Tucson, AZ — Close to 10,000 protesters outside of a Trump rally in Phoenix experienced first hand the kind of law and order Trump has promised. Fresh off of his insulting comments in the wake of the white supremacist terrorist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Trump visited Phoenix the night of August 22 to rally the Republican base and perhaps pardon the infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

As the downtown area swelled with protesters, greatly outnumbering the bigoted Trump supporters, it soon became clear that the Phoenix Police Department wanted to prevent any clash between the two. While the Phoenix PD escorted Trump supporters to safety away from the protestors, they unleashed their weapons for crowd control. It began with releasing tear gas then escalated to concussion grenades to frighten and intimidate. As protesters moved away from the choking effects of the gas, the police continued to ramp up their terror tactics with flash bombs — later shooting rubber bullets at the backs of protestors leaving the scene.

Unsurprisingly, the police narrative is that they were attacked first by water bottles thrown from protesters. This is a fabrication used to justify their use of excessive force. Similarly, a local Phoenix news station used an on-the-ground report to get stories on a live feed. As the reporter received an account from a young oppressed nationality male who said that they were shot in the back by police, and that later a cop targeted him and shot him again in the shoulder, the producers quickly cut the feed because it did not fit the police narrative. Many protesters are considering filing lawsuits against the Phoenix Police Department for excessive force.

It is important to summarize two points: more and more people are bravely taking to the streets against Trump and the system of white supremacy. Second, police departments around the country continue to demonstrate whose side they are on and whose interests they serve: the monopoly capitalist class.

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