The Responsibility of Criminals read/print Also available on our zine page
submitted anonymously
NYE noise demo reportback
NYE Noise Demo @ MCC Chicago
Cheers y’all, to another year of raising hell against the prison state in solidarity with our comrades and community behind the walls. Chicago did it right again with a rambunctious noise demo outside the Metropolitan Correctional Center, the hellacious downtown federal jailscraper. Mobile laser sound systems blasting, pots and pans clanging; bird whistles and a gaggle of megaphones filled the air with chaotic rhythms. Folks inside loudly banged windows from every cell window and floor, showing us dance moves and light shows of their own. “Free Them All!” we chanted, demanding the release of Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and all political prisoners; and called out the pigs for the murder of Dexter Reed in his car, Sonya Massey in her home, Cory Ulmer and Robert Brooks behind bars, just a few of the over 1300 people murdered by police this year. On the street, plenty of passing revelers stopped by to see what the street ruckus party was about, checking out the zine cart and even helping hold the ACAB banner. The crowd marched around the building to make sure people on all sides got to see that they are not forgotten, to share the countdown to the end, to ring in the new year and join in on the dance party happening on the street.
An overwhelming pig presence surrounded the area for hours in advance: cruisers lining the streets with dozens of cops idling on corners, a fence blocking off the plaza was installed since last year. Despite their seeming omnipresence, we resisted, shaking their fences and shooting fireworks bouncing off the heights of those brutalist prison walls, exploding joyously outside cell windows. Later, some went to the ICE field office conveniently located down the street visible from MCC. The pigs were too slow to stop a little redecoration with an important unwelcoming message to incoming Trump ICE dictator Tom Homan: painted on the front efface, “Die, Homan. GTFO Chicago”, “Abolish ICE”. We marched on for several blocks before disappearing into the new year for more late night revelry; unfortunately, after everybody had already dispersed, some sneaky pigs apprehended at random a few people at a CTA train platform; one was held overnight and released with a misdemeanor.
It’s imperative to mark the connections between the carceral state and the xenophonic white supremacist colonial project of of mass deportation; many more prisons and jails are being planned to be built to process the millions of lives they intend to interrupt. Homan, the incoming “border czar” says Chicago is ground zero on day one of the incoming Trump regime: but they underestimate how fiercely determined and prepared people are to defend our city from their racist federal stormtrooper armies. We reject the racialized copagandized ‘dangerous city’ narrative crafted by an entire ecosystem of police scanner bros, racist nightcrawlers, and low-orbit suburban MAGA chuds feeding video clips to FOX and other right-wing outlets, who all year have spread disinformation and sensationalist lies, hyping up crime and demonizing migrants to the point of absurdity. They’ve been laying the groundwork for the incoming regime to attack the good people in our supposed leftist “Sanctuary City”, but even despite this policy, neoliberal administrations fail our newest residents with embarrassingly insufficient social services and decrepit ‘shelters’. A coordinated astroturf campaign from the right has been underway to divide communities and erode the public, an attempt on Illinois MAGA takeover: dustbin of history types Paul Vallas and Darren Bailey have failed mayoral and gubernatorial power grabs, but unfortunately Eileen O’Neill Burke snuck through as new top prosecutor, a racist FOP-backed former judge who in her first week dropped charges against Oak Lawn pig Patrick O’Donnell who committed a brutal hate crime against a 17 year old Palestinian. Caught between cowardly neoliberals and fascist onslaughts, it’s time to break from elections, reforms, and turn to each other to carve new paths.
Crime will be the main vector in which the incoming fascist regime will leverage in justification for their abhorrent plans to deport, meaning our strategy of defending against this must apply abolitionist frameworks and a rejection of “citizenship”, “peace”, and their “law and order”. The struggle to overthrow carceral society is tied directly to the fight for inherent and forever rights and unstoppable force of migration. Facing an untenable dystopic future, more people are realizing the necessity to organize autonomously and collectively, to fight to survive against this fascist wave of aggressive prison politics going buck wild with Trump’s re-election, and to build a more liberated existence. Escalate against the state and support the comrades willing to take risks to bring it all down!
Remember, it wasn’t too long ago that two people escaped from MCC with bedsheet ropes from above the 10th floor of this downtown monstrosity, a reminder that no wall is too high to deter our desires and stop the will of people yearning to be free. Free Them All!!
Submitted anonymously via email.
New Zine Submissions: On Casey Goonan and the Abandonment of Political Prisoners in the Pro-Palestine Movement
Both up on zines page.
#FreeCaseyNow: On Casey Goonan and the Abandonment of Political Prisoners in the Pro-Palestine Movement Version 1 print
FreeCaseyNow: On Casey Goonan and the Abandonment of Political Prisoners in the Pro-Palestine Movement Version 2 print
submitted anonymously
#FreeCaseyNow: On Casey Goonan and the Abandonment of Political Prisoners in the Pro-Palestine Movement
Casey Goonan is the only US political prisoner from the 2024 pro-Palestine student encampments. They are an abolitionist and anarchist who has dedicated themselves to multiple forms of prisoner support work and directly engaging with incarcerated comrades. The impact they’ve made inside is prevalent, as indicated by statements from their comrades Stevie Wilson and Hybachi Lemar. They’ve always pushed to ensure an understanding of Black struggle and revolt as central to their abolitionist work, and through understanding the totality of anti-Blackness the importance of an anti-police and anti-prison perspective was brought into any and all of their efforts towards liberation.
In June of 2024, they were arrested by a task force comprised of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in connection with an alleged direct action which took place in solidarity with the UC Berkeley encampments which had been brutalized by police and zionists earlier in the year* . If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison with a minimum sentence of 5. The investigation and court proceedings are currently ongoing but a non cooperative plea deal is pending in which Casey will plea guilty to one charge to allow additional charges to be dropped. This plea deal does not include information or testimony against anyone else.
While Casey has received a great amount of support from decentralized community in New York, Chicago, California, and elsewhere, the pro-Palestine movement needs to be publicly and actively supporting them. Right now, their primary accomplices are those who personally know them, those who prioritize prisoner support, and fellow anarchists. Despite vague assertions of the interconnectedness of repression and struggles between the American policing and prison apparatuses to that of Israel, there has been little material manifestation from that understanding within the US pro-Palestine movement. Meanwhile, coordinated struggle between prisoners and outside militants has been a key point of success for Palestinian liberation.
We must recognize the necessity of attacking the infrastructure of occupation domestically. Amidst calls for escalation, it is of vital importance to defend those experiencing repression from the legal system. To not do so is to allow one of the state’s most well-funded and structured counterinsurgency tactics to take complete hold of movements. If people are abandoned to incarceration, the fear of repression will throw everyone towards inactivity. This need for defense is especially true for those facing charges beyond the more palatable ways of dissent, like marches and encampments.
State repression must be met with expanding our community resources to reach those inside. Bravery must be met with support.
It’s not surprising that, despite the large presence of the Palestinian diaspora in the American pro-Palestine movement, tactics focus primarily on vocalizing dissent through marches and making demands of the state, which are a far cry from the struggle within Palestine itself. This is partially attributed to the class character of the diaspora — a petty bourgeois group would have no investment in attacking infrastructure they partially benefit from even if that same infrastructure perpetuates the genocide of indigenous groups including Black people and Palestinians both domestically and globally. Equally, the motivations and interests of the community organizations and student groups that are largely in control of the movement not only harbor that class character but also rely on funding from the infrastructure they refuse to attack. Despite the student movement being referred to as an intifada, it’s activity is incomparable to what has occurred during the numerous intifadas leading up to the Al-Aqsa Flood.
Considering pro-Palestinian community groups and political organizations like USPCN, CJP/SJP, Dissenters, NAARPR, JVP and PSL are supplied with enough funds to bus people in for marches, plan conferences, and campaign for local policy, certainly donating money towards legal fees for those facing repression would be no issue.
Even with all the attention and credibility being given to the pro-Palestinian student movement and despite the numerous pro-Palestine student groups on university campuses, there have been no publicly circulated student-led support efforts for Casey. Outside of participants of the Columbia University encampment, there has been no mention of them from any other university space, most likely attributed to groups aligning themselves with certain tactics, a hesitancy towards anarchists, and the fear of repression.
Beyond the bare minimum of ensuring people are supported in obtaining adequate legal counsel, any revolutionary horizons with teeth require long term prisoner support. This practice is key to the current struggle that led to the Al-Aqsa Flood as exhibited by the rich history of organizing within prisons and the ongoing liberation of those being held hostage by Israel. In Khalida Jarrar’s words, “[t]he ongoing conquest to liberate prisoners is in tandem with the Palestinians’ constant and multifaceted struggle against colonialism. Hence, the slogan “emptying the prisons” is derived from and a core component in the Palestinian struggle through various stages in its history.”.
Those of us living under a plantation economy already have our own reasons to ensure incarceration is a central site of struggle. But if one does insist upon taking guidance from elsewhere and if one intends to “bring the Intifada home” or “escalate for Gaza”, Palestinians have provided plenty of methods for how carcerality can be attacked.
Casey understood this prior to their incarceration and there’s no doubt this knowledge influenced their own political horizons. If the pro-Palestine movement wants to also tote itself as an intifada they should take note of the militant organizing and support infrastructure within and between prison walls that occurrs in Palestine. Abandonment of prisoners is where revolutionary ideals die.
Empty The Prisons Free Casey Goonan
For More Info and Updates on Casey
cscommittee@proton.me
freecaseynow.noblogs.org
IG: @freecaseynow
Ways to Support Casey
– Organize a fundraiser for legal fees, commissary, or a nutritional package
– Host a letter writing night
– Form a defense committee
– Make + put up some propaganda
Readings Recs
A Practical Guide to Prisoner Support
Practical Abolition From The Inside Out
More Effective Prisoner Support
The Soledad Brothers Defense Committee: A Brief Consideration
San Quentin Six Defense Committee
A Spirit, Unbroken (Discusses the Martin Sostre Defense Committee)
Submitted Anonymously
Call for Solidarity Fund for Greek Anarchist Prisoners
call for all anarchists who have job and can donate some money, greek anarchists collect money for anarchist prisoners.
don’t let ruling class to isolate anarchists. you can also share this call to anarchist you know.
if you can help, send message at the following email:: tameio@espiv.net
Political and social prisoners supported by the Solidarity Fund of Prisoners:
Kostas Sakkas (Korydallos prison, Korydallos, PC 18110)
Spyros Christodoulou (Korydallos prison, 6 wing, PC 18110)
Dimitris Koufodinas (Kthomokos prison, Domokos, PC 35010)
Savvas Xiros (Korydallos Prison Hospital, Korydallos, PC 18122)
Andreas Floros (Amfissa Prisons)
Sian Oktay Özen (Larissa prison)
Sophocles Toutziarakis (Pharm Ag. Stefanou Patras, 1 wing, PC 25200)
Yannis Karatsolis (Malandrinou Prison, PC 33053)
Nikos Romanos (Korydallos prison, Korydallos, PC 18110)
Dimitris (Korydallos prison, Korydallos, PC 18110)
Marianna Manouria (Gynaiki Fylakes of Korydallos, ct 18110)
Dimitra Z. (Gymnalia Prisons of Korydallos, q 18110)
K.K. (Kassavetia Prisons)
Political prisoners in Greek prisons:
Nikos Maziotis (Domokos, PC 35010)
Dimitris Chatzivasiliadis (Ktimodias prison, Domokos, PC 35010)
Submitted Anonymously
NEW YEARS EVE NOISE DEMO to #FreeThemAll
Repost from Midwest Books 2 Prisoners
NEW YEARS EVE NOISE DEMO to #FreeThemAll
NO COPS – NO BORDERS – NO PRISONS – NO ICE
MCC CHICAGO – 10PM – 71 W VAN BUREN
🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆
International Call For New Year’s Eve Noise Demonstrations
This is a call for a raucous night of strong solidarity with those imprisoned by the state on one of the noisiest nights of the year. On New Year’s Eve gather your crew, collective, community, organization, or just yourself and come together to raise a racket and remind those on the inside that they are not alone.
Internationally, noise demonstrations outside of prisons are a way to remember those who are held captive by the state and a way to show solidarity with imprisoned comrades and loved ones. We come together to break the loneliness and isolation.
We know that prison is beyond reform and must be completely abolished. It is a mechanism of repression used by the state to maintain a social order rooted in white supremacy, patriarchy, and heteronormativity. To come together outside of the sites of repression is to also stand in defiance of what they represent.
The logic of the state and capital—of punishment and imprisonment, must be replaced by a rejection of oppression and exploitation. This call is one step in that direction.
Wherever you are, meet on New Year’s Eve at the prisons, jails, and detention centers, be loud in solidarity with those imprisoned and to push forward the idea of a world free from domination.
We want a world without walls and borders.
We will fight together until everyone is free!
How can one live freely in the shadow of a prison?
There are moments, like today in Syria, when we can only rejoice. See the statues of Bashar and his relatives looted, the crowds in the streets, the open prison doors. These moments that remind us that all regimes, including the most authoritarian ones, can fall.
If there is a constant in the revolutions, it is that of freeing prisoners. Symbol of power, of who can decide the freedom of its subjects, prison is one of the nodes on which rests submission to the State and acceptance of social norms.
One of the worst prisons in the world, Sednaya, has apparently been completely emptied of its prisoners, allowing people to see their relatives whom they had not heard from for many years or even meet them for the first time. But let’s not be mistaken, while the «rebels» are emptying the prisons of the fallen regime, those under their control are already filled with opponents.
Revolutionaries have already fallen in the trap of supporting pro-State organisations, by third-worldism, against imperialism, seduced by kurdish communalism or the romanticism of the guerrilla. Unfortunately it is more a religious alliance, wishing to give direction to “the will of the people” than the insurgents in Syria who managed to overthrow the regime. Such structures using military practices will never be desirable. We want to carry an anti-authoritarian and without borders solidarity with the revolted in Syria, because our hopes in the Syrian revolution go beyond the perpetuation of a society held by arms, subjected to a celestial power as earthly, which requires prisons to exist.
While we welcome the liberation of syrians from the shackles of Assad’s clan, we can only hope that what was in seed during the 2011 insurrections can go even further, towards a self-organisation of all spheres of daily life, attack and the total questioning of power and property.
Here as there, so much remains to be destroyed. Prisons, Religions, States.
Happiness to the reunion of the freed, force to the ones locked up all over the world!
Anarchists, confident as wary,
France, December 9th 2024
Submitted Anonymously
Deny Defend Depose Graphic
How to defend yourself during a police interrogation – Translated into English
Repost from Project Evasions. View the book pdf here.
“An interrogation is not a harmonious exchange between two individuals. It’s a conflict.
And in this conflict, our ignorance is their strength. Ignorance of the meaning of police work, ignorance of the manipulative techniques used, ignorance of the legal framework and, last but not least, ignorance of our means of defence. In response to this observation, this book is intended as a tool for self-defense against police interrogation practices of interrogation.”
Preface to the English version
In summer 2022, 2000 copies of this book were printed in French and 2000 in German. The french version is now sold out, and the Publisher «Éditions du Commun» had now reissued the book.
The book was written with the intention of serving as a tool of self-defense against the manipulative interrogation strategies employed by the police. As stated in the introduction, “It addresses readers in various countries in which legislation may differ“. And indeed, we soon received feedback that the content conveyed by the book is equally applicable to countries such as Turkey, Morocco, Serbia, Italy, Denmark, and many more. And soon a number of supportive people were offering to translate the book into other languages. This is what happened with the English version, and we’d like to take this opportunity to warmly thank our translator and proofreader for their fine work.
As a consequence of imperialism and colonization, English is spoken today in contexts as diverse as Kenya, Australia and, of course UK and the USA. So many different places from which you may be reading these words, and where the contexts of repression are very different. Most of what is conveyed in the book applies to all these contexts, but, in case of doubts, it makes sense to keep an eye out for certain elements that differ and check them with your local legal team.
Our network lacks relays in the English-speaking world, so let us take this opportunity to pass on the message that we are looking for a publishing house or a collective that would be interested in printing and distributing the book in its geographical regions.
With these words, we wish you a pleasant reading.
Project-evasions – network of anarchist friendships
Deny Defend Depose
Seen on Lakeshore Drive.