Los Angeles, CA – During rush hour, Oct. 13, two dozen people gathered in front of the Los Angeles federal building to demand justice for Rasmea Odeh. Odeh appeared before an appeals court in Cincinnati, Ohio on the morning of Oct. 14. People traveled from across the country to support her.

In LA, protesters demanded that her unjust conviction a trumped-up immigration charge be overturned. They also came in support of Palestine. Recently the Israeli Defense Force has amped up its killings of Palestinians. While cars drove by, protesters held a banner that read, “Free Rasmea. Free Palestine.” Many people honked their horns and raised fists in support of the protesters.

Protesters came from all over LA., even some coming from Orange County. They chanted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and “DOJ let's be clear, Rasmea is welcome here.”

Members of the Palestinian Youth Movement, Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA, the Union of Progressive Iranians, and the International Action Center gave intense speeches.

Carlos Montes, longtime Chicano activist from Boyle Heights, spoke about state repression. In 2011, Montes was raided by LA sheriffs and the FBI. While handcuffed in the back seat of a police car, the FBI attempted to question him about his political activism. He was arrested on bogus charges stemming from his anti-war and solidarity work with Colombia and Palestine. A national defense campaign defeated the government attack on Montes.

Montes' case was an extension of the 2010 Anti-War 23 investigation that later went after Rasmea Odeh.

Montes told the crowd, “Our action shows the strength of solidarity to beat back FBI repression and win, as we won in my case.”

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