Boston, 36% tested positive for COVID-19. Other cities have created housing programs that open empty hotels to houseless individuals. Pittsburgh must follow suit. We understand that these are temporary solutions in a long, systematic struggle against the powers of privilege, property, systemic racism, and capitalism, but even temporary solutions are worth our while during a crisis such as this.

If we cannot rely on those in power to protect us, we have to take matters into our own hands by organizing with our neighbors, negotiating with our landlords, and if necessary, taking part in a rent strike. We stand collectively in agreement with the  Pittsburgh Union of Regional Renters’ (PURR) call to:

  • Cancel rent
  • Cancel mortgages
  • Extend the eviction moratorium (currently expiring May 8)
  • Provide protective equipment for all workers
  • Guarantee shelter to the unhomed
  • Guarantee paid sick leave
  • Decarcerate the Allegheny County jail. It remains inhumane and a deadly health risk.

We know that these 5 demands are not relevant only in the time of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Regardless of the course of the pandemic and the government’s response to it, these demands will continue to guide us towards a better world in which we can all thrive. These are difficult and scary times; there is no going back to the patterns of living and working we were familiar with before this global pandemic. Even scarier is the fact that this was inevitable—this moment of realization that the system we had before was not created for the welfare of all.

The needs that the 5 Demands address existed before the crisis, but have made unmistakably clear by the pandemic’s effect on a system with no extra space for those at the margins. Although COVID-19 is the immediate cause of much suffering and our response to it is our priority, the underlying problem is not the virus, but the stranglehold that capitalism holds on our lives and our ways of thinking. Until it is destroyed, we will continue to fight.

***





You can send your report-backs, zine submissions, critiques, graffiti/action photos, demo tapes, hate mail, & memes to…

FillerCollective@RiseUp.net
or
Filler_PGH@protonmail.com

We’ll try to get back to you in a reasonable amount of punk time.

Send reports in email form, as an attachment, or better yet, on an easy to use (and free) Riseup Pad or CryptPad.

Conditions Inside Allegheny County Jail Deteriorating Rapidly

Friday, April 17th, 2020

14238234_582019988672408_7276677106599663990_n-1-720x600

photo of ACJ inmates from a noise demo during the 2016 national prison strike


This report was originally published on 04.16.20 by
TORCHLIGHT — Anarchist News From Pittsburgh


UPDATE 2: Contrary to our previous reporting, prisoners in ACJ can buy postage stamps, but the process to do so is byzantine. A family member must access the prisoner’s commissary account to buy the stamps, which are then delivered to the prisoner’s cell. We do not know how long this takes, but suspect the wait is lengthy.

UPDATE 1: Pittsburgh Current has published an article featuring a current prisoner at ACJ that confirms much of our information, and further exposes the media coverup of the Covid-19 outbreak in the jail. 60 prisoners recently wrote and signed a letter to the media, which never appeared in any outlet. In addition a second jail employee, this one a CO who had contact with prisoners, has tested positive. ACJ has updated their statistics to reflect the new data, but has not made any further announcement. No other outlets than the Current have reported on the new case.


Torchlight has spoken with multiple sources with inside knowledge who describe increasingly horrific conditions inside Allegheny County Jail. Many prisoners have symptoms of Covid-19, but the jail’s web page indicates only 12 have been tested as of this writing. Not only have visits been canceled, but commissary purchases and most phone calls have also been cut off. With only two five-minute calls permitted per week and no way to buy stamps, contact with the outside world has become almost impossible, leaving prisoners with little ability to report on the inhumane circumstances of their confinement.

Torchlight has learned that ACJ has devoted an entire housing unit to presumed Covid-19 patients. Prisoners there are only allowed out of their cells for a few minutes a day to exercise and are not being taken to a hospital. They are also still being housed two to a cell, in cells far too small to allow for the six feet of separation recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. This is a violation of the jail’s own Covid-19 procedures policy, which states “The ‘at-risk’ individual shall be placed in a holding cell alone or with other symptomatic individuals if space does not allow for single cell housing.” Due to the recent population reduction at ACJ, space does indeed allow for sick prisoners to be single-celled, but instead all prisoners there have been packed into fewer housing units, making social distancing impossible.

Anyone who needs medical attention now has to visit the infirmary instead of having a nurse come to their cell, risking coming into contact with potential coronavirus carriers. In addition to being a public health hazard, this practice violate ACJ’s own policy for combating Covid-19, which states “Healthcare staff will be deployed to housing units to perform non-emergency healthcare requests, provider visits, or assist in other locations of the facility that have critical staffing needs.” Without being able to buy food at the commissary, the only dining option for prisoners is the cafeteria, where small tables and general lack of space add to the risk of infection.

The jail’s procedures do call for screening incoming inmates for fever, coughing, and other symptoms of Covid-19. However, they do nothing to address asymptomatic patients, such as testing for coronavirus, or the 14 day quarantine recommended by the CDC. New prisoners have been sent directly to work in the kitchen preparing meals for the entire population with no idea whether they were infectious or not. One source reports that only prisoners who hold jobs within the jail are having their temperatures taken. Any prisoner without a job has to visit the infirmary if they think they have a fever.

What sanitation is being done within the jail exacerbates prisoners’ vulnerability to Covid-19, because ACJ mandates the use of bleach. Fumes from the bleach solution used to clean surfaces are causing sickness and weakening respiratory systems already at risk.

In short, a major outbreak of Covid-19 appears to be on the verge of exploding in Allegheny County Jail, and jail officials are doing little except hiding their heads in the sand and issuing press releases. The 12 prisoners they have tested for coronavirus are 5 fewer than the number of ACJ staff who have received tests, despite staff being fewer in number. Of the 12 tested prisoners, four came up positive with one still pending. This represents at best a 33% positive rate, which is far higher than Allegheny County at large. Only one ACJ staff member has tested positive out of ten completed tests, a rate of 10%.

ACJ’s response has been to minimize the pandemic, hide conditions in the jail by cutting off contact with the outside, delay even the half measures they been forced to take as long as possible, and exaggerate their effectiveness. In this they have had the able assistance of most of the local media. For example, much has been made about the “over 900” releases in the last month – without taking into account the number of new prisoners who have been confined in that time. Pittsburgh Current (a notable dissenting voice) has released a timeline of ACJ’s response to the pandemic that shows a clear pattern of pattern of delay, lies, and callousness. Historically ACJ has dealt with serious medical problems by letting the patient die and dealing with the PR fallout later. In a pandemic that approach will be even more lethal than in the past.


z4-6

Photograph from a local march supporting the June 11th
International Day of Solidarity with Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners in 2017






CLICK HERE  to donate to the
Bukit Community Bail Fund of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh: Autonomous Actions in Solidarity with the National Prison Strike

Sunday, August 26th, 2018

This is an incomplete list of autonomous actions taken in solidarity with the (inter)national prison strike. It is comprised of several anonymous photo submissions and brief report-backs, all of which were sent in to Filler prior to the strike’s start on August 21st.


Abolitionist Yinzers

Today (8/12), an autonomous group of abolitionist yinzers hit the streets of Pittsburgh to promote solidarity with the upcoming national prison strike & call for police abolition.

DkbCb0nVAAAx35uDkbCb0mV4AEHMlRDkbCb0nVsAADI5A


Graffiti Actions

DkMqu1FWsAEytelDkMjn07UwAA3Oc9prl


An Idea

The other night, a friend and I conspired over a sigil to support the prison strike. Later, after catching wind of the counter-repression phone blasts, they remembered a story about an anarchist who faxed thousands of copies of a black piece of paper to several prisons that repressed comrades on the inside. Later that night, after throwing our sigil up around town, we found a working fax machine.

All technology is already weaponized, might as well use it…

Against the prison state.
Against a predictable life.
Against civilization. 
Against consensus reality.

Against toner cartridges >:-)

We also wrote Eric King’s name on a bunch of shit. Much love.


 

strike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

..

PITTSBURGH: Night March in Solidarity with the National Prison Strike

Saturday, August 25th, 2018

Anonymous submission received on 08.22.18


Sometime after midnight on Saturday, August 18th, a dozen or so anarchists rolled up on a Skull Fest (it’s a punk fest) show with a sound system, flags, banners, and goodie bags full of road flares, black masks, and pamphlets about the National Prison Strike.

From August 21st (the anniversary of Nat Turner’s revolt and of the assassination of Black Guerrilla George Jackson) through September 9th (the anniversary of the Attica prison uprising), prisoners from all across the so-called united states are rising against the modern plantation system.

As It’s Going Down writes,

“Already, the strike has spread into Canada, and numerous facilities around the US are already seeing hunger strikes pop off as prisoners issue demands. Prison officials are also cracking down on various facilities, shutting them down, and locking up prison rebel leaders as deep in the hole as they can.”

Since we figured Skull Fest punx probably know shit is fucked and might be down (?), we took the opportunity to incite our friends on the outside to act in solidarity with our friends who are locked down on the inside. Even small gestures like ours can subvert the isolation of prison, inviting the unrest that’s too often locked and hidden behind walls into our streets.


IMG_2626


Out of the large crowd, a few punx showed interest in joining the march, and some actually did for a bit, which was tight. But tbh most remained indifferent and just kinda stared at us. One jag yelled, “Burn out already!!” If only he knew how many times we have (: …but pamphlets about the strike were distributed to the fest goers, and a few fists were raised. Punk is dead, blah blah. ANYWAYS, the march made its way up on to fucking Butler Street. What’s good, hipsters?

After leaving the show, we marched a short ways through Lawrenceville, distributing literature to some (surprisingly receptive?) folks at a few hipster bars. We dispersed shortly after the cops arrived, but not before getting a few laughs in first—this one pig’s tough-guy “who’s in charge?” routine devolved into him jogging from person to person straight-up pleading for someone, anyone, to talk to him. He had this sorta desperate look on his face, clearly just couldn’t process it. Dude was shook as fuck. The authors of this report would also like to add that we hope he winds up like those two screws who got shanked at Allegheny County Jail the other day.

It’s been a hot summer in Pittsburgh, but as the homies at Torchlight write,

“[Pittsburgh’s new protest restrictions] make it obvious that the cops are gaining confidence and worrying less about Pittsburgh going up like Ferguson.”

Spontaneous, unpredictable actions do more than show solidarity and “raise awareness” — they disrupt the state’s ability to use threats of repression to siphon unrest into the professional Left’s array of dead-end “community” dialogues and electoral campaigns. The new protest guidelines threaten to criminalize radical individuals, crews, and organizations who continue to organize beyond the self-appointed leaders and managers of the various movements. So let’s continue catching the pigs off guard, challenging their newfound confidence, and opening up space for further decentralized, autonomous action — by any means necessary.

Solidarity with everyone that’s still pushing the envelope in Pittsburgh. Solidarity with all prisoners. 


Behind Enemy Lines probably said it better than us:

Immersed in political strategies
Government policies create endless catastrophes
and we all pay the price
when our movement becomes stagnant, anchored by apathy
We can’t just give up, we can’t just give in
There are no wasted attempts when it comes to action
The smallest act could cause a chain reaction
that could bring this entire system down
Light it up
Ignite a spark
Every single action could be the start
It will take all of our efforts to get out of the dark
You could be the one
that offers hope and inspiration
to everyone who feels defeated
and moves the depleted towards motivation
and helps the flame continue to burn
The most important thing that we still need to learn
is that we’re in this together, don’t shut out one another
Don’t ever forget that we depend on each other


 

 – some anarchists

 


 

For more on the prison strike, check out prisonstrike.comIt’s Going Down, , follow #PrisonStrike & plenty of other stuff.

For background information, strike demands, as well as a list of solidarity events, please go here.

Pittsburgh, PA: Solidarity with Eric King J28

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018

Originally published by It’s Going Down.


For this year’s day of solidarity with Eric King, anarchists in Pittsburgh PA threw his name up around the city with streaks and stickers. A banner was nailed up over a gross navy seal recruitment billboard in support of EK as well, because fuck the water pigs. The shit Eric went down for was an action in support of the Ferguson Uprising; in the wake of the murder of Antwon Rose Jr. by a killer cop here in Pittsburgh, his action resonates deeply right now especially.

Fuckin stay strong homie, Pitts loves you Eric!!!!

Love, Rage + Chaos Magik,

Some Anarchists in So-Called PA


WE dont have to

A Poem by Eric King

We dont have to accept this world

We dont have to be ok with the cammo bros

Destroying lives and invading worlds

We dont have to be ok with orange rapist

Becoming leaders

They dont have to be our leaders

We dont have to accept Veterans Day

We dont have to tip toe around these clowns

We dont have to Salute flags and Blue ribbons

We dont have to tolerate predators

We dont have to build fucking walls

and lock fucking cages

We dont have to stand by while this happens

We dont have to stay silent or submissive

We dont have to forget our friends

or pretend they are doing just fine

We dont have to ignore our mental issues

and act like we aren’t on the brink

We dont have to be ok with capitalism

We dont have to fucking buy everything

they push down our throats til were

gagging on god damn receipts

We dont have to laugh at rape jokes

We dont have to quietly endure ‘casual racism’

We dont have to be accept ‘locker room talk’

We don’t have to bow down

We dont have to close our eyes to whats happening

We dont have to belong and fit in

We dont have to devour our world

We dont have to hate and we dont have to stay angry

We dont have to do anything that doesn’t feel right

We dont have to give our support to things that make

us feel uneasy or uncomfortable

We dont have to.

1-21-10

Prison Abolitionists Rally for Human and Environmental Health at Pittsburgh Polluters’ Offices

Tuesday, June 12th, 2018

Action report from the Fight Toxic Prisons convergence.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — On the heels of the 3rd Annual Fight Toxic Prisons Convergence, dozens of organizers, community members, and friends and family of currently- and formerly-incarcerated peoples marched through downtown Pittsburgh, making stops at the headquarters of EQT and ending at a power plant belonging to coal utility NRG Energy on the North Side. The demonstration concludes a weekend of lectures, workshops, and discussion about mass incarceration and its links to environmental health.

EQT Corporation, a major oil and gas company notorious for poisoning drinking water supplies across rural Appalachia, is one of the largest companies involved in fracking, with 793 active wells in Pennsylvania alone. They’re also one of the top ten worst polluters in the industry, according to a 2015 report published by the Natural Resources Defense Council. In 2012, EQT received several charges for water pollution and disturbance of waterways, and a $1.1 million fine for poisoning drinking water supply sources through a shale pit leak at Rock Run in Tioga County, PA, and has received several other fines, violations, and complaints as well.

The march culminated in a rally at the NRG Energy Center calling attention to the health and human rights atrocities occurring at SCI Fayette, a state-run prison that currently houses 2,176 inmates. SCI Fayette was built in 2003, directly on top of a toxic coal ash dump that has been in operation for decades, receiving millions of tons of waste from coal processing companies, including NRG.

The inmate population of SCI Fayette, and the surrounding community of Labelle, PA, have reported alarmingly high rates of health issues linked to the ash that blows off the dumping site and into the surrounding air.

Richard Mosley, a member of Fayette Health Justice and Put People First PA and a former prisoner at Fayette, spoke to the crowd via telephone about his experiences there, including respiratory ailments and medical neglect. “I was admitted into the infirmary well over 10 times and at medical at least 40 times during my four years at SCI Fayette. My weight dropped down from 225lbs to 170lbs. I got so sick at one point that I kept a letter with me to send to my family in case I died.”

Other speakers at the rally highlighted campaigns and organizations working alongside and on behalf of prisoners everywhere, including Shandre Delaney of Human Rights Coalition (HRC), a prisoner-led human rights organization based in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, PA. HRC was a local host of the Fight Toxic Prisons Convergence.

Speaking to the crowd, Ms. Delaney said “HRC believes that it is critically important that prisoners are treated with humanity in every aspect of their incarceration. A prison sentence should not become a death sentence because of the lack of healthcare or the access to legal remedy or complaint of their treatment.”

HRC is involved in drafting legislation to end solitary confinement in Pennsylvania, as well as highlighting ongoing cases of abuse behind prison walls. They were also involved in co-producing a report on the toxic conditions at SCI Fayette with the Abolitionist Law Center, a legal advocacy nonprofit based in Pittsburgh.

More information about the Fight Toxic Prisons Convergence can be found at: FightToxicPrisons.org

29793252_2109023679328220_1536909838775222272_n

The Third Annual ‘Fight Toxic Prisons’ Convergence is June 8-11th in Pittsburgh, PA

Saturday, May 5th, 2018

Originally published by It’s Going Down


The following is an announcement for third annual Fight Toxic Prisons convergence.

The third annual Fight Toxic Prisons Convergence will take place in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania from June 8-11th. The convergence will include speakers, panels, workshops, protests and cultural activities exploring the intersections of anti-prison and environmental struggles. We are currently confirming speakers for the conference and are excited to share updates with you in the coming months. We maintain a commitment to creating a space in which those most directly impacted are centered.

You can register at https://bit.ly/2uEVXlq

To get a sense of what to expect, check out the panels and rabble-rousers from our 2017 Convergence to get a sense of what to expect.

Cost:

While the conference is free and open to all, paying the sliding-scale registration fee of $25 – $50 will help cover the cost of food, housing and travel assistance to those who request it.

Travel:

The closest airport is the Pittsburgh International Airport, and there are also Megabus and Greyhound bus routes, as well as train routes.

Housing:

There will be some housing assistance offered. Please make sure to check that in the registration form.

Help Us Fundraise?:

Your donation will help us ensure that grassroots organizers, former political prisoners, family members and supporters of current prisoners are able to attend this convergence.

Donate through our fiscal sponsors at the Abolitionist Law Center by clicking here.

PLEASE NOTE, you must click “Is this for a specific case or project?” and type “FTP 2018 Convergence” to ensure the funds are available to us directly.

You can also donate via our 2018 fundraising site here.

By bringing together hundreds of grassroots activists from across the country the annual Fight Toxic Prisons Convergence seeks to build momentum across, bridges between, and solidarity among the movements for ecological justice, environmental justice, and prison reform/abolition. Through our annual convergences we seek to create space at the intersections of our various movements and across prison walls (at our 2017 convergence 9 prisoners called in to speak on panels and breakout groups), a space in which we can collectively explore how we might achieve liberation and justice. A space where we can directly share and learn from tactics, strategies, and experiences beyond the scope of our particular movements and campaigns that might play decisive roles in our local victories.

Check out more of our work and campaigns www.FightToxicPrisons.org.

Please share the event and invite people on Facebook.


29793252_2109023679328220_1536909838775222272_n

From Pittsburgh to DC: DROP THE CHARGES!

Friday, July 7th, 2017

Anonymous Submission


From Pittsburgh to Washington DC:
DROP THE CHARGES

Anarchist banner dropped in solidarity with the ACJ noise demo arrestees and Dane Powell. (circle A pictured on the left side of the banner)

Today in Pittsburgh, the 11 comrades arrested for allegedly demonstrating in solidarity with striking inmates at the Allegheny County Jail are scheduled to waste a perfectly good Friday in court. We dropped this banner in hopes that a few of yinz might see it on your way downtown. We sincerely love you, even if we don’t know you. Stay strong! The bastards aren’t invincible, no matter how many cops they can get to lie under oath. Who knows, maybe you’ll even catch a glimpse of justice, like the one we celebrated just last week when former ACJ inmate Andre Jacobs won an abuse settlement against the jail for nearly $300,000. Fire the warden, fire to the prisons!

**UPDATE** Charges dropped to summaries for at least 9 defendants!

Today, Dane Powell is far from his home in Florida. As preliminary hearings take place here in Pittsburgh, Dane will be in another courtroom in Washington DC, receiving his sentence after having plead down to felony riot and felony assault on a police officer. Dane faced the choice between a plea deal and the possibility of never seeing his kids again. On January 20th, 2017 – Day One of the Trump Regime – Dane (allegedly) joined one of the largest black blocs in US history to directly confront the hetero-patriarchal, white supremacist, capitalist Empire on its home turf. He is one of over 200 comrades charged with multiple felonies for (allegedly) choosing to fight that day. While it may be too late to drop the charges, this banner is also for him. “We love you, stay strong, the revolution lives on!”

Solidarity with the rebel inmates at ACJ and everyone arrested at L&12 on J20. 


20170707_073027 (1)

*disclaimer* there is a circle A on the other side of the banner! we promise!


In the video below, you can see Dane carry a child through the crowd in search of a street medic after police indiscriminately attacked with chemical weapons. Other black bloc comrades can also be seen defending and shielding protestors from police violence. Click HERE to watch a mini-documentary / video montage that includes footage from both the ACJ noise demonstration and the J20 riots.


These judicial proceedings are an expression of the war that the authorities are waging on the bond between thought and action, which is the foundation of anarchism’s dangerousness. […] active solidarity is a fundamental element of our anarchist acting and relations of complicity aimed at the destruction of dominion. This form of solidarity goes beyond repression’s attacks, and is capable of not letting itself be suffocated by the specificity of the trajectories of struggle when we recognize ourselves in a common tension of attack. In particular, active solidarity is an essential instrument to respond to state violence and not take its blows passively but maintain a stance of attack, so as not to develop attitudes of victimization, which is what repression wants. Thinking in terms of offensive, of permanent and internationalist conflictuality beyond each one’s path, the risk of isolation can be reduced and one of the enemy’s most important goals can be made ineffective.

Call for a Dangerous June

The insurrectionist’s response to state repression is to release the tension you feel, to find the frontline that weighs heaviest on your mind and attack. The frontlines are all around us: from the fucked up shit that the system pulls on us, to the fucked up shit that we pull on each other. Find a reason to get out of bed that offers something more than the day’s routine of work, school, court, addiction, or whatever other obligations we millennials face. Participation trophies all around. 


An excerpt from the call for an International Week of Solidarity with J20 Defendants:

We are calling for a Week of Solidarity with the J20 defendants from July 20 to 27, 2017. July 20 marks six months from the initial actions and arrests during Donald Trump’s inauguration, and on July 27, a motion to dismiss the charges will be argued in court. The case has finally begun to receive the media attention it warrants; with this court date approaching and the cases underway, this is a crucial time for a second Week of Solidarity.

On January 20, 2017, thousands of people came to Washington, DC to protest the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump. In the early morning, blockades shut down security checkpoints and discouraged people from attending the inauguration itself, while impromptu marches and direct actions occurred throughout the day. There was a spirit of defiance in the air.

Iconic images circulated almost immediately, from the punching of white supremacist Richard Spencer to pictures of a limousine on fire. These were only the most spectacular images, however, of a day that was characterized by generalized disruption.

Midmorning, an “anticapitalist and antifascist” march of several hundred people made clear its opposition not just to Trump but also the system that made Trump possible. Led by banners reading “MAKE RACISTS AFRAID AGAIN” and “TOTAL LIBERATION FROM DOMINATION,” the disruptive march took the streets of DC to the sound of fireworks and anticapitalist chants. After about half an hour, the march was brutally attacked by police, who used chemical and crowd control weapons along with physical force, then boxed in (“kettled”) and mass-arrested people. Everyone on an entire city block was arrested and given the same charge of felony rioting. Approximately 214 arrestees now face a total of eight felony charges, including conspiracy and destruction of property. All of the J20 defendants are now facing up to 75 years in prison.

A great deal has happened in the six months since the inauguration. Confrontational protests have taken place across the continent, challenging the political landscape shaped by Trump’s election. Participants have stood up to emboldened white supremacists, disrupted airports in the face of anti-Muslim bans, blockaded proposed pipeline routes, set up sanctuary spaces and rapid response networks against ICE deportations, and much more. In turn, states are passing legislation aimed at further criminalizing protest and limiting resistance.

The J20 case fits into this wave of repression. The police seized and hacked phones in an attempt to strengthen the government’s case, and subpoenaed social media accounts. They raided an organizer’s home in DC. Arrestees had their personal information leaked online. The prosecution filed additional charges, essentially accusing the entire group of breaking the same handful of windows. All this has disrupted the lives of the defendants in the J20 case, who have lost jobs, incurred legal expenses, and been forced to make repeated trips to DC. The majority of cases are now headed to trial, with a handful of trials set for November and December 2017 and the rest scattered throughout 2018. Despite the fact that the state forced a large number of strangers into this situation at random, the majority of defendants are working together, responding to the charges in a collective way.

In order to continue to build our capacity to counter state repression and strengthen our interconnected struggles, we are calling for a Week of Solidarity from July 20 to 27, 2017, to make support for the J20 defendants widely visible. July 20 marks six months since the initial actions and arrests; on July 27, a motion to dismiss the charges will be argued in court.


DONATE HERE to support and welcome back our friends Maxx and Shea.
Click HERE or HERE to read the report-backs from the action and subsequent arrests.

DONATE HERE to support the ACJ 10.

DONATE HERE to support Pittsburghers arrested on J20 at the intersection of L&12th streets. 

DONATE HERE to support Victoria and Phil, two comrades arrested during an action at the University of Pittsburgh. 

Pittsburgh: “Abolish Prisons, Fuck ACJ”

Thursday, June 29th, 2017

Anonymous Submission



Banner hung at the foot-bridge of Duquesne, the private university that overlooks the county jail. It reads ABOLISH PRISONS. FUCK ACJ.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY JAIL IS A DEATH TRAP.

Since April of 2017, three inmates have died at the hands of Warden Harper due to abuse, neglect, and horrible health conditions. ACJ is Pittsburgh’s segment of the modern day slave plantation, murdering people while profiting the state.

In March, 80 inmates participated in a sit-down strike to protest the conditions inside the jail. On the outside, noise demos were organized in solidarity with the strikers which led to 11 arrests. Protesters are still facing charges.
You can donate to the legal funds for the arrestees here:
https://www.fundedjustice.com/71Dss1?ref=sh_b6YOs8

Although not affiliated, we stand in full solidarity with The ACJ Health Justice project, a local campaign fighting the conditions of the jail.



FIRE WARDEN HARPER.
ABOLISH ALL JAILS. ABOLISH ALL PRISONS.
THE FIGHT CONTINUES UNTIL EVERYONE IS FREE.

19477329_1302035723242700_7060140104497058790_o

Pittsburgh, PA: June 11th Solidarity March

Friday, June 16th, 2017

Originally posted to It’s Going Down


Pittsburgh anarchists held a march in solidarity with anarchist prisoners on June 11th, 2017. Full marching band in tow, the group disrupted traffic patterns and whatever the fuck else gross yuppie shit goes down on Butler Street, Pittsburgh’s “hipster” strip. Banners in solidarity with Eric King, Marius Mason, and Fernando Bárcenas were on display, along with other anti-prison banners.

After the march, a picnic and info fair was held near by, where t-shirts and buttons were traded in exchange for commissary funds for Joseph Buddenberg, Nicole Kissane, Eric King, and Marius Mason.

Until Every Cage Is Empty


 

 z4-6