Category: Prisoner Support

42 people have been charged with “domestic terrorism” since Dec 2022, and 11 people are still incarcerated awaiting release or court for their alleged involvement in the ongoing effort to stop ‘Cop City’ and to Defend the Atlanta Forest in Atlanta, Georgia USA. The Atlanta Solidarity Fund provides legal support for them and others who are arrested at protests, or otherwise prosecuted for social movement involvement and pays bail for people imprisoned awaiting court.

The first charges of domestic terrorism came after a two day raid on Dec 13th and 14th of 2022. On Jan 18th 2022 police conducted another raid and murdered forest defender Tortuguita and charged 7 with “domestic terrorism” and 15 people with trespassing. On January 21, 2023 at a demonstration in downtown Atlanta in response to the murder of Tortuguita, 6 people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. On March 5, 2023 police arrested 35 people, of which 23 were charged with domestic terrorism. The Atlanta Solidarity Fund has worked to quickly pay bail for people’s release when the courts have allowed, and provide lawyers for their cases.

Support people and act in solidarity with them when they’re targeted by the state and let them know that they are not alone, that they are loved, and not forgotten.

You can find information to write to forest defenders imprisoned awaiting court on our website

To donate to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund go to atlsolidarity.org
For the most up to date information about arrestees follow @atlsolfund on twitter/instagram

defendtheatlantaforest.com general information on the movement
stopreevesyoung.com campaign against contractors and subcontractors
scenes.noblogs.org counterinfo website and information on the movement

Mel Broughton has been locked up in the UK awaiting trial since November last year. He does not wish to discuss the charges publicly, but he would really like to feel supported from the outside and there are many ways you can do that!

We have had contact with Mel’s support group, who have let us know that he has received so many books that the screws are limiting how many he can take out, so until further notice don’t send any as they might just send them back. They have also let us know that folks have been sending non-authorised parcels to Mel, which include things like food and clothes, and that folks should not do that (even if they have the best intentions) as he is unable to receive those parcels. If in doubt about what Mel (or any other prisoner in Peterborough Prison) is allowed or not allowed to receive, here is a quick list:

ALLOWED:

• Letters
• Photos (as long as they are NOT “inappropriate” or pornographic. Basically keep things VERY PG)
• Books directly from approved retailers (WH Smiths and Waterstones), but Mel has received such a large amount of books that they are currently restricting them, so please hold off from getting any more until further notice!
• Clothing, but please don’t send any as allocations are already complete.

NOT ALLOWED:

• Any Amazon parcels
• Food of any kind.
• Cash
• Electronics, DVDs, Videogames, CDs.
• Magazines or Newspapers (the prison likes to make money off of the prisoners by selling them the magazines themselves).

What Mel could really do with is positive letters. It could be a letter about a recent walk in nature, or about some good news you have received. All positive letters are a window to the outside when locked up surrounded by concrete and metal, and every time you write a letter you are opening that window for a prisoner to breathe the outside world!

If you are concerned about your personal address being surveilled by the prison system, you can contact your local Anarchist Black Cross and ask if you can use their postal address, or maybe your local vegan cafe! What is important is that the letter has a name and an address on the back of the envelope, so as long as it does the screws should be “generous enough” to let the mail get through. Please include a stamped addressed envelope if you’d like to hear back from Mel!

Please be aware that you should NOT include any incriminating details on your letters, nothing that would incriminate you or that would incriminate somebody else. Mel also requests that he does not wish to talk about his case so no need to ask about that either!

If you rather, you are also allowed to send a card directly from Moonpig or Funky Pigeon, as prison is being a little difficult about what postcards and cards prisoners are allowed to receive but Moonpig and Funky Pigeon are approved companies.

Send a letter today, organise a local letter writing event this week with your mates and let prisoners know that they have the movement behind them!

To write to Mel, please address the letters to:

Mel Broughton A3892AE
HMP Peterborough
Saville Rd
Peterborough
PE3 7PD
United Kingdom

To support prisoners like Mel, you can join the ALFsg as a supporter:
https://www.alfsg.org.uk/

SOLIDARITY IS OUR BIGGEST WEAPON!

Mel has been held on remand at Peterborough Prison since November. His conditions have improved, after a difficult start with little to no medication or vegan food available.

Mel is receiving regular letters, but keeping in touch with news from the outside world is a great way to support and keep him busy. He really could do with uplifting letters to remind him we are all thinking about him!

Please do not discuss any details about his case. He has got very into analysing the football and watching Dogs In the Wild on the BBC, and he likes talking about nature and animals, so maybe you can describe your last walk in the forest!

Books can also be sent to Mel via Waterstones. Books about nature, fungi, animals and plants and about positive historical change in the world are preferred over fictional stuff.

Books and letters to the address below, include a stamped addressed envelope for a reply.

Mel Broughton A3892AE
HMP Peterborough
Saville Rd
Peterborough
PE3 7PD
United Kingdom

The ALFSG offer support to people in a similar position to Mel. You can help them do this here

https://www.alfsg.org.uk/

On our last update, we mentioned that Ladislav was going to be released in January of this year. Unfortunately, there was a mix up of dates and miscommunication and his release date had not changed, so he is still scheduled to be released in January 2024 instead of this year. We can only apologise for the wrong information being shared. That means that we still have time to raise funds for his release, helping him get back on his feet after many years suffering the prison system.

Our comrades at Philly ABC have a fundraiser event which is still open for donations and we would like to encourage everybody to donate even if it is just a few coins, so when he is out he is able to fend for himself whilst getting his head around being back out in society! The fundraiser has been up for a month and it has only managed to raise 10% of its goal. Can we all do a big push of support and double it?

You can donate here: www.fundrazr.com/027Cec

If you cannot support (and even if you can!), you certainly should send him a letter and let him know about the outside world.

Write to him here: 

Ladislav Kuc

Uutos

Gucmanova

19/670 Priečinoik 7

Leopoldov

92041

Slovakia

Solidarity with all facing the jaws of the state!

Eric is due to be released this year and we cannot wait to hear he is out and surounded by his friends and family!

We hate prisons, they are designed to destroy people and communities and no one comes out of these twisted and malicious places unscathed. Eric King has had it rough in prison since he was sentenced in 2016. He has been systematically attacked by prison guards, who on one occassion took him to a closet with no CCTV to beat him up due to his anarchist and anti fascist beliefs. They also retrained him for 6 hours afterwards. He has spent much of his long prison sentence kept in solitary confinement, isolating him as a means of torture.

In 2019, he was falsely accused of attacking a guard and faced an additional 20 years in prison, he was found innocent but the prison system is still set on making his life as hard as possible and transferred him to MAX.

In much lighter news, Eric is due to be released from prison this year and is desperate to be free and reunited with his family. There is currently a GoFundMe set up. Donations will help him do things like see a doctor, have some family days out and just take a bit of the burden off.

We have just sent 150USD to Eric for his release, why not join us?

If you can support our comrade Eric then do it, solidarity is everything.
www.gofundme.com/f/release-funds-for-political-prisoner-eric-king

Do send him a letter and help him get through the last months of imprisonment, his address is this:

Eric King 27090045
USP FLORENCE ADMAX
PO BOX 8500
FLORENCE, CO 81226
USA

For further updates and more info about Eric and his experiences as well as a number of poems he has written while inside, check out: https://linktr.ee/supportericking

During the last police attack against the Atlanta Forest Defenders, six people were arrested and sent to jail on terrorism charges for simply sitting in treehouses to stop the felling of trees for the building of a new police training city and a sound stage.

We have received the news that after multiple court appeals, all the arrestees have been granted bail and will be able to come back out to loved ones instead of spending any ,more time in jail until their case is heard in court.

We have taken down the mailing information about the defendents, but remember that many other prisoners remain locked up. Please write a letter to someone today:

Prisoner Support

We could not be happier to hear the news and want to send all the love and support to everyone who have had to endure the prison system for the protection of the Atlanta Forest.

Welcome back to the woods.

PS: Atlanta Defence Fund is still up and in need of support, the defence work will still need to carry on until court and lawyers fees are expensive. If you can afford it, please drop them some coins:

https://atlsolidarity.org/

For more info on the campaign:

Scenes From the Atlanta Forest.

anonymous submission:

“In Atlanta GA USA 5 people have been arrested and charged with Domestic Terrorism for their alleged connection to Defend The Atlanta Forest movement in USA.

These arrests were notoriously brutal, included the deployment of chemical weapons repeatedly, and placed unfounded charges against them in an effort to torture, terrorize, and brutalize.

We want every prison to burn, every prisoner to be free, and the violence of the state to be destroyed. We must stand in unflinching solidarity with all those arrested, and be committed to absolute resistance to any current or future state investigation, no matter what it requires of us. Anything less is unconscionable.

Send them mail here:

Francis Carroll – #X2210240
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive Decatur,
GA 30032
USA

Nicholas Dean Olson – #X2210239
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive Decatur,
GA 30032
USA

Serena Hertel – #X2210242
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive Decatur,
GA 30032
USA

Arieon Robinson – #X2210252
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive Decatur,
GA 30032
USA

Voiselle Leonardo – #X2210238
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive Decatur,
GA 30032
USA

Mail must be a pre-stamped postcard, letters/envelopes are not allowed. Photo postcards are allowed but no obscene or violent images. Books must be softcover, shipped from a reputable supplier (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.), Nothing “violent, pornographic, or obscene” …

In the days following the arrests of Atlanta forest defenders a San Francisco Wells Fargo Bank was attacked in solidarity.”Mitch Graul, a Lead Business Execution Consultant at Wells Fargo, sits on the Board of Trustees of the Atlanta Police Foundation.” www.indybay.org/newsitems/2022/12/15/18853422.php

From the West Coast, love and rage to the imprisoned Atlanta 5,

In solidarity with with Marius Mason and Jessica Reznicek and all other environmentalist prisoners,
supportmariusmason.org/
supportjessicareznicek.com/

In solidarity with Alfredo Cospito, Juan Sorroche, Ivan Alocco, and Anna Beniamino against the 41 bis regime,
darknights.noblogs.org/post/2022/10/21/italy-anarchist-alfredo-cospito-started-a-hunger-strike-october-20-2022-en-it-gr/
darknights.noblogs.org/post/tag/juan-sorroche/ darknights.noblogs.org/post/tag/ivan-alocco/
darknights.noblogs.org/post/tag/anna-beniamino/

In solidarity with Giannis Michailidis in their hunger strike for their release, darknights.noblogs.org/post/2022/06/02/greece-giannis-michaildis-announcement-of-a-hunger-strike-for-my-release/

In solidarity with Toby Shone who is being held in prison for 8 drug offenses from 2021 after terrorism charges were dropped, darknights.noblogs.org/post/2022/10/28/imprisoned-anarchist-toby-shone-fights-new-battle-against-fascist-uk-state/

For anarchy.

For more info:

https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/
Stop Reeves Young: https://stopreevesyoung.com/
Cops Of Cop City: https://copsofcopcity.noblogs.org/
Stop The Atlanta Police Foundation: https://stopapf.noblogs.org/
Scenes From The Atlanta Forest: https://scenes.noblogs.org/
Bail fund: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/contribute-to-the-atlanta-solidarity-fund

Mel Broughton, a dedicated activist from the UK, has been in prison since last month. He does not wish for his charges to be discussed publicly, but he would love the support and love you folks can show by sending mail to him.

Whilst he had a tumultuous few days at the beginning of his remand, with little to no vegan food and problems with being able to take medication, he has now settled and is doing a lot better. He is working in the library and has actually asked for books, specially about animals and nature.

From Peterborough Prison’s website, this is how mail (and books!) are handled:

“We accept books for prisoners sent directly from friends or family, or via our approved retailers. These are Waterstones, WH Smith and prisons.org.uk – we do not accept books purchased via Amazon. All books are subject to security protocols and must be sent separately, they cannot be accepted as part of a property parcel.”

Magazines, electronics, cash, food parcels and anything directly from Amazon is not permitted by the prison.

Of course, you can also send letters! Remember that he is on remand, so you SHOULD NOT discuss any legal maters and certainly you should assume that all mail is monitored by the screws, so do not put yourself (or him) at legal risk by discussing things you really shouldn’t!

His prison address:

Mel Broughton A3892AE
HMP Peterborough
Saville Rd
Peterborough
PE3 7PD
United Kingdom

Show Mel some solidarity, write a short letter and let him know he is not alone! 



Video and some of the information by Unicorn Riot.

‘On Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th , SWAT teams and other armed police officers from eight different federal, state, county, and city police agencies conducted a raid on those camping out in the Atlanta forest in hopes of preventing the construction of a 85-acre police training facility that opponents have dubbed “Cop City.”

During the raid, police shot tear gas and plastic bullets and forced people out of the forest at gunpoint. Police in Bobcats and other heavy equipment destroyed treehouses, a communal kitchen, and other infrastructure built by those dedicated to the defense of the forest. 

By the end of the two-day operation, a total of 12 people were arrested, according to police. At least six of those have been charged with a host of felonies, including state-level domestic terrorism charges, according to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.

At a hearing Thursday, Magistrate Judge Claire Jason denied bond to five of the arrestees charged with felonies.

“Each of you have been charged with domestic terrorism,” Jason said, appearing to read from a document on her screen. “Generally the information that I have on the affidavit of warrant…You did participate in actions of DTAF, Defend the Atlanta Forest, a group that’s been classified by the United States Department of Homeland Security as a domestic violent extremist group.” ‘

Once again, the police abuses their power in order to acquire further political power. They want to destroy the forest that keeps Atlanta city from flooding in order to practice how to kill people in their own private playground. Folks who oppose the destruction of the wild and the privatisation of public spaces get thrown in jail with domestic terrorism charges.

We all should do our very best to show solidarity to the arrestees and to ensure that cop city (and blackball studios) are not built in the Atlanta Forest or anywhere else for that matter.

For now, please write letters to the five folks locked up, who will really appreciate tales of the wild and unfortunate stories about the police.

Send them mail here:

Francis Carroll – #X2210240
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive Decatur,
GA 30032
USA

Nicholas Dean Olson – #X2210239
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive Decatur,
GA 30032
USA

Serena Hertel – #X2210242
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive Decatur,
GA 30032
USA

Arieon Robinson – #X2210252
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive Decatur,
GA 30032
USA

Voiselle Leonardo – #X2210238
Dekalb County Jail
4415 Memorial Drive Decatur,
GA 30032
USA

Mail must be a pre-stamped postcard, letters/envelopes are not allowed. Photo postcards are allowed but no obscene or violent images. Books must be softcover, shipped from a reputable supplier (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.), Nothing “violent, pornographic, or obscene”.

If you can afford it, donate to their fund here:
https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/contribute-to-the-atlanta-solidarity-fund

Fight back against the power hungry police.

You can never tame what is wild.

Ladislav Kuc was arrested in Slovakia in 2012 and has been serving a prison sentence ever since. He was accused of illegal possession of arms, manufacturing explosives, and terrorism for a bombing in front of a McDonald’s on December 28, 2011, in which there were no injuries. During a house search police found materials related to ALF and components for another bomb.

His prison term is nearing the end but his case has not been publicised extensively so not many folks have heard about him, and he still has fines to pay upon his release. He is scheduled for release on January 1st, 2023!

Our comrades at PhillyABC have organised a “welcome home” fundraiser to try and help when he is released and they are in contact with a Slovak solicitor who might be able to help mitigate Ladislav’s upcoming fines.

If you can afford it, please donate to the crowdfunder for Ladislav, which you can find here: 

fundrazr.com/027Cec

All donations will be sent to Ladislav to help him with basic expenses adjusting to life outside of prison and welcome him back with his family and community. A prison sentence doesn’t just rob you of your freedom and can seriously impact your health and your finances. Supporting Ladislav right now is ensuring that he is able to find his feet after more than a decade in prison.

Consider chucking a few coins as a winter solstice present and share the fundraiser around as much as you possibly can! Lastly, it would be amazing if you could send one last letter to Ladislav, just to let him know that people outside are still thinking about him and that he has not been forgotten. Coming out of over a decade of prison can be a real whirlwind of emotions and knowing that people outside have his back will certainly help.

Write a quick letter or a postcard, pop it in the mail with fast delivery and lets all show solidarity to Ladislav as he is released from the jaws of the state.

ADDRESS:

Ladislav Kuc

Uutos

Gucmanova

19/670 Priečinoik 7

Leopoldov

92041

Slovakia

PS: Slovakian friends and comrades, if any of you is reading this, please get in touch! Let’s organise and ensure Ladislav has a local network he can rely on upon his release!