Two SIBA Bookstores Call for Response Against Anti-Terrorism Memo
Firestorm Books in Asheville, North Carolina, and Charis Books and More in Decatur, Georgia were two of eight independent bookstores to sign an open letter to the American Booksellers Association (ABA) and American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) calling for action regarding President Trump's National Security Presidential Memo 7 (NSPM-7), "Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence."
NSPM-7 has already been used to justify the arrest and conviction of "material support for terrorism" of three booksellers in Texas: Ines Soto and Elizabeth Soto, who ran a printing press and hosted a left-wing-leaning book club, and Daniel Sanchez Estrada, who was charged with "concealing" zines considered evidence of a crime. Sanchez Estrada has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. The Sotos have each been sentenced to 30 years.
The open letter, spearheaded by Firestorm Books, calls for ABFE and the ABA to examine the risk NSPM-7 poses to booksellers and to actively defend members from prosecution:
"The directives in NSPM-7 combined with the precedent set by the prosecution of individuals in Texas for producing and distributing dissenting literature is a grave threat to our rights as booksellers. We believe that, if unchecked, this administration could bring similar charges against ABA members under NSPM-7’s stunningly broad definition of “antifa extremism.” Bookstores like ours are in a state of limbo due to our established niche as purveyors of constitutionally-protected progressive, feminist, anti-racist, and/or counter-cultural literature. But the criminalization of left wing literature should also be an immediate concern for general interest bookstores which have an inherent interest in stocking a broad range of viewpoints without fear of government scrutiny or interference." (Open Letter Excerpt)
The letter notes that under NSPM-7, bookstores, already in the front lines of the fight against book bans, are now also at risk of criminalization, arrest, and prosecution:
"Bullies thrive in an environment of silence and isolation, but bookstores like ours will be strengthened by the knowledge that we do not face this threat alone. The ABA should communicate its intention to defend members from prosecution under the NSPM-7 framework, or equivalent state and federal directives, as a result of bookstore inventory, programming, or speech." (Open Letter Excerpt)