Rita “Bo” Brown

AKA: Bo Brown; The Gentleman Bank Robber

Released

Full name:Rita Darlene Brown

Date of birth:14. 10. 1947

Date of death:24. 10. 2021

Age:74^{† Deceased}

Gender:Female

Race:White

Era:1970s

State:Oregon

Time Imprisoned:

8 Years 6 Months

Support

Anarchism Prison Abolition Anti-Imperialism

Biography

Rita “Bo” Brown was a working-class butch lesbian from Klamath Falls, Oregon, who became a prisoner-rights organizer and member of the George Jackson Brigade. FBI agents arrested her in Seattle on November 4, 1977. Brown pleaded guilty to federal bank-robbery and firearms charges and was sentenced on February 21, 1978 to consecutive terms of 25 and five years. She was released in 1986. Brown later helped found Out of Control: Lesbian Committee to Support Women Political Prisoners and organized with Critical Resistance. She remained active in prison abolition and support for political prisoners for decades. Brown died from complications of dementia on October 24, 2021.

Anarchist Black Dragon reported Brown’s April 1, 1980 transfer from Alderson to Chicago MCC after a successful challenge to segregation, followed by a lawsuit challenging the transfer. The article attributes her segregation to prison officials’ response to Assata Shakur’s escape.

Source report, PDF 1245, pages 6.