600 people in Tallahassee take the streets against Trump’s agenda and ICE killings
Tallahassee, FL – On January 24, over 600 people marched and rallied at the Florida Capitol building, led by the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump. Protesters took to the streets in an act of resistance against Trump’s racist and reactionary agenda, with demands of, “ICE out now!,” “End 287(g)!,” “No more U.S. intervention!” and “Stop FBI and DOJ repression!”
Speaking on behalf of the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA), Brandon Beckett said, “I’m sick and tired of seeing children’s lives terrorized! I’m sick and tired of seeing chaos carried out by the state. And I’m sick and tired of having a president who claims peace but advances terror with every action he takes.”
This protest took place as ICE continues to attack immigrants across the country, and on the same day as ICE agents in Minneapolis murdered Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who was brutally killed while helping a woman attacked by ICE
Connecting the struggle against ICE to the fight for community control of the police, Regina Joseph from Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) said, “The police should be working for us, not the other way around. We should be holding them accountable for what they do wrong, and right here in Tallahassee the police are working with ICE through 287(g)!”
The 287(g) program is a partnership between ICE and the police that allows officers to perform immigration enforcement and collaborate with ICE terror. Organizers in Tallahassee have been demanding that the city commission terminate the Tallahassee Police Department’s 287(g) agreement, which was signed voluntarily by Police Chief and killer cop Lawrence Revell.
After some speeches, community members began their march around the Florida State Capitol. Despite attempts by capitol police to repress the protest, the people took to the streets. As cars honked in support, the crowd chanted, “Legalization for all!” and “Who’s streets? Our streets!” In marching, the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump showed that even with oppressive state laws, the people of Tallahassee would not back down.
Addressing the crowd after the march, Katy Kurzweil from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) said, “The system is broken! We can no longer believe the lie that Trump is the sole reason for all of this repression. This goes way beyond Donald Trump! Step one will be to get rid of Donald Trump, but what do we do when he’s gone? Are we gonna twiddle our thumbs? Are we gonna wait for someone good to come along? No! We are done waiting, we are tired of waiting! We have all the power we need right here.”
Those in attendance say more actions are planned for the near future, and many of the organizations involved will be at the city commission meeting on February 18 to make their demands heard locally. For updates on upcoming events, follow @tallyagainsttrump.