Biography
Jesse Lopez 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, Jesse Lopez had his case severed from the other four brothers and was tried separately alongside Armando Miramon.
The Black Panther (March 9, 1974, p. 8) reported visible injuries at his February 13 Leavenworth hearing and attributed them to a forced search by guards. It said Lopez, Odell Bennett and Alf Hill were carried into court while protesting the charges and alleged reprisals following the July 1973 rebellion. Source: https://www.lincoln.edu/_files/langston-hughes-memorial-library/Black%20Panthers%20Newspaper%20Publications/BP03091974.pdf
The Westport Trucker’s March 29–April 4, 1974 issue individually listed Jesse L. Lopez, historical prisoner number 01952, 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 Jesse Lopez and Armando Miramon went on trial on October 15, 1974 over the holding of guards during the July 31, 1973 Leavenworth rebellion. Lopez pleaded innocent to kidnapping and said he had acted as a mediator.
The Black Panther, November 2, 1974, PDF page 8; The Black Panther, November 2, 1974, PDF page 22.
