Prison Abolitionists Target Architectural Firm

St. Louis Park, MN – Red paint and posters reading “No new jails” were plastered on the door of architectural firm Klein McCarthy at the beginning of the work day on September 9. Responding to a nationwide call-out for #ShutEmDown2021 actions on the anniversary of…

Anti-Prison Protest Raises Ruckus At Philly Youth Jail

Philadelphia, PA – On the evening of Thursday, September 9, several dozen anarchists gathered in West Philly for a noise demonstration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Attica prison uprising. After marching in the street for several blocks, the unannounced protest arrived at…

Open Carry March for Teenager Killed in Downtown Indy

Indianapolis, IN – Led by the family of Dorian Murrell, a teenager who was killed during George Floyd protests, an open carry march snaked through downtown Indianapolis demanding justice for Murrell and calling for Black unity. Murrell was 18 years old and unarmed when he…

Line 3 Opponent Sentenced to Thirty Days in Jail

Hubbard County, MN – On August 4, 2021, in the first trial prosecuting water protectors since active construction of the Line 3 pipeline in the state, one defendant was acquitted, and the other was found guilty by a jury on two misdemeanors—public nuisance and unlawful…

Midwest Connections: A Regional Fight For Abolition

A wave of prison abolition actions and demands have swept the United States every August since 1979 from inside the walls to outside. New groups in the Midwest such as Abolition Is a Practice and Community Not Cages (CNC) are carrying on the Black August…

Arthur “Cetewayo” Johnson Ordered Released After 51 Years in Prison

Philadelphia, PA – Longtime Pennsylvania prisoner Arthur “Cetewayo” Johnson, age 69, was ordered released today after five decades in prison, 37 years of which he spent in solitary confinement. Johnson had been convicted in the 1970 murder of Jerome Wayfield, when he was just 18. The…

Surviving Sexual Assault and Seeking Accountability

St. Paul, MN – Around the world there are millions of survivors of sexual assault and sexual violence, and for many of them, their stories go unheard and are rarely believed. In the U.S., nearly 1 in 5 women have been raped or have gone…

Corey, Dorian Murrell's cousin speaks into megaphone while standing next to family attorney Malik Shabazz and in front of a formation of Black Panther members, some of whom are armed

Charge Added to Dorian Murrell’s Alleged Killer as Family Speaks Out

Indianapolis, IN – Less than three weeks before the murder trial of Tyler Newby is slated to begin, the family of Dorian Murrell, who Newby is believed to have shot and killed, held a press conference in front of the City-County building in downtown Indianapolis.…

Ex-Cop Derek Chauvin Sentenced to 22.5 Years for George Floyd Murder

Minneapolis, MN – In a landmark ruling, Minnesota Fourth District Judge Peter Cahill sentenced convicted murderer and former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin to over 22 years in prison for the killing of George Floyd. This is now the longest sentence ever given to a…

Demanding the Passage of the Hardel Sherrell Act

Saint Paul, MN – Nearly three years after Hardel Sherrell’s harrowing death in Beltrami County Jail, a legislative act named after him aims to stop the dozens of deaths in Minnesota jail cells. After losing her only son at the young age of 27, Del…

Barbed wire fence surrounds Faribault prison in MN

COVID-19 Deaths in Minnesota Prisons Continue to Rise

Faribault, MN – At least eleven people in Minnesota state prisons have died from COVID-19 as of February 17, 2021. Nearly 4,000 inmates, or two out of every five prisoners, have tested positive for the coronavirus. Families and advocates of prisoners have consistently staged protests,…