The Hotwire #5: St. Louis against the cops, Struggalos, & cops kill queer student Scout Schultz

This week we speak with two folks who’ve been active on the street of St. Louis since white ex-cop Jason Stockley was let off for the murder of black father Anthony Lamar Smith. We also remember Scout Schultz, a 21-year-old queer student organizer killed on Saturday by Georgia Tech police. There’s lots of reports from anti-fascist actions, with a particularly woop-worthy one from the Juggalo March this past weekend in Washington, D.C. At the end we announce some anarchist book fairs and upcoming actions against the alt-right in Berkeley and neo-nazis in Sweden. {September 20, 2017}

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:00}
  • Headlines {1:55}
  • Feature: Report from the streets of St. Louis after the Stockley verdict {12:13}
  • Repression Roundup {23:25}
  • Prisoner Birthdays {27:35}
  • Next Week’s News {29:00}
• Upcoming anarchist bookfairs:

  The Radical Book Fair pavillion at the Baltimore Book Festival September 22–24.

  The Houston Anarchist Book Fair on September 24 located at MECA, 1900 Kane St., Houston, Texas.

  The fourth annual Radical Book Fair in Gothenburg, Sweden from September 28 to October 1. That same weekend, the neo-nazi Nordic Resistance Movement will try to march through Gothenburg. Read the anti-fascist call to action here.

• The alt-right’s so-called “free speech” week begins Monday at UC Berkeley. In response, there are actions planned against white supremacy and nationalism.

  Saturday, September 23: March Against White Supremacy
  Noon
  at 63rd and Adeline in Berkeley

  Monday, September 25: Rally Against White Supremacy
  Noon
  at Crescent Lawn

• The FBI has been visiting anarchists and others lately in North Carolina. There’s not better time than the present to brush up on what to do if the FBI approaches you to talk, or even if the police knock on your door. Print out this handy .PDF poster and hang it by your front door so you’ll have an easy reference in the case of an unwanted visitor from the state.
• Get your pre-orders in now for the 2018 Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners calendar. This year’s theme is “Awakening Resistance,” and features art and writings by Jesus Barraza, Fight Toxic Prisons, Serena Tang, Andrea Ritchie, Roger Peet, Sophia Dawson, Rasmea Support Committee, EE Vera, Herman Bell, Fernando Marti, Alexandra Valiente, Billie Belo, Arlene Gallone Support Committee, Marius Mason, David Gilbert, UB Topia, April Rosenblum, Design Action Collective, Sundiata Acoli, Crimethinc, Annie Banks, Mutope Duguma, Xinachtli, Zola and more.
• Go here. to donate to the bail and legal fund for those arrested in St. Louis after the no-guilty verdict for killer cop Jason Stockley.
• Bail funds are also needed for people arrested at a memorial march for Scout Schultz, the 21-year-old queer student organizer killed by Georgia Tech police.
• We mention Submedia’s excellent show Trouble, which has an upcoming episode this month on counter-insurgency. They do great work, so throw them some taco money while they are fundraising this month. From Submedia:

  “After years of suffering the Stimulator’s taco farts in silence, we’d reached our limits. Plus, we wanted to shift gears and embark on an ambitious new project – a monthly documentary series called Trouble, intended to be screened collectively as a tool to help spark critical conversations around local organizing. So when we pitched the idea to Stim and he refused to go along with this new direction, we decided he had to go. Well… turns out we fucked up. It’s not that we regret launching Trouble, or have any plans to stop making new episodes. Far from it. We’ve received tons of positive feedback on the project, and are stoked to see trouble-makers have started dozens of screening collectives in cities across the world. What we didn’t realize was exactly how much work goes into producing a 30 minute interview-driven documentary every month, and how little time that would leave us for our other projects.

  So, suffice to say… we’ve been reconsidering our decision for some time now. But the straw that finally broke the camel’s back was when alt-right shitlords targeted us last month with a mass snitching campaign, and successfully got Paypal to cancel our account – wiping out, in the push of a button, a monthly sustainer base that had taken us ten years to build up. The time has come to #BringBackStim and unleash him full-force on these fucks. We want to give him a new show – a weekly digital pulpit where he can expose and ruthlessly antagonize far-right personalities, while also covering topical news segments from an anarchist lens. But in order to do that, we need to grow our collective so that we can handle the increased workload. And in order to do that, we need your support.”

• If you’re near Vancouver, BC, there’s a building materials supply drive going on until October to support the Secwepemc people’s tiny homes blockade of the proposed Kinder Morgan TransMountain tar sands pipeline.
• Here is a Unicorn Riot livestream of direct action against the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline in Wisconsin, in which someone locked down to a flipped over car to halt construction.
• The Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons is going international with a UK roadshow this fall, from September 28 to October 6.
• There’s a call to disrupt the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Philadelphia from October 21st to the 24th. Read the call to action here..
• A bunch of calls to support political prisoners were made last week, but are still needed:

  69 year old Black Panther Party political prisoner Herman Bell was (assaulted by guards](https://itsgoingdown.org/political-prisoner-herman-bell-assaulted-guards/). Please write Herman a get-well card at his new address:
  Herman Bell #79-C–0262
  Five Points Correctional Facility
  P.O. Box 119
  Romulus, N.Y. 14541​

  Anarchist, disabled, latinx prisoner Coyote Acabo is in need of fundraising and letters. Please write him at:
  Coyote Acabo #316348
  YJC Yakima Co. Dept. Corrections
  111 N Front Street
  Yakima WA 98901

  Ramsey Orta is coming up on one year of incarceration after the NYPD retaliated against him for filming Eric Garner’s death in 2014. Please send Ramsey some letters to let him know we have his back. You can use this online form or his inmate address:
  Ramsey Orta, 16A4200 ​
  Franklin Correctional Facility
  P.O. Box 10
  Malone, New York 12953–0010

• We’re two months out from the first trials in the unprecedented J20 case. There are various ways to support the nearly 200 people facing 8 or more felonies each after being mass-arrested at protests of the presidential inauguration. Keep up with the latest at defendj20resistance.org. Consider coming down to DC to pack the courtroom during the first trial at the end of November 2017. You can also find action items at DropJ20.org. And don’t forget to write a letter to political prisoner Dane Powell, the first of the J20 defendants to serve time. This video shows Dane’s courage on the streets that day.

  Write Dane a letter:

  Dane Powell
  BOP Register number 82015007
  Federal Correctional Institution - Low PO Box 1031
  Colman, Florida 33521
  {September 7}

• For a good introduction to writing prisoners, check out this guide from New York City Anarchist Black Cross.
• Political prisoner birthdays:

  Steven Martin #01141003
  ERDCC
  2727 Highway K.
  Bonne Terre, MO 63628
  {September 22nd}

  Greg Curry #213–159
  Ohio State Penitentiary
  878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd
  Youngstown OH 44505–4635
  {September 26th}

• Here is this month’s Political Prisoner Birthday Calendar.