Please join us in supporting ally and friend Alex Sanchez [1], internationally recognized peacemaker and co-founder of Homies Unidos [2] in Los Angeles. Alex was arrested in June on conspiracy charges brought by the FBI. Long the target of harassment from LAPD and federal immigration authorities for his community work, Alex is now being charged under federal racketeering law for alleged involvement in the Mara Salvatrucha while he was working as the Director of Homies Unidos. To learn more about Alex and the case visit: www.WeAreAlex.org [3].

Alex was denied bail on June 30th and is now awaiting his bail appeal hearing on October 19th. If he is denied bail, he will have to stay incarcerated during his entire trial-which could take years-let alone the pain of being away from his family and community.

"We Are Alex" chapters have formed throughout the country and are organizing diligently for a fair trial. At the most recent LA meeting, the organizers arranged to have Alex call in and they put the phone on speaker. It was incredibly moving---as a true organizer, he spent half the time doing political education with us on the danger of these federal racketeering laws, he talked about the targeting of gangs and the seriousness of these repressive laws and apparatuses, he spoke about the terrible conditions on the inside, he joked about the "drama he manages to get himself into," he expressed gratitude for the organizing on the outside.

Please TAKE ACTION now to support Alex:

1. Sign the petition for a fair trial and send it to all you know:  http://wearealex.org/fas/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=5&Itemid=5 [4]   (scroll down to bottom of the page)
2. Send letters to the Judge asking that Alex be granted bail: email community@wearealex.org [5] to seek sample letters
3. Come out on October 19^th, 2009 at 12noon at Fletcher Bowron Square, corner of Main and Temple in downtown LA for a rally and press conference prior to the bail hearing.

For more information:

• Visit www.WeAreAlex.org [6] for more information and updates on the situation.
• Listen to Manuel Criollo's interview on Voices from the Frontlines with Alex's brother, Oscar Sanchez, on the arrest. Oscar Sanchez: The Arrest of Gang Intervention Leader Alex Sanchez
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    Air Date: 6/28/2009.