Without Bob Sheldon, there wouldn't be a Firestorm Books. 35 years ago today, Bob was assassinated outside Internationalist Books in Chapel Hill, NC. We still don't know who killed him, but the shooting took place in the shadows of the Greensboro Massacre and the Shelby gay bookstore murders. 1/

Across the US, people fed up with Flock cameras surveilling their communities, and with local governments that are often unwilling to listen to concerns over privacy violations and ICE data sharing practices, are taking matters into their own hands—and tearing them down.

The Prairieland defendants were told by marshals that "if they cry in court they will be removed from the courtroom because it makes the judge angry," Amber Lowrey told me. Update on Judge Pittman's decision to call a mistrial in the "Texas Antifa" case. (gift link) www.rawstory.com/raw-investig...

Increasingly clear that no one accused of being "antifa" in the US is entitled to a fair trial.

some of you are looksmaxxing when you need to be booksmaxxing

Whose got good anti-ICE / anti-fascist zines for teens and tweens? 👀

I spent my childhood inside of American concentration camps. I know one when I see one. And that is what ICE is building.

🧵 THREAD: 🚨The Prairieland Case is a five-alarm fire for the right to protest in America🚨 If you care about your neighbors being terrorized by ICE — and about your own freedom to dissent — you need to understand what's happening in Texas right now. /1

Follow @dfwsupportcommitt.bsky.social for live updates from the trial, which started today!

Amber Lowery, sister of Prairieland Defendant Savannah Batten, makes the situation clear: if you pay attention to the facts and the arguments that will be made in this courtroom, the state’s narrative is shown for the political maneuver that it is. (Repost from @dfwsupportcommittee on Instagram) 1/

Tonight at 6pm ET our trans writing circle will host author Devon Price for a conversation on the publishing process! Writers who are not local to Asheville but want to join in can find a link to the stream at firestorm.coop/events/3538-....

“This is a prison out here too. As long as you are oppressed by the State and the State is in control this is a minimum security prison. Inside is maximum security.”– Martin Sostre

"While this censorship might seem brazenly anti-constitutional to most Americans, it has been the reality faced by incarcerated individuals for decades. In the name of 'security,' prison officials have punished and even killed people for possessing literature they deemed suspect." @theintercept.com

“One of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it… it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.”―Douglas Adams #PresidentsDay

Broke: anyone can grow up to be president Woke: anyone can be president (pejorative) Bespoke: anyone can be a recallable delegate to the autonomous regional assembly 🏴

"Jurors will be faced with questions about protest in the Trump era. Are guns a precaution or a provocation? Can the government succeed in using 1A-protected literature such as anarchist zines to win convictions? And how far can activists go when they believe their country is sliding into fascism?"

One of the most consequential trials of Trump's second term begins on February 17th, and our friend Des is in the middle of it with a box of zines 📦📚 1/3

get the kid in the brown hoodie a scholarship

Pay attention to the Prairieland case. By saddling the defendants with indiscriminate charges, holding them without bail, and isolating them from lawyers and the public, prosecutors are attempting to terrorize them into signing guilty pleas in order to set a precedent criminalizing dissent itself.

We're back from winter break and hosting a reading with "T4T" author Evelyn Berry and local poet Monday Hakala! Tonight at 6pm, free to attend with books available for purchase. firestorm.coop/events/3522-...

🚨 Led by the Free Alabama Movement, incarcerated workers across Alabama are ON STRIKE to protest brutal labor exploitation and inhumane conditions behind the walls 🚨 Watch ‘The Alabama Solution” doc and read on for ways to support their strike: docs.proton.me/doc?mode=ope...

We've prepared a zine version of our text "Rapid Response Networks in the Twin Cities," describing the dynamic and resilient system that people in the Twin Cities have developed to keep the pressure on ICE. Please print and distribute! crimethinc.com/zines/rapid-...

This should infuriate everyone. Palantir must be destroyed. boingboing.net/2026/02/10/p...

NEW: ICE is leasing offices throughout the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.

First they came for the immigrants, and the freakiest people you know threw the fuck down because it was never going to end with immigrants.

With disasters becoming more and more common, it's no surprise that fascists are marketing themselves as experts on crisis response to recruit and fundraise. We saw this kind of grifting in Appalachia after Hurricane Helene.

Can't say it enough, if you are going to build ANYTHING, you are going to be criticized much more than you will be praised. Do not be deterred. Build what you want to exist. Find your people and seek their counsel. Keep it moving.

"One must examine this latest PR effort by center-left media and their allies in law enforcement to contain the populist anger over DHS abuses and to frame said abuses as an anomaly, a one-off deviation from progress and reform after the mass protest movements of the late 2010s and early 2020s."

Note that this is local police not ICE or CPD attacking these young people. Local police are working overtime to distance themselves from ICE/CPD. Don't buy the hype.

Amazing book. Just fyi if anyone wants a non-Amazon link the folks @firestorm.coop also ship it: firestorm.coop/products/596...

We're open! Roads are still bad so we don't suggest driving, but if you walk in we'll hook you up with some hot tea. Early events were canceled, but political prisoner letter writing with @blueridgeabc.bsky.social is still on for 3pm.

“Antifa is not an organization. Antifascism is a natural response to state terror. Antifascist action belongs to the people. Anyone can do it... Every day this goes on, DHS creates thousands of new antifascists.”—Riley (an anonymous antifascist researcher)

ICE watchers with cell phones are just as vital to accountability journalism as old-school whistleblowers. Shooting, killing and otherwise targeting them is an attack on press freedom and transparency.

Closing up an hour early today to get home before road conditions worse. See you soon!

Honestly kind of mind blowing that we've shipped that many books since launching web sales at the end of 2019 (good timing). And we distribute a lot less online than in-person. Big thanks to anyone who has ever supported our co-op with an order!

Today someone will place the 20,000th order through our website 🥳

So, once again, all criticism of fictional plots can go straight out the window. "Villains don't just confess their crimes." "Bad guys don't say 'where is the best crime place?'" "Your protagonist shouldn't make stupid mistakes repeatedly." Yeah, so...

Snow day! ❄️ Grab your sled, because Firestorm will be OPEN today and (hopefully) tomorrow from noon to 7pm, but our annual winter break starts Monday. We'll be closed from February 2nd through 10th to get some rest, catch up on other projects, and maybe even read a few books!

It's near-white out conditions in Chicago as the snow comes down, and tonight's anti-ICE/CBP rally is wrapping up in front of city hall. But not before the crowd bounces and chants, "I believe that we will win!"

The Asheville Watchdog took a little break from writing copaganda to publish this important piece exposing UNCA's sham process to decide the future of our urban forest.

Attorney Seth Starns reminds us that liberals have paved the way for fascist attacks on press freedom, citing the recent precedent set here in Asheville, NC against the @avlblade.bsky.social.

@seth-stern.bsky.social: "We shouldn’t give the Trump administration too much credit for creativity—their playbooks have been tested outside of the national headlines in places like Asheville."

Trusted friends in Minneapolis tell me that this fund is supporting many people but does not have enough money. If you can give, please do: chuffed.org/project/1671...

“One of the things that I don’t think is getting talked enough about outside of Minnesota,” she said after a pause, “is how much this feels like ethnic cleansing. People are so afraid to go out and participate in public life regardless of their citizenship status. This isn’t about immigration.”

In Asheville, Mission Nurses and AFGE union members are holding a vigil tomorrow night for victims of ICE. 🕯️

My favorite co-op just over the hills has a wonderful game in stock! Check it out if you're near Asheville!

"At times, Minneapolis reminded me of what I saw during the Arab Spring in 2011, a series of street clashes between protesters and police that quickly swelled into a much larger struggle against autocracy… This is a leaderless movement that has emerged in a spontaneous and hyperlocal way."

Oh no!

Firestorm is open for regular hours today ❄️ Lots of roads are bad though, so consider hitting up our website or visiting another day unless you can walk in!