from june11.org:
Statement from Jeff ‘Free’ Luers
Today is a sad day for me because I continue a legacy that started with me, but sadly does not end there. June 11th 2001 was the day I was sentenced to 22yrs and 8 months in prison. It is a day that both forever changed my life and the life of this struggle.
But, rather than collapse under the weight of the states repression we rose. It took time. It took years actually but in 2004, after 4 years in prison, my support group and I organized the first annual international day of solidarity with myself, Jeffrey Luers. It always feels weird to say that.
48 cities in a dozen countries spread across 4 continents held solidarity events and actions demanding my release. And those numbers held true the next and the year after that.
In 2006, the hammer really fell and what started with the arrests of Critter and me spread to radical communities across the nation. To this day the FBI is actively hunting down eco-saboteurs and activist both underground and above. We have numerous of our people in prison today: Marie Mason, Eric McDavid, Daniel McGowan, Nathan Exile Block, Joyanna Sadie Zacher, Grant Barnes, Michael Skyes, and Steve Murphy, with Briana Waters fate still unknown.
This June 11th marks the first international day of Solidarity with Eric McDavid, Marie Mason, and all our long-term anarchist political prisoners. We are here to honor them, support them, remind them that they are not forgotten, and most importantly to demand their release.
June 11th is a reminder to us that though we spend our days outside of a prison many of our friends and allies spend theirs behind bars having sacrificed what little freedom they had to fight for something greater than themselves. We have a responsibility to them and to ourselves to struggle and fight until all are free.
I may no longer be imprisoned, but I cannot and will not rest until my friends are back home with their families and our struggle for Earth, Animal, and Human liberation is successful.
We must free our political prisoners and prisoners of war.
Continue reading →