Update to court information 3/3

 

courthouse_kc_660

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

 

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

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

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

 

 

 

solidarity_of_love_by_joyeuse

EK Support Crew

 

Eric’s Plea Signing Date 3/3/2016

 

cropped-sss.jpg

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 3rd 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 3rd

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 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.

 

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

Eric has been placed back in segregation.

1265011_10151766560676743_1651319365_o

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

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

tumblr_mv4a4jqk3B1slixf5o1_500

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

Am I angry or hungry a poem by Eric King

Street-Art-resistance-grows

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?

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

558010_10200135903776454_371071556_n

 

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

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

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.

e81043bc177e9a089c26926ef4cc1ea8

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…

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

G20ShowNotesImage

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

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

political-prisoner-554x455

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