News and Views from the People's Struggle
New York, NY – On Thursday June 19, close to 50 New Yorkers assembled to honor the radical legacy of Juneteenth by protesting ICE presence in their city and state. The protest was organized by Equality for Flatbush, a Brooklyn-based organization which focuses on issues facing oppressed people in the Flatbush community.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.
The Committee to Stop FBI Repression is calling on organizations across the U.S. to join a national day of action on June 27 and demand that the charges be dropped at once. Organizations, national and local, are releasing statements of support for Alejandro Orellana and supporters will call into the U.S. attorney’s office to voice this demand.
Jacksonville, FL – Around 50 community members rallied outside the Duval County Courthouse on Friday, June 20, to demand Justice for Charles Faggart and police accountability. Organized by the family of Charles Faggart along with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee and Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, community members rallied almost two months after Faggart’s death at the hands of nine Jacksonville Sheriff Office’s (JSO) correctional officers.
Minneapolis, MN – The $130,000 raised has dealt a real blow to the mortgage, so we are that much closer to paying off the Lucy Parsons Center building. Unlike the empty promises of the Trump administration, we don’t write checks that can’t be cashed. When we say something, we mean it, and we back it up with action. We said we were going to raise $100,000, so we did that and then some!
New Orleans, LA – On Monday, June 16, about 200 nurses, labor organizers and community members held a rally outside of the LCMC Health System Corporate Offices. They demanded that the University Medical Center, a hospital under the LCMC system, revoke the unjust termination notice of nurse Mike Robertshaw.
Minneapolis, MN – On Monday, June 16, over 100 anti-war demonstrators gathered in Mayday Plaza in Minneapolis’s Cedar-Riverside neighborhood to protest Israel’s airstrikes on Iran.
Jacksonville, FL – On June 14, an estimated 4000 protesters transformed downtown Jacksonville into a sea of resistance against the Trump administration's escalating attacks on immigrants, free speech and essential government services. The “No Kings Day” demonstration marked one of Northeast Florida's largest mobilizations in recent memory, with participants decrying Trump's policies at the federal level and local Trump style anti-immigrant measures being passed at the city council level.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. Orellana has been released from jail and the NAARPR is working to support his defense.
Statement Demanding the Release of Alejandro Orellana
On June 12th, FBI agents arrested Alejandro Orellana, a member of Centro CSO, a branch of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression based in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, for providing aid to the community being tear-gassed. Orellana’s arrest comes the same day Senator Alex Padilla was violently assaulted at a Homeland Security press conference. We condemn Orellana’s arrest as a clear example of racist and political repression. After immense community pressure led by the Centro CSO, Orellana was released the following day! The power of the people are driving ICE back and freeing people like Orellano, and it will be the power of the people that get Orellano’s charges dropped!
Peoria, IL – Sunday, June 15, more than 150 residents of Central Illinois took to the intersection of North University and West Main Street, occupying all four corners.
The protest was organized by River City Rainbow Collective and Peoria No Ban No Wall, with attendance from Peoria for Palestine, Workers Strike Back, and 50501. Most attendees were locals, though a few had driven from nearby Bloomington for the demonstration.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.
In April 2025, San Jose anti-war activist Alex Dillard was subjected to the execution of a federal search warrant. FBI agents raided his home and seized his personal electronic devices, seeking evidence of alleged ties to Russia and implying that he may have been acting as a foreign agent.
Jacksonville, FL — In a city already burdened by police violence, housing injustice and deepening inequality, the Jacksonville City Council voted late Tuesday night to pass Ordinance 2025-0138, a bill that criminalizes compassion and cuts off vital services to undocumented immigrants.
Despite overwhelming opposition from residents, legal experts, and community organizations, the council chose fear and scapegoating over justice.
Hours before the vote on June 10, over 50 demonstrators rallied outside City Hall for a press conference led by the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA), the Florida Immigration Coalition, and a coalition of grassroots groups, including the Jacksonville Community Action Committee and Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network.
With signs raised high and chants echoing through downtown, protesters demanded an end to the city’s attacks on immigrants and a rejection of what they called a “Trump-style stunt” designed to punish children and families.
“Many of you are not leaders – you’re cowards,” one speaker told the council during public comment. “You arrest activists for demanding a free Palestine, you vote to destroy Black neighborhoods, and now you’re copying Trump’s cruelty to terrorize children. Shame on you.”
The ordinance, introduced by Councilmember Rory Diamond, originally sought to ban all city funds from being used to support undocumented residents, including access to health care, domestic violence shelters, legal services, arts and cultural grants and even food programs. It also attacked children through proposed changes to the Kids Hope Alliance.
Though public pressure forced last-minute amendments to exempt children and select services, the core intent of the ordinance remained intact: to enshrine xenophobia into Jacksonville law and send a message of exclusion.
“While Diamond celebrates this cruelty, we see the truth. A desperate politician who had to gut his own bill to scrape together votes. Now these councilmembers own every consequence, children losing meals and tutoring, immigrant families being forced to seek care only at Shands, and crimes going unreported as entire communities are pushed deeper into the shadows,” said organizer Maria Garcia in a post-vote statement.
This betrayal isn’t happening in isolation. Across the country, immigrant communities are rising up against coordinated repression. In Los Angeles, a full-scale rebellion is underway, with thousands taking to the streets after federal raids and the arrest of labor leader David Huerta. Protesters there are confronting the same state violence we see in Jacksonville – policies that target immigrants, silence dissent and criminalize the basic fight for dignity.
“You’d rather jail protesters, deport parents, and let killers with badges walk free than lift a finger for affordable housing or safer streets,” said one organizer at Tuesday’s rally. “Jacksonville is sick of your hypocrisy.”
While the council was passing this ordinance, it continued to ignore a long list of crises: the beating death of Charles Faggart in JSO custody, the city’s skyrocketing housing crisis, and the daily violence faced by Black, immigrant and working-class communities. What it did prioritize was attacking undocumented families.
As the final vote passed late into the night, the gallery erupted in chants of “Shame!” and dozens of residents walked out of council chambers in disgust. Outside, the protest reignited under the streetlights, with organizers laying out the next steps: demand that Mayor Donna Deegan veto this dangerous and reactionary ordinance; organize to vote out every councilmember who backed it; and boycott businesses owned by those who supported it – including Mambo’s Cuban Café, owned by Councilmember Raul Arias Jr.
“Jacksonville sees through this charade,” Garcia said. “We’ll ensure these votes haunt every councilmember who sided with hate over their constituents.”
Denver, CO – On Saturday, June 14, over 30,000 people took to the streets in protest against the Trump administration. The protest was organized by the Colorado Palestine Coalition and was supported by many organizations including the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Aurora Unidos CSO, Denver Anti-War Action, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
Tallahassee, FL – On Saturday, June 14, thousands of people gathered at the Florida State Capitol building to show their opposition to the Trump administration. The No Kings protest – which was created by the 50501 movement – has over 1500 cities participating.
Protesters gathered to voice their outrage at the administration’s attacks on democratic rights, at violence against community members, and at the increasingly unchecked power of the president.
New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, June 14, over 5000 New Orleanians took to the streets for a No Kings Day parade protesting Trump’s military parade in DC. Indivisible NOLA hosted the local action, and dozens of organizations joined as “sub-Krewes” along with brass bands and drummers honoring the city’s parade culture.
![Alejandro Orellana with fist raised \[center\] after his release.](https://i.snap.as/wjUD16A4.jpeg "Alejandro Orellana with fist raised [center] after his release. | Photo: Fight Back! News")
Los Angeles, CA – On Friday, June 13, Alejandro Orellana, an immigrant rights activist who was arrested by the FBI, was freed from federal custody.
The previous morning the FBI, with the support of the National Guard and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, raided Orellana’s home in East Los Angeles and arrested Alejandro, a longtime member of Centro CSO, on charges of “conspiracy to commit criminal disorders.”
In a packed courtroom with family, supporters, and Centro CSO members, Orellana stood strong against the ridiculous charges. The U.S. Attorney tried to have the judge order Orellana to stay away from downtown LA but that order was rejected.
Dallas, TX – This May, nearly 90 union drivers at Albertsons, represented by Teamsters Local 745, voted unanimously to authorize a strike, sending a thunderous message to corporate management – and it worked.
Within hours of the vote, Albertsons executives returned to the bargaining table and immediately backed down, dropping proposed contract language that would have allowed the company to deploy autonomous trucks without human drivers. The company also agreed to move on several key economic demands after months of stonewalling.
Los Angeles, CA – On June 11, over 100 Chicanos gathered at Salazar Park for a news conference and rally to denounce the violent ICE kidnapping of a father of two in Boyle Heights. At 10:15 on the morning of June 11, a vehicle with a mother, father, infant and toddler traveling on Whittier Boulevard was pinned between two ICE vehicles. The father’s vehicle was tear gassed, and the father was kidnapped by agents, leaving the totaled car on Whittier.
Members of Centro CSO, an organization that fights for immigrant rights in Boyle Heights and East LA, were at the scene while the confrontation unfolded and demanded ICE show the warrant and identify themselves – which the agents laughed at and refused. The man is being charged with assault on a federal agent, but DHS has yet to provide evidence.
Twin Cities, MN – In the early morning hours of June 14, an individual came to the door of State Senator John Hoffman in Champlin, reportedly impersonating a police officer. He shot at Hoffman and his wife, who shielded their child from the gunfire.
Then the gunman, who has been identified as Reverend Vance Boelter, went to the Brooklyn Park home of State Representative Melissa Hortman, where he shot and killed Representative Hortman and her husband.
Reportedly, police arrived at the scene and Boelter fled on foot. He reportedly left behind his vehicle, which appeared similar to an SUV squad car. In his car, authorities report they found a list of other targets, also elected officials. Hortman is a leader of the state DFL party, and Hoffman is also a Democrat.
Reverend Boelter is a Zionist with a background in private security.
Los Angeles, CA — On the morning of June 12, in East Los Angeles, the FBI, National Guard, and LA Sheriff’s Department cornered off the street where immigrant rights activist Alejandro Orellana lives. Neighbors came out of their homes, concerned they were witnessing another ICE raid. FBI agents forcibly entered Orellana’s home, overturned all of his belongings, seized his electronic property, and then escorted Orellana handcuffed into one of their vehicles.