Minneapolis, MN – 30 people gathered at Mayday Plaza on July 12 to demand that charges be dropped against the Tampa 5. This was also the day of the Tampa 5’s second court appearance. They chanted, “Justice for the Tampa 5! Down with Desantis! Protesting is not a crime!”

The Tampa 5 are members of Tampa Bay SDS who were brutalized and arrested by police on March 6. They were rallying and marching against Governor Ron Desantis’ reactionary legislative attacks on education that primarily target Black, Chicano and LGBTQ+ students. The campus protesters were thrown to the ground, shoved against walls, and one even groped by officers. They were exercising their right to demand better for themselves and their peers and are now facing felony charges with ten-year prison sentences.

“The ruling class recognizes that students across the country are rising up and fighting back against their attacks on education, which means that the repression that they unleash upon the students will also happen across the country. Therefore, the resistance against that political repression also has to be a unified, nationwide struggle,” said UMN SDS member Jasper Nordin.

“This city is serious about fighting political repression and fighting against police, and fighting against the state that continues to attack and criminalize us for exercising our right to free speech,” said Jae Yates from Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar Clark (TCC4J) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

Yates cited the burning of the 3rd Precinct police building in Minneapolis during the George Floyd Uprising in 2020 as a message to reactionary legislators across the country that this city will not allow the repression of activists to occur anywhere without fierce resistance.

Also speaking in support of the Tampa 5 on this day were Fa’aumu Kaimana from UMN SDS, CJ McCollum from the Climate Justice Committee, Celia Nimz from FRSO, and Thistle Parker Hartog from the Anti-War Committee and the Anti-War 23 who were subpoenaed by the FBI in 2010.

The rally was called by the University of Minnesota chapter of Students for a Democratic Society in collaboration with TCC4J. It was part of the National Day of Action for the Tampa 5 initiated by the Emergency Committee to Defend the Tampa 5, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and National SDS.

To keep up with the case of the Tampa 5 and upcoming days of action, follow @justiceforthetampa5, @tampabaycac, and @nationalsds on Instagram.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliticalRepression #Tampa5PoliticalRepression