Anarchism

February 28, 2016

Eric’s Plea Signing Date 3/3/2016

After almost a year and a half of pre-trial detention in shitty conditions, court battles and other legal woes, and facing threats of forty years in prison, Eric King has finally decided to accept a non-cooperating plea agreement to ten years in federal prison.

If you live nearby, please consider attending Eric’s hearing in Kansas City, MO next Thursday, March 3^rd at 1:30p.m. The media and cops are likely to be well-represented, and it would be a meaningful moment to show Eric that he is not alone. Having supporters there may also create some pressure for the court to conduct itself better. It will also be useful to Eric and his support crew to have more people in attendance taking notes and keeping an eye on the proceedings.

The hearing will be:

Thursday, March 3^rd

1:30 p.m.

When: Thursday, March 3rd, at 1:30 pm

Where: Courtroom 8A – District Judge, Gary A. Fenner

U.S. District Court, Kansas City , Missouri

400 E. 9th St. 64106

Please note that valid photo identification is required to enter the courthouse and all persons and belongings are subject to search. Also, we’d like to encourage everyone who’s planning on attending the March 3^rd court appearance to dress nice, and conduct yourself appropriately in the court room out of respect for EK, the person we are there to support.

Even if you cannot attend on this short notice, please consider donating some money to Eric’s new support fund . He urgently needs funds to prepare for his long prison term as well as immediate support needs. You can also send him a book or a letter. Check out his Amazon Wish List for ideas. Eric is currently in the hole and needs all the reading material he can get.

You can write to Eric at:

Eric King
#27090045
CCA Leavenworth
100 Highway Terrace
Leavenworth, KS 66048

Link to Eric’s fundraiser page http://fnd.us/c/316cDf/sh/a4jVK

Sometime in the next couple months, Eric will have a sentencing hearing where the judge will officially determine his sentence, after which he will be transferred to a federal prison . Please keep your eyes open for another call out asking supporters to attend.

Make no mistake, neither Eric nor his support crew take the decision to accept this plea lightly. Despite being far better than the other legal options available, ten years is way too long for our friend and comrade to be stolen from us. Eric is being steamrolled by the state and its functionaries, and there is very little we can do about it. Yet we can and will remain in solidarity with him.

From the beginning, Eric has been concerned about accepting a plea that may establish a legal precedent that other anarchists may have to deal with in the future when facing similar charges. Therefore, he has seen this legal battle as impacting not only himself, but all of us. Nonetheless, facing the possibility of a thirty or forty year sentence, Eric has determined that this is the best possible outcome that is available to him.

We are proud of Eric for how bravely he has faced these charges. He has refused to cooperate with the state, worked hard to maintain a vegan diet, and stood up for himself and his friends in prison in the face of violence and intimidation by the guards and administration. And he has done it with contagious laughter, joy and poetry. We now face the long, hard road of supporting our friend and comrade for the next ten years of his life. Please take some time to donate and write Eric a letter.

Until we are free,

EK Support Crew

February 23, 2016

Call for a blast of solidarity!

Eric has been trying to get a new lawyer assigned to his case. However, 
today in court the judge denied him the opportunity to seek new legal 
counsel. On top of this unfortunate news from a difficult day in court, 
it has come to our attention that CCA Leavenworth is now under 
lock-down. These lock-downs where prison cells are searched one by one 
typically last for a week, during which prisoners are not permitted to 
speak to their loved ones. It's times like these when small acts of 
solidarity can make the biggest difference. Please take a few minutes to 
send Eric a postcard or letter to remind him that folks have his back.

Here is his address:

Eric King

27090045

CCA Leavenworth

100 Highway Terrace

Leavenworth, KS 66048

If you would like to send Eric something from his Amazon wish list: http://www.amazon.com/registry/giftlist/OEWNQ9RMQGZ

<3 EK Support Crew

January 31, 2016

Am I angry or hungry a poem by Eric King

Am I angry or hungry

starving and shaking

throw a punch

or take a bite

cook a meal

or start a fight?

In what world does

canned spoiled fruit and beans

count as a meal?

How hard does bread need to be

before it is a rock?

Do I fight for something more

or swallow my dignity and food?

CCA you corrupt fucks

where’s the Oregon militia

when you need it?

I ate much better on the streets

when I was homeless & free

can I even complain

do I have ground to stand on

or thin air?

January 22, 2016

“how did McDavid handle it when the judge said 19?” a Poem by Eric King

This is a feeling you can’t escape

its an empty loneliness, I know it

me by myself despite a strong team

back in the boxing ring

keep hoping that i’ll wake from this

how did McDavid handle it when the judge said 19?

This is fear I can feel it

eating through my stomach

like a starving lion lurking

I float in the warm blood below

that puddles beneath my cold carcass

nothing I have to say, sadly

is worth the struggle for a last breath

when all there is to eat is poisonous plants

do you skip a meal or go for broke?

Vomiting up the last of my hopes

torn between defiance and defeat

battle cries and fate’s cruel jokes

all of my heroes have records

my internal infrastructure sparks riots

when I wake the smokes scattered

and I have to face reality

survival is a must

acceptance then progress

it hurts though

January 17, 2016

Untitled Poem by Eric King

oppression_by_xxdiexdiexdie — art found here http://xxdiexdiexdie.deviantart.com/art/oppression-27779608

I think I see it, clearer

they want us to live life in fear

not feeling that kind of life

broken into our minds

robbery mask on tight

to steal our sense of humanity

the guns are locked & loaded

and they’ve handed them over

made us into hunters

where do we go from here?

We pretend we’re still human

have brains we refuse to use them

is peace really a blade sharpened

or a face stomped in?

I remember how it used to feel

to smile and mean it

it still sitting in my mind

if I can keep it safe and sound

then through this maze I can be found

January 9, 2016

Malawi Birds a poem by Eric King

Written in solidarity with the prisoners of Malawi who’s voices carry their stories beyond the walls that imprison them.

I heard the Malawi birds

they were bundled and stacked

buried so deep

but their voices reach so high

does their location

negate the warmth of their tears

we can learn so much from suffering

how long must our education persist

who will finally be the one

to rip the door off the cage

wings were meant to fly

not to die…

December 16, 2015

“About Capitalism” a poem by Eric King

BIjGHncCMAAlO-h

These walls

silent as the dark & lost

haunting as a ghost

these walls

will fucking crush us all

if we ever give up hope

these walls

steal inches by the hour

pressing down & smashing joy

these walls

will gladly break us all

if we ever give them the power

these walls

snap shots of decaying minds

cold and without mercy

block out the sun, in case it shines

shocks out the dark in case it’s night

these walls

will kill us all

if we dont have the will to bear it

October 31, 2015

“I refuse to make a habit” a poem by Eric King

I refuse to make a habit

of being oppressed or oppressive

to wear chains and pretend

they’re bracelets

nothing orange is stylish

these meals aren’t gifts

and these captors aren’t our pals

don’t give a fuck how their day is

or if they’re breathing

that pepper spray isn’t cologne

these beatings aren’t for show

the fire got put out in our cans

but the power is in our hands

till they rob the air we breathe

i’ll stand on the side of action

lessons learned today

mental weakness overcome today

will make a better me tomorrow

for refusing to be broken

and refusing to make a habit

of being oppressed

or of being oppressive

such will keep me free

no matter what they bring

September 24, 2015

Urgent Action Needed Now: Don’t Let CCA Censor Eric King’s Mail!

As folks know, Eric’s mail is being censored and political letters and
literature are being rejected. It is important to keep the pressure on
CCA Leavenworth to stop censoring Eric’s mail.

According to Warden Isaac Johnston, it is up to the guards to use
discretion in deciding which groups can be labeled as hate groups and
have their correspondence rejected. This means that mailroom employees
can use their own political ideology to decide what mail to allow and
what to block.

Unfortunately, due to CCA being a for-profit contractor, they are not
held by the same rules as state and federal prisons. Yet there is a very
short list of regulations that CCA has to follow in regards to mail and
one is that both incoming and outgoing mail must be held for no longer
than 24 hours.

Since being incarcerated, Eric has had both incoming and outgoing mail
held for way longer than is dictated according to the “Performance-Based
Detention Standards.” On September 15th, for example, the mailroom gave
Eric a large batch of mail that had been held for well over 24 hours.

If you write Eric, you can help by taking action in the following ways:

1) When you get mail from Eric, please check both the date the letter
was written and the postmark on the letter. If there is more than a
24-hour difference, please email us at erickingsupportcrew(a)riseup.net
with either a photo or quick note of the date on the letter and the
postmark date. This can help Eric document these violations and allow
him to file grievances for them as they occur.

2) Next, please take a second to let the staff at CCA Leavenworth and
CCA corporate know that they are violating the “Performance-Based
Detention Standards.”

a. Warden Isaac Johnston: 913.680.6801
b. Assistant to the Warden: 913.680.6804
c. Mailroom (ask for the manager of the mailroom): 913.680.6808
d. Call CCA Corporate and let them know what CCA Leavenworth is up to:
1.800.624.2931

Feel free to leave a message if they do not answer. If you feel
comfortable and want to have a conversation, you can even leave a
call-back number.

In your message, state how long Eric’s outgoing letter was held before
being sent to you. Inform them that “Performance-Based Detention
Standard” number (G.3.5) says, “Excluding weekends and holidays or
emergency situations, incoming and outgoing letters are held for no more
than 24-hour hold.”

Help us tell CCA that we won’t stand for Eric’s incoming mail being
censored based on his political ideology or for him to be targeted by
his mail being held for more than 24 hours.

Lastly, we want to remind folks that Eric being pre-trial puts him in an
especially sensitive position. Any piece of literature he receives,
whether it is rejected or not, may be used against him come sentencing.

Love and Solidarity

EK Defense Committee

September 15, 2015

Urgent update regarding Eric King’s mail being rejected!

The CCA Leavenworth mailroom has been blocking some of Eric’s incoming mail, censoring publications for ridiculous reasons (or for no stated reason at all), and even blocking some of his outgoing mail.

Recently, a book about the Black Panthers was rejected because the prison evidently considers them a “hate group.” Around that same time, rightwing Christian literature with homophobic rhetoric made it through to another prisoner. Eric is clearly being targeted for his political beliefs and interests.

If you have been writing to Eric and have not heard back from him, it is very possible that he has not received your letters or you have not received his. The prison (and the state apparatus of which it is a part) is trying to isolate Eric from his supporters. We can’t let them do this.

Please help by:

* Writing Eric so many letters! Please flood the prison with mail/letters/cards/love. This can serve the dual purpose of overwhelming the prison mailroom and helping Eric remember that he’s not alone. Keep track of what you sent to Eric and when you sent it so you can check with him later or call the prison to inquire about why your mail was blocked.

You can write to him at:

Eric King
27090045
CCA Leavenworth
100 Highway Terrace
Leavenworth, KS 66048

* Checking the support site often. If this harassment continues, we will be taking other measures to ensure this censorship stops immediately. CCA has been sued in the past for censoring mail and violating prisoners’ constitutional rights, so they know as well as we do that what they’re doing is wrong.

Please spread the word and help put the spotlight on CCA’s draconian mailroom practices. Prisons greatly prefer to function outside the public eye where they can torture, abuse, neglect and isolate prisoners without consequences. Don’t let them get away with that this time. Send Eric a letter or card today!

For a world without cages!

Love and Solidarity,

EK Defense Committee