Help Brian Church of the NATO3 get back to Florida!!

The short story:

PLEASE HELP BRIAN CHURCH OF THE NATO3 MAKE HIS WAY BACK HOME TO FLORIDA!! After being held captive in Chicago for more than 3 years, he has finally been cleared to return home to his family. Please help us send him off properly, with love and support for all he has been through.

DONATE VIA PAYPAL TO: rachelallshiny@yahoo.com

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SOLIDARITY!

(Brian does not have a PayPal account of his own but all donations will be passed along to him in cash. Feel free to tweet @redwolfchurch to verify that he received your donation. If you are in Chicago and would prefer to donate cash in person, contact @redwolfchurch or @allshiny to make arrangements.)

The long story:

More than 3 years ago, in April 2012, Brian Jacob Church went on a road trip with some friends to participate in protests in Chicago, including the annual May Day march, the occupation of recently shuttered mental health clinics, and opposition to the NATO summit.

As you may have heard, Brian and his friends were approached by undercover Chicago police officers, who were posing as fellow protesters. "Mo" and "Gloves" befriended the out-of-state activists, got drunk with them, and encouraged them to talk about more "militant" actions - while recording every conversation. Ultimately, a little bit of gasoline was poured into 4 beer bottles, CPD providing material support at every turn, and these "Molotov cocktails" were deemed threatening enough to charge Brian Church and two others with multiple counts of terrorism.

The three activists, who became known as the NATO 3, took the terrorism charges to trial. (Two other activists faced with charges related to the CPD undercover operation ended up accepting non-cooperating plea agreements.) The NATO 3 were acquitted of ALL terrorism-related charges, but convicted of lesser charges involving possession of an incendiary device and mob action.

You can read more about the case and trial here: http://firedoglake.com/2014/02/04/nato-3-trial-only-person-to-talk-about-terrorizing-chicago-was-an-undercover-cop/

Brian was incarcerated for a total of two and a half years. He was released from IDOC in November 2014 and has been living in Chicago on house arrest ever since. Although his movement has been severely limited while on house arrest, Brian used his newfound freedom to speak out about CPD's abusive tactics, specifically his detention at the secretive Homan Square facility with no access to a lawyer. You can watch his interview with The Guardian here: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2015/feb/24/homan-square-chicago-black-site-video

Brian recently joined a class action lawsuit against the city along with others who have been detained unlawfully at Homan Square. Their first court date is next week, July 15th.

THE GOOD NEWS IS: Brian has finally been approved to transfer his parole back to his home state of Florida. He has been trying to make his way back home from that road trip he started 3 years ago, and his goal is finally within reach. He expects to leave Chicago immediately after his court date next week and begin driving back to Florida.

Brian needs our help to get home. He will need money for gas, food, and other necessities along the way. Please don't leave our comrade stranded on the final leg of his journey.

DONATE VIA PAYPAL TO: rachelallshiny@yahoo.com

(Brian does not have a PayPal account of his own but all donations will be passed along to him in cash. Feel free to tweet @redwolfchurch to verify that he received your donation. If you are in Chicago and would prefer to donate cash in person, contact @redwolfchurch or @allshiny to make arrangements.)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SOLIDARITY!