FIRE TG

wUprising Support

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published in Hearwave,Tssue 1, Summer 25

hitps/heatwavemaginfo/magazineisue1/

with whatever weapons at hand

: et the prisons
| FIRE TO THE PRISONS

The ware of sprisings that began in Ferguson, Misouri in 2014 and cubminated in the
Geone Floyd Upriing of 2020 resule in an sndertow of new prisoners and detainees
subjet 10 the bratality o the careral stte. A the counry withthe bighet incarration rate
on the planet, he United States s a soried history of epressing socal rlellon. From
lonial ight watch systems and organized slave ol t criminal synicalism Laws targeing
partisans o the old workers” movement o the more ecentseries of raids, rand juries, and
prison terms cllguially known as the "Gren Seare," cnnterinsirgeny is a plain weare in
the fabric of exeryday . Tody, many miltants, like Mumia Abs-Jamal and Sundita
Ak, bare been behind bars for a halfontuy. These rebels are lving cansalities of the war
against the New Laf, the Black ard Red Pover movements, and the Black Liberation
Army. Otbers, ike the AL 61, haveyet to fce tial o sentencing, but nevertheless fre the
Jfull weight of the sate. New tecies and technolgies have emerged, bt e basic gic s
imariant. Repression i a consistent eature o 8 ander caitalsm — stcppingin where and
whenerer the made compulion of the market isinsuficien 1o maintain order.

Historical and ontemporary movementsfrom blow share an imetrate tradition of supporting
politcal prisones and campaignin fr the abolition o the careral tate,lorg nsed as a el
1o suppress rebelons futions of the noring las and maintain the oo ne. The igorons
defense campaign run on behalfof the Hiymarket Martys in the post Reconstraction era
gnited the classical workers” movement and inaiguratd the struggl for the 8-hour day. The
support campaign or Sacco and Vanset, tw talan- American anarchists acused of
murder and subsequently executed for it, was a galanicing moment for the nasaent workers®
morement at the um ofthe 20t entury. Daing the same period, i esponse to state and
fderal epression, the IWW develped an extensie prisoner suport culbure that defned its
lgaoy. The carly CPUS A defonded both politically charged case, ke the il Bching of
the Sattsborogh Boys, and ammnist POW's during e seond Red Sear. And i the
ftermath ofrepresion againt the American Indian Morement, the defnse campaign or
inprianed militant Leonard Pellier was wicly supported by vl sacey.

In keaping with his tradition, we want to dedicte spave i each ssue to highlight privoner
strgghs and support ffrts. To that end, we introdsce “Fire To The Prisons,”a regular
lumn dedicated 0 prisoner support. The name “Fire To The Prisons i a nod to the
papdar anarchist magasine by the same name i cralation since 2007. Wik our prjet
anters some straggles orer otbers, ne make o dstinction between political prisoners and.
guar prisoners. For us, all prisners are class mar prisoners. In this first installmen, ne

aprising st
1 10 a sl group of conades who the Uprisng Sigport nebsite offrng material
and spiritual sport for prisoners of he ecet George Floyd Rebelion. I subsequent sses,
we willbighkght diffrentprisoner spport eforts and individual prisoners who ae i need of
suppor.

— Heatmare Galletive

1. Nolisting of polical prisoncrs is comprchensive, but the NYC Anarchist Black
Cross maintains a guide that comes close. We recommend readers check out their

work: s/ b woniprescom

. et the prisons
| UPRISING SUPPORT

At the time of this witing, the UprisingSupport.org website has the names of
14 people currently serving sentences for their alleged or expressed
involvement in what came o be known as the George Floyd Uprising of 2020.
When we sasted this site in the summer of 2021, that number was much
higher, as many of the people we were tracking through various court and
prison systems were sill awaiting tial o sentencing, For those weapped up in
the ever-widening reach of the federal jucicil system,
vast majority of federl cases are resolved through plea bargain. The
prosecutors are too well funded and the penalties too stiff for many people to
feel comfortable chancing what is colloquially known as the “trial tax” — the
likelihood of doing more years by faking a charge to teial and losing instead of
pleading out.

il was unlikely — the

We started the website as a clearinghouse of information about how to support
people awaiting trial or currently serving prison sentences from the 2020
Uprising. We found that many of these people lacked formalized poliic
Support structures. Parents, partners, communities, and crews were trying fo
serape together small amounts of money, support, and attention. Charges
ranged from lleged mass looting action:
things like posting on Facebook. In the COVID-19 chaos of backlogged state
courts and shuttered grand juries, the scope of repression was scattered. While
many of the communities affected routinely faced cesiminalization, this wave of
repression targeted acts with politcal intent. Many people who had been in the
streets were being swept up in post-demonstration mids, arrested and charged
without attention from the broader left and its organized political bodies. Oue
intent was to help bridge some of the gaps and provide as much information
that consenting defendants could give us in the hopes that everyone facing state
repression would have access fo the kind of support, organizing, and care that
has become synonymous with mdical lefi anti-repression and ani-prison
organizing in the united states

ons, and cusfew violations to

Currently, federal prisoness are featured prominently on the site because they
are the ones serving the longest sentences, often for now ubiquitous charges
like civil disorder and various forms of arson. When the site began, and for the

next few years, there was higher percentage of people awaiting sentencing,

sprising smpport
trial, or doing their fime at the state level. By our flly, there were somewhere
berween 350-40 cases charged at the federal level, but at the state and
municipal level arrests numbered in the tens of thousands. Withe even only a
fraction of those arrests leading fo a criminal charge, conviction, and jail
sentence, the number of criminalized people from a spectrum of communities
was staggering,

“Thankfully,in the past year we have been able to move many of those we
reached out 1 in the earlic stages of their criminal cases to our ‘Post-Release
Support Page’ on the website. We hope that people will continue to offer
solidasity to them as they transition back to the outside. Many of the people
who have or will be released are going to strugele with housing, jobs, and
getting connected to larger movements for racial justice and against the police.

A common question we getis people wondering what someone needs after
they are released. Besides the semi-obvious answer of materal support (money,
housing, employment), they need vibrant movements of resistance to re/tum
to — spaces that can both soften the trauma of the blunt force of the carceral
state and shaspen the edges of crifical responses to police violence. There are
many reasons to do prisoner support, but our overarching ethic remains that
support for those locked up in the midst of a demo, an uprising, a movement
for a world free of domination, coercion, and control means that those
‘movements will last longer, be stronger, and more worth fighting for

The small number of names on the website, even if you added them together
since we launched, make up the tiniest sice of those arrested and convicted
from 2020, What you see on the site are those whose names we found, tracked
through the system, confacted, and who consented to being included (which
carsies its own kind of risk), or those who were /are supported by a local crew
or support committee. There were hundreds and hundreds of letters we sent
that went unanswered, and many people who we made contact with but never
gained the necessary consent to lst them,. There are people doing 20+ years in
d

state jails for buming cop cars whose names most of us will never know,

there are people sitingin federal prison for the next 5

0 years for their
involvement in a movement, even if flecting, that we all championed as &
movement that could change the world. They are all deserving of our attention,
solidaity, and care, now and on the day of their release, and into the future.

. et the prisons
Tyre Means recently released after serving a 5-year federal sentence for
buming a cop carin downtown Seattle, WA at the beginning of the uprising. At
his sentencing hearing, Tyre told the judge, “the days of just rolling over to
police brutality are over.” He likes to read and wiite, make poctry and shymes,
and he says, “this ime that T am away from my fumily, friends, and loved ones
is only making me stronger as a man. T have no regrets.” Tyre organized has
onganized a funduaiser for much-needed suppost: wgofindre.com ] bep-re-

means-rebuildfter incarceration

Malik Muhammad is a committed revolutionary, anarchist, and ani-fascist
currently held by the Oregon Department of Corrections. He is not up for
possible release until 2031. His support site has quoted him with saying, “unlike
those who may regret a thing they did to get convicted or those who tempered
their actions for fear of the consequences, I regret nothing, if only not doing
‘more before I was caught.”

Montez Lee is a Black community member and father from Rochester,
Minnesota who was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for arson in
Minneapolis, Minnesota at the beginning of the uprising, From his inital
support site Lee stated, “T have faced injustices from local police departments
‘myself and have been subjected to racism. T wanted to be a part of something
bigger. T wanted to show my kids and peers that you fight for what you believe

“These are just some of the names of the people who have been under the yoke
of the state since the summer of 2020, when people rose up for an end to
police murder of Black people and an end to the police themselves. In some
places the rebellion bumed hot and fast. In other places, it smoldered,
reigniting for months afier if not years. Regardless of how long or how hard
people went, carcenl state repression and recuperation followed. From our
penspective, the uprising isn't over unil the last rebel comes home. With this in
‘mind, supporting the many people silllocked up from the 2020 Uprising is not
just an ethical imperative for anarchists, it also how we build strong
‘movements that can withstand stae violence and thive.

You ca fird out more about bow to support prisoners from the George Floyd Rebellon at

wwmprisingspport org Monthly pdated rising support et wriing nes are availabe
10 downibad at hps anchive.og/ details) @nith_whateer_veapons

aprising st 7
..the upri8ing isn’t
~ over until the last

~ rebel comes home.”