The message  below is excerpted from an Oct. 9 statement posted on handsoffuhuru.org. The Uhuru 3 – African People’s Socialist Party Chairman Omali Yeshitela and supporters Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel – were acquitted on Sept. 13 of bogus federal charges accusing them of being Russian agents. However, they were found guilty of the lesser charge of  “conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. government,” which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

There is an urgent need for “character” letters to be sent via email to the sentencing judge by Oct. 15. Go to HandsOffUhuru.org/Letters

At the sentencing hearing set for November 25, 2024 in Tampa, Florida, the U.S. government intends to lock up Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, known as the Uhuru 3, for up to five years in federal prison for the “thought crime” of conspiracy. This is an urgent call to fight back and demand: “Not one day in prison!! Free the Uhuru 3! Hands off Chairman Omali Yeshitela!”

The use of the political charge of 18 USC 371, the federal crime of “conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. government,” is an attempt to establish a precedent by which the U.S. government can openly attack, criminalize and imprison those who exercise their constitutional right to free speech to speak out against colonialism, genocide and imperialist wars.

The outrageous conviction of the Uhuru 3 on false “conspiracy” charges is an attack on the Uhuru Movement’s more than 50 years of work to build political and economic power in the hands of the African working class. It is a desperate and vicious attempt to destroy the Uhuru Movement’s programs for African economic self-reliance including doula training programs for African women, farmers markets, community gardens, and workforce programs for Africans coming out of the colonial prison system.

The threat to imprison Chairman, along with two white Uhuru Solidarity leaders who work under the Party’s leadership, is also an assault on the Party’s work to build a principled relationship of solidarity from white people with the African community’s struggle for self-determination. 

The U.S. government suffered a humiliating defeat when the Uhuru 3 won an acquittal on the main charge against them, absurdly alleging that they were “Russian agents.” Now the federal prosecutors plan to use the framed-up “conspiracy” conviction to put the leader of the African Revolution behind bars. But the movement of the people can stop them! Now is the time to mobilize, write letters to the judge ahead of the sentencing hearing and make plans to be in Tampa, Florida to pack the court on November 25! 

Take Action:

1. Write for Justice: Letters to the Judge in Support of the Uhuru 3. Our goal is to gather at least 500 letters for each of the Uhuru 3 by the October 15 deadline. Your letters are critical in helping the court understand the positive impact of their decades-long fight for justice and self-determination. These letters to each person should be sent to their specific attorneys and will be used to argue for a lenient sentence at their sentencing hearing. Go to HandsOffUhuru.org/Letters
2. Pack the Courthouse! Attend the Uhuru 3 sentencing in Tampa, Florida on Monday, November 25. Go to HandsOffUhuru.org for more info.
3. Donate to the Hands Off Uhuru Legal Defense Fund. Fund the ongoing fightback as we prepare to launch our appeal to overturn the bogus conspiracy conviction. Go to HandsOffUhuru.org/Donate.

Not one day in prison!

Hands off Chairman Omali Yeshitela!

Hands off the Uhuru 3!