Chicago, IL – On Friday, June 27, allies of the Los Angeles group Centro CSO gathered at noon in downtown Chicago for a press conference and rally in support of CSO immigrant rights activists Alejandro Orellana and Verita Topete. Orellana and Topete have been targeted by the FBI in the weeks since the Los Angeles protests against ICE raids.

“We’re here to demand that the federal charges against Alejandro Orellana be dropped,” Joe Iosbaker of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, said. “Raids and federal grand juries are attacks on progressive movements, on our freedom to speak, to assemble, and to tell the government that their actions and their policies are wrong.”

On June 12, the FBI broke into Orellana’s house, and he was arrested. He is now charged with “conspiracy to commit civil disorder” and “aiding and abetting civil disorder.” These are federal offenses usually reserved for firearms infractions and carry a maximum sentence of five years. Orellana has been accused of helping to distribute face shields to fellow protesters during the LA rallies.

On June 26, the FBI ambushed Topete in a public park while she was walking her dog, executing a search warrant and seizing her phone. The reasons for taking Topete’s phone have yet to be made public.

“We’re demanding an end to the attacks on protesters,” said Iosbaker. “Protesting ICE raids and deportations is not a crime.”

Joining the Committee to Stop FBI Repression at the press conference was the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression’s Immigrant Rights Working Committee, Casa DuPage Worker’s Center, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and the United States Palestinian Community Network.

The press conference was planned in support of the National Day of Action called for by the Legalization for All network. Included in the press conference was an ask for call-ins to federal prosecutor Bill Essayli’s office to demand the charges be dropped.

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #L4A #CSFR #StopFBI #AlejandroOrellana #VeritaTopete #FBI #ICE #CentroCSO #Featured