Broadcast on Tues., December 27, 2022
See below for sound file of program.
Marius Mason with his Artwork
Out-FM aired an in-depth look at a little-known trans political prisoner jailed for his militant actions in support of environmental and animal rights. Marius Mason was arrested in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2008 during a period of targeted federal repression known as the Green Scare. His arrest and guilty plea to charges of sabotage and arson came because his then-husband Frank Ambrose, a co-participant in some of these actions, chose to become a snitch. The judge then went beyond the terms of Marius’s agreement with prosecutors and sentenced him to 22 years in prison, citing the so-called “Terrorist Enhancement” provision of federal criminal law, and levied $4 million in restitution payments.
The charges stemmed from Marius’s involvement in environmentally motivated actions claimed by the Earth and Animal Liberation Front during 1999 to 2000. Marius and three others were charged with destroying an office at Michigan State University tied to research on genetically modified plants, funded by Monsanto, the producer of Agent Orange. Marius was also convicted of the destruction of forest logging equipment outside of Mesick, Michigan.
In 2014, five years after his incarceration, Marius came out to his friends, family and supporters as transgender. Assigned female at birth, he changed his name, began using he/him pronouns, and sought a medical diagnosis to allow him to obtain gender-affirming hormone therapy. In 2016, Marius received his first “T” hormone shot and in 2021 he won his fight to be transferred to the federal prison for men at Danbury, Connecticut. He is believed to be the first transmasculine person to obtain transition-related health care after coming into federal custody.
In September 2022, the Civil Liberties Defense Center or CLDC, a nonprofit litigation firm based in Eugene, Oregon, that defends environmental and social justice movements, sponsored a webinar on Marius Mason’s case. This program aired excerpts from that event, including three speakers:
- Lauren Regan, Executive Director & Senior Staff Attorney at the CLDC,
- Chava Shapiro, Engagement Specialist at the CLDC, and
- Letha, an organizer/activist from the Support Marius Mason Committee who is also a prison abolitionist and animal rights activist.
Listeners are urged to write to Marius to help him stay in touch with the progressive community around the country.
This program has been produced by Out-FM's Bob Lederer. Thanks to Chava Shapiro of the CLDC, and Out-FM producer John Riley for production assistance.
For more about Marius, his beautiful paintings, and his address to write to him in prison, visit supportmariusmason.org.
