URGENT CALL TO DEFEND THE UHURU MOVEMENT AGAINST IMPRISONMENT

By the Hands Off Uhuru Fightback Coalition, Popular Resistance. January 26, 2024 Organize! 

Stop The Legal Lynching Of Chairman Omali Yeshitela!

UPDATE: Federal judge rejects Uhuru 3’s Motion to Dismiss; Trial date expected to be set in February

On Friday, January 26, 2024 U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Porcelli in the federal district court of Tampa, Florida filed an order recommending that District Judge William Jung deny the Uhuru 3’s motion for dismissal of the bogus charges against Uhuru Movement founder and Black Liberation leader Chairman Omali Yeshitela, along with Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, two white solidarity organizers with the Uhuru Movement.

Last year the U.S. federal government indicted the Uhuru 3 on the absurd charges that Chairman Omali Yeshitela and the Uhuru Movement’s 50 year struggle for Black freedom suddenly became a “Russian-led conspiracy.”

The indictment came nine months after the violent military-style multi-city FBI raids on seven homes and offices of the Uhuru Movement on July 29, 2022.

The Uhuru 3 attorneys’ motion for dismissal called for the baseless charges to be dismissed on the grounds that they violate the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

The case is expected to go to trial later this year. Dates for the trial are expected to be set at a status hearing in February.

“The U.S. government has put us in the position of having to fight for the free speech that they claim is the cornerstone of U.S. democracy,” said Chairman Omali Yeshitela.

The Uhuru 3 each face a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. The Uhuru 3 case sparked the emergence of a global anti-colonial free speech movement led by the Hands Off Uhuru Fightback Coalition. Donate to the Hands Off Uhuru Legal Defense Fund at handsoffuhuru.org/donate

On July 29th of 2022, the FBI militarily raided seven homes and offices of the Uhuru (“Freedom”) Movement including the home of its founder and leader, Omali Yeshitela, Chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party. This video shows footage from the violent, unjustified raids. 


The U.S. government has fabricated the bogus charge that Chairman Omali and the Uhuru Movement are “Russian agents” to justify putting the 82-year-old Yeshitela in prison for the rest of his life and to silence him and his lifelong fight for the liberation of Africa and African people worldwide. Chairman Omali Yeshitela’s official statement can be read here.  

In April 2023, the Uhuru 3 (APSP Chairman Omali Yeshitela, APSC Chair Penny Hess, and USM Chair Jesse Nevel) were officially indicted and are facing trial and up to 15 years in prison for the bogus charges. 

A Motion to Dismiss the charges was written by Attorney Leonard Goodman and presented to federal court in the Middle District of Florida at an oral hearing on Sept. 28, 2023. Other members of the Uhuru 3 legal team including Attorneys Ade Griffin, Mutaqee Akbar and Angela Reaney were also present in the hearing along with the three defendants.  

As of January 2024, the DOJ has not responded to the motion and trial is pending.

Since its founding in 1972, the Uhuru Movement has organized for African liberation worldwide, building economic development and self-reliance programs in black working class communities such as the Black Power Blueprint in North St. Louis, MO. 

We are calling on all supporters of freedom of speech and justice around the world to show your solidarity with Chairman Omali Yeshitela and the Uhuru Movement at this critical moment in history! We are building a powerful Anti-colonial Free Speech Movement! Together we will push back these attacks on our movements and we will win!

We request organizations and individuals to become a member of the Hands Off Uhuru Fightback Coalition at HandsOffUhuru.org/coalition, and to raise funds for the legal defense. 

The FBI’s threat to imprison Chairman Omali represents a profoundly dangerous assault on the supposed constitutional rights to freedom of speech, as well as on all political expression and rights to assembly for which African people have historically fought and died in the United States. 

If Omali Yeshitela is silenced, the right to freedom of speech for everyone as we know it will be over! Drop the charges on Chairman Omali Yeshitela and the Uhuru 3! Hands off Chairman Omali Yeshitela! Hands Off the Uhuru Movement! 

What You Can Do: 

  1. Donate to the Legal Fund! $25,000 is urgently needed for legal fees. Donate at HandsOffUhuru.org/donate

  2. Join the Hands Off Uhuru Fightback Coalition as a member organization or individual at HandsOffUhuru.org/coalition

  3. Take to the Streets! Print informational flyers, posters, banners from our website. HandsOffUhuru.org/outreach

  4. Sign the Emergency Response Pledge and be prepared to pack the courtroom should we go to trial. HandsOffUhuru.org/emergency-response

  5. Write letters to your Congressperson and make the demand to Drop the Charges against Chairman Omali Yeshitela and the Uhuru 3.  

  6. Spread the word. Follow the Hands Off Uhuru campaign on social media and share updates from those pages: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok.

  7. Follow our events page at HandsOffUhuru.org/events

  8. Volunteer on the Hands Off Uhuru Committee. Go to handsoffuhuru.org/volunteer to sign up to get involved. Learn how you can start your own committee. 

  9. Sign up to receive updates at HandsOffUhuru.org homepage.


This blog site is a platform for all National and International Solidarity announcements such as events, rallies, and nationwide protests. This is part of the US-CubaNormalization.org, CubaSiNYNJCoalition.org solidarity movement on Cuba.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We The People RESIST: Cuba, Palestine, Haiti and Puerto Rico in Solidarity - César Omar Sánchez

Image
Updated, May 24th, 2024 On May 18th, I along with three comrades spoke at The People's Forum about the US Global Hegemonic Domination and its influence on other countries that are committing destructive and genocidal actions against other countries. (From left) Tamar Helmi, Berthony Duport, Terrence Freeman, and César Omar Sánchez What do Palestine, Cuba, Haiti, and Puerto Rico have in common? It's all part of a colonial project that has been going on for decades, some even centuries. The word solidarity nowadays is a word that gets tossed around too much during discussions. Many people don't know the true meaning of the word and yet use it for all the wrong reasons.  Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines solidarity as a feeling of unity between people who have the same community of interests or goals based on  certain  objectives and standards .  However , when it comes to standing up against the Capitalist system and Hegemonic countries like the United States,...
Read more

From Cuba to Palestine to the Hands Off Uhuru Movement - The Voice of People Continues to Amplify!

Image
May 30th, 2024 By Cesar Omar Sanchez "To resist radical evil is to endure a life that by the standards of the wider society is a failure. It is to defy injustice at the cost of your career, your reputation, your financial solvency and at times your life. It is to be a lifelong heretic. And, perhaps this is the most important point, it is to accept that the dominant culture, even the liberal elites, will push you to the margins and attempt to discredit not only what you do, but your character."  - Chris Hedges The U.S. Empire can no longer sustain itself with all the proxy wars occurring overseas. However, mainstream media and all major social media platforms are trying their best to suppress the truth that is going on around the world. This parasitic and destructive system that continues to break down the social fabric of humanity, drives people into despair and isolation. Speaking and showing support from Cuba to Palestine to all nations around the globe, we all know that we...
Read more

NYPD Fails It's Attempt To Provoke Violent Incident At Israel Day Parade

Image
By Veteran Black Panther Sadiki "Bro. Shep" Olugbala Below Photos Courtesy Of Ridhima H. Hegde  Organized by a new Anti-Zionist Organization named JAWS "Jews Against White Supremacy" neither the NYPD, sellout politicians nor the biased mainstream media were able to claim their usual bullshit by claiming that this past Sunday's "No To The Israel Day Parade" Counter Protest needed to be shut down because it was Anti-Semitic. So instead, they resorted to their usual tactics of allowing a group of Pro-Israel Zionists to leave the parade to stand directly in front of the No Parade Protesters and then sending a masked agent provocateur with an obviously just made-up "Kill The Hostages Now" sign into the protest. Contrary to what the New York Post story & video report portrayed this masked person, who is totally unknown to anyone in the group, was a part of the JAWS protest; It was our own security that immediately confronted the individual, ide...
Read more