Frank Chapman to speak at Emergency Conference to defend the Tampa 5
Tampa, FL – Frank Chapman, a prominent leader of the Black Liberation movement and the executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression will speak at the “Emergency Conference to Defend the Tampa 5: Civil Liberties in the Era of DeSantis” that is set for June 24 in Tampa, Florida.
The Tampa 5 are students and employees of the University of South Florida who were arrested and charged with multiple felonies on March 6 after being attacked by police at a protest demanding USF president take a stand against GOP attacks on the Florida university system.
Chapman states, “These vicious repressive attacks against the Students for a Democratic Society in Tampa Bay are an affront to our democratic rights to organize and protest injustice. We must organize a massive defense campaign for the Tampa 5. We must muster all the democratic forces of the people to end this travesty of justice. Drop all charges against the Tampa 5!”
Speaking about the Emergency Conference, Chrisley Carpio, one of the five defendants who is facing up to ten years in prison states, “This conference is crucial to getting these charges dropped. It's clear that the state attorney is serious about making an example out of us to stamp out protests against DeSantis – and we can't let that happen. Just like they doubled the prison time, they will barrel forward, and they won't stop with just us. Workers, youth, everyone in the state of Florida needs to fight. If you are in traveling distance, in Florida or even outside of it, please make it out on June 24 and join us in saying: ‘Drop the charges on the Tampa 5!’”
To register for the conference, visit https://tinyurl.com/defendtampa5conf