Biography
Jared "Jay" Chase was one of the "NATO 3," anarchists arrested before the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago in what was the first use of Illinois state terrorism charges. A jury acquitted the three of terrorism, convicting them only of mob action and possession of an incendiary device. Diagnosed with Huntington's disease in 2013, Chase served the longest term of the three and was released in November 2020.
Jared “Jay” Chase became known through protests connected to the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago and his involvement in broader anti-capitalist organizing (including connections reported to Occupy Wall Street circles). He was arrested ahead of the summit in a case built around undercover policing and allegations that a small group intended to carry out violent attacks during the protests.
Prosecutors pursued terrorism-related charges, but at trial those allegations did not result in terrorism convictions. Chase and co-defendants were instead convicted on lesser counts that centered on possession of incendiary devices and protest-related offenses, leading to a multi-year prison sentence. Subsequent reporting has also highlighted his incarceration while living with Huntington’s disease, and additional punishment imposed for an in-custody assault incident.
The September 2012 Nuclear Resister reports that Jared Chase, Brian Church and Brent Betterly pleaded not guilty on July 2 to the initial Illinois terrorism-related charges. Its prisoner list gives Chase’s historical Cook County identifier as 2012-0519003. This pretrial account and county identifier are distinct from his later verdict, state-prison identifier and final release.
A December 8, 2017 report places Jared Chase at the medium-security Illinois prison in Dixon, in general population. Its projected June 2019 release and scheduled appeal argument are not evidence that either later event occurred.
The July 2013 NATO-support court account describes Jared Chase and his co-defendants remaining in Cook County Jail after their May 16, 2012 arrests. At the July 9 status hearing their joint motion concerning the specificity of the arson allegations was taken under advisement. The later July 23 scheduling update was prospective; neither the motion nor its unresolved ruling is represented as an acquittal, new sentence or physical custody endpoint.
Sources: The Nuclear Resister, source report 638.
In letters dated April 2016 and May 12, 2016, Jared “Jay” Chase described an alleged December 3, 2015 assault by officers at Pontiac Correctional Center and said he had been denied treatment for injuries, Huntington’s disease and hepatitis C. These are attributed firsthand allegations, not independently established findings. The April 12, 2016 Guardian report reproduced by The Nuclear Resister describes an additional one-year sentence for a 2013 in-custody assault, to run consecutively, and reports that disciplinary sanctions also removed one year of good-behavior credit. Those imposed and administrative penalties do not establish a new physical admission or release date, or an additional completed custody total.
Chase’s dated letters and support report; Contemporary Guardian report reproduced by The Nuclear Resister.
Kevin Gosztola’s January 2016 report reproduces Jared Chase’s September 21, 2015 letter about an August 22 incident at Pontiac. Chase alleged that guards pepper-sprayed and beat him, shackled him to a floor and bench, and left a spit mask on his face before medical attention; he described seventy-two hours on suicide watch and the destruction of his property. The letter reports subsequent disciplinary penalties including a year in solitary, loss of a year’s good-conduct credit and restrictions on calls, visits and recreation. These are attributed historical allegations and disciplinary measures within his existing imprisonment, not additional completed custody totals or a prediction of his eventual release. Contemporary report, The Nuclear Resister.
The contemporary May 2012 NATO-summit report states that Church, Chase and Betterly were each held on $1.5 million bail after the Bridgeport apartment raid. It records the initial allegations of terrorism conspiracy, material support and possession of an incendiary device. This describes the historical pretrial charging and bail position, before the later terrorism acquittals and lesser-count convictions recorded in this profile; it is not an additional imprisonment episode. Contemporary source.
The April 25, 2014 Cook County sentencing account reports Jared Chase received an imposed term of eight years after the NATO protest prosecution. It separately describes the three defendants as having already spent about two years in pretrial custody. The possibility of release after serving fifty percent was a forecast, not evidence of completed service or a discharge date; the approximate pretrial description is not converted into 730 days.
Sources: The Nuclear Resister report 566.
