Fundraising Event for Political Prisoner Ojore Lutalo!

FRIDAY FEB, 5TH - 6PM

2MEX , AZTLAN UNDERGROUND, SACRIFCE , OLMECA, SHERMAN AUSTIN + MORE TBA! -- THIS FRI
FEB 5TH 6PM .

SUPPORT OJORE LUTALU , SUPPORT L.A ABCF , SUPPORT ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS

CHUCO'S JUSTICE
CENTER
1137 E. REDONDO BLVD
INGLEWOOD, CA 90302

$10 SUGGESTED DONATION
NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL.

http://www.raisethefist.com


DENVER ­ Prosecutors in southeastern Colorado said they won't pursue
charges against an ex-convict accused of making a threat against an
Amtrak train because further investigation revealed the man displayed no
bizarre behavior or even made a threat.

Ojore Nuru Lutalo, 64, of Elizabeth, N.J., was arrested Jan. 26 on
suspicion of felony endangering public transportation.

Otero County District Attorney Rod Fouracre said Wednesday the Amtrak
steward who reported the threats to police later said she hadn't heard
the alleged threatening statements herself but reported concerns voiced
by other passengers. The passengers on the train later told police they
never heard any specific threats to the train.

Lutalo, a self-described anarchist who spent more than 20 years in
solitary confinement in New Jersey, said he's relieved.

"I never said anything, I never did anything. I'm not surprised at
all," Lutalo said when reached by phone in Denver, where he is
staying pending his case. Lutalo had been freed on $30,000 bail.

Fouracre said police had probable cause to arrest Lutalo based on the
reports phoned in while the train was 10 to 15 minutes away from La
Junta.

"But based on the investigation we didn't believe it could be proven
beyond a reasonable doubt," Fouracre said in a phone interview with
The Associated Press.

In an affidavit filed in La Junta, a small farming and ranching community
about 140 miles southeast of Denver, police said passengers reported
hearing Lutalo saying he hadn't killed anyone yet, and that he talked
about going to jail.

The steward reported one passenger hearing Lutalo mention al-Qaida,
saying, "17th century tactics won't work, we have 21st century
tactics."

"Once she was re-interviewed after her initial statements to police,
her statements were different," Fouracre said.

"She heard nothing about weapons nor specific threats against this
train ... she noted no bizarre behavior from Mr. Lutalo," read court
documents filed Wednesday by prosecutors and signed by District Judge Jon
Kolomitz dismissing the case.

Lutalo, who is well known among prison rights activists for his time
spent in solitary confinement, was returning to New Jersey after speaking
at a Los Angeles book fair sponsored by the Anarchist Black Cross
Federation. He had said passengers apparently overheard his cell phone
conversations about the book fair but that he never made a
threat.

Lutalo was released from a New Jersey prison in August after serving 28
years for armed robbery and weapons offenses involving a shootout with a
police officer in 1975 and another shootout with a drug dealer in 1981.
Lutalo spent most of his time in prison in solitary confinement because
of the anarchist material he was reading was a deemed a security threat,
according his New Jersey attorney, Bruce Afran.

Lutalo said he avoided flying and decided to take a train because he
feared extra scrutiny at airports because of his criminal record and
known political views.

"I might consider the bus," he said.