Though with a delay, we return with the monthly news roundup of analysis on prison rebellions and imprisoned freedom fighters that is IN CONTEMPT! Once again, the US has seen unprecedented authoritarian repression confronting determined community resistance. As we enter another insurrectionary moment, we are reinvigorated by the relentless struggles of political prisoners worldwide who continue to inspire collective action through words and deeds.
Following the closing of It’s Going Down, a new collective will continue publishing monthly “In Contempt” updates on this noblogs. We hope this publication helps develop networks of inside-outside solidarity – over 100 copies are mailed to people behind bars each month! Please submit any updates and calls to action to the new email in_contempt at autistici dot org.
“Escalation means that you trade your banner for a sledgehammer, you lock on and get in the way of business as usual.” – Sean Middlebrough, escaped Palestine Action UK prisoner
Palestine Action UK Prisoners End Hunger Strike on 73rd Day
Kamran Ahmed, Heba Muraisi and Lewie Chiaramello announce their decision to end their hunger strikes as Elbit Sytems UK was denied a crucial Government contract, a key demand of the hunger strikers.
On January 14, Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed, Lewie Chiaramello, Teuta Hoxha, Jon Cink, Qesser Zuhrah, and Amu Gib have now all begun re-feeding in accordance with health guidelines. It was announced today that Elbit Systems lost out on a £2 billion contract that would have seen them train 60,000 British troops each year. Since 2012, Elbit have won over 10 public contracts, marking a shift in their popularity amongst officials.
The £2 billion contract, which would have seen Elbit provide training to the British Army over ten years, was lost despite the best efforts of officials both in the Ministry of Defence and British army, who it was revealed had been colluding with both Elbit Systems UK and its parent company Elbit Systems in backroom meetings and ‘tours’ to the capital of Palestine, Jerusalem.
On Friday 9th January 2026, in a significant breakthrough, the national leaders of prison healthcare finally met with representatives of the hunger striking prisoners, at the behest of the Ministry of Justice, to discuss prison conditions and treatment recommendations. The decision comes as the group Prisoners for Palestine declared a number of victories of the hunger strike, outlining them in a statement:
After 73 days of hunger strike which began on Balfour day, 2nd November 2025, as some prisoners are facing imminent death, Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed, and Lewie have ended their hunger strikes. The decision to end their hunger strikes came as it was revealed that Elbit Systems UK was denied a vital £2 billion army training contract with the Ministry of Defence, a key demand of the hunger strikers.
The contract, which would have seen Elbit Systems provide training to the British Army over ten years, was lost despite the best efforts of officials both in the Ministry of Defence and British army, who it was revealed had been colluding with both Elbit Systems UK and its parent company Elbit Systems in backroom meetings and ‘tours’ to the capital of Palestine, Jerusalem, in a desperate attempt to further entrench their genocidal alliance and help them win the contract.
The abrupt cancellation of this deal is a resounding victory for the hunger strikers, who resisted with their incarcerated bodies in order to shed light on the role of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, in the colonisation and occupation of Palestine. Since 2012, Elbit has won 25 public contracts in the UK totalling more than £333m; the loss of this £2 billion contract marks a significant shift in this sordid “strategic alliance”. With this victory it has never been clearer that Elbit’s days in Britain are numbered.
In addition to this key demand being met, we want to take this opportunity to celebrate the various victories achieved across the duration of the hunger strike:
In the past few weeks alone, hundreds of people have signed up to take action against the genocidal military-industrial complex, more than the amount of people who took action with Palestine Action over its 5 year campaign. During that 5 year campaign, 4 Israeli weapons factories were shut down. Elbit Systems is living on stolen time – we will see it shut down for good, not because of the government, but because of the people.
Heba Muraisi’s transfer to HMP Bronzefield has been accepted by HMP New Hall, where she is currently held in intentional isolation from her family and friends.
T. Hoxha has been offered a meeting with the head of JEXU (Joint Extremism Unit) at her prison, the very same organisation that orchestrates the prisoners’ treatment as ‘terrorists’.
Despite the cruel and constant medical neglect of the hunger strikers; including not logging food refusal, refusal of ambulances in life threatening emergencies, and degrading treatment in hospital; the national heads of prison healthcare have met with us at the behest of the Ministry of Justice.
During the hunger strike, some of the prisoners started receiving bulk packages of witheld mail, and in one case received an apology from prison staff for a letter that was delayed by 6 months. Books on topics of Gaza and feminism have also been given after months of waiting.
In pursuit of a fair trial, the hunger strikers demanded disclosure of export licenses for the last 5 years from Elbit Systems. After repeated requests, this information was disclosed to an independent researcher by the Department of Trade during the hunger strike.
The continued imprisonment of the hunger strikers will remain a stain on Britain’s facade of being a “democratic” country, with any spine of law and order. This pathetic and cowardly British government cannot resist authoritarianism; it uses fear to deter rightful protest and dissent, echoing the use of administrative detention used against the Palestinian people.
The hunger strike has cemented this fact to the country, and across the world; Britain has political prisoners in service of a foreign genocidal regime. In a time of worsening political repression, and widespread propaganda about a non-existent ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza, the hunger strike stands as a testament of continued defiance.
The hunger strikers have allowed those of us who were fearful of state repression to be brave – to go out once again onto the streets and fight for justice. The government should know they cannot ban a concept. Cowardly banning one group can not stop a belief, a movement, a people. This is only the start of our collective fight to free us all and the road to freedom runs through Palestine.
As these victories are declared, we turn our efforts and attention to Umer Khalid, the last remaining hunger striker, who continues to use his body as a weapon against the state in pursuit of justice.
The hunger strikers made British history, participating in the largest coordinated and longest hunger strike in Britain lasting in total 73 days, with Heba Muraisi ending at 73 days.
The campaign group Prisoners for Palestine emphasised that the most valuable win of the hunger strike has been the surge in commitment to direct action:
“Our prisoners hunger strike will be remembered as a larendmark moment of pure defiance; an embarrassment for the British state. It exposed to the world Britain has political prisoners in service of a foreign genocidal regime, and has seen hundreds of people commit to take direct action in the prisoners footsteps.
While these prisoners end their hunger strike, the resistance has just begun. Banning a group and imprisoning our comrades has backfired on the British state, direct action is alive and the people will drive Elbit out of Britian for good”
Amu Gib said:
“We have never trusted the government with our lives, and we will not start now. We will be the ones to decide how we give our lives to justice and liberation.”
Lewie said:
“It is definitely a time for celebration. A time to rejoice and to embrace our joy as revolution and as liberation. We do this because of Palestine, because we’ve been inspired, because we’ve been empowered to take action and to try to realise our dreams for a free Palestine, for an emancipated world.”
Protests, noise demos, and actions erupted globally in support of the hunger strikers and their struggle for freedom, including protests and noise demos outside of Britishprisons and internationally outside of British Consulates in New York City, Chicago, Belgium, and elsewhere
RICO Charges Dismissed for All 61 Stop Cop City Defendants
Racketeering charges against 61 people indicted as co-conspirators in the Stop Cop City movement were dismissed in December 2025 marking a significant victory for those still facing prosecution in the years after the movement’s peak.
The dismissal comes after more than two years of attempted prosecution that sought to convict protesters who opposed Atlanta’s sprawling police training facility, known as Cop City, as an organized criminal enterprise. In September, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer said from the bench that he planned to dismiss the charges, but the decision was only made official yesterday.
The original indictment was brought in 2023 and targeted dozens of people that the state described a vast and coordinated criminal group that opposed not only Cop City but police and the government as a whole.
In the years since, activists and organizers have faced uncertainty as the state has delayed trials, changed prosecution tactics and made procedural missteps. But Tuesday’s news came as a breath of fresh air for those facing charges.
“When we got the oral decision in September we celebrated, we were so relieved and so happy,” Xavier de Janon, a lawyer representing former RICO defendant Jamie Marsicano and member of the People’s Law Collective, told Unicorn Riot. “When we got the written order yesterday it was like reliving those moments.”
Though this is a significant legal victory against the ongoing intensification of state repression against revolutionary autonomous movements, the ruling doesn’t address related arson and domestic terrorism charges that some are facing.
The state knows these charges are bogus, and we will keep fighting until we are all free. Their attempts to overcharge people, especially with little or no evidence, will not win.
New Arrest in the Prairieland Case
On January 5, 2026, yet another person was arrested in connection to the Prairieland Case, political repression stemming from a protest in solidarity with ICE Detainees that occurred on July 4th at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, south of Fort Worth.
The DFW Support Committee announced that Lucy Fowlkes was arrested and charged with hindering prosecution of terrorism in what supporters say is an effort to pressure her to cooperate with the state.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation accompanied local police during the arrest on Monday evening, though [Lucy] was charged under state, not federal law. Johnson County prosecutors have charged Fowlkes with Hindering the Prosecution of Terrorism and have set bond at $5 million. Similar to Daniel Sanchez Estrada, Janette Goering, and Dario Sanchez, Fowlkes is not known to have participated in the July 4, 2025 protest at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center.
Lucy Fowlkes faces charges in another ongoing case stemming from an incident at a drag brunch in 2023, where she was charged alongside Chris Guillot and Meghan Grant. In that case, authorities allege that Fowlkes and others unlawfully defended the family event from violent antagonists.
Supporters of Ms. Fowlkes say in the weeks prior to her arrest she had been approached by law enforcement encouraging her to engage in an interview regarding the July 4th protest. “The extension of this charge, ‘hindering the prosecution of terrorism’, to more and more defendants is increasingly absurd. I can only assume that this is some sort of wildly unacceptable intimidation tactic,” said Lydia Koza, friend of the defendant.
Fowlkes’s arrest and apparent intimidation by Johnson County officials comes just four months after Johnson County Sheriff Adam King was arrested and charged with intimidating a witness, sexual harassment, and perjury. Despite violating his bond conditions numerous times, Sheriff King remains in his position while his criminal case is ongoing.
The allegations against Fowlkes remain unknown, causing multiple friends and acquaintances to express confusion when told of her arrest. “This is really shocking,” said Shelby Donahue, a friend of the accused. “Lucy has been keeping to herself, and been focused on her case this whole time,” she continued. “I don’t see how she could be involved in any of this. It doesn’t seem possible.” Others expressed sorrow at her incarceration.
“She’s an incredibly funny and kind person, and it truly breaks my heart to see her harassed and jailed like this,” says Stephanie Shriver, a friend of Ms. Fowlkes. “The state is trying to scare her into saying things that aren’t true. That has to be illegal.”
The sprawling Prairieland case is significant in a nationwide landscape of increased protest activity against ICE and its immigration raids. Experts believes the outcome of this case should be concerning to those exercising their rights. “Millions of people across the country are joining protests against injustices happening around us,” said Xavier T. de Janon, Director of Mass Defense at the National Lawyers Guild. “If the federal government can snatch protesters for months, with no quick recourse, then we are all in danger.”
The Prairieland cases, involving both state and federal charges, stem from a noise demonstration in solidarity with detainees at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, on July 4, 2025. After the protest, an officer with the Alvarado Police Department allegedly became involved in an exchange of gunfire soon after arrival. The officer allegedly sustained minor injuries, and was reportedly released from the hospital shortly afterwards. Authorities have still not provided hospital records to justify these claims, six months later. Alvarado police arrested ten people in the area, and a manhunt ensued in the subsequent days for another defendant. Eight more defendants were arrested in the days and weeks following the protest.
Prejudicial and sweeping statements related to these cases have been made repeatedly by officials at the highest levels of government, polluting the perceptions of the public from which the jury will be drawn and undermining the defendants’ ability to get a fair trial. The Trump administration has publicly claimed that the Prairieland case is the first legal case against “Antifa,” widely considered to be an informal set of anti-authoritarian beliefs, but recently designated as a domestic terrorist organization. On September 25, the White House released the National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7), which ordered all federal law enforcement agencies to prioritize combating Antifa as a domestic terrorism threat. FBI director Kash Patel has called the defendants “Antifa-aligned anarchist violent extremists,” sharing Fox News coverage of the case on X.
A new Prarieland Defendants support website is now live –– https://prairielanddefendants.com/about-the-case/ –– with information about the defendants and ways to support, to get involved, and to fight together to challenge what is a major escalation in repression against autonomous movements of liberation.
In December 2025, Philly ABC announced that the judge overseeing the case against the Northumberland 2––Cara and Celeste, accused of freeing hundreds of minks from a fur farm in PA––dismissed ELEVEN charges total between defendants Cara and Celeste—including one count of ecoterrorism and several misdemeanors.
The next step is a pretrial conference in February. After that will come trial.
While this is big and exciting news, the case isn’t over yet. Cara and Celeste still have many charges to fight. Trial will come with extra costs on top of the other legal fees.
In the wake of the 2025 uprising in Indonesia, state repression of anarchists continues to mount. Dark Nights has consistently been publishing updates from Palang Hitam/Anarchist Black Cross.
We received the information that imprisoned anarchist comrades Eat (Reyhard Rumbayan) and Dena (Maditya Dena), are still held in the West Java paramilitary police compound in the fabricated ‘Chaos Star case‘, and that they have badly declined in health. In the case of Eat, severely. Both comrades have HIV+ diagnosis and are struggling to receive adequate healthcare, food and nutrition for their serious condition. Eat is suffering constant extreme pain from atrophy in his arm which is paralyzed.
We hold the Indonesian regime responsible for the abuse, the torture, the lives of our comrades.
After the uprising in August 2025, the anarchist movement is being blamed for causing the unrest, but this conceals the fact that the mass popular insurrection did not belong to the anarchists, it belonged to everyone. From Iran, to Indonesia, to the USA, we will fight back!
For international revolutionary solidarity! Free the prisoners!
Palang Hitam/Anarchist Black Cross
– Write to Eat and Dena
[Name] Jl. Soekarno Hatta No.748, Cimenerang, Kec. Gedebage, Kota Bandung, Jawa Barat 40292, Indonesia
Detention Center, West Java Police Headquarter. January 13, 2026.
Greetings, comrades! I hope this message finds you well. As I write, I’ve just been informed that my case has been submitted to the prosecutor’s office. The police investigator told me I have only a few more days left in this cell. I hope to be transferred to Kebon Waru Prison by the end of this month, where I can reunite with other comrades, even if it’s under the condition of being “imprisoned.”
To those of you outside, trust in the fire burning in your chest–it won’t easily fade if you believe in it. This struggle is fated for anyone who stands by it. We didn’t start this war; we’re simply fighting back! We resist the tyranny of the powerful, the violence of the authorities, the massive land evictions, the monopoly on natural resources, the criminalization of those who speak out, those who defend their rights, indigenous communities, and our fellow comrades. We’re only fighting back against all of that!
Comrades, the actions you take–whether through resistance or defiance–are nothing compared to the injustice they have inflicted upon us. Stay strong and unshaken! Fighting back is the truest form of love.
-Scoobydoomz
–
** Dena, also known by his stage names Apip and Scoobydoomz, is a radical rapper who performs in urban ruins, conflict zones, and similar spaces. He was imprisoned for his role in the destruction of buildings during the protests against the military bill, particularly the burning of Hana Bank in Bandung on March 21, 2025. He is currently grouped under the “chaos star” case, classified as a nihilist/egoist/insurrectionist anarchist by the police.
FULL OF LOVE AND PASSION, OUR SOLIDARITY WITH ALL ANARCHIST PRISONERS ACROSS THE NATION. WE WILL NEVER ABANDON YOU.
Today, 7 January 2026, Alfarisi’s family have stated through Alfarisi’s brother and Alfarisi’s lawyer, that Alfarisi did not have any medical condition, as claimed and propagated by cops through media and NGOs. Several times Alfarisi’s brother was able to visit him in custody, and he said that Alfarisi was tortured physically. Police are now refusing to answer any questions. Kontras, an independant human rights and anti-torture NGO still hasn’t got any confirmation from police. Police claimed that the family of Alfarisi said he had a medical condition. In the statement today, Alfarisi’s brother and lawyer denied they gave any such statement to police about that medical condition. So, if he didn’t have any medical condition, there’s only one answer left: he died under torture.
Palang Hitam/ABC
Post-August Mass Action Manhunt in Surakarta (Solo): Arrest of Comrades Riky and Kipli a.k.a Blazevomit – Indonesia
As the authoritarian regime of Prabowo and Gibran tightens its grip on Indonesia in 2025, dissent has erupted across the nation. What began as a mass wave of protests against corruption, oppression, and systemic violence has turned into an unrelenting campaign of state-sponsored repression. In the streets, solidarity movements bloomed in the wake of a tragic event: the brutal killing of Affan, an online motorcycle driver run over by a Brimob [Mobile Brigade Corps- Special operations, paramilitary, and tactical unit of the Indonesian National Police] armored vehicle during a protest in Jakarta. This act of violence ignited an even greater fire of resistance, yet it also marked the beginning of a systematic crackdown on comrades, journalists, and anyone challenging the regime.
Two comrades from Solo, Rizky Ardiansyah, known as Riky, and Muhammad Rafli Andriansyah, or Kipli, were among the first to fall victim to the regime’s wave of arrests. The two were arrested in November for their involvement in a mass action in August at the Brimob Headquarters, Battalion C Pelopor, Manahan, Solo. They were charged with a range of serious offenses, including alleged property destruction and involvement in creating incendiary devices such as Molotov cocktails, accusations that were heavily inflated and fueled by visual evidence obtained by the police.
But the real story here is not just about the charges. They are a smokescreen, a tool used by the state to criminalize dissent and stifle the growing resistance. Both Riky and Kipli now face trial in Surakarta, with their hearings set for January 2026, but their plight is a reflection of a much larger reality: the state’s war against anyone who dares to oppose it.
The arrest of Riky on November 2, 2025, came well after the protests had died down. The authorities targeted him not because of immediate involvement in any crimes but because he symbolized the broader movement that was challenging the regime. Riky, simply hanging out at Taman Tirtonadi [a nice park which is a meet up spot and skatepark], became a target because he refused to be silenced. The arrest was a clear sign that the state’s repression was not just reactive; it was premeditated and politically motivated.
Similarly, two days after Riky’s arrest, Kipli was taken from his home in the middle of the night, a typical move to instill fear. The police claimed they had visual documentation linking him to the protests, but such flimsy evidence only served to underscore the illegitimacy of the charges brought against both of them.
Riky and Kipli’s families have reported disturbing signs of physical abuse and torture following their arrests. According to family members, the two comrades were subjected to violent beatings with canes and hoses during their detention. Their bodies were left bruised and battered, evidence of the lengths the state will go to in order to crush resistance. These tactics are not anomalies; they are part of a broader strategy by the regime to intimidate, torture, and silence those who refuse to comply.
Such brutality is a reflection of the authoritarian nature of the Prabowo-Gibran government, a government that will stop at nothing to maintain its control, even if it means using violence and terror to quash any opposition.
The case of Riky and Kipli is not a criminal case; it is a political one. This is the regime’s attempt to criminalize the very act of protest and dissent. Their trial is a clear example of how the legal apparatus has been weaponized by the state to protect its own power rather than serve the people. Riky and Kipli are not criminals; they are comrades who dared to speak out against an oppressive system. They are victims of a legal process that is inherently corrupt, repressive, and politically charged.
Their lawyer, Made Ridho, has condemned the irregularities in their trial, noting that there is no coherent evidence linking the comrades to the crimes they are accused of. The charges are vague, the witnesses unreliable, and the prosecution’s arguments increasingly nonsensical. Despite this, the state is determined to see them convicted, not because they are guilty, but because they represent a threat to the established order.
The arrests of Riky and Kipli are just the beginning. They are part of a broader effort by the state to criminalize political dissent and suppress all forms of resistance. But the arrest of two young comrades is not an isolated event. It is part of a larger campaign of repression designed to silence anyone who challenges the authority of the ruling elite.
The state’s message is clear: protest is illegal, dissent is a crime. But the anarchist movement knows better. We know that the fight for freedom is never easy, but it is a fight worth having. The arrest of Riky, Kipli, and others like them is a badge of honor, a testament to their courage in the face of state violence.
In the coming months, the struggle will intensify. We will continue to expose the lies of the state, fight against their oppressive tactics, and stand in solidarity with those who have been wrongfully imprisoned. We will not allow the state to criminalize dissent, and we will not allow them to silence our voices.
The actions of Riky and Kipli were not crimes; they were acts of insurgency against a corrupt and violent system. They are not criminals; they are insurgents, fighters for liberation, autonomy, and freedom. Their trial is not an isolated case; it is a symptom of the larger battle we face against a regime that will stop at nothing to protect its interests.
As long as the state continues to oppress the people, we will continue to resist. And the day will come when the voice of the people will no longer be silenced. This is not just about two comrades; it is about a movement for liberation, for autonomy, and for the dismantling of oppressive hierarchies. We stand with Riky, Kipli, and all those who dare to challenge the oppressive power of the state. Our resistance will not be crushed. Our voices will be heard.
Three years have passed since Georgia State Patrolmen Jerry Parrish, Bryland Myers, Jonathan Salcedo, Ronaldo Kegel, Royce Zah, and Mark Jonathan Lamb entered the Weelaunee Forest in southeast Atlanta with their guns drawn. They shot and killed Manuel Teran, known to fellow forest defenders as Tortuguita. Today, the same struggles continue against the same forms of oppression, animated by the spirit of Tortuguita. The past does not pass.
This is a call to take action on the anniversary of that tragedy.
This January 18, take action to remember Tortuguita and all who have fallen in defense of the Earth. Organize a march, rally, or vigil. Gather with friends, comrades, and family to mourn and heal and grow stronger together. Plan an information session on those living on the run, under siege, or under surveillance. Host a power-mapping session about a local police foundation, a detention center, or a surveillance network. Organize a hike through a public park or forest and commit to defend that place from destruction.
Phone Zaps
Emergency Call to Demand Balagoon Receive Medical Test for Cancer
The Pendleton Two Defense Committee launched a phone zap to ensure John “Balagoon” Cole receive a medical test to see if he has colon cancer which the facility he’s locked up at is preventing.
They’ve provided a script:
Hello, I am [calling/emailing] out of concern for the health and well-being of Mr. John Cole Jr. #14658. Mr. Cole was informed several months ago that he needs to be tested for colon cancer, but he has not been allow to be tested. Centurion seems unwilling to do the medically necessary testing. Please ensure that Mr. Cole is tested for colon cancer immediately!
Thank you, [your name]
…as well as contact information:
Centurion Health of Indiana Statewide Medical Director: Dr. Stephanie Riley
Gia Abigal Valentina is a transgender woman and communist political prisoner held captive at New Jersey State Prison, a men’s facility, where she has been in solitary confinement for over a decade. She is currently fighting for transfer out of the men’s prison, gender affirming vulvoplasty surgery, and clemency! Gia is a skilled artist, advocate for human and animal rights, and kind hearted person who does not belong in a men’s prison, let alone any prison.
Gia deserves to be free. Placing trans women in men’s facilities is a depraved form of torture that places them at extreme risk of physical, emotional, and sexual violence at the hands of the guards and reactionary prisoners. We have a huge opportunity to pressure the state to get her free now.
Two anarchists imprisoned on remand in Munich on criminal conspiracy charges relating to publishing the anarchist street paper Zundlumpen, Nathalie and Manuel, were unexpectedly freed from custody in September 2025. In January 2026, it was announced that the Zundlumpen case won’t be opened!
Huh, what’s going on over there? This is now the second time within a short period that we are rubbing our eyes in confusion. First the release of Nathalie and Manuel from pre-trial detention. Now the judicial association Himmelstoß and Co. are refusing to deliberate on the Zündlumpen case. Even better: they dismissed the case against the third accused outright and thus also the case for the creation of a criminal association.
After all a criminal association requires three accused. It seems that even in the eyes of the district court there is not enough evidence to prove that this third anarchist was involved with Zündlumpen. Instead they delegate the case, now only against two people, down to the lower court because they no longer feel responsible. In Bavaria things are happening… that not even we intractable anarchists would have thought possible. Of course the furious General-SA Eva Firoozi doesn’t accept this so easily. After all she has made the hunt for anarchists her career, which is why she quickly objected to the case being dropped. But that’s not all.
The spectacle of repression could of course be even more of a farce. Why not use an absurd excuse to take a DNA sample from a suspected anarchist? And so Mr. Obermeier and Meyer stand in the hallway of a suspected anarchist apartment to satiate their hunger for anarchist bodily fluids. DNA traces of an unknown masculine person were found on a copy of the “Hetzblatt” that supposedly match the DNA traces that were found four years ago at the site of a break in at an SB car wash in the Altöttinger area. Reason enough to take a DNA sample from a person, against whom the “Hetzblatt” case was dropped two months ago due to a lack of evidence, “because they have family in the area.” While they leave with their valuable loot they deliver a police summons on behalf of the public prosecutors office to another person because of a letter that Manuel wrote to them from prison. They are asked to testify as a witness that Manuel supposedly ordered an arson. And thus the chicanery continues.
Now the decision whether or not to reopen the Zündlumpen case in 2026 lies with the higher regional court. That means waiting once again because the court is not bound by a deadline to make the decision. While this surprising news is a relief, we should not forget that the state has already accomplished a lot with the years long repression against anarchists and their projects in Munich: countless house searches, 7 months of pre-trial detention for the comrades Manuel and Nathalie, the closure of the anarchist library Frevel, the confiscation of several printers, newspapers, books, and paper, and lastly lots and lots of stress. After all §129 cases are always a perfect excuse for comprehensive surveillance, eaves dropping and observation.
Even if the §129 case falls apart and the individual accusations(condoning and encouraging crimes, intimidation) are handled by the lower court, this will be a case in which our animosity towards any authority, our anarchist ideas and positions, will be persecuted. The chicanery directly following the (partial) dropping of charges shows that the state will continue to destroy anarchist projects and put pressure on an entire scene. It is up to us to show that our passion for freedom is stronger than any censorship or prison wall. No love for the servants of the state. Freedom for all.
Protesters marched outside Texas Governor Abbott’s mansion demanding the release of Chicano Indigenous activist Xinachtli, bringing renewed attention to his false convictions, years of solitary confinement and pressing medical neglect that resulted in his recent hospitalization. Facing life threatening medical conditions, Xinachtli was briefly transferred to the Carol Young Medical Facility and hospitalized in Galveston before being transfered back to solitary confinement at the McConnell Unit. Prism reports:
On Dec. 13, chants of “Free our prisoners, free them all” filled the streets of downtown Austin. The march began at the steps of Austin City Hall and ended at the Governor’s Mansion on the Texas Capitol grounds, 10 blocks away.
“The state wants us to forget our revolutionaries, our history,” Montgomery said to the crowd of protesters at City Hall.
The Xinachtli Freedom Campaign hopes all its demands are met, including to make Xinachtli’s transfer to Galveston Hospital permanent, ensure he never returns to the McConnell Unit, and release him under Medical Recommended Intensive Supervision.
Protesters began their march on the Congress Avenue sidewalk, a straight shot to the state capitol. The boom of their speakers caught the attention of pedestrians, who were handed zines and one-pagers made by the Xinachtli Freedom Campaign. In the zine, Xinachtli left a message for his readers: “The key is working to organize and unite marginalized communities.”
Freed revolutionary prisoner Georges Abdallah wearing a Free Xinachtli t-shirt in freedom in Lebanon.
Oso Blanco
This February, Indigenous anarchist political prisoner Oso Blanco (AKA Byron Shane Chubbuck) completes another year of life while imprisoned at USP Atwater where he is serving the remaining 27 years of his sentence for expropriating funds from banks in the so-called US to aid the EZLN in their ongoing struggle against the Mexican State. Although known for his acts of militant direct action and commitment to revolutionary struggle, Oso Blanco is an artist, a poet, a musician, a friend and loved one, a relative, a comrade, and a beautiful human being who remains resolute and resilient despite surviving in some of the most deplorable conditions imaginable. And friends and comrades are hoping folks will join them in surprising Oso Blanco some love and material solidarity.
Oso Blanco’s birthday is February 26th. Along with letter-writings and other consciousness-raising events, comrades of Oso Blanco will be holding a raffle to raise funds for his commissary. Items to be featured include original art, songs, and poetry from Oso Blanco, radical prints, posters, books, patches, t-shirts, and other cool shit. The raffle will go live on February 21st and run until February 26th, when winners will be announced. All funds raised will go to supporting our comrade on the inside. They are also calling for folks to engage in their own solidarity actions to help raise awareness and funds. Let’s show the State we will never forget our comrades on the inside, and—above all—show Oso Blanco that he’s not forgotten with some love and support. Note that this raffle is a surprise to Oso Blanco, so don’t mention it in your letters to him.
For questions or for more info about the fundraiser and how to support, please reach out to the Anarchist Black Cross Federation, Orange County Chapter, at abcfoc@disroot.org
Casey Goonan
Casey recently shared reflections of their and other prisoners’ daily lives at the Mendota transfer facility, where they’re imprisoned still awaiting a security classification and transfer, as a continuation of their prior small zine.
The following ideas an opinions reflect the general consensus of the majority prisoners held in the FCI Mendota B2 Building. This is a continuation of my small zine, titled “Holdover Life at Mendota.”
Life in the FCI Mendota “holdover unit” is difficult and often challenging. Even though we are only allowed out of our cell 5 1/2 hours per week — no more than one hour on weekends, no more than 15 minutes (for a phone call) on weekend days — every day brings a new obstacle, a new drama, a new and supremely unnecessary interaction with a petty correctional officer. I honestly can complain for days on end.
There are very few items to choose from on the commissary, with a $50 spending limit. We only order commissary once every two weeks. We run out of food items before the second week most of the time.
Although the kitchen serves us three meals a day and many days do a great job providing quality food, the portions are small and the trays almost always arrive cold. The last part is always due to the CO’s not passing out the food in a timely manner.
We barely have any items or options available to program with and keep busy. I average reading ten hours a day — terrible selection of books. I feel brain rot.
It’s difficult to workout in the small cells, and our so-called “recreation time” is usually 6am or 7am. so, if you decide to workout any time later, you will not be able to shower until the next day. Oh i should probably mention that you only have that single hour in the morning to shower between Mondays and Fridays; we are not permitted shower on the weekends.
Meanwhile, most of the C.O.’s sit around in their office half of the day and barely have to do anything. This is a convenient (although i imagine boring) unit for them to work. Most of them hate it here, and many times daily they project that disdain onto us inmates.
My least favorite aspect of this experience is how we do not get *any* outdoor time. None. Zilch.
Did i mention we receive terrible medical care and treatment for inmates with chronic or emergent health needs? With one phone call a day we are deeply isolated from the outside world. To add to the stressors, the mailroom absolutely sucks!
In the b2 Unit we are essentially treated as if we are in the SHU (“solitary confinement,” aka “the hole” or more properly the “security housing unit”). Yet none of us are facing disciplinary infractions; many of us haven’t even been designated. Some of us have been stuck here for over three months!
Here at FCI Mendota, the administration are *de facto* punishing us inmates in the holdover unit. The policies and living conditions are cruel and unusual. Its freezing cold. We suffer extremely unnecessary immobilization and deprivation of bodily autonomy. As a result, we also suffer long periods of time where we’re held incommunicado from our loved ones on the outside.
Shit, I’ve heard the SHU inmates have certain perks that we are withheld in the holdover unit. For example, the SHU inmates may not be given television nor a phone call home. However they do get a daily hour of *outdoor* time. We in the holdover unit only leave our cells for an hour each weekday morning, with *zero* outdoor time. Those days, our alleged “rec time” only allows for one 15 minutes phone call, because the phone system blocks you from making a follow-up call for a half hour duration. The remainder of the time we use to shower and gather ourselves for the next 23 hours of captivity.
When in cell, most of us have inadequate views of the television, and even when your cell has a better TV shot, we are not provided headphones nor allowed to purchase radios to hear what’s on the silent, muted televisions. Instead, we struggle to read tiny subtitles that move so quick it’s comical. From the cell i’m currently held in, my cellmate and i do not have a view of a TV at all.
In some ways we have it worse than SHU inmates, who at least breathe fresh air daily and have showers *inside* of the *cells.* Some even say they have a better commissary list in the SHU, although i can’t vouch 100% for that claim.
To be a “holdover” inmate, means you are inthe process of becoming designated (or in fact are already designated) by the BOP to be sent to a different, more long-term facility. Most of us, if not all at some point or another, were either just sentenced or brought here on a violation and awaiting release or transfer. Some inmates in this unit are “pretrial” and those inmates receive two hours of “rec time” every day. Even on weekends. I’m not exactly sure why we do not receive the same treatment as the “pretrial” inmates of the unit.
When you arrive as a new holdover inmate, the first thing the compound officers tell us is how we should expect 2 hours of recreation time outside of our cells. Federal law (look it up, i’m not lying) also mandates that inmates without any disciplinary infractions or write-ups must be given *at least* ten hours out of their cells a week. The reality is we spend 163 hours a week locked in cells. The excuse we are most often told, upon filing informal requests and grieving to staff is: “most of you will only be here for two to three weeks, then on a bus… you just gotta deal with it.” I’ve been told that same response from C.O.’s from councilors, and even from certain medical staff. The crude fact is that some of us have been here for three months! I am included in that category of “long-term holdover.”
We are being punished simply because we exist as “undesignated” or newly designated BOP inmates. No other reason.
At the current moment, there is no convincing reason why we are held in cells this long, besides the fact that it is easier this way for the staff. During the time of this writing, there are only 14 inmates in this entire 64 cell building. We are split up into four “rec” groups: Group A, Group B, and two pretrial groups. None of this has to be this way. There are only *four* small groups of people; the largest of which has only six members. It’s absurd. Most of the day there are no inmates on the rec floor at all.
The Free Tarek Bazrouk Support Committee shared updates on Palestinian political prisoner Tarek Bazrouk after his sentencing in October 2025:
Tarek is still being held in MDC and has been awaiting transfer since his sentencing. The conditions at MDC are very frigid; there is no heat outside the cells, and the vending machines are often empty.
The prisoners have been put on lockdown a lot recently, which limits movements to their cells.
Tarek has been reading many different books during his time at MDC, mostly books that have been sent to him by the community.
Tarek has been readingh your kind letters and has been responsive; however, MDC has been withholding stamps and envelopes from him as of late.
Tarek has been studying, strengthening his religion alongside the Arabic language.
Imperialist prisons in all their cruelty attempt to break the individual, especially the Muslim individual. Instead, in many cases like Tarek and so many more, it strengthens their faith, deepens their resolve, and reinforces their belief in the temporary nature of this Dunya.
Put money on Tarek’s commissary: tinyurl.com/tareksbooks
Write Tarek a letter or send him books:
Tarek Bazrouk #79913-511 MDC Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center P.O. Box 329002 Brooklyn, NY 11232
Shine White
Shine White has been transferred to Scotland Correctional Institution following a 38 day hunger strike and a phone zap campaign. From Shine’s support team:
Yesterday, Dec. 17, after over a month at Central Prison, Shine was transferred to Scotland Cl located in the South Central Region. The day prior, NCDAC unsuccessfully attempted to transfer him back to the Western Region after he refused to leave his cell and threatened to go back on hunger strike – which he is prepared to do. While at Central, his mail (incoming and outgoing) was consistently delayed. However, within the last two weeks, supporters began receiving letters, some final vhich were withheld for a month. He received some mail, as well.
Write to Shine: (via mail scanning service):
Joseph Stewart #0802041 Scotland Correctional Institution PO BOx 247 Phoenix, MD 21131
I am surprised to say that I now reside in transitional housing. I left Waseca Federal Correctional Institution on October 1st, thanking God to have seen the beautiful face of my dear friend Julie Brown in the prison parking lot there to pick me up and transport me to my new home, a halfway house. It had been over 5 years since she and I said our goodbyes on the Des Moines Catholic Worker front porch, both shedding a few tears at the time, me a nervous wreck preparing for the greatest unknown I’d yet experienced. Needless to say, it was a heartfelt reunion.
So I’ve been in the halfway house scene for a few weeks now, settling in as well as possible, I suppose. Although I am no longer in prison, I am still Bureau of Prison property. Let me expand on that a bit further. If I had any doubt about what it means to be BOP property, it was cleared up when one time, a few years back, a group of us were playing a prison yard softball game. It was early in the year, and so we were all pretty stir crazy after a long winter indoors and eager to get out of our housing units and to get a little sunshine and fresh air.
Well, a few of the women got a little too much sun and by the following morning were pretty red-faced, and then one of the women was called to her counselor’s office to receive a disciplinary write up for her sunburn: “destruction of government property”. Wow! It kind of hit me in a different way at that moment. So, although there is no longer a fence surrounding me, until 10/01/2027, every move I make is monitored. Any and all doctor’s appointments, mental health therapy sessions, all communication on my phone and email, any employment endeavors, all overseen by BOP.
Taking it all in, where I’ve been, where I am now, and heading toward home confinement, am I doing alright? In a real way, no probably not. I am sad all the time. It is hard to be hopeful about too many good days ahead any time soon. Did prison do that to me? Can I blame the BOP? Is it because I still can’t garden or hike or swim? Or maybe I could blame the fact the world, at a glance, seems as bad as it ever was? All I know is that for a while now the laughter has left me.
I thank everyone for their prayers, thoughts, letters, and contributions along the way. Without you I don’t know where I’d be during these dark times. Thank you so very much.
Jessica Reznicek
You can write directly to Jess at:
Fresh Start Women’s Center (Women’s Residential Correctional Facility) 1917 Hickman Rd, Des Moines, IA 50314
After a sustained phone zap campaign challenging Malik’s retaliatory indefinite solitary confinement conditions, they have been transferred to another state prison in Pendleton Oregon. Back in general population, Malik will have “fuller access to communications, mail, and possessions, as well as more opportunities for participating in activities and social engagements”. Support Malik by buying from their book wishlist, donating to their fundraiser, or writing to their new address:
Malik Muhammad #23935744 Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution 2500 Westgate Pendleton, OR 97801-9699
To everyone who took the time to call and demand my release from the hole these past two years, thank you. I want you to know that it worked. I know that it can be daunting, we can feel so powerless in the face of this repressive beast that is the state – but it’s only an illusion. What they want you to think. I’m out now and transferred and received mail, and that’s all thanks to you.
AND, at this time our siblings in the UK need that same energy times ten. Pal Action protesters have been held without bail, as you know, and are facing intense repression under bogus terrorism charges. They need you all to put in the same energy calling and demanding for the release of their mail. The opposition hopes to keep our movements separate and fractured when nothing could be further from the truth.
The struggle is the same. Interconnected and woven together. No ocean undoes that. Don’t let the fascist state think just because there’s an ocean between us that they’ll be forgotten. The struggle against the fascist state isn’t just red white and blue but falls under other stars too. The so-called Israeli OF and the UK fly stars of “freedom” while committing genocide and state-sanctioned violence.
The struggle for freedom for Palestine, for prisoners, for Blacks, for the world, is one and the same, no matter the police state. Our Pal Action siblings need you now. They are on Day 40 of their strike, bail denied, and they’re prepared to go the way of our IRA siblings before. Let’s not let that happen or have them force fed. Keep the pressure and keep calling for them. And know it makes a difference. Their tactic is to wait us out, but our memory must be longer than the state’s.
Forgetting is usually a pastime activity for Amerikans, but not us. Don’t let them be forgotten. The fascist state media won’t cover them here, like they won’t cover the Gaza genocide. They’ll have us believe it’s a “ceasefire” when hundreds have been killed still because they’re quote unquote “unpeople” like us. But there are siblings that need you to apply pressure, and call, and write them, and more.
Reach out to the political prisoners you know here, state-side, create networks, and let them know what’s going on, and help to build a solidarity strike. WE CAN ONLY COORDINATE ACROSS PRISONS WITH YOUR HELP. Contact any media you know about it, have political prisoners promote it in their prison newsletters, like the San Quentin newsletter.
Eastern Oregon Correctional Institute has a newspaper that I just submitted the story for. We have to stand in solidarity with our siblings everywhere. Do not be fooled: that isn’t happening there – oppression is here. Clear and present. Make no mistake about it. The student protestors in Hong Kong once held a sign that read: “Hear us now, or be us later.” Right now, Pal Action is screaming for us to hear them.
If they can be held without bail under repression and state-sanctioned violence due to trumped-up terrorism charges now, that could be and will be here later. The day isn’t far off when anyone organizing against Trump, or for Palestine, Sudan, or showing solidarity with prisoners are carted off and held without bail under torture and trumped-up terrorism charges under the label of “Antifa.” IF YOU DON’T ACT NOW, YOU’LL BE US LATER.
I’m out of the hole, but none of us are out of the woods. No one is free until we all are free. From the river to the sea, Palestine WILL be free, Inshallah, sea to shining sea. One day, we all will be.
Love, rage, and solidarity, Sibling Malik
José Felan
George Floyd Uprising prisoner José Felan who released to a halfway house in December 2025 shared an update from freedom!
Hello everyone!
These last few days have been the most exciting days I’ve had in a very long time. The halfway house has been very bad. The food is way better than where I was, that’s for sure. Tonight, we had tostadas! It’s been years since I last had them. Right now I am in the starting phase where I have to get my state ID, a bank account, a car, an apartment, and a job.
They won’t let me leave this place until I have obtained these things! I still haven’t found a job yet, but I am looking hard. One of the rules of the house is that you have to get a job. It’s a small town, so there are not many jobs, but they are there. As for an apartment, I’m going to be patient because not all places are felon friendly.
My aspirations have not changed though. Once I have adjusted, then I plan to expose my story. From my side, not the media’s. The George Floyd days re-routed my entire life 100%. And boy do I have a story to tell! I went from living in Minnesota, married and with everything I wanted, to now living in Texas, single, and with nothing. That day changed everything about me. I still have nightmares about it. Just last night I woke up in cold sweats.
That’s why I will never let it go. It’s a scar that still lives with me every day. Some days I feel a little alone because I lost everything and I feel like I will never be able to have a life again. But I know that can’t be true.
Today, I rode a bike for the first time in years! I felt like I was flying! It felt so god to do that. I am staying strong and positive. I still have many of the letters you guys used to send to me. I will never forget what you did for me. Even though it’s challenging to start over, I can’t help but think of how it will all be worth it. As of now, I have three things in mind: friends, family, and MY RESTAURANT!
I love you guys! Don’t ever forget the days of George Floyd! Those days are still real to people like me who gave everything for a common cause! It was a price that I am still paying for right now.
Love and struggle,
José Felan
As far as we know, these are the current addresses of political prisoners from the George Floyd Uprising:
Christopher Tindal #04392-509 USP Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary P.O. Box 2068 Inez, KY 41224
David Elmakayes #77782-066 USP Lee U.S. Penitentiary P.O. Box 305 Jonesville, VA 24263
Smart Communications / PA DOC Khalif Miller / #QQ9287 SCI Forest P.O. Box 33028 St. Petersburg, FL 33733
Margaret Channon #49955-086 FCI Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institution P.O. Box 5000 Tallahassee, FL 32314
Matthew Rupert 55013-424 USP Big Sandy U.S. Penitentiary P.O. Box 2068 Inez, KY 41224
Montez Lee #22429-041 FCI Petersburg Medium Federal Correctional Institution P.O. Box 1000 Petersburg, VA 23804
Mujera Benjamin Lunga’ho #08572-509 FCI Beaumont Medium Federal Correctional Institution P.O. Box 26040 Beaumont, TX 77720
Visit https://uprisingsupport.org/ for more ways to support.
This past year, we have watched members of our community torn from their families and thrown into the Wyatt Detention Facility to suffer the abuse and neglect of an institution that only cares about filling beds to pay its debts to its investors. We have met parents, siblings, children, partners, and family members who have had their entire worlds upturned in a moment due to the inhumane policy of indiscriminate ICE (United States Immigrant and Customs Enforcement) detention.
Detention facilities like the Wyatt are designed to create the conditions of suffering that incentivize folks in detention to sign voluntary deportation agreements to end their suffering sooner. At the Wyatt they use tactics like the deprivation of medicines, limited access to clean bottled water, limited access to clean blankets and clean clothing, and limited access to sanitary conditions of living. The Wyatt uses punitive responses to self-advocacy to suppress people from accessing care, like using solitary confinement in response to complaints and transferring folks who ask for their medications before they can receive them.”
That is why we are gathering at the Wyatt to continue to demand its closure and an end to the unrelenting expansion of immigrant detention and prison infrastructure across the United States.
We are mobilizing at the Wyatt Detention Center to demand an end to the ICE Contract! No more beds for ICE Detention! #FreeThemAll
While we gather together, we will also continue our call for an end to the Occupation of Palestine and an end to the provision of U.S. weapons and funding to a genocidal state! These issues are inextricably linked.
Cook County Jail, Chicago:
Dozens endured the brutal Chicago evening cold outside the even more brutal Cook County Jail for the annual New Years Noise Demo. Showing solidarity through sound, the noisemakers were solid: bucket drums, pots and pans, and mobile speakers blasted the blocks as we marched around the vast complex, dancing with the people inside vibing us from their cell windows. Several sheriff squad cars stalked us, rolling up on the sidewalk yelling at us from the warmth of their vehicles, even attempting to play some goofy song of their own at one point. After the march, many stayed until the midnight countdown with a pretty chill flag burning, hearts warmed with the flames of our disdain for the american nightmare that CCJ represents. Remember Alteriq Pleasant! Remember Cory Ulmer! Tom Dart lied, people died! Close Cook County Jail! To another year of resistance against the systems of police and prisons!
Joining in a Coast to Coast tradition: anarchists, abolitionists, and other comrades in a merry band against prisons held a successful noise demo at the front door of the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre (“Wilkinson” or “Wilkie”) for prisoners inside. Police response was dodged, and hostages of the state inside were reminded that they are not forgotten.
Carceral institutions like prisons warehouse people, cutting them off from loved ones. Phone calls are expensive, mail is slow and subject to search, and applications to be added to someone’s visitor list can be denied without clear reasons. When incarcerated people feel as though the outside world has forgotten them, this is colonialism working as intended.
We must let those know inside that they are not forgotten: we can share our opposition to their world, admin, guards; the misery and exploitation that necessitates them. Because no one is free until we are all free. Inside as well as out, let’s revolt!
On Laval’s Montée Saint-Francois, floodlights and barbed wire mark the sprawl of a prison complex that exists to warehouse human beings. New Year’s Eve 2025: hundreds filled cars and buses, then marched to renew a tradition that breaks across the shadows of their walls and the silence of isolation.
Annual New Year’s Eve noise demo at MDC Brooklyn saw a crowd of around 100 who braved a torrential downpour to remind those locked inside that they are not alone. The crowd was aided in noise-making by the contribution of thunder from Mother Nature and radical beats from @rudemechanicalorchestra.
Despite heightened visibility due to both Luigi Mangione and Sean Combs being incarcerated pretrial at MDC, NYPD presence was about the same as it was in previous years. However, MDC cops took it upon themselves, on the presence of this journalist filming the facade of the prison, to carry pepper bullet guns as an absurd show of force against a crowd of punks banging pots and pans 100 feet away. The gimmick was a ridiculous reminder of the violence the state inflicts on people locked in cages away from the public eye — such as the recent lynching by 13 C.O.s of Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate New York — and immediate validation of the rallying cries to “Free them all” and “Burn the prisons.”
Flyers distributed by @mdc_solidarity listed demands also circulating on a petition (in their bio) from the group: WE DEMAND THAT MDC BROOKLYN: 1. PROVIDE ACCESS TO NUTRITIOUS, GOOD QUALITY FOOD AT ALL TIMES 2. PROVIDE APPROPRIATE HEALTHCARE, INCLUDING MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EVALUATION AND TREATMENT 3. END THE LOCKDOWNS 4. ALLOW REGULAR, ACCESSIBLE VISITATIONS WITHOUT ARBITRARY AND UNJUST RESTRICTIONS 5. MAINTAIN HABITABLE CONDITIONS INCLUDING A PROPRIATE TEMPERATURES AS WELL AS SANITARY, PROPERLY FUNCTIONING PLUMBING
The DHS’s white supremacist campaign of mass deportation intensifies in brutality, occupying city after city with influxes of militarized secret police violently kidnapping thousands. The year has only barely begun when an off-duty ICE agent murdered Keith Porter Jr in his own apartment building in Los Angeles.
The Trump administration sent the full authoritarian force of the feds to lay siege to Minneapolis for “Operation Metro Surge”, the DHS’s “largest mobilization yet”, purportedly to investigate racist daycare fraud claims fueled by far right state propagandists Nick Shirley. In addition to cutting federal funding for childcare, medicaid, housing and food assistance, the DHS sent thousands of agents to arrest over 2500 people in violent immigration sweeps. As whistle-blowing community responders attempt to follow and disrupt the kidnappings, agents deploy the full gamut of “less lethal” chemical weaponry enacting extreme violence, culminating in the public execution of Renee Nicole Good mere blocks from where George Floyd was murdered in 2020.
More purges among top prosecutors at the DOJ as Trump and DHS head Kristi Noem cover up and double down in defense of the murderer Jonathan Ross, calling Good a domestic terrorist who “viciously ran over the ICE officer”. JD Vance and Steve Miller declared their agents have “absolute immunity” to perform their duties, emboldening the fascist mercenaries in the streets to turn neighborhoods into warzones with door-to-door warrantless searches, teargassing schools, and throwing flashbangs into cars full of children. Days later a Venezuelan migrant was shot by federal agents during a targeted arrest; neighbors were arrested for allegedly intervening with snow shovels and broom sticks. Tensions escalate nationwide: in Portland, ICE shot two people who were attempting to escape abduction. Despite performative condemnations by city politicians, local police assist federal agents in attacking and arresting protesters at Portland ICE processing facility and arresting over 30 protesters outside the Minneapolis Hilton where ICE is staying.
The horrific murders and ongoing federal occupation of Minneapolis has sparked widespread outrage and a new insurrectionary moment, immediately prompting thousands of protests and vigils throughout the country. Generalized community resistance is confronting ICE in the streets abolishing the logic of borders and prisons; emerging frontline tactics are shared from Minneapolis to Chicago. Moments of invervention from barricading blocks, collective de-arrests, leaking secret operations, rosters and target lists, and hounding them at their hotels show that people are taking the offensive to drive ICE pigs out of town.
Also at Camp East Montana, Victor Manuel Diaz died on January 14th just a week after being arrested in Minneapolis by immigration agents as part of “Operation Metro Surge”; ICE claims Victor died of a “presumed suicide”.
In mid December, federal prosecutors celebrated the arrest of alleged members of the “Turtle Island Liberation Front”, a supposed “anti-capitalist and anti-government” terrorist organization accused of a New Years Eve bomb plot targeting unnamed corporations across southern California. Four people in the Los Angeles area and a fifth in Louisiana were arrested on charges of conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, and are being held at MDC Los Angeles. Prosecutors secured an indictment at the end of December, charging the four with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, providing material support to terrorists, and possession of unregistered firearms. While many details are so far unknown, it was revealed that at least one FBI informant and an FBI officer was closely involved during every stage of the plot similar to previous politically-motivated entrapment cases.
Unicorn Riot published analysis of the legal and technical overreach in the recent federal case against Samuel Tunick arrested last month for allegedly destroying evidence on his Google Pixel phone.
Three rapid responders in Los Angeles known as the Baldwin Park 3 face up to 10 years at trial next month for allegedly “doxing ICE agents”. From @ice_out_ofLA:
The “Baldwin Park 3” (Sully, AK, and Sandia) are Rapid Responders with the community watch group @ice_out_ofLA, who now face Conspiracy charges and false accusations of doxing an ICE agent. Their alleged crime was doing what they were trained to do: observe and document.
On August 28, 2025, around noon, the women followed an unmarked vehicle with blacked-out windows and no license plates as it drove erratically from DTLA to Baldwin Park, a city that is 70% Latino. They maintained distance, narrated observations on livestream and stopped short of following the vehicle to the end of a residential block where it parked.
Community oversight is not only lawful, it is constitutionally protected. The 1st Amendment safeguards the public’s right to observe, record and gather information about government officials performing their duties in public spaces. Courts have repeatedly affirmed that documenting law enforcement (including through livestreaming) is protected newsgathering.
This protection exists for a reason. Cameras deter abuse. Community reporting has helped reduce warrantless home entries, racial profiling, coercive questioning and unnecessary use of force. The BP3 acted with caution and restraint, even speculating aloud whether the vehicle might be headed to a Home Depot or carwash raid.
Despite this, headlines have falsely claimed the women “doxxed an ICE agent.” At a court hearing on November 10th, it was established that they never went to an agent’s home and that the address mentioned on livestream was NOT the agent’s address. Court records further state that the agent (aware he was being followed) chose to drive his ICE vehicle to his residence. If safety were truly a concern, why not return to work or a police station?
The BP3 go to trial on February 24th and face up to ten years in prison for a crime they did NOT commit. They’ve been publicly framed as guilty before evidence has been heard. One principle remains clear: people in the US have a 1st Amendment right to record ICE in public, so long as they do not interfere. That right does not vanish when ICE is involved. It becomes more necessary.
A new Haters Cafe zine “Beneath the Prairie, the Concrete” gives updates on the Prarieland Defendants and the local political context surrounding the ICE detention center outside Dallas Fort Worth.
An investigative documentary “The Alabama Solution” exposes rampant corruption and brutality throughout the Alabama state prison system with evidence and interviews conducted through contraband cellphones.
The No Trace Project has published a searchable database and zine of “long-term infiltrators who have targeted groups engaged in subversive activities in the 21st century”.
This book Eric King has published will tell you many truths of what US colonialism has come to in the form of US federal prisons, especially the abuses of humans in the SHU and at the ADX Supermax in Florence, Colorado. The haves who seek to destroy and imprison the have-nots have advanced in their evil quest to protect themselves from those not uber-rich using their prison system, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP).
The rich have hired the most ruthless thinkers to create the FBOP, so as to mentally, spiritually, and physically harm or murder prisoners. Eric King went to the ADX, the “Alcatraz of the Rockies,” while I lived through 9 years at a Special Management Unit (SMU). These prisons and staff had and have a green light to commit any crime against prisoners, with the go-ahead from Central Office in Washington, DC. The SMU was shut down after staff murdered too many human beings, but the ADX Supermax continues endlessly, so far.
In A Clean Hell, Eric King goes into the deep inner thoughts of a person tormented by these hypocritical, criminal staff at the Bureau of Prisons. I’ve been in all these places except the ADX. I know these truths of racist hillbilly staff at USP Lee. I went through the same assaults as Eric at Lee and Hazelton USPs. Eric is telling the world 100 percent true facts of the abuses BOP staff commit every single day on the taxpayer’s dime. The creator and the universe will not let these hateful BOP monsters go unpunished for the evils Eric is precisely describing first hand in A Clean Hell, exposing the real true hell of the BOP reality.
I pray from 4am to 6am in Cherokee and I strongly agree with Eric King about how we need to find something positive to keep our mind strong while in prison, constantly surrounded by negativity. As Eric writes, we have to do 5 positive things a day for other people, not just to help people in need, but to maintain our own sanity and strength.
No fake American politician or official will tell the real truth that Eric has now exposed. The people that really, really belong in these hell holes of darkness are the people running them. They belong in here for life for their crimes against humanity. That would be real justice for humanity. Eric and I work tirelessly toward the revolution of love for all life. The Bureau of Prisons, on the other hand, works toward the security of hate and the destruction of people and their families, all while claiming to do the exact opposite. Everything they say and do is backwards, and the federal prisons are not about justice or stopping crime. Obviously, US society is at a low point in its history right now. Let’s all stand against federal prisons and work to put an end to abuses by staff in these prisons. The Bureau of Prisons is a government corporation that facilitates the abuse and murder of the people who they actively profit off of in this industrial prison complex. A Clean Hell describes how the elite created this as a form of slavery for the have-nots who cannot defend themselves against the rich and their exploitations of all life.
In this new nonfiction gospel, Eric King pinpoints just what the BOP really does to humans and highlights the horrors people face behind these prison walls. It boils down to what America is really, really all about in its colonial quest. This book is a must-read.
Oso Blanco (Byron Shane Chubbuck) is an Indigenous rights activist and anarchist who is currently serving fifty-five years in federal prison for bank robbery (expropriations), aggravated assault on the FBI, escape, and firearms charges. Oso Blanco is a Wolf Clan Cherokee/ Choctaw raised in New Mexico whose Cherokee name is Yona Unega. He was known by the authorities as “Robin the Hood” after the FBI and local gang unit officers learned from a confidential informant that he was robbing banks in order to acquire funds to support the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas, Mexico, throughout 1998–1999. While in prison, Oso Blanco founded the Children’s Art Project (CAP), which creates greeting cards with Indigenous prisoners’ artwork with all proceeds benefiting the Zapatistas. Oso Blanco has served time in over a dozen federal penitentiaries and supermax facilities across the US. He has published two books, Love Me Rebel Love Me (Xlibris, 2011), and The Blue Agave Revolution: Poetry of the Blind Rebel with Michael Novick (BookBaby, 2022).
Birthdays
Abdul Azeez (Warren Ballantine)
Birthday: Jan 9
Political prisoner imprisoned since 1972 part of the “Virgin Islands 3”, Abdul Azeez and his co-defendants were recently moved to a CoreCivic prison in Tutwiler Mississippi.
Warren Ballantine #19-1878 Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility 19351 US Highway 49 North Tutwiler, Mississippi 38963
*Government name: please use this address on the envelope
Joseph “Joe-Joe” Bowen
Birthday: Jan 15
“Joe-Joe” Bowen is a Black Liberation Army (BLA) Prisoner of War, serving two life sentences for the assassination of a prison warden and deputy warden, as well as an attempted prison break which resulted in a five-day standoff after his initial arrest.
Joseph Bowen #AM-4272 Smart Communications/PADOC SCI Fayette P.O. Box 33028 St. Petersburg, FL 33733
As PADOC is a digital mail scanning state, please use single sided letters; books must be sent to Joseph Bowen #AM4272 / 268 Bricker Road / Bellefonte, PA 16823-1667
Abdush-Shahid Faruq
Birthday: January 23
Abdush-Shahid Faruq is one of the prisoners wrongfully convicted in the aftermath of the historic Lucasville Uprising.
Ohio uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Ohio, Facility: Ohio Department of Rehabiliation and Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “218140”.
Timothy Grinnel #218140 ODRC Mail Processing Center 884 Coitsville-Hubbard Road Youngstown, Ohio 44505
Marius Mason
Birthday: January 26
Marius Mason is a transgender, environmental and animal rights activist. In 1999, in the name of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) he set fire to a lab at the University of Michigan that was conducting research on genetically modified organisms (GMO). After Marius’ husband turned states-evidence, Marius was threatened with a life sentence for the arson and other acts of sabotage. With little financial stability and fear of dragging his family into a costly legal battle, Marius pled guilty and was given an extreme sentence of nearly 22 years.
Marie (Marius) Mason #04672-061 Federal Satellite Low 33 1/2 Pembroke Rd. Rte. 37 Danbury, CT 06811
* Please note that the BOP has begun rejecting letters if they do not use his deadname so use this address for now
Sekou Odinga, a former United States political prisoner for 33 years stemming from his involvement in the Black Liberation Movement, passed away on Jan. 12, 2024. Odinga was a part of several of the most impactful organizations in US Black liberation history, including Malcolm X’s Organization of Afro-American Unity, the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. Odinga is also known for his role in the escape of fellow political prisoner Assata Shakur, who lived free in Cuba until her transition on September 25, 2025.
Odinga was released from prison in 2014. Regarding his role in Shakur’s escape, he never pleaded guilty to charges, but told Democracy Now! in 2016 that he was “proud to be associated with the liberation of Assata Shakur.”
Speaking about what drew him to the program of the Black Panther Party, Odinga told Democracy Now!, “What attracted me more than anything else was the stand against police brutality, because like all the other ghettos in this country or Black areas of this country, police brutality was running rampant. From my first memory of it was – in New York – was little Clifford Glover, who was murdered out in my neighborhood in Jamaica, Queens … What we were really concerned about was trying to put some kind of control on the police or at least be in a position that we could counter some of what they were doing.” Odinga’s words reflect the legacy of Black liberation movements throughout US history, which from the mass movement sparked by the murder of Emmett Till to the 2020 uprisings after the murder of George Floyd, share a common outrage at the brutal violence waged against Black people.
“Sekou Odinga, a dedicated revolutionary, believed in our common humanity and the need to resist inhumanity anywhere on the planet,” Jalil Muntaqim, former political prisoner and lifelong Black liberation fighter told Peoples Dispatch. Muntaqim is the co-founder of the Jericho Movement, an organization fighting for amnesty and freedom for the political prisoners of the US.
“As a Muslim, [Odinga] was compelled to do so, as it is instructed in the Holy Qur’an ‘to fight tumult and oppression wherever you may find it; tumult and oppression is worse than slaughter.’ Sekou Odinga lived to manifest this mandate in his entire being, actualizing the need to resist in order to overcome white supremacy and capitalist-imperialism, the scourge of the planet. Long Live the warrior spirit of Sekou Odinga.”
