Drop the Charges on Alejandro Orellana! Protesting ICE is not a crime!
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.
Alejandro Orellana is an activist in the Chicano-led organization Centro CSO and was raided by the FBI for protesting deportations in Los Angeles. He faces two bogus federal charges, conspiracy to commit disorder which carries up to 5 years in prison, and a charge of aiding and abetting civil disorder. On June 27, Alejandro Orellana, an immigrant rights activist and leader in Centro Community Service Organization, of East Los Angeles, will have his preliminary hearing and first court appearance.
Orellana has done nothing wrong. We believe that protesting ICE raids and deportations is not a crime. Orellana has been a leading member of the Chicano-led organization Centro Community Service Organization, or Centro CSO, for over 10 years. He has been public and forthright in organizing against ICE raids and the Trump administrations. His activism and visible resistance to Trump and ICE serves as a model and inspiration for us all.
It is for this reason and no other that he is being targeted. To protect our First Amendment rights, our freedom of speech, and our right to say no to the ICE operations and the Trump administration, we believe it is critical to defend Alejandro Orellana.
We are calling on supporters in all cities and towns to:
Organize a protest for June 27 at your federal courthouse to demand that the U.S. government drop the charges on Alejandro Orellana.
Call U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli on June 27 at 213-894-2400 and demand that the charges be dropped.
If you are in an organization, release a solidarity statement to demand that the charges be dropped.
Donate to the legal fund: Venmo @CentroCSO or Zelle CSO at: +1 (323) 580-3764
Follow his case and find flyers and more for Alejandro Orellana at www.stopfbi.org.