MikeDunnAuthorToday in Labor History August 7, 1971: Jonathan Jackson, aged 17, brother of imprisoned Black Panther George Jackson, raided a Marin County, CA courtroom with an automatic weapon, and freed prisoners James McClain, William A. Christmas and Ruchell Magee. He took a judge, Deputy DA, and three jurors hostage. He demanded the release of the "Soledad Brothers," including his brother. Police killed 3 of the hostages as they attempted to drive away from the courthouse, as well as Jonathan Jackson and the freed inmates. Angela Davis, who owned the weapons used by Jackson, was jailed for 2 years, but was later acquitted of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder. Prior to the escape attempt, Davis had organized a defense committee for the Soledad Brothers which included Noam Chomsky, Pete Seeger, Marlon Brando, Jame Fonda, the scientist Linus Pauling, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg.
In 1970, George Jackson had published his book, “Soledad Brother,” a collection of his prison writings from the 1960s, including numerous letters he had written to his then kid brother Jonathan. He also wrote critically about racism and white supremacy, class, and the brutality of the prison system. The Soledad brothers were George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo and John Clutchette, accused of murdering a prison guard at Soledad Prison, in California, in retaliation for the murder of three black inmates by prison guards three days prior. Clutchette and Drumgo were later acquitted. Jackson never got his day in court. He was murdered by prison guards, at San Quinten Prison, California, before his trial, exactly two weeks after his brother’s murder in the botched escape attempt. George Jackson had originally been imprisoned for the crime of stealing $70 from a gas station in 1961.
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