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How to Support (accused) Earth Liberation Prisoner Ryan Lewis

by sacramento prisoner support
Updates and Information on Ryan Lewis’s Case and How To Support Him.
A Federal Grand Jury has been convened to invesitgate the case and area anarchists.
ryanlewis.jpg
On Tuesday February 8 the FBI arrested Newcastle resident Ryan Daniel Lewis in connection with a recent ELF action. Lewis is being charged with arson and attempted arson of a commercial building.

Since the end of December three ELF actions have occurred in the Sacramento area. Two attempted arsons at developments in Auburn and Lincoln were claimed by an ELF communiqué sent to the Auburn Journal and the Sacramento Bee. A third successful arson at an apartment complex in Sutter Creek was discovered with graffiti that said “WE WILL WIN-ELF”.

Lewis is charged only with the attempted arson in Auburn and the FBI continues to investigate all three incidences. Lewis was arraigned Thursday and appointed a federal public defender. The FBI has yet to reveal what evidence, if any, it has against Lewis. The criminal complaint against him and the search warrant were sealed in US District court in Sacramento.

Lewis’s case is being prosecuted by US Attorney McGregor Scott. Scott, who once commanded an infantry unit on the streets of LA during the 1992 riots, has made a name for himself as District Attorney of Shasta County and a member of the board of directors of the California District Attorneys Association. Scott made news last May when he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee asking them to expand the scope of 18 U.S.C. Section 43 (covers “animal enterprise terrorism”) to ban the legal activities of groups like Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty.

The FBI investigation into the ELF actions is ongoing. The US Attorney has also convened a grand jury to investigate the recent ELF actions. They have begun visiting area anarchists, suponeaing witnesses, and will hear testimony on February 24th. (Whether or not this is the first day, we are unsure). These procedings are not open to the public.

Lewis is currently being held without bail in the Sacramento County Main Jail. He is reportedly being treated well and is in good spirits. He has a bail hearing on Thursday February 17 at 2pm at the Federal Court House in Sacramento at 501 I Street (on the 8th floor). At this hearing it will be determined whether or not he must remained incarcerated until his trial.

You can support Ryan Lewis by attending this hearing.

In the case that he is not released on bail tomorrow, please send letters of support to:
Lewis, Ryan X-4101338 5E225B
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
USA

If Ryan is to remain in custody, he likes the idea of having books sent to him.

If you are from the Sacramento area and have been visited by the FBI about this, please get in contact. You are not alone and there are resources available to help you and people willing to support you. ALSO! If you are visited by the FBI it is important to not talk to them! Their job is to investigate. They are trying to put you or your friends behind bars. You legally do not have to speak with them or answer their questions. Simply state that you wish to speak with your attorney (even if you don’t have one) or that you will have your attorney contact them. Take down their names and the names of their superiors and any other information you can. For more advice on dealing with the FBI, please read “If an Agent Knocks” which is available online on countless websites, including:
http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ ALFront/ELF/IfanAgentKnocks.pdf

For more information on Grand Jouries, please read the infoshop.org guide to grand jury investigations at: http://www.infoshop.org/breakingglasspress/GrandJuries.PDF
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Comments (Hide Comments)
by tkat
From experience, please check with the correctional facility to determine what kind of books (new or used) he is able to recieve and from whom (bookstore or individual). If you the support people can post those details/guidelines, it would be helpful to people that want to support him.
Also anything that you send to a prisoner is read by the prison and some titles with expressly political nature may not reach the prisoner.
by Sacramento Prisoner Support
Books can be sent to the Sacramento County Main Jail (where Ryan Lewis is currently incarcerated). Here is a description of their policy taken off their website: "The Jail will not accept books, newspapers or magazines mailed from a book store or an individual. Books, newspapers and magazines will ONLY be accepted directly from the publisher or through online services (Amazon, Barnes and Noble….etc.) on behalf of the inmate. Any material that appears to be obscene or tends to incite murder, arson, riot, racism or otherwise compromises the security of the facility will not be accepted." You can find mailing instructions and locate a prisoner by going to the following website
http://www.sacsheriff.com/inmate_information/index.cfm
by Sacramento Prisoner Support
The criminal complaint against Ryan Lewis has been unsealed. Here is a link to it for those interested in reading it.
http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2005/02/18/news/top_stories/02complaint.txt
by framed anarchist
Just wondering how much money the developers get from insurance corporations every time there is a supposed "eco-terrorist" attack. Some developers are really smart (even though they make unwise decision, they are very shrewd in business dealings), they could possibly write a letter from an "anarchist" perspective and leave a crimethinc address. Not that difficult for anyone to do, just takes a little reading time..

Simultaneously they demonize anarchists and environmentalist while getting insurance money for future development projects..
by Brewster
See: definition of misanthropy

Lewis lived with his parents in a custom two-story home located in an upscale semi-rural community dotted with ranch retreats. Lewis drove a full-sized pickup (gift from his parents). His parents own and operate the Sunset Ridge Orchard in Newcastle; a for-profit agrobiz.

Lewis and friends firebombed a development planned for affordable housing (i.e. working class folks who can't afford the kind of affluent spread Lewis enjoyed). IOW, Lewis didn't want any of those 'little people' coming in and building houses that would spoil his own 'picturesque' view.

Typical econarcissist and envirohypocrite.

Its never their homes (built from murdered trees), nor the property it is built on (which at some point was pristine habitat), nor the personal internal combustion vehicles they drive (often flashy or trendy imports), nor the computers they use, nor the electricity they consume, et. al., that are part of the problem. After all, they are Very Important People.

Its all those 'other' people who are killing the planet (i.e. those who do not share their hate for humanity).

Environmental and anti-development extremists typically are affluent whites whose motives are purely selfish (not in my back yard...I was here first). If it were 1850, environmentalists and anti-development extremists would be architects of the Black Code and Jim Crow.

I was almost one of them, when a population surge fueled development in the quaint and scenic semi-rural community I grew up in. I would drive by the housing developments and think "They're ruining it!" ("it" being my personal view and enjoyment of the natural surroundings)

But then it struck me how brazenly hypocritical and narcissistic it was for me to believe I had a right to live there in a home built from murdered trees on land that was surely pristine habitat at one time, but nobody else had a right to do the exact same thing my parents and I were guilty of.

If Lewis (and friends) were true believers of ELF principles, he would have firebombed his own house and his family's for-profit agrobiz first. They never do, its always someone else (usually less privileged).
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