Restore – A Benefit Night For Bristol’s Kill The Bill Prisoners

Time for some seasonal solidarity! A fundraiser for Bristol’s Kill The Bill prisoners, hosted by the Justice for Bristol Protesters campaign, with all proceeds going to the Bristol ABC prisoner support fund (online donations here).
Featuring two live bands, dj, prisoners art & poems, films, and live art from the Bristol Mural Collective.
Info, tickets, and band videos from Headfirst here. Or rock up and pay (cash if possible) on the door!
Strange Brew is a multi-room DIY art space / music venue / late night bar, at 10-12 Fairfax St, Bristol BS1 3DB

Justice for the Bristol Protesters (JBP) is a group of parents, family, friends and supporters of the people given disproportionately harsh prison sentences after the protest against the Police Crime and Sentencing Bill in Bristol on 21 March 2021. Find out more about them and sign their petition. Also on twitter/X and Insta.

Some of us at BRHG have been working to support JBP by researching the history of the Riot charge, and it’s unusual use in relation to the Bristol protest on 21 March 2021 – more people have been charged with Riot arising from that Bristol protest than at any time in the UK since the Bradford riots of 2001, which were larger and more sustained; nobody was charged with Riot after the London disturbances of August 2011, which went on for many days/nights and caused far greater property damage. So why Bristol? We’ll be bringing you some analysis, along with the history of the Riot charge since 1715, quite soon!

Dozens of Bristol protesters have been sent to prison for charges of riot, violent disorder, arson, and lesser charges, with the longest sentence 14 years. At the same time the Tory Government has enacted four new Laws designed to curb our freedoms, rights, and dissent against their neo-liberal agenda. These are: Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Act 2022; Public Order Act 2023; National Security Act 2023; Strikes (Minimum Service Level) Act 2023.

33 months after that Bristol protest, there are currently 10 Kill The Bill protesters in prison (6 of whom welcome public support – details below), and upto 7 more are believed to be going through the Courts for either Trial or Sentencing. A further dozen or more remain on the police’s ‘wanted list’. Protesters sent to prison for resisting unjust and repressive laws, and police violence, deserve our support – you can write to the Bristol prisoners who welcome public support by post & email (see image). Prisoner info and tips on writing/emailing to prisoners are given by Bristol ABC here. (note that the prisoner Ben Rankin is due to be released this December).