Solidarity

March 30, 2016

“One of these days I’m gonna break these chains” a poem by Eric King

I wake up alone

in a box that ain’t my home

without the love I call my own

people who live in glass houses

I envy them all

people who live in cages

must throw stones

tear the skin sticking to my bones

got a spoon to dig down straight

only digging the plot to my own grave

if my body can’t , then my mind will escape

my enemy wears authority instead of a face

I wake up alone

but we cannot break

freedom is on the phone

she holds me in one piece

I wake up with a hole

that she fills complete

battered & bruised but on my feet

one day I’ll awake

within a home that’s all our own

we will bury the past

start our own damn show

I wake up with a heart that is filled with gold

love so powerful it could explode.

March 10, 2016

“Walk away or fight” a poem by Eric King

People say to be strong

but never say or mention

where to absorb strength from

is it strength that risk of the hole

over a lack of vegetables

or reckless rebellion

maybe its principle

facing our fears & embracing our weaknesses

maybe our greatest triumph

or fuckup

stand yer ground, feel it quake

arms so brittle, legs so weak

struggle to recall the point of this

still willing to go for whatever the point is

forgotten what home smelt like

vividly recall what choking on fumes felt like

nothing is ever black and white

options are always more than

just walk away or fight

March 8, 2016

Urgent support needed-Call into CCA Leavenworth UPDATED

Eric has been held in disciplinary segregation since February 24^th after being accused of throwing his shoes at a guard during a shakedown of the cells while the whole prison was on lockdown. At the subsequent disciplinary hearing, Eric was sentenced to 60 days in the hole (solitary confinement).

While in segregation, Eric is on commissary restriction, meaning that he cannot buy extra food from the commissary to supplement the meager vegan food tray. Trying to eat only the food they provide him is leaving him hungry all the time.

We gathered from Eric a full report of the food he is being provided and, running it through a nutritional analysis, found that it is totally inadequate. Eric is being fed approximately 940 calories per day, way under the recommended daily intake of 2,400-2,800 calories per day. Eric is literally starving.

We are asking all supporters to call the prison and demand that they find a way to provide Eric more food—either by giving him access to commissary or adapting their vegan food menu. If the following bureaucrats do not pick up, please leave them a message.

Please call:

The Warden’s office at 913-727-3246 ext. 101
Eric’s caseworker Mr. Spears at 913-727-3246 ext. 37

If that doesn’t work dial the mail number +1 913-727-3246 and press 0

Here is a sample script for your call:

“Hi, I’m calling about Eric King, number 27090045. He’s being held in disciplinary segregation right now and is on commissary restriction. Because the vegan tray that Eric gets is so inadequate, and since he can’t supplement it with commissary, Eric is starving.

We calculated that Eric is getting approximately 940 calories per day from the vegan tray. This is way under the recommended daily intake of 2,400-2,800 calories per day. Something must be done to get Eric access to more food right away. This can be done by giving him access to commissary or by immediately improving the vegan tray that you provide.

Eric is getting dizzy, having trouble concentrating and feeling hungry all the time. We need to address this situation immediately. Thank you.”

If leaving a message, feel free to leave a name and call back number, but you don’t have to.

Please pass this post far and wide. Eric is in the very beginning of his 60 day sentence in disciplinary segregation, so it’s important that we prevent the prison from starving him right away.

Thanks everyone!

-EK Support Crew

Update 3/9

CCA’s phone system has been disconnecting people, so you can dial the main number at 913-727-3246 and press 0 to ask for the Warden, Mr. Spears (Eric’s unit manager) or Chief Quinn. Eric’s inmate number is 27090045.

When folks have been able to talk to prison bureaucrats, they have mostly been saying that they can’t do anything about Eric’s situation until he files a grievance. He has filed grievances and has done so regularly ever since getting arrested because the conditions at CCA have continually been abysmal. Don’t let them distract you with their lies—demand that EK get an adequate vegan tray and access to commissary so he can purchase additional food items!

One bureaucrat claimed that it’s impossible to make the vegan tray equally nutritional as the standard tray because vegans do not eat meat. This is, of course, is a lie. While the standard trays are not adequately nutritious for anyone, CCA is required to provide vegans with a food tray that is equally nutritious as the standard tray. That’s not something they can opt out of just because they can’t imagine how vegans could possibly eat without eating meat. Per the federal standards that CCA is held to as a private, for profit, prison “Federal Performance Based Detention Standards” CCA is held to provide “nutritionally equivalent approved substitutes” and they are failing miserably. Make sure they know that they are in violation of these standards.

Help us call CCA on their bullshit and demand that EK get an adequate, vegan tray and access to commissary so he can purchase additional food items!

Update 3/10

Eric was called out of his cell to meet with a manager yesterday and they tried to “listen buddy” him into calling his comrades off. He was apologized to about issues in the past and attempts were made to make him feel like somehow these folks who are starving him are actually his friends. Somehow EK is expected to believe that no one seems to have the power to do something as simple as put more food on the vegan tray but that everyone cares about him and they would if they could. Even in the bureaucracy of a for-profit prison that is a stretch.

Folks are feeling the heat at CCA Leavenworth right now and if these BASIC needs are not met soon we are going to up the ante and start calling higher and higher up the chain. It is unacceptable that folks are made to starve for their cruelty – free diets. Because of the calls there are a lot of meetings happening at CCA Leavenworth today… let’s keep it up (A)

(a quick reminder to please avoid threats of death, injury and anything that could cause Eric to experience retaliation)

Update 3/11

Today marks another day with no answers and changes by CCA Leavenworth. The only message Eric received today was a moldy orange and missing peanut-butter from his tray. He held strong and finally hours later the food was replaced. Keep the calls coming! They can feel it! <3 (A)

March 2, 2016

Update to court information 3/3

To everyone planning on heading to court on Thursday afternoon to support EK, here are the updated specifics:

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

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

U.S. District Court, 400 E. 9^th St.

Kansas City, Missouri

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 3rd 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.

And to everyone else thinking of EK right now, and wishing they could be there on Thursday to show him the support you carry with you every day, please write him a letter. He was put in solitary confinement (“the hole”) for 60 days, so he’d really appreciate that right now. You might be in another part of North America, too far to join us for court support, or maybe in Europe, South America, or some other part of the world holding EK in your heart and thoughts. Would you let him know?

Thank you to everyone from all over the world for your continued support. Letters, cards, and books mean so much.

Here is EK’s mailing address:

Eric King

#27090045

CCA Leavenworth

100 Highway Terrace

Leavenworth, KS 66048

EK Support Crew

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 25, 2016

Eric has been placed back in segregation.

It has come to our attention through Eric’s attorney that he has been placed in the hole again during the shake-down of the facility. He has been told that he will have a disciplinary hearing next week to determine if he will remain in segregation. We ask for continued solidarity in blasting Eric with cards and letters.

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

February 23, 2016

“They build walls to hold” a poem by Eric King

They build walls to hold

to separate and destroy

They build prisons to enslave

to rip hearts to shreds

They build planes to attack

and build plants to make bombs

They build borders to differentiate

between right & wrong, good & bad

We build songs to give a helping hand

and ease a burned heart

We build communities to shelter

from hatred and abuse

We build support to give strength

to withstand the burden of the state

They build up police and we fight them all

The build up division and cruelty

We build friendship and solidarity

most of all

We build love

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