ANARCHIST PRISONER SOLIDARITY

FIRE ANT

This issue of Fire Ant is dedicated to the memory of Aragorn. Little Black Cart publications have had a hugeinfluence on the way we see the world.

This is issue #6, Winter 2020. Fire Ant is a collaboration between anarchist prisoners and free roaminganarchists. Fire Ant seeks to raise material aid for anarchist prisoners while fostering communication betweenanarchists on both sides of the walls.

To support the anarchist prisoner war fund, please email bloomingtonanarchistblackcross@riseup.net. Allmoney will go directly to prisoners. The fund currently supports Michael Kimble, Jennifer Rose, Eric King,Sean Swain, and Marius Mason.

To download this publication, please go to bloomingtonabc.noblogs.org.Front and back cover art by Sean Swain. Inside cover by Marius Mason.Thanks to the Bloomington crew for all their hard work on this project! Thanks also to Michael, Jennifer,

Marius, Eric, Noah, Thomas, Sean, Patrick, Rochelle, Pepe, Argyle crew, Peter and Fifth Estate, the BurningBooks crew, Little Black Cart, Crimethinc, Gloo Factory, Final Straw radio, MJ from Idaho, the SquashedCrew, Matt D, Risa, Cal, Dave, Olivia, Owl, Mini, Baba Yaga and the North Woods green anarchist horde.-Fire Ant

DisclaimerThis publication is for entertainment purposes only. All opinions and views belong to the individual writers

and do not represent other writers or anyone involved in the production or distribution of this publication.

To contact Fire Ant collective, write to:Fire AntPO Box 164Harmony, ME04942

To Go Further by Michael Kimble

In the late 60's, and early 70's, the prison movement in the U.S. was at ahigh point. You had Pontiac, Attica, San Quentin, etc. at the forefront of the

prison movement. Much of this is due to the repression on the outside againstpolitical activists, and revolutionaries coming into the prisons, energized from

the movement on the streets. Work strikes, slow downs, and hunger strikes havelong been some of the weapons in the arsenal of prison rebels and activists alike for a

long time. And what has it done? Nothing. Yeah, laws have been passed, but it has not brought a halt to the torture

chambers or slavery. Prisons still exist. Torturing and enslaving more thanever. How can anyone seriously think that work strikes, hunger strikes, anddemonstrations could ever put a stop to the super-exploitation and slavery?

What is the purpose of the strikes and demos? What do we aspire to when takingpart in them? Are the tactics effective and most importantly, do they liberate

anyone? Or is the goal just to get media attention, which does not change shit?Everyone knows someone locked up. Shit! There’s over 2 million of us lockeddown in this muthafucka. We didn’t come from another planet. Prisoners come

from all over the United States, from communities that you belong to. We are yourbrothers, sisters, sons and daughters, etc. So it’s not like folks don’t know what’s

going on. They are apathetic to this nightmare because deep down they believe in theinherent “goodness”, “fairness” and “justice” of this capitalist governmental system. Howelse could mass incarceration, slavery and prisons exist without the complicity of society?

Just recently, prisoners’ rights activists from Alabama demonstrated in Washington, DC,in front of the Department of Justice. They were demanding that the DOJ do its job in filing suit against thestate of Alabama, because of its prison system not running smoothly. My first reaction to this was to ask “WhyDC? We’re in Alabama.” How crazy can we be, asking an institution to spank its own ass? The DOJ is part ofthe prison industrial slave complex. I don’t think we’re thinking clearly. Most prisoners cheer when someonefrom the outside steps forward and champions our cause. Most prisoners feel helpless and powerless in the faceof Leviathan, and any help is welcomed. We never do any critical thinking. We are just happy someone thinksour lives matter. It’s a validation of our humanity. The point is, that we have gotten stuck in a certain mode ofaction without really thinking things through. Or we are just doing something because we believe and knowsomething has to be done, and the only models we have are the above mentioned forms of struggle which havebecome our comfort zone?

In conclusion, have those tactics liberated anyone? That’s the only politics relevant to the captive. Or shouldbe. Let’s develop new forms of struggle that’s liberating and not just about making more laws and the smoothrunning of prisons.

Let’s go further.Until every cage is empty,

Michael Kimble

A letter from Thomas Meyer-Falk 10/19/19

Dear comrades!Thank you so much for the latest issue of Fire Ant! It is a great

pleasure to connect with you and get this kind of information. Last month I wrote an article about prisoners’ view on prisons; I

was asked to write an article for an international book project(abolish prisons and transformative justice) by some professors inthe UK and USA.

About my own situation I wrote about “consecrated to death inprison”, because the court won’t set me free in the foreseeable future.

Well, I hope all of you are doing well- in complicated times, in acomplicated world and convicted to live in a country governed by afucking white supremacy activist.

All the best to you!

Much love and respect,Thomas

A letter from Michael Kimble 12/16/19Fire Ant,

Well, by now you should have heard that I was thrown in the hole on the 2ndof December. Yeah, this pig was assaulting another prisoner, and I intervened.

This is a notorious and nasty pig of the hated CERT (riot squad). Anyway, this pig has come to my cell and threatened me. These pigs on the

CERT are well known for retaliating and harassing prisoners who refuse toshow fear and submission. They have been known to get prisoners to do their

dirty work. So I’m not coming out of my cell for anything (showers, infirmary,etc). I won’t allow them to maneuver me into a blind spot away from cameras

and illegal cell phones. What I need everyone to do is bombard the Warden, Cynthia Stuart, and the

Commissioner Jeff Dunn, with calls and faxes, demanding that I be released intogeneral population, or transferred to another prison out of concern for my safety. Ineed this to be a campaign.

I refuse to eat when CERT members are working lock up, and serving trays inthe lock up unit.

Make it known that my due process rights have been violated and denied.Whenever a prisoner is placed in lock up they are supposed to be served a notice that

they are being placed in segregation for named offense. Within 72 hours that prisonerstatus must be reviewed if no disciplinary, or other action has been taken. I’ve received

no paperwork, not even the 72 hour notice, and my 72 hours have expired. Demand that theyfollow their own regulations.

-MichaelWarden Cynthia StuartPhone: 251-368-8173Fax: 251-368-1095

Commissioner Jeff DunnPhone: 334-353-3883

Update From Eric King 2/15/20I heard that the prosecutor in my case, Aaron Titlebaum, decided to offer us a plea deal. For those not aware,

I am facing one count of assaulting an officer with a weapon or causing serious bodily injury. A year and a halfago, August 17th 2018, I was pulled into a broom closet and attacked by Lt Donald Wilcox. I did what neededto be done to stop him from beating me. I’ve been in the SHU ever since, 18 months.

Aaron clearly doesn’t know me, he clearly doesn’t understand how painful, enraging, and personal this is.Does he not realize that he is directly trying to prevent me from being with my family? Trying to keep me frombeing at my daughters’ graduations, from holding them during heartbreaks and celebrating their victories. He isreceiving a six figure paycheck to ensure I can’t celebrate birthdays and anniversaries with my partner, that Imiss the World Cup in 2026. Right now, the BOP, acting hand in hand with the DA, has been doing everythingpossible to prevent me from defending myself. 18 months without a single phone call. No contact visits, onehour a week, only just returned in December. My lone legal call interrupted mid-talk by an apologetic officeron the line. The person responsible for my legal visits- who continually ignores requests from my lawyer- LtHumphries- is openly friends with “witnesses” who will be testifying against me. The Ltsresponsible for my “discipline”, the S.I.S. in charge of my mail, all openly friends withthe same people. Lt. Kamrad, Cpt. Giconi, Lt. Reynolds, Lt. Wilcox, the people whostomped my head in, who four-pointed me while promising to have me beat andraped. It’s all the same, they are all friends. American justice, am I right?

The plea deal offered? I plea guilty, relinquish my right to appeal, my right tosue, consent to my own beating and further incarceration, and my reward? That hewon’t ask to go above my guidelines. That he won’t seek to go above legalguidelines based off the severity of the “crime” and “criminal” history. The hiddenmeaning, of course, being if I take it to trial, he will seek above. Eat shit, Aaron. Iam an anarchist, a revolutionary, a fighter. I will never passively submit to my ownoppression or that of others.

Rise up Anarchists, rise up and strike back. Strike first. We are not railroad tracks.In the spirit of W.V.S., of Tom Manning. See you all at trial.-Eric King

A letter from Jennifer Rose 2/11/20

Dear Fire Ant,Here’s some important updates for FA

#6. On 10/28/19 several members ofSacramento Prisoner Support were inattendance at my resentencing hearing.My petition for recall of sentence underCalifornia’s Prop 36, Three StrikesReform Act, was granted, and I was given

a sentence reduction from 25 years to life, knocked down to 8 years, to theapplause and raised fists of myself and supporters! However, this onlyaffected one of my sentences, and I still have another 25 years to lifesentence which remains. This concludes my interactions with the criminalcourts and exhausts my appeals. My focus will now be on an upcomingparole hearing, which is scheduled this June or July by the Board of ParoleHearings. Under a new California law, Prop 57, the Public Safety andRehabilitation Act, I am now eligible for early parole consideration as I’vealready served my “full term” for a “non-violent” or “non-serious” thirdstrike. Of course, this will require the Board to find me “suitable” for releaseon parole.

At a BPH consultation last September, it was recommended that I remain“disciplinary free” and immediately changed my institutional behavior byavoiding any further rule violation reports. I have a long list of assaulting andresisting officers, fighting to defend myself against racist and homophobicinmates and “peace” officers, who I’ve been targeted by and attacked by onregular basis. I was also told to develop a written parole plan, producesupport letters from family and friends, obtain letters of acceptance fromtransitional housing or residential treatment programs, participate in self-helpgroups/ rehabilitation programs for which I can earn certificates ofcompletion, including a relapse prevention plan because of past drug addition.

An additional focus of my legal campaign will be to send an application forcommutation of sentence to Governor Gavin Newsome in Sacramento, torequest that my other 25 years to life sentence for a “non-violent” or“non-serious” felony be commuted. There was no “great bodily injury” and

I’ve already been in prison for 30 years. I’m 50 years old, I’ve served my time, and I’m about to have gender

affirming surgery, after which I’ll be rehoused in a women’s facility. In tenmore years, I’ll also be eligible for elderly parole program consideration,which also requires them to find you “suitable” and not “presenting anunreasonable risk to public safety”.

Anyone able and willing to support my campaign for release can write a support letter to the Board of ParoleHearings, and/or to Governor Gavin Newsome. Please send these letters, or a copy, directly to me.

Finally, one issue I’d like to address for the readers of our newsletter, is the purpose of our collective. It is tobuild solidarity, action, and material aid for imprisoned anarchist comrades, whether “politicized” in prison oralready engaged in direct action resistance outside of prison.

Although the newsletter is facilitated and formatted by Maine comrades, and printed by Bloomington ABC,and all the content is from imprisoned anarchists, much of the resources for this project are coming out ofpocket. All of the above mentioned folks, along with specific anarchist prisoners, are what makes up the FireAnt collective. We are all very determined and committed to this social revolution toward anarchy. Thestruggle is our life! Solidarity is our greatest weapon! Please join us!

If you are a reader of Fire Ant, we encourage you to please give us feedback and contribute funds toward ourpurpose of providing material aid to imprisoned anarchist rebels. Please donate to our anarchist prisoner warfund. Please email bloomingtonanarchistblackcross@riseup.net. I can assure that these funds are going directlyto anarchist prisoners. Thank you!

International anti-fascist solidarity!For a world without police and prisons!Jennifer Rose

A letter from Thomas Meyer-Falk 1/7/20

Dear comrades of Fire Ant!Thanks a lot for your card and I wish all of you the best for 2020!Health, hope and the burning flame in all of your hearts.

Well, I wish the weather would be a little bit colder here, becausethe temperatures are like spring.

I’ll attach a short article, but you have to “translate” it.

Hope you had a good New Years day. Here in Freiburg, 40-50comrades came at 6pm on New Years Eve to the prison wall. Theymade loud noises and had a fire works display. A public radiostation broadcasted the event live.

All the best to all of you,Thomas

Freiburg Prison Update by Thomas Meyer-Falk

Lothar, a 60 year old inmate of the preventative detention unit in Freiburg’sprison, got in trouble. Preventative detention became law in 1933 under the Naziregime. It allows the state to keep an inmate in prison after finishing the regular sentence, possibly for life, ifthe administration and the court deems them “a threat” to public safety. Lothar was transferred from a Bavarianprison to Freiburg, and wasn’t amused about the living conditions here. He argued often with the warden of thePD unit. One time he told the warden he found out where the warden was born and his date of birth. For that,he was sent to the isolation unit. The warden felt threatened by Lothar. Lothar went to court and appealedagainst the prison’s decree. A few weeks later, the local court issued a temporary injunction that the isolationhad to be suspended. The director ignored the court’s order, and sent Lothar back to Bavaria, where he is still inisolation. Another inmate, Shorty, was involved in the case. His cell was raided, all his legal papers wereconfiscated, and he was moved to another unit. I published an article about Lothar’s situation, but the casewasn’t interesting enough for the mass media.

My own cell was raided in November. All legal stuff was confiscated. All legal papers and books wereinspected. Don’t know what they were looking for. Maybe because police tried to connect me with a burnttruck? A company in Bavaria, Massak Logistik, has a monopoly on delivering food to the inmates (highestprices for lowest quality). A gold mine for the owners. Last year someone burnt one of their trucks. Because inthe last few years I published a series of articles about this company, the police have tried to connect me and

my visitors to the event. Two times in 2019 some construction vehicleswere burned in East Germany at a prison building site in Saxonia.

Whoever burned the vehicles referred to me and my situation. Morereasons to search my cell. It was frustrating. However, whatever

frustrates us also gives us power. These are a few examples from this side of the ocean that

are typical of the daily prison routine. Typical of the strategyto break inmates, harass them, and provoke them. Theinhuman and degrading prison system must be overcome. Itmust be defeated. It’s up to us to struggle against it day andnight, 24/ 365!

I wish all of you, no matter where you are, much powerand hope. Let’s keep the fire blazing in all our hearts!

-Thomas Meyer-Falk

Headlines by Marius MasonHey ho, the world’s on fire!And it’s still run by thieves and liarsWho build cities out of funeral pyres-Hey ho, the world’s on fire!

Hey ho, the AmazonThe trees who feed us oxygen Are up in smoke and gone, gone, gone-Hey ho, the world’s on fire!

Hey ho, koala bearsAre burnt to cinders, running scaredAnd Exxon lawyers never cared-Hey ho, the world’s on fire!

Hey ho, as Cali burnsWe share the shame, but no one learnsThat this is how the whole world turns-Hey ho, the world’s on fire!

Anthem by Sean SwainIf you don’t kill me nowRIGHT NOWI will become an AnthemYour enemies will singwhen they oppose youBut if you kill me nowRIGHT NOWI will forever remain anUNFINISHED SONGYour children will composeagain and againUntil they DEFEAT you

Letter From Noah Coffin 2/20/20Dear Fire Ant,Hey, update on new totalitarian policies. No more canfriends or families send in any: doodles, scented orcolored paper, cards or postcards, no more than 10pictures (even if they are on the same page). Onlypeople on “approved visitation lists” can send funds toTexas inmates. All visitors are now sniffed by dopedogs trained by TDCJ officers. If they “hit” on a visitor,then that visitor is off the list for 90 days. If it happensagain, they are banned for life! No “dope” needs to befound- just “oh my dog smells dope, you’re out!” Tellme that’s going to stay legit, or be straight across theboard! Just shutting us down all ways they can…I don’tget visitors, so whatever, but it’s crazy. No cards? Nopostcards? Only through TDCJ “Flickshop.com” cardsare now allowed. No paper but plain. Man, I love thosepostcards you all sent me! I keep them all in order, andlook at them when the cell gets to be hard on me. I loveFire Ant, and now I don’t know if I’m even allowed toget the zine, because it’s got pictures. I’m still not beingallowed back into population. Over 6 years total insolitary confinement, but I’m fighting, and only 5 yearsleft on this 15 year sentence. Love and solidarity forever,Noah Coffin

Art by Noah Coffin

Word from Eric amid the COVID-19 outbreak

We have word from Eric. FCI Englewood has cancelled visits for 30 days. However, staff has yet to wearmasks into the facility. With the BOP on a hiring freeze, it is going to get really interesting if prisoners start toget sick. The BOP has issued a statement saying that attorney visits are also suspended for 30 days. The BOP isso quick to cut outside visits because prisoners are such a vulnerable population, yet they will not spend the$.50 per guard per day to prevent staff from infecting prisoners. Eric says that they took “the good soap”leaving them with this horrible grainy prison-brand soap. Prisoners are also being denied access to the lawlibrary at FCI Englewood.

The BOP has issued a statement saying that prisoners are now allowed to purchase 500 phone minutes incomparison to the previous 300 minutes before to help keep families incontact. However, the reality is many in the segregated housingunits (SHU) across the BOP do not have access to the phones(and if they do, they get just one 15 minute call a month).They do not have access to email, letters are held anddelayed by the prison and now they are not even permittedlegal or regular visits (SHU visits are behind glass or video).FCI Englewood is choosing to uphold the illegal phone blockthey brought against Eric. Suddenly he finds himself being heldpretty incommunicado again.

This is a reality Eric shares with so many across thenation. Forced to wait helpless while the prisonfails to act to keep them safe. During thispandemic, prison staff who interact with prisonersshould be wearing masks to help limit thetransmission of the virus. During incubation people arecontagious so at the very least, masks should be arequirement for ALL staff interacting withprisoners. Further, the BOP needs to give out soap andcleaning supplies and subsidize the cost of vitaminsand medicine to treat illnesses. SHU prisoners who donot have access to email or phones need to beallowed access to email and phone at least onceper day while visitation is suspended. The BOPneeds to end ALL commissary restrictions for SHUprisoners. They need to also stop limiting the number of stampsSHU prisoners are allowed. Prisoners need to also be allowed unmonitored phone calls to their attorneyswhile they are being held incommunicado.

The BOP needs to put their plan in writing to keep the over 146,000 people in BOP custody (and the additional28,000 in other facilities) safe (similar to what every other government agency is currently doing). Simplyholding the entire prison population from their loved ones is not handling an outbreak.

Among that population, the BOP currently has 10,642 prisoners in segregation. This leaves 9,441 prisonersfacing the same situation Eric is this morning: in the SHU of a regular BOP prison suddenly finding themselvesin complete isolation without even legal visits. On top of that, they have no email access and only one phonecall a month if they are lucky. They are often restricted in what they can buy on commissary (includingmedicine, soap and food). Out of those 10,000 people, only 1,597 are in disciplinary segregation which meansthe rest of the population (9,441) is not even serving disciplinary sanctions.

From the BOP’s indexed files there are currently two prisons with potentially exposed staff and they are notasking the EXPOSED guard’s wife who also works at the prison to quarantine. The BOP is not even taking thesimple precaution of wearing masks

https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/index.jsp

-Support Eric King Website

ANARCHIST PRISONER CONTACT INFORMATION

Eric King # 27090045FCI Englewood9595 W Quincy AveLittleton, CO 80123

Marie (Marius) Mason#04672-061FCI DanburyRte 37Danbury, CT 06811

Michael Kimble #138017/ G1-24AEasterling Corr. Facility200 Wallace DrClio, AL 36017

Jennifer Rose #E-23852Salinas Valley State PrisonPO Box 1050Soledad, CA 93960-1050

Sean Swain #2015638Buckingham Correctional CenterPO Box 430Dillwyn, VA 23936

Noah Coffin #17951672665 Prison Road #1Lovelady, TX 75851

Jeremy Hammond #151960859Grady County Jail215 North 3rd StChickasha, Oklahoma 73018

Thomas Meyer-Falkc/o jva freiburgHermann-Herder-Str. 8d 79104 FreiburgGermany

Bill Dunne #10916-086FCI Victorville Medium IPO Box 3725Adelanto, California 92301

Nicola GaiAlfredo CospitoC.C Via Argione 32744122 FerraraItaly

Jared Chase #M44710Dixon Correctional Center2600 North Brinton AveDixon, IL 61021

Samantha Faulder A1209CFHMP Foston HallFostonDerbyDerbyshireDE65 5DNEngland

Lisa DorferC.P. Brians ICarretera de Martorell a Capellades, km 2308635, Sant Esteve Sesrovires

Marcelo VillarroelUnidad Especial de Alta SeguridadCarcel de Alta SeguridadModulo H Norte1902 Avenida Pedro MonttSantiago, Chile

Juan Aliste VegaUnidad Especial de Alta SeguridadCarcel de Alta SeguridadModulo J1902 Avenida Pedro MonttSantiago, Chile

Juan Flores RiquelmeUnidad Especial de Alta Seguridad/Carcel deAlta seguritad1902 Avda. Pedro MonttSantiago,Chile