The Militant won another round in its fight against a series of bans on the paper by prison authorities April 30, when the Florida Department of Corrections Literature Review Committee reversed the impoundment of issues nos. 11, 12 and 14 at the Lancaster Correctional Institution in Trenton, Florida.
These issues had been banned for articles on the fight against the ban of three earlier issues, nos. 4, 5 and 6, at the Taylor Correctional Institution in Perry, Florida. Letters calling for the overturn of these bans have been sent to authorities by prominent civil liberties organizations, trade unionists and others.
To justify these impoundments, prison officials cite front-page articles reporting on labor-backed, disciplined protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement attacks on immigrants in Minneapolis earlier this year and the Militant’s call for amnesty for workers in the U.S. without papers.
In late March and early April, the bans on Militant issues nos. 8, 9, and 10 at Taylor were reversed. These issues had also been impounded for protesting the previous bans on issues covering the developments in Minneapolis. The fact that authorities have now reversed bans on six issues that were all impounded for reporting on the fight against the bans on issues 4, 5, and 6, undermines the argument they have claimed for those original impoundments.
With no explanation, the Literature Review Committee has upheld the prison officials’ ruling that the articles in issues nos. 4, 5 and 6 are “dangerously inflammatory” and encourage “riot, insurrection, rebellion, organized prison protest.” They also upheld the claim that nos. 4 and 5 are “a threat to the security, order or rehabilitative objectives of the correctional system.”
Call for special meeting
For the first time since it became an option in 2022, the Militant requested April 28 that the Florida Department of Corrections convene a special meeting of the Literature Review Committee to review and overturn its decision to uphold the ban on issues nos. 4, 5, and 6.
“The Militant requests the special meeting,” wrote Militant attorney David Goldstein, “both because it believes that a full and fair review by the LRC will result in the approval of the three issues as they present no legitimate security concerns, and because the Militant strongly believes that inmates should have access to political reporting on one of the most important current domestic issues in the U.S.
“This is not a matter that affects a small handful of inmates, as the Militant has approximately 135 subscribers in 31 state facilities in Florida.”
John Studer, editor of the Militant, is urging readers to approach union officials, organizations that defend civil liberties, churches and others to write letters to the Literature Review Committee asking them to reverse the bans.
“What’s at stake in this fight are the constitutional rights of prisoners to have access to developments in politics that affect them and all workers, and of the rights of the Militant to reach its readers behind bars,” Studer said. “As working people across the country confront the impact of the worldwide capitalist crisis, it’s important for prisoners to be able to form their own opinions.”