Issue no. 2 of the Militant, dated Jan. 20, 2025, has been banned at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Milton, Florida. A letter sent to the paper from a subscriber there said it “was impounded for no reason.” He attached the notice of impoundment from prison authorities.
It cites the front-page article, “Israel fights for right to exist as a refuge from Jew-hatred,” and a text box on page 7, “Jew-hatred, ‘racial purity’ at heart of Hamas program,” as the reason for the impoundment.
Prison officials say the ban will stand, “pending review by the Department’s Literature Review Committee,” because “the publication contains subject matter that is inadmissible.” It “presents a threat to the security, order, or rehabilitative objectives of the correctional system or the safety of any person.”
The article reports on political developments in the Middle East, explaining the importance of Israel’s fight to defend its existence as a refuge from Jew-hatred and pogroms, like the one carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, against Jews in Israel. The text box reports on how Hamas’ origins trace back to the Nazi Holocaust and Adolf Hitler’s determination to subject Jews to a “Final Solution.”
“These news articles simply report the facts about what is happening in Israel and Gaza and why all working people should oppose Jew-hatred,” Militant staff writer Seth Galinsky, the author of both, said. “At the same time, they point out the need for Jewish, Arab, immigrant and other workers to come together in defense of their common class interests. How could this possibly be a ‘threat to the security’ of the prison or the safety of anyone?”
There are 14 Militant subscribers at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution and 110 overall in Florida state prisons. Militant attorney David Goldstein, from the well-known constitutional rights law firm Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, is preparing the paper’s appeal to have the ban overturned.
The Florida prison system, the third largest in the country, has a long history of censoring literature. According to PEN America, Florida prison authorities have censored more than 22,000 books, the most of any state. Over the years, the Militant has fought a number of impoundments by Florida prison authorities, winning most of them.
Goldstein also represents the Militant in its ongoing fight against the ban of the Nov. 11, 2024, issue by the Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix, the largest detention center in Arizona. The prisoner notifying the Militant of this impoundment said he has subscribed for seven years, writing, “I am a fan of the Militant and love reading its content.”
Ongoing fight in Arizona
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office says this issue was impounded because “a photo on the cover of the newspaper” violated MCSO policy, which “does not allow photos of weaponry.”
The photo illustrates armed Hamas thugs seizing a woman and taking her hostage during the Oct. 7 pogrom. The photo — which appeared in newspapers all across the country and worldwide — accompanied a Militant article explaining why the fight against Jew-hatred and the potential for a new Holocaust is crucial to the working class in the Middle East and worldwide.
Goldstein appealed the Phoenix ban Jan. 13. The “confiscation of an inmate’s political literature violates the First Amendment,” he wrote. “It is discriminatory and arbitrary, in violation of the Militant’s right to Due Process and Equal Protection under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.”
The Militant currently has 307 prisoner subscribers in 29 states. “Workers behind bars are part of the world,” said John Studer, editor of the Militant. “The fight to defend their right to read political views of their choosing is important so they can form their own opinions and participate in politics.
“And the Militant has the constitutional right to have its views reach its subscribers behind bars,” he said.
Join the fight to get the Phoenix impoundment overturned! Mail letters urging the reversing of the ban to: Ancillary Services Division Commander, MCSO, 3250 W. Lower Buckeye Road, Phoenix, AZ 85009. Email a copy to mcsocentralmailroom@mcso.maricopa.gov, and also to themilitant@mac.com.