New Yorkers stand with the Tampa 5
Brooklyn, NY – On the evening of August 9, a dozen organizers gathered in Maria Hernandez Park right after the busy workday to demand that charges are dropped against the Tampa 5.
As part of a National Day of Action called by The Emergency Coalition to Defend the Tampa 5, cities across the country rallied together to cry out that protesting is not a crime and the trumped-up charges against the five organizers need to be dropped immediately.
The protest was called for by the New York Community Action Project (NYCAP). Briony Smith of NYCAP opened the rally by saying, “This case is not unique. Across the country, right-wing forces and their goons, the cops, are ramping up their attacks against activists. From Tampa to Atlanta to here in New York, the enemies of the people are attempting to silence those of us willing to stand up and fight back against their repressive agendas.”
Other organizations spoke in support of the defendants, such as Palestinian Youth Movement, International League of Peoples Struggle, Struggle La Lucha, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
Sharif Hall, a member of NYCAP, gave the last speech of the day where he talked about NYCAP’s “Fire Killer Cops” campaign directed toward the 81st Precinct. He said, “At the end of the day, we are unfortunately going to continue to still see issues of police crimes until they are held accountable, and that is why we are here, we are here to hold the police accountable and demand for community control, and that’s from NYC all the way down to Tampa, Florida! “
Hall continued, “To end this off, stand in solidarity with the Tampa 5 protesters, demand that their charges are dropped, and demand for police to be held accountable when they come after us, whether that’s on a student campus or in our actual community.”
The rally ended with the organizers emphasizing their continued support of the Tampa 5.