The fight to lift the ban on the Nov. 11, 2024, Militant by authorities at Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix is an important part of defending the constitutional freedoms of all working people, whether you’re inside or outside prison walls.
“This impoundment violates the political rights of prisoners to read the political literature of their choice and to form their own opinions about important political developments in the U.S. and worldwide,” said Militant editor John Studer. “It deals a blow to freedom of the press, including the right of the Militant and other publications to reach their subscribers behind bars.”
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office says the issue, no. 42, was impounded because of “a photo on the cover of the newspaper that was found to violate MCSO policy,” which “does not allow photos of weaponry.”
The photo showed armed Hamas thugs seizing a woman and taking her hostage during the Oct. 7, 2023, pogrom the reactionary outfit carried out in Israel, leaving over 1,200 people dead, most of them Jews. The photo — which was in newspapers in the U.S. and worldwide — accompanied a Militant article explaining why the fight against Jew-hatred and the potential for a new Holocaust is crucial for the working class.
This impoundment is an “assault on the First and 14th Amendments,” John Cotman, an associate professor emeritus of the Political Science Department at Howard University, wrote to the Maricopa County jail authorities Feb. 5. “The article in question condemns Hamas’ cowardly terrorism and stated intent to physically exterminate all Jews in Israel. I wonder if the Lower Buckeye County Jail banned all news stories containing this image. I doubt it.
“As a college educator I spent 30 years introducing students to a variety of unpopular political opinions to allow them to develop the critical thinking skills necessary for engaged citizenship,” he wrote. Those incarcerated “have the unalienable right to read and think for themselves. Please reverse this anti-democratic decision.”
Militant attorney David Goldstein filed an appeal of the ban Jan. 13. Since then letters from around the U.S. and worldwide have been sent by organizations defending civil liberties, including Amnesty International USA, unionists and other defenders of prisoners’ political rights to jail authorities in Phoenix urging them to reverse the ban. More letters are needed. Mail them to Ancillary Services Division Commander, MCSO, 3250 W. Lower Buckeye Road, Phoenix, AZ 85009. Email a copy to mcsocentralmailroom@mcso.maricopa.gov, and to themilitant@mac.com.