On September 18, in solidarity with the national prison strike now in its second week, a group of anarchists and others blockaded the road leading to the Correctional Officers Training Academy in Tucson, Arizona, occupied Tohono O’Odham land.
All prison guards in the Arizona state prison system must attend the 6-week training at COTA, and this action was timed to impede the arrival of the incoming class. Participants built barricades of chained together pallets, furniture and tires, adorned with banners reading “Free the Prisoners, Fire the Guards” and “No Pipelines, No Prisons.” Other banners were strung across the road, including one bearing only the names of Marcia Powell and Mariam Abdullah, both of whom were killed in the Perryville women’s prison. We remember them and will not stop fighting to destroy the institutions and individuals responsible for taking them from us.
Further down the road from the barricades, another group blocked the road with a large banner reading “Prison Strike Solidarity” and other signs, while pumping some great Fuck the Police tunes from a mobile sound system. On the count of three say ‘fuck the police’ – 1. 2. 3.
Some local residents in the extraordinarily wealthy area surrounding COTA called the police upon reaching the barricades despite being offered clearance. We decided to bail with the blockade still intact, successfully avoiding any police interaction. For future reference, COTA is located at 5601 West Trails End Road and is only accessible from the east end of the road, which dead-ends at a gated community. So, fuck everyone on that stretch, right?
Further down the road from the barricades, another group blocked the road with a large banner reading “Prison Strike Solidarity” and other signs, while pumping some great Fuck the Police tunes from a mobile sound system. On the count of three say ‘fuck the police’ – 1. 2. 3.
Some local residents in the extraordinarily wealthy area surrounding COTA called the police upon reaching the barricades despite being offered clearance. We decided to bail with the blockade still intact, successfully avoiding any police interaction. For future reference, COTA is located at 5601 West Trails End Road and is only accessible from the east end of the road, which dead-ends at a gated community. So, fuck everyone on that stretch, right?
via itsgoingdown.org
