When They Call You a Terrorist

By the time Monte is a teenager, he already exhibits signs of schizoaffective disorder. He also begins to use crack cocaine, exacerbating the emotional highs and lows of his condition. From the age of 12, he is frequently arrested for several minor infractions, including tagging, underage drinking, cutting class, and even wearing the same T-shirt as his friend. The basis for the T-shirt arrest comes from California’s 1990s-era gang injunctions that, according to the ACLU, criminalized several otherwise normal and legal activities.

At 19, Monte is arrested for attempted robbery, meaning he will serve “real prison time” (59). During a schizoaffective episode, Monte tries to enter somebody’s home through the window. Although no one is hurt and nothing is stolen, Monte faces a six-year prison sentence. After his arrest, he is in jail for two months before Cherice can locate him. When she does, he is covered with bruises and has lost 40 pounds. He is also drugged to the point of near-incoherence. By this point, the jail psychiatrist has diagnosed Monte with schizoaffective disorder, yet this diagnosis is withheld from his family. Only later does Cullors learn that the sheriffs at the LA County Jail are responsible for beating him.