'WHO IS MARIUS MASON?

Marius Mason s an anarchist, environmental
and animal rights activist currently serving
nearly 22 years in federal prison for acts of
property damage carried out in defense of
the planet. After being threatened with a life
sentence in 2009 for these acts of sabotage,
he pled gilty to arson charges at a Michigan
State University lab researching genetically
modified organisms for Monsanto, and
admitted to 12 other acts of property
damage. No one was physically harmed in
these actions. At sentencing the judge
applied a so-called “terrorism enhancement,”
adding almost two years to an already
extreme sentence requested by the pro-
secution. This is the harshest punishment of
anyone convicted of environmental sabotage
to date.

Marius is incarcerated in the high security
‘Administration Unit at the Federal Medical
Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, a unit
“designed for female inmates with histories
of escapes, chronic behavior problems,
repeated incidents of assaultive or predatory
behavior, or other special management
concerns...” Marius did not have a record of
violating prison rules. It appears he i being.
held in this unit because of his political
beliefs and in an effort to silence him.

Marius came out to his friends, family and
supporters as transgender in 2014,
Previously known as “Marie Mason,” he
changed his name, uses male pronouns, and

embarked on a course to get a medical
diagnosis that would allow him to seek gender
affirming surgery and hormone therapy. The
Board of Prisons (BOP) has already diagnosed
Marius as having gender dysphoria, and has
‘made some clothing and commissary
accommodations in accordance with their
established policy. Subsequently, Caswell has
been running a plethora of medical diagnostic
tests to screen him as being healthy enough to
receive the care he has requested, and this pro-
cess is now inits second year. That time frame
ignores the stress of being denied medical care
for the gender dysphoria, which includes
depression and anxiety; and physical symp-
toms consistent with stress. A real concern is
that, as the years drag on, Marius’s age alone
will preclude him from accessing surgery and
hormone therapy he needs.

Marius has a long history of activism going
back o his high school years. Born in 1962, his
early activism included anti-war and environ-
mental organizing, as well as anti-nuclear work
and service with the anarchist publication, the
Fifth Estate. Marius maintains a relationship
with that publication to today. As Marius deep-
ened his involvement in environmental and
animal rights campaigns he organized or

helped organize non-violent civil disobedience
direct action campaigns, including actions to
protect public lands, tree-sits to protest develop-
ment, and anti-fur demonstrations. Marius”
advocacy also involved much work with many
conservation and human rights groups tackling
issues of water grabs and poverty, while also
fighting to create local spaces like community

gardens. His work spans many organizations,
such as Earth First!, Sweetwater Alliance,
Food Not Bombs, ADAPTT (Animals
Deserve Protection Today and Tomorrow);
and through Anarchist Black Cross, also
worked on getting books into prisons. He
was active on workers’ rights issues, prim-
arily though involvement with the Industrial
Workers of the World (IWW) for nearly

two decades.

An accomplished artist, poet, and musician,
Marius has continued to build his artistic
skills in prison. Those expressions bring
solace in a place that works hard to crush
and erase it. Marius’s beautiful paintings
often speak to the struggles and issues that
he continues to care about from inside the
prison walls. Many pieces can be found on
his website.

Marius has been involved in so much activ-
ism on righteous causes and has done so
much good in the world, that it is especially
tragic he s caged in particularly egregious
conditions serving the longest sentence of
any of the so-called “Green Scare” prisoners.

‘The unfaimess of his sentence becomes
clear when compared to those meted out to
others. By contrast, a man who set an
“arson for profit” fire that paralyzed a
Detroit firefighter and injured six of his
colleagues was sentenced to a maximum of
seven years in prison, the norm for arson
charges.
‘There is no accountability in this
system of injustice. It is urgent that we
work o support Marius and other
political prisoners and confront out-
rageous prison terms.

Please let Marius and other prisoners
know you care. Witing letters is one of
the most important things you can do:
letters are a lfeline for those inside
prison walls. As a federal prisoner, he
has not been able to effect his name
change through legal channels, so it is
important for mail to be addressed to
“Marie (Marius) Mason” on the en-
velope, along with his prisoner number.

Write to Marius:
Marie* Mason #04672-061
FCI Danbury

Route 37

Danbury, Connecticut 06811
*Address cards/envelopes to Marius.

Marius’ birthday is January 26th

More information:
supportmariusmason.org
facebook.com/supportmariusmason
instagram: @supportmariusmason
Contact:
supportmariusmason@riseup.net

Local groups supporting Marius Mason:

NYC Anarchist Black Cross

NYC Anarchist Black Cross is a collective
focused on supporting US-held political
prisoners and prisoners of war and opposing
state repression against revolutionary social
justice movements.

NYC ABC

Post Office Box 110034
Brooklyn, New York 11211
nycabe@riseup.net
nycabe.wordpress.com
facebook, twiter, instagram
@nycabe

New York City Jericho Movement
Post Office Box 670927

Bronx, New York 10467
nycjericho@gmail.com
jerichony.org,

MARIUS MASON