Biography
Armando Miramon was one of the "Leavenworth Brothers" — six prisoners (four Black and two Chicano) charged in connection with the July 31, 1973 rebellion at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. As The Black Panther reported (September 7, 1974), their supporters, organized as the Leavenworth Brothers Offense/Defense Committee and joined by antiwar priest Philip Berrigan at an August 16, 1974 rally, held that the men had been framed and made scapegoats by the prison administration because of their leadership in protesting the penitentiary's inhumane conditions. A Chicano prisoner, Armando Miramon had his case severed from the other four brothers and was tried separately alongside Jesse Lopez.
The Westport Trucker’s March 29–April 4, 1974 issue individually listed Armando L. Miramon, historical prisoner number 34380, among the seven Leavenworth Brothers seeking defense assistance. The article reported a March 18 visit by National Council of Black Lawyers director Lennox S. Hinds and a petition signed by 325 inmates supporting the defendants. It distinguished the pending charges from the prisoners’ existing confinement.
The Weekly Westport Trucker, March29–April4,1974, PDF page 4.
The Black Panther reported that Armando Miramon and Jesse Lopez went on trial on October 15, 1974 over the holding of guards during the July 31, 1973 Leavenworth rebellion. It reported that Miramon, also accused of assaulting a guard, entered a temporary-insanity plea and claimed he was not criminally responsible.
The Black Panther, November 2, 1974, PDF page 8; The Black Panther, November 2, 1974, PDF page 22.
