A Nonviolent American Peace Activist Charged With “Terrorism”

By politicaltheatrics

Published: April 23, 2010
Posted in: Palestine, Resistance

Dear all,

The following is a copy of a letter written by a brave young man named Raphael Mc Namara (pictured on the left).  Raphael, a pacifist voice for those who are deprived from it, was  arrested months ago, and has since been held  in a Federal prison in U.S. for “terrorism“.

Raphael McNamara’s story is chilling and goes to show you that our freedoms are indeed in jeopardy.

Dear Friends,

As most of you know, I was homeless, I slept on the street but the snowstorm over the holidays of 09 pushed me to seek shelter. I ended up sleeping in a Parking Garage near the Community College of Philadelphia. On Dec 28th, a security guard found me sleeping under a heater in that parking garage. When he went to call the police, I ran, leaving all my property, including my laptop computer. As you can guess, my computer is full of Human Rights and Political material, and I had books by Ilan Pappe, Norman Finkelstein, Noam Chomsky and the most “Anti-American” propoganda ever – Human Rights reports.

 They proceeded to do a search outside the building, and found a 12 oz beer bottle next to a generator with gas in it.

I was arrested about two weeks later on Trespassing, Burglary, Incendiary device, etc. At a preliminary hearing, the burglary was dropped. The Feds picked up the case, now calling the beer bottle a bomb, which I can get 10 years for, and since the beer bottle was made in another state, they charged me with affecting Interstate Commerce – which holds another 10 years! They have taken my DNA and fingerprints, and neither link me to the 12 oz bomb.

So they have a tough case to prove. The reason I am reaching out to you is that they have tried to bring in my activism and falsely characterize me. They lied – saying I am a Muslim, and have terrorist connections to the middle east. They took a picture of the beer bottle next to an anti-apartheid flyer about Israel and Palestine. They coined the human rights books, as well as those by Jewish and Israeli authors, as anti-Israel. They even brought in that I was sleeping near an INS building! All the time not providing one piece of evidence of a plan or plot to use it, or me Ever planning, plotting or calling for violence. Quite the contrary, I am a vocal voice for non-violence!

While some can say “I told you so” and others should mock me as their innocent sons, brothers, and husbands face life in prison, or are rounded up in the middle of the night in Nil’in or sit in internment camps in Sri Lanka… All I can say is this is why I will never bow or relent, and ask for your help now. I can’t claim to be an equal to the oppressed people around the world, but I hope to pay homage with my non-violent actions.

Please write me at this address
Raphael McNamara, #56100-066
FDC Philadelphia
PO Box 562
Philadelphia, PA 19108

Please provide any assistance with legal associations, law students or lawyers is needed.
Any media contacts or help contacting the media.

This is written from the 8th floor of the Federal Detention Center on 7th and Arch in the city of brotherly love.

(Typed by Raphael’s Aunt)

Our goal is to raise awareness, for the sake of freedom of speech, Palestine, and Human Rights. The struggle he was supporting is the struggle of all humankind.
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River to Sea  Uprooted Palestinian