banner
LightNews
interruptcrim.bsky.social
Interrupting Criminalization
@interruptcrim.bsky.social
8.5K followers 390 following 910 posts
Offering research, connection, learning, and practice for organizers and movements working to end criminalization, policing, and punishment. Founded and led by Andrea J. Ritchie and Mariame Kaba. Learn more at http://interruptingcriminalization.com/
interruptingcriminalization.com
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
interruptcrim.bsky.social
Interrupting Criminalization @interruptcrim.bsky.social · 11d
🗓️ Oct. 15 at 3-4 PM ET online: Please join us for a discussion of how to advance narratives that undermine authoritarianism and increase solidarity, featuring @dreanyc123.bsky.social, @lewispants.bsky.social, and @deanspade.bsky.social!

Register: www.interruptingcriminalization.com/events/all/f...
Event graphic for "Fighting Copaganda Under Authoritarianism: How to Advance Narratives That Undermine Authoritarianism & Increase Solidarity," taking place place on October 15, 3-4 PM ET, virtual, with Andrea J. Ritchie, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Dean Spade. The event information is in black text on a background of a collage of a thick red pain mark, tape, cutouts of a hand writing, an eye with electricity coming out of it, and a crossed-out mouth, as well as yellow and black scribbles.
44 78
interruptcrim.bsky.social
Interrupting Criminalization @interruptcrim.bsky.social · 2d
Looking to do some reading this weekend? Check out our Beyond Do No Harm reading guide, which shares articles, books + more for anyone wanting to dive deeper into topics around criminalization of care or providing care for criminalized populations: www.interruptingcriminalization.com/resources-al...
Graphic featuring a small thumbnail of a one-page resource, and text on a background composed of a tan and a dark blue column. The text reads: "Beyond Do No Harm Abolitionist Health Care "Back to School" Reading Guide. for anyone who wants to learn more & dive into topics around criminalization of care or providing care for criminalized populations." At the bottom, the URL "bit.ly/BDNHBackToSchool." A light drawing of a stethoscope is to the left of the resource.
8 24
interruptcrim.bsky.social
Interrupting Criminalization @interruptcrim.bsky.social · 2d
For anyone trying to figure out where to start when it comes to getting involved with organizing and activism, this zine is a helpful tool! It aims to be, as our co-founder @prisonculture.bsky.social writes, "the beginning of a bridge between information and action."
41 54
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
interruptcrim.bsky.social
Interrupting Criminalization @interruptcrim.bsky.social · 5d
October 25th: We are offering 5 different workshops for young people ages 14-17, based in NYC. These are completely free and will take place in-person, 11 AM-4 PM ET (with a snack break).

If you are or know a young person, invite them to sign up! www.interruptingcriminalization.com/communiversi...
Event flyer for Communiversity Youth Day, featuring a black line drawing of young people engaged in reading, discussing, and learning, highlighted yellow and on an orange background. Below on a yellow rectangle, black text with details about the event, and a QR code: "free + open to youth 14-17. prizes. connect to community. joyful activism! The workshops: The Circle Keepers’ Whose Voice? Our Voice! Bread Riot: How Food Connects To Power From Barricades Into Flowers: Abolitionist Artmaking Centering Authenticity, Connection, And Community Intro To Zine Making: Independent Publication For Radical Self Expression, Connection, And Community Prizes! Care space! Resource Block Party! Saturday 10.25.25 11am-4pm Youth ages 14 to 17, based in NYC, are invited to apply for these workshops. These workshops are NOT for adults. In order to attend sessions, young people will need to bring a signed waiver from a guardian or parent. RSVP today! bit.ly/ic-youthday25"
10 16
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
interruptcrim.bsky.social
Interrupting Criminalization @interruptcrim.bsky.social · 4d
We also have spots available for workshops that are happening next Saturday, Oct. 18, as part of our anti-criminalization Communiversity. These are in-person in NYC, sliding scale. Registration links in the thread ⬇️

Learn more and check out other courses we're offering through mid-November here:
Anti-Criminalization Communiversity in NYC: August-November 2025 — Interrupting Criminalization
Interrupting Criminalization and Women Building Up have partnered up to offer an anti-criminalization “Communiversity” series of workshops and classes, taking place in person in Brooklyn, starting mid...
www.interruptingcriminalization.com
1 4 7
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
prisonculture.bsky.social
Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 3d
Join us in person this Saturday at Communiversity. Lunch is provided. You'll learn some things. And also leave with a CSA bag of produce. I'll be facilitating a session about grassroots fundraising this week and there are two other excellent sessions to choose from too.
Communiversity Catalog — Interrupting Criminalization
www.interruptingcriminalization.com
1 16 53
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
dylanflesch.bsky.social
Dylan Flesch @dylanflesch.bsky.social · 3d
Happy #BannedBooksWeek. If you love libraries and hate censorship, I'd encourage you to do more than just read a banned book this week. Here are a few ideas:
1. Get involved in your local public library board
2. Join or start a friends group
3. Organize a people's assembly for your public library
2 88 190
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
prisonculture.bsky.social
Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 3d
Two new FTP resources that were shared this evening:

1. Friends of the Library 101 - www.librariesforthepeople.org/resources#fo... - created by FTP volunteers and designed by FTP steering committee member @kruttika.bsky.social - learn about from Friends of the Library groups are and do.
Resources — For The People
www.librariesforthepeople.org
2 51 79
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
heykellyjensen.bsky.social
skellyton bones jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 2d
How to be an informed, pro-library, anti-book ban voter in upcoming fall elections (if you have them) and well into the future.

Don't just celebrate banned books. Don't just read banned books. VOTE to support the democratic institutions creating access to them.

bookriot.com/library-elec...
Be an Informed Pro-Library, Pro-Literary Voter Now: Book Censorship News, October 10, 2025
Elections in several states will be coming up throughout the months of October and November. Here's how to be a pro-library voter.
bookriot.com
1 98 190
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
victorialaw.bsky.social
Victoria Law @victorialaw.bsky.social · 3d
nysfocus.com/2025/10/08/b... #bannedbooksweek
New York’s Biggest ICE Detention Center Bans Book Deliveries
Rejected books include a Spanish-English dictionary, a Spanish translation of a George R.R. Martin novel, and "The Seven Principles for Making Marriage…
nysfocus.com
2 58 83
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
harmscommitted.com
Harms Committed @harmscommitted.com · 3d
"[C]ruel and unusual punishment."

"Plumbing issues, vermin infestations, feces-covered walls, and limited access to basic hygiene products, such as soap or tampons, are common complaints."

"I haven't had a shower in three to four weeks."
#Missouri #Ohio #Mississippi #USA #Incarceration
Why America’s Jails Are So Disgusting
Understaffing, outdated facilities and poor management have led to filthy conditions in jails in St. Louis, Cleveland and Hinds County, Mississippi.
www.themarshallproject.org
1 29 59
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
equalityalec.bsky.social
alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 3d
I'm proud to have been involved in this new musical documentary by Robe Imbriano about the horrors of the money bail system and the Harris County jail. It was many years in the making, but it has finally premiered for the public today: www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
A Musical Indictment of the Harris County Jail in “Criminal”
Robe Imbriano’s documentary short uses music and animation to illustrate the grave injustices taking place at Houston’s notorious jail and in the cash-bail system at large.
www.newyorker.com
2 31 81
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
jackjenkins.me
Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 5d
Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.
(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray. “I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.” But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire. “We could hear them laughing,” Black said.
200 4.9K 11K
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
heartlandsignal.bsky.social
Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.bsky.social · 2d
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) says he has been denied 4 times to see what is going on inside the Broadview, IL ICE facility:

"Something's going on in there that they don't want us to see. I don't know what it is, but all Americans should be asking the same question."
51 860 2.1K
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
newrepublic.com
The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 2d
His slip of the tongue reveals who’s really in charge. trib.al/mIvP0yE

“Illinois governor says we’re provoking actions that are unlawful,” Miller said on CNN. “If I put federal law enforcement and National Guard into a nice sleepy Southern town, is anyone gonna riot?”
1.6K 8K 20K
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
royalpratt.bsky.social
Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 2d
ICE went after rideshare drivers at O’Hare today, according to statement from Illinois Drivers Alliance
64 1.1K 2.2K
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 2d
“.. Frank Miranda, 46, filmed ICE agents confronting him before work on Oct. 2, demanding that he answer questions about where he was born. When he refused, agents threatened him with a dog ..”

@davidjbier.bsky.social
www.wweek.com/news/2025/10...
47 500 920
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
maggietokudahall.bsky.social
Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 2d
Today my daughter's preschool is holding a farewell assembly for one of her classmates whose mother has no choice but to self deport. The school is hoping it will be joyful in tone, so we might make this less upsetting for this 3 year old.

There's just no words for the uselessness of this cruelty.
18 2.3K 10K
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
jasonkoebler.bsky.social
Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 5d
NEW: In May, a Texas police department said they used the powerful Flock surveillance network against a woman who had an abortion "for her safety"

Newly obtained court records show it was a 'death investigation,' and they considered charging her with a crime

www.404media.co/police-said-...
Police Said They Surveilled Woman Who Had an Abortion for Her 'Safety.' Court Records Show They Considered Charging Her With a Crime
Court records show that the narrative Flock and a Texas Sheriff's Office has told the public isn't the whole story, and that police were conducting a 'death investigation' into the abortion.
www.404media.co
30 760 1.4K
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
ifwhenhow.bsky.social
ifwhenhow @ifwhenhow.bsky.social · 5d
"Police and prosecutors constantly lie to the media to punish women and protect themselves...That is especially true as police continue to collaborate with abusers in their efforts to harass and torment their victims." - Elizabeth Ling, If/When/How

Read more: jessica.substack.com/p/texas-abor...
josephcox.bsky.social
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 5d
New from 404 Media: police used a nationwide network of Flock cameras to search for a woman who self-administered an abortion, said it was for her 'safety'. But new docs show they considered charging her with a crime as part of a 'death investigation' into the fetus
www.404media.co/police-said-...
Police Said They Surveilled Woman Who Had an Abortion for Her 'Safety.' Court Records Show They Considered Charging Her With a Crime
Court records show that the narrative Flock and a Texas Sheriff's Office has told the public isn't the whole story, and that police were conducting a 'death investigation' into the abortion.
www.404media.co
1 4 5
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
susanrinkunas.com
Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 2d
New from me on @autonomynews.co: The popular abortion pill resource Plan C relaunched this week with a new design that better displays the many, many options for medication abortion in all 50 states
autonomynews.co
Autonomy News @autonomynews.co · 2d
The online abortion pill guide @plancpills.bsky.social has been redesigned to make it even easier to learn where to get pills, including at no cost. The redesign comes as state officials have threatened investigations and potential lawsuits against the organization.

An Autonomy News exclusive:
Exclusive: Plan C Doubles Down on Abortion Pill Info Amid Political Attacks
The online abortion pill guide has been redesigned to make it even easier to learn where to get pills, including at no cost.
www.autonomynews.co
1 93 200
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
hammerandhope.bsky.social
Hammer and Hope @hammerandhope.bsky.social · 4d
Capacity is filling up quickly for our 10/13 teach-in on the life and work of Assata Shakur with @dreamhampton.bsky.social and @monifabandele.bsky.social in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. Become a member today and RSVP at the link below!
We can't wait to see you. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Hammer & Hope Teach-In: The Life and Work of Assata Shakur
Please use this form to RSVP! If you have any questions, contact [email protected]. Location: Gladys Books & Wine | Bed Stuy, 306 Malcolm X Blvd, Brooklyn, NY 11233 Date: Monday, Oct. 13, T...
docs.google.com
16 31
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
haymarketbooks.org
Haymarket Books @haymarketbooks.org · 4d
No War on Chicago
No War Anywhere
No War on Chicago; No War Anywhere!
“The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to ga...
www.haymarketbooks.org
1 63 150
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
prisonculture.bsky.social
Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 3d
I'm told that I don't do this enough and it's true. I have written a number of books and zines. You can find some of them here: www.haymarketbooks.org/authors/854-... -scroll down
Haymarket Books
Haymarket Books is a radical, independent, nonprofit book publisher based in Chicago.
www.haymarketbooks.org
2 27 84
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
mskellymhayes.bsky.social
Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 3d
I donated some copies of Let This Radicalize You for distribution at an ICE watch training for folks who want to join school patrols in a nearby neighborhood. Not everyone got a copy, because 120 people showed up for that training tonight. I am endlessly proud of Chicago.
A display of copies of Let This Radicalize You on a table in front of a sign that reads: "Let This Radicalize You offers stories, strategy and heart for the kind of collective care and resistance we're building together today. It helps us move from reacting to organizing. Showing how ordinary people protect each other, build power, and keep hope alive. Take a copy. Read it. Stay connected."
20 420 2.1K
Reposted by Interrupting Criminalization
prisonculture.bsky.social
Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 2d
They are not planning "a violent crackdown" on 10.18. What they are doing is sending a signal to their shock troops to try to cause havoc. But those shock troops will be vastly outnumbered. Go out and protest freely. Do not be cowed.
24 1.3K 4.1K