# Prairieland Zines
#forbidden-knowledge

**Download all: [[git.gay|https://git.gay/pnppl/pnppl.cc/archive/main:site/prairieland.zip]] · [[Codeberg|https://codeberg.org/pnppl/pnppl.cc/archive/main:site/prairieland.zip]]**

- [[Against Prisons (Catherine Baker, 1996)|./against-prisons]]&nbsp;[^pris]
	- [[screen|./against-prisons/against-prisons.pdf]] · [[print|./against-prisons/against-prisons_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[Another Critique of Insurrectionalism (2014)|./another-critique-of-insurrectionalism]]&nbsp;[^crit]
	- [[screen|./another-critique-of-insurrectionalism/another-critique-of-insurrectionalism/another-critique-of-insurrectionalism/another-critique-of-insurrectionalism.pdf]] · [[print|./another-critique-of-insurrectionalism/another-critique-of-insurrectionalism_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[De-Arrest Primer (2024)|./de-arrest-primer]]&nbsp;[^da]
	- [[screen|./de-arrest-primer/de-arrest-primer.pdf]] · [[print|./de-arrest-primer/de-arrest-primer_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[Destroying White Nationalism (Antifa International)|./destroying-white-nationalism]]&nbsp;[^wn]
	- [[screen|./destroying-white-nationalism/destroying-white-nationalism.pdf]] · [[print|./destroying-white-nationalism/destroying-white-nationalism_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[For the love of winning: An open letter to Extinction Rebellion (John Jordan, 2019)|./for-the-love-of-winning]]&nbsp;[^xr]
	- [[screen|./for-the-love-of-winning/for-the-love-of-winning.pdf]] · [[print|./for-the-love-of-winning/for-the-love-of-winning_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[The Gaza Ghetto Uprising (Adi Callai, 2024)|./gaza-ghetto-uprising]]&nbsp;[^gaza]
	- [[screen|./gaza-ghetto-uprising/gaza-ghetto-uprising.pdf]] · [[print|./gaza-ghetto-uprising/gaza-ghetto-uprising_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[I Don't Bash Back, I Shoot First (2012)|./i-dont-bash-back-i-shoot-first]]&nbsp;[^1st]
	- [[screen|./i-dont-bash-back-i-shoot-first/i-dont-bash-back-i-shoot-first.pdf]] · [[print|./i-dont-bash-back-i-shoot-first/i-dont-bash-back-i-shoot-first_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[If We Go, We Go On Fire: On Grief and Social War (Ignatius, 2024)|./if-we-go-we-go-on-fire]]&nbsp;[^if]
	- [[screen|./if-we-go-we-go-on-fire/if-we-go-we-go-on-fire.pdf]] · [[print|./if-we-go-we-go-on-fire/if-we-go-we-go-on-fire_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[Insurrectionary Anarchy: Organizing for Attack! (2003)|./insurrectionary-anarchy-organizing-for-attack]]&nbsp;[^ins]
	- [[screen|./insurrectionary-anarchy-organizing-for-attack/insurrectionary-anarchy-organizing-for-attack.pdf]] · [[print|./insurrectionary-anarchy-organizing-for-attack/insurrectionary-anarchy-organizing-for-attack_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[It's Safer in the Front: Taking the Offensive against Tyranny (CrimethInc, 2025)|./its-safer-in-the-front]]&nbsp;[^frnt]
	- [[screen|./its-safer-in-the-front/its-safer-in-the-front.pdf]] · [[print|./its-safer-in-the-front/its-safer-in-the-front_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[It's Vacant, Take It! (Homes Not Jails, 2013)|./its-vacant-take-it]]&nbsp;[^take]
	- [[screen|./its-vacant-take-it/its-vacant-take-it.pdf]] · [[print|./its-vacant-take-it/its-vacant-take-it_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[Now (The Invisible Committee, 2017)|./now-ic]]&nbsp;[^now]
	- [[screen|./now-ic/now-ic.pdf]] · [[print|./now-ic/now-ic_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[Our Enemies in Yellow: A Reportback from Dallas (Ramon Byrne)|./our-enemies-in-yellow]]&nbsp;[^yel]
	- [[screen|./our-enemies-in-yellow/our-enemies-in-yellow.pdf]] · [[print|./our-enemies-in-yellow/our-enemies-in-yellow_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[The Satanic Death-Cult is Real (Sophie Lewis, 2019)|./satanic-death-cult]]&nbsp;[^666]
	- [[screen|./satanic-death-cult/satanic-death-cult.pdf]] · [[print|./satanic-death-cult/satanic-death-cult_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[To Change Everything (CrimethInc)|./to-change-everything]]&nbsp;[^tce]
	- [[screen|./to-change-everything/to-change-everything.pdf]] · [[print|./to-change-everything/to-change-everything_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[Towards the Queerest Insurrection (Mary Nardini gang, 2014)|./towards-the-queerest-insurrection]]&nbsp;[^twrd]
	- [[screen|./towards-the-queerest-insurrection/towards-the-queerest-insurrection.pdf]] · [[print|./towards-the-queerest-insurrection/towards-the-queerest-insurrection_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[War in the Streets: Tactical Lessons from the Global Civil War, Vol. 1|./war-in-the-streets]]&nbsp;[^war]
	- [[screen|./war-in-the-streets/war-in-the-streets.pdf]] · [[print|./war-in-the-streets/war-in-the-streets_letter-print.pdf]]

- [[We Don't Need "Safety" — We Need to Escalate! (2024)|./we-dont-need-safety]]&nbsp;[^safe]
	- send me a PDF

- [[Why Riot? (Phillip Neel, 2014)|./why-riot]]&nbsp;[^riot]
	- [[screen|./why-riot/why-riot.pdf]] · [[print|./why-riot/why-riot_letter-print.pdf]]


## About

These zines were presented by the state as evidence in the [[Prairieland trial|https://prairielanddefendants.com/about-the-case/]]. [[Des|https://freedes.net/]] was convicted of a crime just because he moved a box of them from one place to another.

While the entire prosecution is clearly a steaming pile of politically motivated fascist bullshit, the charges against people whose only connection to the inciting incident was association with the suspects — and whose only crime was being an anarchist — are particularly galling.

We're in the midst of another [[red and black scare|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Scare]]. The state calls us "terrorists" because projection is the only trick fascists know. They would like us to be scared to read dissident literature, to share our minds, and to stand up to their campaign of senseless violence and cruelty.

They aren't as powerful as they seem. They're afraid of zines.


## Sources

You can order a pack of physical zines to support the Prairieland defendants from [[Firestorm Books|https://firestorm.coop/products/25308-the-government-doesnt-wa]]. Their list of fifteen was my starting point (I've only added another four to that total so far). It's difficult to get information about what was presented at the trial since it was held in a secretive kangaroo court.

A few zines are visible in a grainy photo in the [[criminal complaint|https://web.archive.org/web/20260615142105/https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.410501/gov.uscourts.txnd.410501.1.0.pdf]] filed against Des, including one Firestorm didn't list (_Another Critique of Insurrectionalism_). I found a few more by searching [[notes|https://prairielanddefendants.com/category/court-notes/]] taken in court by supporters: _Destroying White Nationalism_ (comes with a donation to the Antifascist Defense Fund!), _I Don't Bash Back I Shoot First_ (mentioned *several* times), and _Why Riot?_.

The defendants' participation in the Emma Goldman Book Club was discussed quite a bit. There are some photos of their library online, but it would massively expand the size of this project so I decided not to include those (yet).


## Process

For each zine, I used a pre-existing copy whenever possible. It was easy to find print-ready PDFs, but for some I couldn't find a PDF appropriate for reading onscreen; for these I used [[ZineLibrary.org's zine de-imposer|https://zinelibrary.org/theme/scripts/zine-deimp.js]] to generate a reading copy. HTML versions were usually not available anywhere except The Anarchist Library, but the quality was acceptable, so these I just tweaked a little so they cooperate with dark mode.

When I couldn't get the HTML from TAL, I made it by hacking up the HTML from a webpage or by converting the PDF with `pdftohtml`. Results from the latter are not great but should be legible.

I couldn't find any PDF versions of _We Don't Need "Safety"_. Pandoc's defaults were bad and I didn't feel like messing with LaTeX, so that one doesn't have a PDF. If you have one, or know of other zines I should add, email me.


## ACAB
**BE GAY DO CRIME
CHINGA LA MIGRA
ANARCHY MEANS ATTACK**


[^pris]: [[AZL|https://azinelibrary.org/zines/Against-Prisons]] · [[TAL|https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/catherine-baker-against-prisons]] · [[Wildcat|http://wildcat.international/againstp.html]]

[^crit]: [[TAL|https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anonymous-another-critique-of-insurrectionalism]]

[^da]:   [[haters|https://haters.noblogs.org/zines/#:~:text=de-arrest primer]] · [[Sprout Distro|https://www.sproutdistro.com/catalog/zines/direct-action/de-arrest-primer/]]

[^wn]:   [[Antifa International|https://deathtofascism.com/resources/#:~:text=destroying white nationalism]]

[^xr]:   [[Ill Will|https://illwill.com/print/for-the-love-of-winning]] · [[zad for ever|https://zadforever.blog/2019/05/03/for-the-love-of-winning-an-open-letter-to-extinction-rebellion/]]

[^gaza]: [[haters|https://haters.noblogs.org/zines/#:~:text=the ghetto gaza uprising]] · [[TAL|https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/adi-callai-the-gaza-ghetto-uprising]] · [[Brooklyn Rail|https://brooklynrail.org/2024/05/field-notes/The-Gaza-Ghetto-Uprising/]]

[^1st]:  [[haters|https://haters.noblogs.org/zines/#:~:text=i don't bash back, i shoot first]] · [[TAL|https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anonymous-i-don-t-bash-back-i-shoot-first]]

[^if]:   [[TAL|https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/ignatius-if-we-go-we-go-on-fire]]

[^ins]:  [[Archive.org|https://archive.org/details/Insurrectionary/]] · [[TAL|https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/insurrectionary-anarchy-organizing-for-attack]]

[^frnt]: [[CrimethInc|https://crimethinc.com/zines/its-safer-in-the-front]]

[^take]: [[Sprout Distro|https://www.sproutdistro.com/catalog/zines/direct-action/its-vacant-take-it/]]

[^now]:  [[ZLO|https://zinelibrary.org/now.html]] · [[Ill Will|https://illwilleditions.noblogs.org/files/2018/02/Invisible-Committee-NOW-READ.pdf]] · [[TAL|https://zinelibrary.org/now.html]]

[^yel]:  [[haters|https://haters.noblogs.org/zines/#:~:text=our enemies in yellow]]

[^666]:  [[haters|https://haters.noblogs.org/zines/#:~:text=the satanic death cult is real]] · [[TAL|https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/sophie-lewis-the-satanic-death-cult-is-real]] · [[Commune|https://communemag.com/the-satanic-death-cult-is-real/]]

[^tce]:  [[CrimethInc|https://crimethinc.com/tce]]

[^twrd]: [[ZLO|https://zinelibrary.org/towards-the-queerest-insurrection.html]] · [[TAL|https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/mary-nardini-gang-toward-the-queerest-insurrection]]

[^war]:  [[Ill Will|https://illwilleditions.noblogs.org/files/2016/12/War-in-the-Streets-revised-READ.pdf]] · [[Ill Will|https://illwilleditions.noblogs.org/files/2016/12/War-in-the-streets-print.pdf]]

[^safe]: [[IGD|https://itsgoingdown.org/we-dont-need-safety-we-need-to-escalate/]]

[^riot]: [[Oplopanax|https://oplopanaxpublishing.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/why-riot/]] · [[Seattle Free Press|https://oplopanaxpublishing.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/why-riot/] · [[ZLO|https://zinelibrary.org/why-riot.html]]