Outrage: Uhuru Convicted of “Conspiracy”

On September 12, a federal jury in Tampa, Florida, convicted three members and supporters of the black nationalist African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and its Uhuru movement of “conspiring” with Russians to “sow discord” in the U.S. Now, the Uhuru 3 —APSP chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel—face up to five years in prison. The jury found the activists not guilty of an even more serious charge of being unregistered “Russian agents,” carrying a possible ten-year sentence. A former Uhuru supporter, Augustus Romain, Jr. (Gazi Kodzo)—who cofounded the Black Hammer group in 2018—was also found guilty of “conspiracy.” Notably, during trial the judge excluded the only black juror and refused to seat a black alternate juror in her place. We demand: Drop all the charges!

The feds’ evidence was simply that the defendants exercised their First Amendment right to protest and issue propaganda against imperialism and black oppression. This included attending a 2015 anti-globalization conference in Moscow, promoting a 2017 “Petition to the United Nations on the Crime of Genocide Against African People” and siding with Russia in Ukraine. None of this is a crime! Prosecutors even raised the specter that Russia had “interfered” on Nevel’s behalf when he ran for mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2017. On the witness stand, an FBI agent admitted there wasn’t a shred of evidence for this ridiculous claim.

The Democrats posture as the “defenders of democracy” against Trump. But the Biden/Harris administration’s real face can be seen in their prosecution of the APSP and Uhuru, part of a drive to bolster the repressive apparatus of the capitalist state. The bosses’ courts have long relied on the charge of “conspiracy” against workers trying to organize. “Conspiracy” is a thought crime, to this day viciously wielded by prosecutors when they can’t show that any real crime was committed.

This witchhunt is a dangerous attack on the rights of free speech and association and a threat to labor, black people, socialists and anyone who opposes U.S. imperialism. It must be stopped dead in its tracks. Many black nationalist groups, socialists and community activists mobilized for the trial this month in solidarity. Sentencing dates have been set for November 18 (Kodzo) and November 25 (Uhuru 3), and appeals will follow. Even more forces must be mobilized for court. Uhuru is also asking that letters in their defense be sent to the judge. See HandsoffUhuru.org, Partisandefense.org and @partisandefense on X for updates. An injury to one is an injury to all! Despite our political differences with the APSP, it is necessary to mobilize broadly across the entire left and workers movements on a united-front basis to demand: Hands off Uhuru!

Fighting a federal witchhunt costs money. The Partisan Defense Committee, a class-struggle defense organization associated with the SL/U.S., has contributed $2,000 to Uhuru’s legal defense and urges others to donate at: every.org/hands-off-uhuru/f/hands-off-uhuru-legal.