News and Views from the People's Struggle
San Jose, CA – On Friday, July 3, around two dozen people gathered for a rally and march starting at Dr. MLK Jr. Library to stand against the U.S.’s endless investment and participation in war across the globe, currently including but not limited to, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and Palestine.
The crowd chanted, “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation” and “Israel bombs, U.S. pays, how many did they kill today?”
St Paul, MN – The Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) issued a national call to action for protests on July 4 weekend to highlight that the U.S. 250th birthday celebration also mark 250 years of nonstop genocide, war and imperialism.
Both the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) held actions to draw attention to the costs of U.S.-sponsored wars and genocides.
Grand Rapids, MI – In the late afternoon on July 4, around 40 people gathered in Roberto Clemente Park to socialize, eat and condemn 250 years of U.S. war crimes. For many of the attendees, this was the first anti-war event they've attended.
Milwaukee, WI – Over the July 4 weekend, residents of Milwaukee held a banner drop and a social to commemorate 250 years of resistance by people fighting for freedom and liberation from oppression. The events were organized by the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) and supported by other community organizations.
Salt Lake City, UT – On July 4, dozens of protesters gathered to demonstrate at the Raytheon Applied Signals Technology facility located in an industrial area on the outskirts of the city. Raytheon, a company long since linked to U.S. and Israeli war crimes, is the target of a new campaign by the Utah Anti-War Committee.
Brooklyn, NY – On July 3, dozens of activists rallied outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) to demand freedom for kidnapped Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. The picket also marked six months since President Maduro and First Lady Flores were kidnapped from Caracas in a United States military operation which killed 100 people, including 32 Cuban bodyguards.
San Jose , CA – On June 30, San Jose State University Professor Dr. Sang Hea Kil of the Justice Studies Department held a victory rally after her arbitration allowing her to return go with full backpay. This came after a protracted campaign where she bravely resisted her firing due to her vocal disapproval of the U.S.-Israeli genocide in Palestine. She was the first tenured professor to be fired from a public university for speaking against the genocide in the wake of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
Tucson, AZ – The Tucson Anti War Committee (TAWC) along with nine other organizations rallied outside the Mexican Consulate on June 27 to demand: U.S. hands off Cuba! U.S. hands off Mexico!
The crowd of nearly 30 people received numerous honks from vehicles passing by the busy street corner. The action joined the national Week of Action called for by the National Network on Cuba and endorsed by Black Alliance for Peace, UNAC, Resist US-Led War, Anti War Action Network (AWAN), and many others.
By Chanel Crittenden and staff
Chicago IL – Over 50 people gathered for a rally outside of the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) quarterly meeting in downtown Chicago on Monday, June 22. As the start of the rally drew near, chants of “Free Palestine,” “Money for jobs and education” and “Israel bombs, Illinois pays!” reverberated through the air for the morning commuters to hear.
Seattle, WA – On June 26, the day of the World Cup Iran–Egypt match, the Hands Off Iran Coalition organized a flash action in the form of an anti-war “People’s Football Game” in the middle of a packed street within view of the main stadium.
Salt Lake City, UT – On Saturday, June 20, at an event organized by the Utah Anti War Committee, dozens of community members gathered at an overpass to demand hands off Cuba.
Minneapolis, MN – On July 24, pro-Palestine and police accountability advocates as well as local media gathered in the Minneapolis City Hall rotunda around a banner that read, “Drones out of MPLS. Drones out of Palestine. Say no to Skydio.” The Twin Cities-based Free Palestine Coalition (FPC) proceeded to hold a press conference calling on Minneapolis City Council to reject a proposal that would enact a trial program of so-called “drones as first responders” supplied by U.S. drone manufacturer Skydio.
Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday, June 17, about 30 protesters gathered at the busy intersection of Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue to demand U.S hands off Cuba. Passing cars were supportive with many honks and fists out the windows. Chants of “What’s the number one threat to the world today? Donald Trump and the USA!” could be heard down the street. The action was organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition.
Detroit, MI – On Tuesday June 16, activists rallied outside of the Reindustrialize Summit to oppose war profiteers, surveillance tech billionaires, members of the war mongering Trump administration and high-ranking military personnel. The companies that attended the conference seek to bring war industry manufacturing and surveillance tech jobs to Detroit and other Midwest cities to expand their businesses. For this reason, protesters demanded that the attendees and the companies they represent have no place in their city.
Richfield, MN – On June 14, over 50 protesters gathered outside a U.S. Army recruitment center to demand an end to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Lebanon, highlighting the war crimes committed by U.S. military personnel while admonishing recruiters for preying on vulnerable people’s basic needs. The event was organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) with a wide range of grassroots organizations participating in the event.
West Valley City, UT- On June 13, members of the Utah Anti-War Committee held a hybrid teach-in at the West Valley City library for local communities. The material? Raytheon.
By Emily Newberg and Ulysses Dolan
Minneapolis, MN – On June 5, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) and allied organizations held a rally outside the Minneapolis Convention center to disrupt the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s (DFL) 2026 Humphrey-Mondale fundraising dinner. The dinner is the Minnesota Democratic Party’s annual fundraising event and a strategic rallying point for local Democrats ahead of key elections.
Braving the intense summer heat for a program of chanting and speeches, community members made their voices heard as they demanded an end to state funding of Israel’s genocide in Palestine, an end to the war on Iran and Lebanon, and a return to quarterly in-person State Board of Investment (SBI) meetings.
Cassidy Aickin, member of the AWC and co-emcee for the day, opened the event by saying, “In that building the DFL is hosting their annual Humphrey-Mondale dinner; their biggest fundraising event of the year. The people who have the most institutional power in our state, alongside their benefactors, are coming together to celebrate – another ‘great year’ of shutting out their constituents, ignoring people’s cries for divestment, and directly paying for the bombs that have martyred hundreds of thousands of Palestinian, Lebanese and Iranian people. Shame!”
Aickin continued, “The State Board of Investment, composed of Tim Walz, Keith Ellison, Julie Blaha and Steve Simon, chooses to invest hundreds of millions of Minnesota state employee pension dollars into weapons manufacturers, Israeli companies, and war profiteers like Palantir.”
The SBI had been scheduled to hold its second quarterly meeting of 2026 on Wednesday, June 3, but quietly removed the details from its schedule less than a month before. This effective cancellation continued the SBI’s over year-long trend of restricting community participation in what should be public meetings. But these cancellations have not deterred community involvement and have instead given way for powerful coalitions.
Representing the MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Mira Altobell-Resendez reminded the crowd that, “The Minnesota Democratic Party spent all of winter ignoring the calls for protections for immigrants during Metro Surge. Tim Walz can sign an executive order at any time to ban 287(g) agreements that deputize county law enforcement into local ICE agents. The candidates for this year’s gubernatorial election like Amy Klobuchar could commit to creating ICE free zones as soon as they step into office.”
Alissa Washington, founder and executive director of the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council of MN, gave an impassioned speech connecting the wrongful conviction of her fiancé, Cornelius Jackson, and the over-policing of communities here and abroad. Washington said, “We’re here tonight because while the DFL dines with donors, we’re out here struggling to survive. While politicians gather behind closed doors, families are torn apart by wrongful convictions and over-sentencing! While they celebrate fundraisers, our loved ones are deported, imprisoned, displaced, and forgotten.”
Washington continued, “The DFL loves to tell us they are the party of working people. Then prove it! Stop shutting the public out of SBI meetings. Stop making decisions that impact our communities without our communities present.”
“What they’re really doing is defining what it means to run as a Democrat: position yourself as the only alternative to the Republican Party when you support genocide, racist tough-on-crime policies, corporate profiteers, expansion of the police state, all at the expense of the same constituents you claim to represent,” said Maddy Schwartz, member of the MN AWC. “The SBI has ignored constant calls from public employees to address this disgusting complicity in human rights violations. This sends a clear message that if you stand against genocide, your voice doesn’t matter.”
Only two days after the SBI was scheduled to meet, workers and allies in the anti-war movement made their voices heard, questioning why DFL politicians have time for their donors but not the taxpayers who pay their salaries. One volunteer working at the dinner stepped out from his role inside the Convention Center and picked up a “Divest MN from Apartheid Israel” sign for a portion of the action, before returning to his duties inside. When asked why he chose to join the voices demanding divestment he said, “It is the right thing to do.”
#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #DFL #Palestine #Divestment #BDS
Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, June 9, organizers and activists gathered at the Cleveland Park Library to hear a report back from Ermiya Fanaeian on her recent trip to Cuba. Fanaeian, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization DC (FRSO DC) – which hosted the event – visited the country as part of the May Day Brigade this past May. The visit coincided with the passing of legislation for increasing economic sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
San Jose, CA – On Thursday June 11, San Jose Against War called an emergency action in response to Trump’s escalated bombing of Iran. The group of over 20 gathered outside of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in San Jose with signs reading “No to war on Iran, Lebanon, & Palestine” and “Money for people’s needs, not for war and genocide!” Participants waved Palestinian and Iranian flags in solidarity with the people and counties targeted by U.S.-Israeli forces.
Jacksonville, FL- On June 10, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network held a press conference before the dismissal of the State Attorney’s Office’s municipal charge against Leah Grady for “resisting an officer without violence.”