April 4, 2011 Anarchist News
June 11th began as an international day of solidarity with long-term
anarchist prisoner Jeff "Free" Luers in 2004. At the time, Jeff was
serving 22+ years. Infuriated by the environmental devastation he saw
occurring on a global scale, Free torched three SUVs at a car dealership
in Eugene, OR. The sentence imposed on him was meant to send a clear
message to others who were angered by capitalism's continued war on the
Earth's ecosystems – and to those who were willing to take action to put a
stop to it. Free is, after all, not alone in his concerns about climate
change, fossil fuels, pollution and genetically modified organisms.
After years of struggle, Jeff and his legal team won a reduction in his
sentence and he was released from prison in December 2009. But in the
years intervening Jeff's arrest and release, the FBI had carried out a
series of indictments and arrests in an attempt to devastate the radical
environmental and anarchist communities. Two of the people caught up in
this maelstrom of repression were Eric McDavid and Marie Mason.
Eric McDavid was arrested in January 2006 after being entrapped by a paid
government informant - "Anna" - and was charged with a single count of
conspiracy. Eric – who never carried out any actions and was accused of what
amounts to “thought crime” - refused to cooperate with the state and took
his case to trial. After a trial fraught with errors, the jury convicted
Eric. He was subsequently sentenced to almost 20 years in prison. More
information on Eric's case can be found at www.supporteric.org
Marie Mason was arrested in March 2008 after her former partner - Frank
Ambrose - turned informant for the FBI. Facing a life sentence if she went
to trial, Marie accepted a plea bargain in September 2008, admitting her
involvement in the burning of an office connected to GMO research and the
destruction of a piece of logging equipment. At her sentencing in February
the following year, she received a sentence of almost 22 years. More
information on Marie's case can be found at www.supportmariemason.org
Marie and Eric now share the unfortunate distinction of having the longest
standing sentences of any environmental prisoners in the United States.
Please join us in an International Day of Solidarity with Long-Term
Anarchist Prisoners Marie Mason and Eric McDavid on June 11th. This is a
time to remember our friends who are in prison – who are continuing their
struggles on the inside. This is a time to continue and strengthen the
very work for which Eric and Marie are now serving so much time - to
struggle against capitalism, ecological devastation, and the ever more
diffuse forms of control in this prison society.
Free Marie and Eric!
Free all prisoners!
Please be in touch:
june11thsolidarity@gmail.com
june11th.org (more content soon)
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