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Month: August 2023

PNW Fur Industry Farms, Successful Midwest Actions

Posted on 2023/08/29 - 2023/10/25 by unsalted

The fur industry in the Pacific Northwest is a shell of what it once was.

Since the first recorded ALF liberation at a fur farm in 1986, where 66 foxes were freed from a fox farm outside of Portland, anti-speciesists in the PNW have waged a war against the fur industry.  At least 20 farms have been visited, and over 31,000 genetically wild animals have been given a chance at freedom.  All of these animals are native to North America and can survive and thrive in the wild.
Only 5 fur farms remain in Oregon today, down from 18 in 2007. The fur farmers cite direct action, aging facilities, aging operators, and low pelt prices as the reasons.
The five farms that remain in operation are:
Cascade Farms of Oregon, 7582 Hunsaker Road SE, Turner, OR 97392
Ruef’s Fur Ranch, 12305 Ruef Lane, Mount Angel, OR 97362
Ruef & Sons (Oregon Mink / Ormink), 11658 Baron Road NE, Mount Angel, OR 97362
Slack/Masog Farms, 32600 Fur Road, Lebanon, OR 97355
Western Star Fur Farm, 40801 Savola Lane, Astoria, OR 97103
Only 4 fur farms remain in Washington. They are:
Moore/Rodriguez mink farm, Moore Quality Ranch, 9471 or 9580 Mount Baker Highway, Deming, WA 98244
Marr mink farm, 4800 Mount Baker Highway, Deming, WA 98244
Roesler Brothers Fur Farm, 33425 138th Street SE, Sultan, WA 98294
Brick Road Fur Farm (possibly closed), 19780 NE 55th Place, Redmond, WA 98053
This is an industry incredibly vulnerable to attack.  2022 saw over 15,000 mink liberated from fur farms in Ohio and Michigan, with the second largest fur farm in the U.S., Lion Farms, closing as a result. Two farms have been visited in 2023, the Olsen mink farm in Independence, WI saw 4000 mink aided to escape, and a week later dozens of foxes were freed from the Tim Jahr fur farm in Arlington, MN.

Every animal on fur farms will be murdered for their fur in November. We have two months to act. For a complete list of fur farms visit finalnail.com

Anonymous submission to Unsalted Counter Info.

Posted in Animal Liberation, GeneralTagged Animal Liberation, call to action, infodump, Sabotage

Patriot Front & Michigan’s Troubled Future

Posted on 2023/08/19 - 2023/10/25 by unsalted

Courtesy of Michigan 161

Late July of this year I was walking the Clinton River in Mt. Clemens. Right on the river, near houseboat docks and a very lovely riverside walkway, is a small building that houses free showers and hygiene facilities – ostensibly for the house boaters although most often used by our houseless neighbors. I had just finished having a very nice conversation with one of the aforementioned houseless neighbors when I noticed that plastered on the doors of this building was a white supremacist stencil. Not just your run-of-the-mill swastikas or threats against minorities, but a very pointed dog whistle put there by Patriot Front.

I was shocked! Up to this point I was under the assumption that Michigan had ducked Patriot Front’s nonsense. After all I figured a relatively progressive state like ours, with a large black and Muslim population, would be inhospitable to an explicitly white ethnonationalist organization like Patriot Front. I was wrong, severely. Our state was targeted 355 times by white supremacist groups last year, a 132% increase from the year before. And of those 355 incidences, Patriot Front was responsible for 92% of it. Michigan has, in fact, not ducked Patriot Front’s hate campaign. We got slapped in the face with it! Patriot Front was most active in Massachusetts, Texas, and Michigan this year. We rank third in activity in their hate campaign.

Patriot Front has a habit of spreading their vitriol in a variety of ways, some more clandestine than others. They flew a banner from a railway overpass on Hamtramck’s city limits, repeatedly littered Detroit in the form of their stickers, and the previously mentioned incidences of graffiti all over the mitten. Most worrying to me, and what should be most worrying to you, is their manifestation in Augusta. According to their public Telegram chats, Patriot Front has a hand-to-hand combat rallying ground in Augusta, Michigan, a small town in Kalamazoo County.

This isn’t the first time Michigan has struggled with organized militant fascism. Last year a twenty-five-year-old man named Justen Watkins, a former U.S. army enlistee, was sent to prison in connection with his establishment of a neo-Nazi hate camp in Bad Axe on behalf of a white supremacist accelerationist militia by the name of “The Base”, ironically a direct translation of “Al-Qaeda” into English. At the Bad Axe hate camp Watkins’ cell of neo-Nazi insurrectionists trained in firearms usage and room clearing to further the goal of creating a genocidal white supremacist ethnostate. In addition to Watkins’ owned property in Bad Axe, The Base occupied the abandoned “Caro Center” asylum and allegedly used it as a safehouse. Following an incident at a home The Base had mistakenly identified as that of an anti-Fascist podcaster’s the group’s Bad Axe property was raided and the cell quickly fell apart.

With that history in mind, Patriot Front’s activity in Michigan isn’t exactly unthinkable. Birds of a feather, as the saying goes. However, what is entirely unthinkable is the flaccid anti-fascist response in our state. To wait for Patriot Front’s big, media-catching, attention-getting action is just waiting for them to do real, unreversible harm to individuals and our communities. Active opposition and rejection of their ethnonationalist ideology, on the ground, is not only needed but principally necessary.

The concept of direct action inherently works. Every successful on the ground opposition to Patriot Front and groups like it is not only a sweet PR failure for bigots, but also a tangible, material benefit to your community. By resisting these groups, you make your community safer.

Two weeks ago, I was walking the Clinton River in Mt. Clemens. Right on the river, near houseboat docks and a very lovely riverside walkway, is a small building that houses free showers and hygiene facilities – ostensibly for the house boaters although most often used by our houseless neighbors. I had just passed a group of those same houseless neighbors when I noticed that plastered on the doors of this building was that same white supremacist stencil from earlier, erased with black paint and superseded by a “161”, Anti-Fascist Action. Even this small act of objection to Patriot Front by an anonymous local anti-fascist has played a small but not insignificant role in making my community better. Dedicating yourself and your time to opposing these groups is not easy. It is not simple. But it is rewarding, it does create tangible benefits, and it shoves a big fat L in these losers’ faces. And isn’t that worth it?

Anonymous submission to Unsalted Counter Info.

Posted in Antifascism, GeneralTagged antifascism, call to action

SEVERAL HUNDREDS OF MINK RELEASED FROM A FUR FARM

Posted on 2023/08/18 by unsalted

Originally posted on Unoffensive Animal at https://unoffensiveanimal.is/2023/08/16/several-hundreds-of-mink-released-from-a-fur-farm/

received anonymously via email:

“a few nights ago we visited olsen fur farm (smieja) at w22875 state road 121 in independence wisconsin. it’s operational for now, but maybe releasing several hundred mink has a chance to close it for good. we hope many of the mink enjoy their freedom in the wild and that this farm will be unable to breed thousands upon thousands of them in future years. they have an opportunity now to cut their losses and leave the fur industry forever.

fur farms exist only for fashion and profit. though the industry has declined significantly in the past decade, hundreds of thousands of animals are bred and murdered for their fur every year. even if these minks lives in the wild are cut short by nature or human intervention, the farm would have undoubtedly slaughtered them all. there is real joy in bearing witness to these animals getting their first taste of freedom. we hope this action inspires others to take similar action for animals near them. with a little planning and a few cheap tools, you too can liberate hundreds of creatures in a few short hours. until all cages are empty, for humans and non human animals alike. free them ALL”

Posted in Animal Liberation, Communiqués, GeneralTagged Animal Liberation, direct action, repost, Sabotage

Law Enforcement Admits to Placing GPS Trackers on Michigan Activist’s Car

Posted on 2023/08/17 by unsalted
Two GPS trackers, rectangular black plastic boxes similar in size to a deck of playing cards, magnetically attached to the underside of a car.

Originally posted on It’s Going Down at https://itsgoingdown.org/michigan-activist-finds-gps-trackers/

Report on law enforcement being caught placing GPS trackers on an activist’s car in so-called Michigan. For more information and photos, go here.

On Monday August 1st, Michigan activist Peatmoss found 2 GPS tracking devises attached with powerful magnets to the rear axle of their car, see pictures here. This happened after Peatmoss spent a week hanging out with friends at the Camp Gayling Week of Action against the Camp Grayling national guard base.

A lawyer calling the police on Peatmoss’s behalf relayed that the police confirmed the trackers were placed by law enforcement, though they refused to name the agency.

Three days before, on the evening of Friday July 28th, Peatmoss was arrested outside Lansing, MI after being followed by a large blue Ford pickup truck into a church parking lot to meet two other folks. The arrest stemmed from a warrant issued in another area of Michigan. During the arrest the police verbally stated that they believed the car had been present at a recent legal demonstration put on by Sunrise Ann Arbor on the sidewalk in front of Accident Fund headquarters, an insurer of the Cop City project. The cops stated they knew the car had driven by the home of Accident Fund CEO Lisa Corless, which was nearby at 3945 Turnberry Lane, Okemos, Michigan.

While in custody police attempted to coerce consent to a DNA sample by threatening Peatmoss with a longer detention. Peatmoss refused and was released without giving a sample. They also noticed their file had an “FBI number” highlighted underneath their SSN.

The second week of May, Peatmoss was followed for 45 minutes by a blacked out Ford sedan. The car began following them at their legal residence, the first time they had been home in several months. The car followed them onto the highway, off the highway, around in circles in a neighborhood, and then back onto the highway, only leaving when they were about to cross the Michigan-Ohio state border. They had given their legal name and address when putting money on many Atlanta Solidarity Fund defendants’ commissary accounts earlier this year.

We, comrades and supporters of Peatmoss, wish to remind all of our comrades that repression is ongoing, but that we can build resilience together. This means affirming our solidarity and standing behind those targeted and sharing information broadly about repressive tactics. Understand that surveillance, like that faced by Peatmoss, can be both a tool for repression from the legal system, but also, conspicuous surveillance can be a tool of repression on its own as a way to chill otherwise legal activity, spread fear and distrust.

We encourage everyone to speak with comrades openly about repression they are facing or concerned about, and to educate yourselves on best practices when dealing with law enforcement or facing criminal charges.

For more information on resisting political repression:

  • https://ccrjustice.org/if-agent-knocks-booklet
  • https://www.nlg.org/know-your-rights-english/
  • https://crimethinc.com/2017/08/24/when-the-police-knock-on-your-door-your-rights-and-options-a-legal-guide-and-poster
  • http://grandjuryresistance.org/
  • http://resistgrandjuries.net/
  • https://ssd.eff.org/en
Posted in GeneralTagged anti-repression, counter-surveillance, repost, repression, surveillance

Pack the Court for Robert Winburn AKA Scott Libby

Posted on 2023/08/09 - 2023/10/25 by unsalted

PACK THE COURT!

On August 11, 2023 at 10:00 am, in the 22nd Circuit Court for Washtenaw County, in PEOPLE of the STATE OF MICHIGAN vs. ROBERT S. WINBURN, a/k/a Scott A. Libby, Case No. 17-000654-FC, Courtroom # 4, Before Judge Arianne E. Slay, at 101 E. Huron Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48107.

Importantly, the issues being raised involve criminal justice reformer, revolutionary, and activist Robert Winburn, a/k/a Scott Libby, who has languished in illegal detention as a pretrial detainee for 7 years without remedy, and who had been placed under a draconian gag order which:
a) precluded speaking out;
b) precluded filing motions to contest police and prosecution misconduct;
c) denied self representation; and
d) subjected Winburn to prohibited involuntary servitude although he had not been duly convicted of any crime.

Now, all the chains have been lifted with a court ruling that Winburn has been improperly denied his constitutional rights as an American citizen and presumed innocent. A hearing is set before Judge Slay, Courtroom #4, on August 11, 2023 at 10:00 am on several motions to dismiss charges, including issues that could impact thousands of Michigan prisoners and pretrial detainees, predicated in pertinent part on Professor Robert W. Frey’s publication in INCORPORATION, FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, AND THE GRAND JURY: HURTADO V. CALIFORNIA RECONSIDERED, 108 Va. L. Rev. 1613 (Nov. 2022), and Professor Roger A. Fairfax, Jr’s publication in INTERROGATING THE NONINCORPORATION OF THE GRAND JURY CLAUSE, 43 Cardozo L. Rev. 855 (2022), each of which advance the powerful argument that Michigan and 27 other states have been acting in derogation of the Fifth Amendment right to Grand Jury Indictment for all capital crimes, or serious offenses, and persuasively make the case that all Bill of Rights protections are now enforceable by “substantive” Due Process Clause guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment.

In addition, Winburn is advancing other major issues of significant public interest, including that he has identified an illegal policy, practice and custom of the Michigan State Police and Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office in improper coaching and indoctrination of government witnesses which has been uniquely identified and captured in pretrial stages of the case.

Just as importantly, Winburn is arguing that the former COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Michigan Supreme Court (vetoing statutory and constitutional speedy trial guarantees) violated the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, and the specific guarantee of the Sixth Amendment of the right to a speedy trial, and relies upon an epic ruling of liberty and justice in UNITED STATES v HENNING, 513 F. Supp. 3d 1193 (U.S.D.C. CAL. 2021). Obviously enough, the ramifications in this case are high, and of extreme importance to criminal justice experts and reformers, and we need your help.

Please stand strong with us on Aug. 11 2023 at 10:00 am in Courtroom #4 before Judge Slay. Winburn is not just talking about it, he is in the battle field of legal combat, and has the potential to impact thousands of prisoners unjustly detained.

WHAT’S THE CALL? FREE THEM ALL.

Anonymous submission to Unsalted Counter Info.

Posted in GeneralTagged abolition, call to action, Solidarity

Phone Zap for Khalique Brewer

Posted on 2023/08/07 by unsalted
A photo of Khalique Brewer looking directly at the viewer, over a patterned background.

Originally posted on Black Ink at https://black-ink.info/2023/08/04/phone-zap-for-khalique-brewer/

Put an End to Sexual Abuse in Prisons

Justice for Khalique Brewer!

Call Monday and Tuesday, August 7–8, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

There is a war on children in the United States. No, it’s not just the waves of anti-trans legislation that seek to deny gender-affirming healthcare and criminalize transition, nor is it confined to the mass criminalization of skateboarding Black and brown youths in San Francisco last month. The war is diffuse and permeates all aspects of our lives. Here in Michigan, one of the mechanisms by which this war against youth is being waged is the criminal legal system, carried out by police, prosecutors, and guards throughout the state.

Here are some recent examples. In 2017, Ann Arbor police officers beat up and arrested 16-year-old resident Ciaeem Slaton at the bus station, as he was waiting for the bus to go home. In 2020, workers at Lakeside Academy suffocated 16-year old Cornelius Fredericks to death as an attempt to subdue him in the cafeteria. Today, so-called “progressive prosecutor” Eli Savit has charged 16-year-old Kendall Newbern as an adult, despite speaking out against such “punitive” approaches during his election campaign.

The damage and oppression dealt by the criminal legal system against youths reverberates into their adulthood: one such story is that of Khalique Brewer, who has been dealing sexual and verbal abuse in the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) since he was locked up as a 16-year-old in 2014. As a minor housed with adults, Khalique was raped by two adult prisoners in Jackson, Michigan. When Khalique reported this violation to the Corrections Officers, he was told “This is prison, you’re going to grow up fast!”

Minors housed in adult prisons and jails are at least five times more likely to be sexually assaulted, 36 times more likely to commit suicide, and more likely to be held in solitary confinement.

Now, as an adult still held captive in the MDOC, Khalique has not seen any justice, healing, or care for the multiple episodes of sexual abuse that he has faced inside (he’s not the only one either). In fact, the retaliation he has faced from speaking up about his abuse has only doubled, underscoring how prisons only perpetuate gendered and sexual abuse, rather than addressing or preventing it.

In collaboration with supporters of Khalique Brewer, MAPS calls for a two-day phone zap targeting Governor Whitmer, MDOC Director Heidi Washington, and Attorney General Dana Nessel to demand immediate relief for Khalique. The demands are as follows:

  • Immediate medical attention for Khalique, including access to his inhaler
  • Immediate release of Khalique from the hole, full communication with his loved ones, and dismissal of his bogus retaliatory ticket
  • Immediate action to protect him from further retaliation and harm
  • Protection of all MDOC inmates from abuse and violations of their constitutional rights

This is why the call is to Free Them All, and this is why we fight for a world with autonomy for children, freedom from abuse, and freedom from policing and prisons!

How You Can Help!

* Sign the #JusticeForKhaliqueBrewer Petition

* Join the Phone Zap on August 7–8 (Monday and Tuesday)

Call the following three numbers and ask to leave a message:
MDOC Director, Heidi Washington
(517) 241-7238
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
(517) 335-7858
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel
(517) 335-7622
Suggested script:

“Hello, I’m calling about Khalique Brewer, a current MDOC inmate, #892805. Since he was 16 years old in 2014, Khalique has been subject to sexual and physical assault and verbal abuse by inmates and corrections officers. He has repeatedly reported the assaults and abuse, but MDOC, the legislature, and the governor’s office have fixed nothing. I’m calling to demand that Khalique be given immediate medical attention, including access to his inhaler. I also demand that he be released from the hole, given full access to communication with his loved ones, and that his retaliatory ticket be dismissed. And I demand that immediate action be taken to protect him from further retaliation and harm, and to protect all MDOC inmates from abuse and violations of their constitutional rights.”

Remember, you do not need to give a (real) name, number, or location to leave a message, even if you are asked for one. It is your choice.

If you would like to hide your phone number, dial *67 before dialing the rest of the phone number.

* Spread the word for #JusticeForKhaliqueBrewer

Phone Zap for Khalique Brewer Infographic with script and contact information: Script: Hello, I’m calling about Khalique Brewer, a current MDOC inmate, #892805. Since he was 16 years old in 2014, Khalique has been subject to sexual and physical assault and verbal abuse by inmates and corrections officers. He has repeatedly reported the assaults and abuse, but MDOC, the legislature, and the governor’s office have fixed nothing. I’m calling to demand that Khalique be given immediate medical attention, including access to his inhaler. I also demand that he be released from the hole, given full access to communication with his loved ones, and that his retaliatory ticket be dismissed. And I demand that immediate action be taken to protect him from further retaliation and harm, and to protect all MDOC inmates from abuse and violations of their constitutional rights. Governor Gretchen Whitmer, 517-335-7858, P.O. Box 30013, Lansing Michigan, 48909 Director of MDOC Heidi Washington, 517-241-7238, Grandview Plaza 206 E. Michigan Ave. P.O. Box 30003 Lansing, MI 48909 Attorney General Dana Nessel, 517-335-7622, Department of Attorney General 525 W. Ottawa St.

Justice for Khalique Brewer Phone Zap

Script: Hello, I’m calling about Khalique Brewer, a current MDOC inmate, #892805. Since he was 16 years old in 2014, Khalique has been subject to sexual and physical assault and verbal abuse by inmates and corrections officers. He has repeatedly reported the assaults and abuse, but MDOC, the legislature, and the governor’s office have fixed nothing. I’m calling to demand that Khalique be given immediate medical attention, including access to his inhaler. I also demand that he be released from the hole, given full access to communication with his loved ones, and that his retaliatory ticket be dismissed. And I demand that immediate action be taken to protect him from further retaliation and harm, and to protect all MDOC inmates from abuse and violations of their constitutional rights.

MDOC Director, Heidi Washington (517) 241-7238 Grandivew Plaza 206 E. Michigan Ave. P.O. Box 30003 Lansing, MI 48909 Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (517) 335-7858 P.O. Box 30013 Lansing, Michigan 48909 Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (517) 335-7622 Department of Attorney General 525 W. Ottawa St. Lansing, MI 48906

 

Posted in GeneralTagged abolition, call to action, phone zap, repost

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