_Leonard Peltier and other political prisoners send messages of support _

Washington, DC – 50 people gathered at Columbia Heights Civic Plaza, July 12, to demand compassionate release for Lynne Stewart. Music and speakers rallied the crowd, reaching thousands of passersby at this busy square during evening rush hour. Undaunted by rain, protesters passed out hundreds of flyers and collected petition signatures urging the release of Stewart, imprisoned on bogus terrorism charges for her work as a defense attorney. Although Stewart has stage four cancer and qualifies for early release based on compassionate grounds, the Bureau of Prisons has refused to release her.

Lynne Stewart, a heroic and long-time progressive lawyer, is serving a ten-year prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas for ‘material support of terrorism,’ after serving as defense attorney for Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman. On June 9 Fight Back! spoke with her husband, Ralph Poynter, about her case. Poynter is a Black community leader and retired New York City teacher.