St. Paul pro-Palestine protest demands Lockheed out of neighborhood
St. Paul, MN – At 5 p.m., October 30, on a chilly autumn afternoon, over 60 Twin Cities community members showed up at the corner of Raymond Avenue and Energy Park Drive in Saint Paul to demand that ForwardEdge ASIC, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, get out of the residential neighborhood and that the state of Minnesota divests all public funds out of Lockheed Martin. This demonstration was called by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition.
The event began with chants, followed by a few speakers, followed by a short march and more speakers right in front of the ForwardEdge ASIC building. Passersby demonstrated massive support with honking, raised fists, and chanting along with the crowd as they waited for their light to turn green.
Lockheed Martin is the world's largest weapons manufacturer, with an annual revenue around $70 billion. Lockheed Martin manufactures and sells military weapons and equipment to Israel, including F- series fighter jets, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, Longbow Hellfire missiles, Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), as well as a broad array of radar systems, rockets, and fire control and guidance systems, all of which have been used against Palestinians in Gaza and civilians in Lebanon.
Lockheed has even established ten MadaKids Science Kindergartens in Israel to “help develop children’s scientific and technological literacy.” Lockheed also maintains company facilities in Israel and has stated that it plans to expand its “footprint” in Israel in the near future.
It has been documented that Lockheed Martin has directly supplied the weapons that have been used by Israel in its war crimes against the Palestinians and Lebanese in their past and present offensives against Gaza and Beirut. The company’s technologies are fully integrated into Israel's main weapon systems, including F-35 and F-16 fighter jets. These weapons are often gifted to Israel through the U.S. government's Foreign Military Financing program. These weapons have repeatedly been used against Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, resulting in numerous casualties as well as mass destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure – including hospitals, schools, and water and electric systems.
Recently the U.S. agreed to send 100 ground troops to Israel to help operate the THAAD missile systems. THAAD stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, and it is manufactured and produced by Lockheed Martin. This is a clear escalation by the Biden administration to reinsert U.S. troops in the region to maintain U.S. interests regardless of the cost of civilian lives.
According to its most recent asset listings, the Minnesota State Board of Investment puts over $63 million annually of the public pension funds it manages in Lockheed Martin. Of that $63 million, $1.3 million of Minnesotans’ tax money has been invested in the ForwardEdge facility that protesters targeted.
One very powerful speech came from a new member of the Women Against Military Madness, who stated, “We know the truth is that terrorism is a word thrown around to shut down national liberation movements, but every accusation is merely a confession. The U.S. military is the true terrorist and Lockheed Martin is its beneficiary. Lockheed wants to position themselves as simply a business and at the whim of the U.S. government and its politicians. But this isn’t true. If it were, Lockheed Martin wouldn’t be actively lobbying politicians on foreign policy and pushing for the sales of these weapons. In 2023, Lockheed Martin spent over $14 million lobbying Congress.”
In her speech, Families Against Military Madness member Liz McLister said, “For nearly 13 months and counting, Biden – an avowed Zionist and recipient of record AIPAC funding – has doubled down on supporting the openly genocidal Zionist entity. This morally reprehensible stance has allowed Israel to drag us up the escalation ladder with Iran. In addition to being profoundly dangerous, this is asinine from a strategic point of view.”
Longtime the Anti War Committee member Brian Chval told the crowd, “Lockheed Martin owns ForwardEdge, and you see the same thing when the CEO says on TV ‘There is no point in deterring Israel from a military operation. What’s the point? There are conflicts that need to be resolved only with weapons – and we are ready to provide these weapons.’ Lockheed’s sales, without which the genocide in Palestine would be impossible, are not just directly to Israel; the U.S. in its aid packages gives Israel the money to buy from Lockheed Martin and its ilk.”
Chval continued, “When Saint Paul coughs up over a million dollars to subsidize FowardEdge offices, we see what's prioritized while the rest withers. We need to be investing in teaching, in housing, and healthcare; investing in our future!”
During the rally and march the street was filled with honks of support and passengers rolling down their windows to yell “Free Palestine!”