IMC REPORTER AND FORMER POLITICAL PRISONER ARRESTED FOR ASKING A QUESTION

I appreciate the information, but I just wanted to let you know, I can read both upper and lower case, and appreciate it when people use them. Honest, I'll still read it if you're not shouting.

In the late 80's and early 90's, Chris was involved in the squatting movement of New York's Lower East Side. It was during this time that Chris and others founded the United Anarchist Front (UAF), a very close knit group. It was formed in Boston by Chris and a few others. The ideology of the group was influenced, and paralleled with the ideas of Action Directe (of France), and ALF, Animal Liberation Front. The group used direct action to resist oppression from the ruling class.

At first their actions were fairly scattered, but in a short period they realized they could be highly effective against the nazi/racist scene. What led directly to Chris' arrest happened in 1993. Chris took part in the raid on a house in Houston used by the American Front and the Confederate Hammerskins, fascist groups with a history of extreme violence. Chris broke into the house and destroyed nazi propaganda. The police found fingerprints that linked the action to Chris, and he was arrested later that year.

Chris was convicted of "breaking and entering with an intent to burglarize" and sentenced to 15 years, and a charge of attempted murder was also raised as a means to pressure Chris to implicate comrades. The bogus charge was dropped, however, when Chris couldn't be terrorized into turning in his friends.

Chris did not stop his organizing efforts after being imprisoned. The Texas system has a well-justified reputation for being a maelstrom of hate, terror and exploitation. One of the ways that control is maintained by the prison administration is by encouraging conflict between the different prisoners' nationalities/castes, or races. In spite of this environment, Chris was able to set up a prisoner organization called Cell One in Huntsville, former home of Texas' notorious Death Row.

One of Cell One's main projects was the Texas Prisoners Anarchist Lending Library (TPALL). With materials made available from outside supporters such as "Books-Through-Bars" in Philadelphia and "Break The Chains" (a defunct group in California), the Library made available books, pamphlets and magazines relevant to the struggles of the oppressed for liberation: Black/New Afrikan, Chicano, Native and class struggle histories, anarchist and other revolutionary theory, anti-sexist, anti-racist critiques, etc. In March of 1997, prison guards raided Chris under the pretense of investigating "gang activity." The guards disposed of the entire library as well as many of Chris' personal possessions.

In May 1997, Chris was transferred to the Hughes Unit in Gatesville, Texas. Soon after being transferred, Chris found himself in "lock down" (Administrative Segregation) for reasons unknown. On August 26, 1997, Chris was again under attack from the prison staff -- this time in retaliation for Chris speaking out in support of another prisoner, Tony Collins, who had just been convicted of possessing a gun. The prison guards had been threatening Mr. Collins' life, not an idle threat in the Texas prisons. After reaching outside support groups and threatened legal action to expose this, the guards seized and destroyed all of his property including important legal material.

Chris had to undergo repeated strip searches and cell searches which meant he was pulled out of his cell 13 times per eight-hour shift, and in Oct. 1997 he was paid a visit by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and was told they would be pressing charges for gun-smuggling. A conviction on these charges would result in 30 to 40 more years of prison.

Chris also has a paid hit on his life by the Aryan Brotherhood, the strongest and most organized racist group in prison. Although Chris is in Administrative Segregation, if he were let out into the general population of the prison, he would be killed within a week. Because of pressure from the outside support groups the bogus charges from the ATF have been dropped. Even though the daily harassment still continues, Chris continued to do the work necessary to fight fascism, racism, and the imperialist U.S. government that spawn hatred.

Documenters of Chris' case wrote: "We have, through records of his internal charges since imprisonment, inmate grievances, and testimonies of other inmates, a fairly solid picture of his life since imprisonment as an anti-racist anarchist prison organizer. We have testimonies of an inmate who overheard various Aryan Brotherhood members speaking about a 'hit' on Chrisâ??s life. Other testimonies describe certain guards trying to provoke him, attacking him among other provocations as a 'nigger-lover.' This entire story is backed up by both records of his own grievances filed and affidavits attached by several other inmates. The Compa Magon distro has received several requests for literature from people who have been turned on to anarchism through him, which shows his activity as an organizer. Another experience we have had of organizing with him was a hunger strike that inmates at Gatesville undertook last November to be granted the right to a vegetarian diet, which he hooked us up with and we were able to put out a call for letters and faxes in support of."

In January 2002, Chris walked out of prison after serving nearly a decade behind bars. He came out organizing, getting active with the Austin Anarchist Black Cross and became one of the main organizers of the Anarchist Black Cross Network 2002 conference. Today, he continues to speak out against racism, prisons and oppression.

quoted from Austin indy newswire "i just called him. couldnt be a greater guy. as for the question he asked. he said that it was a fairly mundane question. what percent of greveinces get a not guilty verdict??? i have talked to a few people that know him today and all said that it seemed that tdcj was just waiting to pounce on him"

This man is a nut case get him back in jail

The Chris Plummer Emergency Response Network was formed at the Anarchist Black Cross Network 2002 Conference this July to deal with the possiblity that Chris would be targeted the the State and/or fascists since his release. We must now step into high gear, as this bogus arrest could send him back to prison on a parole violation.

Right now we desperately need to raise funds for Chris' legal defense. He needs a good attorney. Please join the CPERN (simply hit the email link above and hit send), and please have a fundraiser in your area. Literature and materials on Chris' case can be provided for tabling. We also have t-shirts for sale.

We cannot let them take this brother down again!

Thanks,
Gumby
Break the Chains, Eugene
 breakthechains02@yahoo.com

Something tells me that Chris is going to be away for a long, long time.

Yes sirreee, asking a question is a serious offense in America these days.

You see, if we let Chris ask a question and get away with it, then some other fellow will get it in his mind that he can ask a question too. Before you know it, we'll have all sorts of people asking questions. That would be total anarchy, and of course we can't have that. That would be the end of America as the great free democracy that it is today.

So we've got to slap this Chris guy down hard so everyone else knows that they can't even think about asking a question. That's the only course we have to defend freedom.

every arrest has to be due to a violation, a misdeminnor or a felony. what was plummer charged with, and was it a legitimate charge: (i think not). the question is/was innocuous enough, certainly not threatening or embarrassing in any way. it sounds like nazi tactics in texas. i am not an anarchist by any means, but a good ole american. i believe in the constitution as being inviolate, and the pl;edge of allegiance as having moral if not legal teeth. even those i disagree with have a right to be heard, although not a right to be listened to. if plummer is harrassed for what he says, i might be next for calling goon bush a goon (both dub ya and jeb). this "arrest" was uncalled for, illergal and moreover unamerican and immoral. ole_grouch

I talked to the TDCJ office in a non-confrontational friendly way to get information on Chris's situation: The person I spoke to said that he had created a disturbance and was "Taken into custody" and "No charges have been filed" and "The matter is still under investigation" and it is "Still being looked at". Basically the guy wouldn't say that he had been arrested, he repeated "Taken into custody". I asked who by, and he said "The office of inspector general, they are the police for the TDCJ and they are real police."
He said that the format for the meeting was that written questions were allowed for submission and that questions asked aloud were not part of the format.