Minneapolis, MN – On April 7 over 50 anti-war protesters held Iranian, Palestinian and Lebanese flags and anti-war on Iran signs and banners over Interstate-35W in downtown Minneapolis to denounce Trump’s latest threats against Iran and demand an end to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The emergency response demonstration was called by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC).

On April 7, Trump stated that “a whole civilization will die” if his escalation against Iran goes forward, while he and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have repeatedly threatened to send Iran “back to the Stone Age.” Trump announced an 8 p.m. Eastern time deadline for Iran to capitulate to a list of maximalist U.S. demands or face destruction of its critical civilian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges.

Bombing civilian infrastructure is considered a war crime under international law. Moreover, all attacks launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran beginning February 28 are widely understood as unprovoked, making them a war of aggression that violates the United Nations Charter.

Ahead of Trump’s deadline, Iranians have been holding large demonstrations on bridges and near power plants and other critical infrastructure in Iran threatened by Trump, in the hopes of preventing them from being bombed. The MN Anti-War Committee organized the action to show solidarity with Iranians of all backgrounds and beliefs who are standing up against Trump’s war.

Near the end of the action Trump announced that he would back down from his threat on Iran and agree to a two-week ceasefire.

Wyatt Miller, member of the AWC, explained the intent behind the protest, “This bridge is close to the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi that collapsed in 2007. Here in Minneapolis, we know that the destruction of critical infrastructure is no joke. U.S-Israeli bombings are a war crime.”

Miller continued, “Trump seems to have backed down from his genocidal threats for now. But we know he can’t be trusted. It’s more clear than ever that we need to dismantle this whole system of U.S. war and empire once and for all, no matter who’s in charge of it.”

The MN Peace Action Coalition has called for supporters to join Women Against Military Madness’ protest on Wednesday, April 8 from 4 to 5 p.m. to continue to say no to the U.S. war on Iran.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Iran #AntiWarMovement #AWC

St. Paul, MN – On Thursday, March 26, 20 members of the MN Anti-War Committee (AWC)turned out to a midday rally outside Minnesota’s Retirement Systems Building, where Minnesota’s State Board of Investment (SBI) was holding its quarterly meeting.

Members of the AWC gave public testimony at the meeting. AWC members demanded divestment from apartheid Israel and weapons companies, but focused particularly on Palantir, a company whose AI surveillance software has directly facilitated human rights violations in Palestine, Iran, and Minnesota itself. As of June 2025, the book value of the SBI’s investments in Palantir was $55 million.

This marked the board’s first open quarterly meeting in nearly a year, and the first attendance of the AWC since 11 of its members were arrested during a sit-in at the Retirement Systems Building last fall — a sit-in prompted by the board declining to hold in-person, public hearings over many months. Public admittance to the meeting room was limited to just eight members of the community, not including speakers.

As of the 2025 fiscal year, Minnesota SBI managed a total of $161 billion in assets. It is funded by Minnesota public employees’ salary contributions and taxpayer dollars, and serves workers in the Teachers’ Retirement Association, Minnesota State Retirement Association, and many of the union members of AFSCME, SEIU, Education Minnesota, and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), among others.

The board emphasizes their fiduciary responsibility to pension holders and evaluates what is an “acceptable risk” investment. Governor Tim Walz serves as the board’s chair, along with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, State Auditor Julie Blaha, and the Secretary of State Steve Simon. The SBI currently invests over $586 million in weapons companies, including Elbit Systems, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

“This board has defended its continued investment in death-dealing companies like Palantir with the claim that it is a wholly apolitical body that merely does its financial duty to the state. But I have to ask, in what sense is funding the Trump administration’s agenda an apolitical act?” questioned Andrew Josefchak, union member and organizer with the Anti-War Committee. During the meeting Josefchak submitted into the record thousands of physical signatures collected from constituents who agree that Minnesota must divest from Israel and companies that facilitate war and genocide.

Public employee and MAPE member Kevin Snyder testified during the meeting and asked how the board could claim to be taking into account the interests of Minnesotans while ICE actively weaponizes Palantir tech against residents of the state.

While the AWC’s DivestMN campaign specifically demands that the SBI divest from entities and companies complicit in Israel’s crimes of genocide and apartheid in Palestine, its researchers have found that many of the same companies are complicit in ICE violence in Minnesota and across the country. Palantir is contracted by Israel’s Ministry of Defense, ICE and the U.S. military. Palantir’s products track populations on a massive scale and maintain large databases of intrusive personal information. Its software can be integrated into surveillance and weapons systems, including drones, and company executives have told concerned staff that Palantir places no restrictions on client use of its tools.

Even before October 7, the AWC’s DivestMN campaign demanded that the SBI divest from Israel (in the form of Israeli stocks and bonds) and weapons manufacturers that directly enable Israel’s destruction and genocide in Palestine. The same corporations are now profiting off of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which commenced with the bombing and murder of at least 175 school children in Minab.

AWC member Naveen Borojerdi, who testified before the SBI, is an Iranian American public employee and a member of MAPE. Borojerdi urged the board “to do better,” adding, “My people have a right to self-defense against joint American/Israeli terrorism, and I have the right to not have my own money facilitating that same terrorism against my own people.”

Jill Schurtz, the executive director of the SBI and its chief investment officer, admitted during the March 26 meeting that the “conflict in the Middle East” is “eroding gains” in their portfolio. “War destroys the working class,” Andrew Josefchak said as he took the mic outside the building and shared this information with demonstrators who had not been allowed into the meeting.

Throughout the meeting, members who were refused entry were heard and seen chanting from outside the first-floor windows. The silence and order in the room, maintained by the presence of no less than a half dozen police and state patrol officers, was broken by continuous calls directed at the SBI from outside: “Money for murder? No! Money for workers? Yes! Money for schools? Yes! Money for Palantir? No!”

The AWC will maintain their presence at SBI meetings until total divestment is reached.

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #AWC #AntiWarCommittee #SBI #DivestMN #Palestine #Palantir

Chicago, IL – On Wednesday, February 25, a coalition of organizations fighting for human rights and democracy in the Philippines rallied outside of the Philippine Consulate to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ousting of Marcos Sr. and the People Power Revolution, to confront continued corruption in the Philippines, and to hold the Philippine Consulate accountable for its neglect of Filipino migrants.

“Imperyalismo!” “Ibagksak!” “Marcos mismo!” “Babagsak!”

“Imperialism!” “Will topple!” “Marcos!” “Will topple!” chanted protesters.

The action commemorated the 1986 People Power Revolution (EDSA), in which the Filipino people fought against corruption and ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whose rule saw grave human rights violations including extrajudicial imprisonment, torture, and the murder of 3240 Filipinos. Speakers emphasized that despite the ousting of Marcos Sr. in 1986, the struggle against corruption in the Philippines is ongoing and that collusion between the U.S. and Philippine government must end.

“Patience has never liberated a generation! Compliance has never protected democracy! Those crowds at EDSA were not waiting for permission, they flooded the streets!” declared a member of Anakbayan at UIC, a youth and student organization building international solidarity and fighting for the liberation of the Philippines.

Throughout the program, multiple groups performed songs about the struggle for national liberation in the Philippines. During one of the songs, Aklasan, the crowd was encouraged to sing along to the chorus:

“Bawat sipag, bawat lakas

Ay umaklas!

Diwang dungo’t ulong yuko’y

Itinayo

Ang maliit na ginahis

Ay nagtindig”

“Every effort, every force

Rose up!

Subdued spirits and bowed heads

Were lifted up!

The small that were subdued,

Stood up!”

Speakers from Malaya Chicago and Tanggol Migrante continued by uplifting the struggle for immigrant rights in the United States, citing the experiences of Filipino immigrants in detention who are experiencing medical neglect and incompetence from the Philippine Consulate.

One of the stories uplifted was that of Tita Rebecca, a 71-year-old Filipina grandmother who was held in ICE detention for nine months and repeatedly denied proper medical care or examination before being secretly deported without notice to her family. Throughout Tita Rebecca’s time in ICE detention, the Philippine Consulate proved to be unhelpful to her family and organizers, refusing to speak with her family and actively working with ICE to keep details of her deportation concealed.

“Lahat ng sangkot!” “Dapat managot!”

“Everyone involved!” “Must be held accountable!” chanted protesters.

Speakers also told the story of Chantal Anicoche, a Filipina-American youth activist taking part in an immersion trip who was kidnapped by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) following the U.S. backed bombing of the Mangyan people in Mindoro that killed five people. After a nearly month-long international campaign, Chantal Anicoche was freed and able to safely return home to the United States.

Organizers commenced the rally with more chants and a group photo.

“The people, united, will never be defeated!”

“El pueblo, unido, jamás será vencido!”

“Ang tao, ang bayan, ngayon ay lumalaban!”

Organizations participating in the event included Malaya, Migrante, Tanggol Migrante, Bayan, Anakbayan at UIC, Anakbayan Chicago, Philippine-U.S. Solidarity Organization (PUSO) Chicago, Chicago Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (CCHRP), Anti-War Committee Chicago (AWC), and the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR).

#ChicagoIL #IL #Anakbayan #Bayan #CAARPR #AWC #CCHRP #PUSO #International #Philippines

Chicago, IL – A fiery rally took place in freezing weather beside the Little Village Arch on Saturday, December 13. Protesters commemorated Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe by demanding an end to deportations and ICE abductions, justice for victims of ICE, and legalization for all immigrants living in the U.S. as a part of a national weekend of action called by the Legalization for All Network.

Little Village, or La Villita, is a predominantly Mexicano and Chicano neighborhood, which has been a consistent target of ICE since the beginning of Trump’s operation Midway Blitz.

“La virgencita is a symbol for many Mexicanos and Chicanos in the U.S., a symbol of hope and strength as our communities face oppression, so on this Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe we are demanding legalization for all, an end to deportations, ICE out of Chicago, and justice for victims of ICE like our brother who was murdered, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez,” explained Gianna Escareno, one of the cochairs of the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA).

Escareno recounted the various tactics used by Chicagoans to resist ICE, including know your rights trainings, rapid response networks and mass confrontations. She encouraged everyone in attendance to join an organization and prepare for Bovino and thousands of ICE agents who are rumored to return to Chicago in March.

“Aquí con frío, pero aquí estamos, y no nos vamos. En la historia de la humanidad siempre existe la lucha entre pobres y ricos (It’s cold here but despite this, we’re here and we’re not leaving. Throughout the history of humanity, there has always been a fight between the poor and the rich),” said Irma Morales with Mientras Haya Amor Hay Esperanza, a Little Village-based organization.

“Afortunadamente, hemos aprendido a resistir (Fortunately, we have learned to resist),” Morales continued. She went on to call for solidarity between all oppressed people, a call echoed by other speakers.

“No one is illegal on stolen land,” affirmed Jasmine Smith, one of the co-chairs of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) and a leader in the movement to free incarcerated police torture survivors.

“When they attack one of us they attack all of us. We have to come together no matter what color you are because we have a common enemy,” Smith added.

“These are not just raids, but imperial invasions,” Moy Hernandez with New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) linked the domestic struggles with the international fight against oppression.

“Many people came here to flee the effects of U.S. imperialism, and as a result have spent holidays in cages away from their families, and have suffered inhumane treatment which will never be forgotten,” said Amira Altamimi with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN).

Yusuf Masood with the Anti War Committee (AWC) spoke about an emergency protest in Federal Plaza planned for the day the U.S. escalates its aggression against Venezuela into a full war. He cited decades of sanctions together with the murder of over 80 fishermen and the theft of an oil tanker headed to Cuba as a pattern of escalating imperialist attacks.

“Just like how Trump failed in Chicago, he will fail in Palestine and Venezuela. Oppressed people around the world cry in unison: down with Donald Trump! Down with U.S. imperialism!” Masood declared. He also called on people to attend the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) meeting on December 19 at 8 a.m. to demand divestment from the genocide and occupation in Palestine.

The emcee, Maya Sanchez with the CAARPR Immigrant Rights Working Committee, gave out the phone number for the Family Support Network, a hotline run by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).

“If you see ICE, call 855-435-7693,” Sanchez said to close out the rally.

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #L4A #CATA #AAAN #SDS #AWC

Minneapolis, MN – On August 28, approximately 50 protesters rallied outside Senator Amy Klobuchar's office to protest U.S. support for Israel's forced starvation of Palestinians. The rally drew much attention from onlookers on what was a day of multiple protests in the city. This action was organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC).

On August 22, the UN officially declared a famine in Gaza. In recent months, Israel's intentional starvation campaign has produced countless images of malnourished, skeletal Palestinians, shocking people around the world. In response, MPAC speakers expressed disgust at Israel's actions and at those who have contributed to the bombing and starvation, not least of which is Amy Klobuchar.

Taher Herzallah, director of outreach and community organizing for American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), told the crowd, “They hope – as Smotrich stood on the pulpit and said today – that the mass murder of Palestinians, the large scale, engineered starvation of an entire population, [will] teach them a lesson so that they never rebel again. The only thing that Smotrich will accomplish, him and his government in Israel today, is to cause more people, millions and millions more people around the world and in Palestine, to hate them even more.”

This growing worldwide revulsion towards Israel has placed politicians like Amy Klobuchar under significant pressure. Klobuchar, a staunch Zionist who continues to affirm the genocidal colony's right to “defend” itself, recently gave a speech on the Senate floor where she actually criticized Israel's starvation policy. While this concession can be seen as a minor victory for the pro-Palestine movement, Trent Fast, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), made it plain that Minnesotans are not taken in by empty posturing, stating, “Where was this outrage when you were posing and smiling with Netanyahu not a week before your speech to the senate?”

CeCe Maves, another AWC organizer, gave an agonizingly detailed description of the effects of starvation on the human body stating, “Starvation can cause permanent brain damage and, with children under the age of two, severely alter brain development. The psychological impacts of this will be seen for years to come.”

Nadiyeh Salawdeh of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network closed out the event by stating, “Like all liberal Zionists, Amy Klobuchar is doing all that she can to extend the life of the collapsing U.S. empire and its proxy in Israel. She wants to redeem the irredeemable. The world sees the fascist entities for what they are, and they see you as a foot soldier for genocide. You can no longer hide. It is our job to make sure that people like Amy Klobuchar are always held accountable for their role in genocide.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #MPAC #AMP #AWC

The event came a few days after the Trump administration bombed three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday, June 21. Up to this point, the U.S. government had been funding and supporting Israel as it bombed Iran, but had not itself launched an attack. Saturday’s news caused concern among people in the U.S. that it would spark a wider war in the region.

The event, held at Cathedral Square Park in downtown Milwaukee, first started with speeches at the park before departing on a short march through downtown to the Sunburst Sculpture by the lake. After several speeches at the sculpture, the protesters marched back to the park.

As they were marching, cars honked in support. At one point, an ambulance driver, sirens on and headed to an emergency, stuck their arm out the window and put their fist up in solidarity, to loud cheers from the marching crowd.

The speeches covered an array of topics, particularly connecting Iran with other national liberation struggles in the world.

“Iran has been a critical ally of Palestinian liberation, training and equipping resistance forces in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria to defend the Palestinian people against Zionist occupation. This is why the U.S. and Israel want Iran destroyed – not because of ‘terrorism’ or ‘nuclear threat,’” said Christina Stradwick of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Añita Herrezuelo of Milwaukee4Yemen said “Iran is being bombed not for what it has done, but for what it dares to support – Palestinian liberation. Yemen is being bombed because it did what the world would not – it put its body in the way of genocide and said ‘No ships will pass while Gaza starves.’”

Alan Chavoya, with the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR) talked about how after 1979 Iranians in the United States faced hatred, attacks and repression, saying “We have to remain vigilant against any future attacks that are going to come against Iranians, and we in the Milwaukee Alliance will stand up for anyone being attacked, because attacks against Iran and Iranians are political.”

A war with Iran is deeply unpopular in the U.S. and the world, despite what the Trump administration and national media in the U.S. may want people to think. Milwaukee will keep rising up and taking the streets, knowing all struggles of oppressed people everywhere are connected.

“The anti-war movement has grown massively since October 2023, thanks to the steadfast efforts of the Palestinian resistance and the people and countries across the world that have taken up the call. We are larger now, we are stronger now. And it is up to us, the people standing in solidarity all across the globe, to make sure we keep building!” said Sara Onitsuka, chair of the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #AntiWarMovement #Iran #Palestine #NAARPR #AWC #M4Y

Minneapolis, MN – Activists with the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) arrived at their office at 4200 Cedar Avenue on Saturday, May 23 to find two of the front plate glass windows smashed.

The AWC shares its office with the Climate Justice Committee, and the building is a well-known meeting and event space for many grassroots organizations engaged in anti-militarism, immigrant rights, anti-police brutality and environmental justice.

With nothing stolen from inside the office, the AWC told Fight Back! that it believes this act was a targeted attack on the office. Someone broke through the double-paned plate glass and broke the metal frame of windows, which were adorned with homemade signs for Palestine, Black lives, trans rights and abortion access. A picnic table was moved to get access to the window.

The incident occurred in an environment of growing attacks on vulnerable communities and progressive organizers around the country. Progressive groups have warned that the Trump administration’s rollbacks on democratic rights send a message of impunity for reactionary vigilantism.

The Anti-War Committee is no stranger to political attacks and intimidation – several members of the group were targeted with FBI raids and grand jury summons in 2010 in an attempt to halt their Palestine solidarity organizing. All targeted organizers refused to testify and publicly stood together to repel the FBI attack and continued organizing against the U.S. war machine.

“With political violence and repression on the rise under the Trump administration, it does not surprise us to be targeted,” said Committee member Gabriel Miller. Emphasizing that this goes beyond the AWC, they continued, “Standing in solidarity with Palestine, immigrants, workers and the Black Lives Matter movement, we understand that an attack on one is an attack on all. We are not deterred by this political violence. We will continue to raise our voices louder than ever in support of oppressed peoples at home and abroad.”

The Anti-War Committee will hold a press conference with community members and local leaders like Minneapolis City Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai at 4200 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 25 in front of their boarded-up windows.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #AWC

Richardson, TX – On March 18, community members gathered to protest in front of the Raytheon company’s building in response to Raytheon’s complicity in the Israeli genocide in Palestine. The Dallas chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement called the emergency protest after Israel broke the recent ceasefire agreement and continued bombing the Gaza strip.

Raytheon, second to Lockheed Martin, is one of the world largest weapons manufacturers, and has been targeted by anti-war activists in north Texas. Aside from Raytheon, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has seen protests and actions against local Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics plants.

Hundreds of community members shouted chants, “No more ships, no more cargo, we demand an arms embargo” and “Ron, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” The demonstration lasted from 3 to 6 p.m. Volunteers were out and about helping community members and directing people towards the front of the Raytheon building.

Omar Suleiman, a local imam serving at the Valley Ranch Islamic Center stated, “We know that this evil will come to an end inshallah, we know that it is a matter of time. We know that the days of the oppressors are numbered.”

It has been 17 months since October 7 and countless Palestinians continue to lose their lives. Just within the first 12 hours of the breaking of the ceasefire, over 400 were murdered; of those, over 170 were children.

Besides Palestinian Youth Movement, the action was endorsed by many community organizations such as the Dallas Anti-War Committee, MAS Peace, Dallas Palestine Coalition, as well as Dallas chapters of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Jewish Voices for Peace, Democratic Socialist of America, and multiple Student for Justice in Palestine chapters.

#DallasTX #TX #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #AWC #PYM #DPC #JVP #SJP

Minneapolis, MN – 100 people came out of the cold of Minnesota’s winter and jumped into the fires of the struggle on Friday, March 7. Beginning at 6 p.m., the hall of the Lucy Parson’s Center was packed for an event to mark International Women’s Day.

Key points of discussion centered on the origin of gender oppression, and the role of women as both workers in their workplaces, but also those who have the brunt of work in the home forced upon them. Olivia Crull of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and a founding member of MN Abortion Action Committee, put it concisely: “If we want to understand where gender oppression comes from, we first have to talk about reproductive labor and the family. Reproductive labor is exactly what it sounds like: it reproduces our health and energy outside of work. It includes things like cooking, cleaning, entertaining, childbearing and rearing.”

Crull noted, “Historically and currently, women perform the bulk of this labor so that when their husbands return to work, having been fed and cared for, they’re able to continue producing for their capitalist bosses.” Crull also noted the important role that women play in that reserved group of unemployed workers, being drawn on by the billionaire class to expand workforces in growing industries, and on the other hand being pushed out at the first sign of economic downturn.

Expanding from this discussion, speakers touched on the role of women and the impact of gender oppression in each of their particular struggles. Robynne Johnson, speaking for MNAAC, discussed the importance of the struggle for women’s and reproductive rights to all struggles, stating, “To support reproductive freedom is to support working-class women and gender oppressed people everywhere.”

Johnson continued, “When Roe was overturned in 2022, states across the country began rolling out abortion bans and stealing the right to bodily autonomy from women, and recently we’ve seen legislators introduce dozens of bills aimed at limiting trans people from receiving gender-affirming care. These laws are direct attacks on working and oppressed people. When the ruling class institutes bans against our bodies, they are stealing our autonomy away from us, just like they steal all the wealth that we create.”

Attendees listened with great interest to the words of speakers and after that were invited to participate in a Q&A portion to get deeper into the matter of each of the speakers’ issues, and how the fight for women’s rights and an end to gender oppression connects to other struggles. At the closing of the event, attendees were invited to take part in a march the following day, March 8, to mark the working class holiday of International Women’s Day itself.

The event was spearheaded by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s Twin Cities District and included speakers from FRSO as well as: the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J), the MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA – CWA), the MN Anti War Committee (AWC), and the MN Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC).

#MinneapolisMN #MN #WomensMovement #InternationalWomensDay #FRSO #TCC4J #MIRAC #MNAAC #AWC #AFACWA

Minneapolis, MN – In frigid weather, February 20, 50 people rallied with the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) to oppose Trump's attacks on the environment, along with the barrage of other attacks that have happened in the first month of Trump’s presidency. 

Speakers connected Trump's attacks on immigrants, trans rights, workers and Palestine to the rollback of environmental protections that Trump instituted in his first days in office.

Trump has used executive orders to push more fossil fuels and end the U.S. role in the Paris Climate Accords, ensuring that previously agreed upon goals to curb climate change won’t happen. The CJC speaker emphasized how every tenth of a percent of rising temperatures mean more intense weather, food scarcity and increasing energy costs that fall disproportionately on oppressed nationality and working class families and their communities. They also talked about the lack of action by Democrats like Senator Klobuchar, whose office the rally was in front of.

Rally goers chanted, “Stand up fight back” as the emcee rotated the attacks on immigrants, trans rights, Palestine, and workers that are happening from Trump and his cronies. 

Kristen Bledsoe from Minnesota Abortion Action Committee talked about the heart wrenching case of Sam Nordquist, a Minnesota native who had recently been tortured and killed in New York as a logical conclusion of the transphobic rhetoric coming from the Trump administration. 

Bledsoe ended her speech with, “We have to resist the impulse to shut down and hide. We have to recognize that the cruelty and the chaos of the Trump administration is meant to make us lose focus, and we have to counter that by being more strategic, more united, and more organized than ever before.” 

“Trump’s attacks on DEI show the white supremacist mindset, trying to kill anything that would make this country more equal for those who have been left out for centuries,” stated Minnesota Workers United speaker Neil Radford. Radford called on rally goers to focus on solidarity of the working class that needs to stand together and not allow Trump and his ilk to divide us. 

Mira Altobell-Resendez from the Minnesota Immigrant Action Committee talked about the important work MIRAC is doing using Know Your Rights trainings with immigrant communities and allies to stand against ICE and governmental agencies. 

Trent Fast from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee made a clear case, “We need to be mad as hell at Donald Trump and his attacks on everyday working people here at home - and those in Palestine. We all have more in common with everyday Palestinians than we ever will with people like Donald Trump. Solidarity across movements is our sharpest weapon against his presidency. Because when we stand together, there's way more of us than there are of them!”

All of the speakers emphasized the importance of getting involved and building solidarity among the people’s movements to stand against the Trump attacks over the next four years and beyond.

#MinneapolisMN #TwinCities #CJC #ClimateJustice #MNAWC #AWC #ICE #MIRAC #Immigration #NoDeportations #DEI

Minneapolis, MN – On November 20, the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) held an emergency response rally to protest the United States escalation of the Russia/Ukrainian war. The protest focused on the United States’ deployment of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine for use in expanding the ongoing U.S. proxy war with Russia.

Around 40 people gathered outside of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar's office to demand “Stop the U.S. proxy war with Russia” and “No to World War III.” Protesters expressed concern that the U.S. is using the war in Ukraine to try to isolate Russia, harm its economy, and divide up Europe.

“The U.S. finds someone willing to unleash chaos on its behalf, to start interminable conflicts that will erode the ability of anyone who isn't the U.S., or a subservient ally of the U.S., to pursue their own goals, their own independence. And it tries to convince the world that it’s doing it for noble reasons, that in Israel it is supporting ‘the only democracy in the Middle East,’ that in Ukraine it's fending off completely irrational Russian aggression,” said Andrew Josefchak, of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC).

Also speaking to the protesters, Cedar Larson of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) explained, “U.S. imperialism and intervention knows no bounds and the thoughtlessness with which Biden is attempting to leave his campsite worse than he found it is infuriating. As he brings us to the brink of nuclear war and World War III, it is important to understand why this war is happening,” adding, “Biden will not tell you what his end goal is, but the truth is to use Russia’s aggression as an excuse to invite Ukraine into NATO.”

MPAC, long time Twin Cities coalition of anti-war and anti-imperialist organizations, will be hosting an upcoming protest outside of the Minneapolis Holidazzle festival on December 21 to say, “End U.S. aid to Israel” and “Hands off Bethlehem” this holiday season.

#MinneapolisMI #AntiWarMovement #MPAC #AWC #WAMM

Bloomington, MN – On September 14, 80 activists marched on the Bloomington General Dynamics facility to highlight the company's role in facilitating Israel's relentless attacks against occupied Palestine.

This event, organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, began with a rally at the intersection of Penn Avenue and 88th Street at the corner of the Penn Lake Library. Following 45 minutes of lively speeches and chants, demonstrators marched to the front of General Dynamics’ “Mission Systems” facility.

Michael Runyon, founder of Students for Palestine Normandale, explained why community members were calling attention to General Dynamics.

“[When] Israel began their genocide of Gaza, the CFO of General Dynamics told investors that the thing that stands out is the artillery side,” Runyon said. “In other words, if you want to make money, we can do it by killing men, women, and children. They are on track now to produce 100,000 artillery shells per month.”

Over the past eleven months, Israel has targeted Palestinian civilians and civilian infrastructure using a variety of arms made by General Dynamics, from the 155 mm artillery shells Runyon referenced in his speech to 2000 lb bunker buster bombs; from tanks to cybersecurity systems; from robotic combat vehicles to sophisticated guns.

General Dynamics, the world's fifth-largest weapons manufacturer, generates an estimated $38.5 billion in revenue per year. The corporation has spent decades furnishing the state of Israel with a range of munitions and equipment, but public scrutiny has increased since Israel's well-documented campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide commenced last October.

Sarah Martin, a longtime member of Women Against Military Madness, pointed out the complicity of the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) in enabling Israel’s many war crimes. “We Minnesotans don’t want over three billion dollars of our money flowing to death and destruction,” Martin said. “We need to divest, and we need to divest now!”

Martin was referring to an ongoing divestment campaign spearheaded by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), which aims to pressure the SBI to divest an estimated $4.3 billion of public money from entities that are actively or passively linked to Israel’s economy.

Neil Radford, a rank-and-file union member of MFT59 and a member of Minnesota Workers United, pointed out that over $30 million dollars of Minnesotan pensioners’ money gets siphoned toward General Dynamics alone.

Radford stated, “When Americans are willing to forgo any sense of morality in what their labor creates, or our collective responsibility to each other as human beings; when they see war as inevitable and an opportunity for investment and upward mobility; they will end up working for a company like General Dynamics and continuing a path to a hopeless future.”

Event emcee Naveen Borojerdi closed out the program with several robust chants and the cry, “We’ll be back!” to whoops and cheers from the assembled crowd. Attendees were encouraged to stay up-to-date on the AWC's continuing SBI divestment campaign by visiting divestmn.com.

#BloomingtonMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #WeaponsIndustry #GeneralDynamics #MPAC #WAMM #MWU #AWC

St. Paul, MN – During the early morning hours of November 20, 50 pro-Palestine protesters gathered at the site of Lockheed Martin’s new microelectronics subsidiary, ForwardEdge ASIC, in Saint Paul. They unfurled long banners, one reading, “MN, divest from Lockheed,” and blocked the driveway entrances to the facility for almost eight hours.

Police arrived shortly after the activists occupied the space and made their presence throughout the day, but no arrests were made. Due to the protesters’ presence, no employees of ForwardEdge ASIC were able to enter the facility and go to work that morning. The parking lot remained empty save for a lone security guard’s vehicle.

Lockheed Martin is the world’s largest weapons company by revenue and one of the major suppliers to the Israel Defense Forces. Lockheed Martin supplies Israel with a wide variety of weapons, including fighter jets, attack helicopters, and missiles. Lockheed Martin technologies are also integrated into Israel's main weapon systems.

Activists participated in as part of the newly formed Free Palestine Coalition in the Twin Cities, which comprises groups such as the Anti-War Committee (AWC), American Muslims for Palestine – MN, Council on American-Islamic Relations – MN, Students for Justice in Palestine – UMN, Students for a Democratic Society – UMN, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM), Jews Against Genocide, Red Nation, and several others.

Protesters emphasized the role of the state of Minnesota in funding Lockheed as well as other companies that make possible Israel’s violence against Palestinians. “Minnesota granted Lockheed over $1 million to open the Saint Paul facility this year,” explained Wyatt Miller of the AWC. “Meanwhile, the State Board of Investments has invested over $53 million of public pension money it controls in Lockheed. Governor Tim Walz chairs that board, so we also want to send a message that Minnesotans don’t want to see our taxpayer dollars used to fund this massacre in any way.”

After protesters determined that a majority of the workday had been disrupted, they marched in unity towards the facility to plaster the building with the protest signs as a show of victory.

Sarah Martin, a longtime anti-war activist with WAMM who was prepared to be arrested Monday, stated, “Because of our presence, weapons components were not made at the facility today by a manufacturer largely responsible for the murder of Palestinian children.”

“Protesters across the world have been shutting down business as usual as long as this massacre of Gaza continues,” said Miller. “We are proud to do what we can to slow the operations of the U.S. military-industrial complex, which is the backbone of Israel’s oppression of Palestine.”

Governor Walz announced in May 2023 that the state of Minnesota would grant around $1.3 million from the Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Minnesota Investment Fund and the Job Creation Fund programs. In October, shortly after the facility began operations, hundreds of anti-war protesters rallied outside to demand its closure and an end to state support for all weapons companies.

Local groups like the AWC, Breaking the Bonds MN, and MN BDS Community have long called for the SBI to divest from apartheid Israel. According to the AWC, the latest SBI asset listing shows around $1 billion of investment in companies and funds complicit in Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

The Free Palestine Coalition’s next protest is at the Minnesota State Capitol on Tuesday, November 28 at 6 p.m. on the eve of the next State Board of Investment meeting. There, protesters will demand that the state of Minnesota divest from Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers that profit from Israeli occupation and apartheid.

#StPaulMN #International #Palestine #AntiWar #AWC #SJP #SDS #WAMM #LockheedMartin #Feature

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, October 3, more than 20 people gathered outside the office of Minnesota State Senator Amy Klobuchar to demand an end to U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine. The event was a response to a national call by the Peace in Ukraine Coalition and the United National Antiwar Coalition for activists all across the country to unite in demanding an end to U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine and U.S. Interference in negotiations.

Protesters held a banner reading “No to NATO! No to war!” and waved signs with slogans of “U.S. hands off Ukraine” and “No war with Russia! No war with China!”

Drake Myers of the Anti-War Committee opened the rally by explaining why Klobuchar's office was chosen as a target. “Klobuchar has been a supporter of war in Ukraine as far back as 2014,” Myers stated, describing her trip to Ukraine in that year, where she stood in support of a violent U.S.-backed coup was in the process of unseating Ukraine's elected government. “When Russia invaded Ukraine, Klobuchar said, 'This is going to be a long war,'” Myers said. “Why does she get to decide that? The U.S. should not decide that!” Klobuchar has continued to be a voice for increased U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine, fueling the war and delaying negotiation.

Sarah Martin of Women Against Military Madness spoke about the role of NATO as a tool of imperialism, detailing how NATO, under leadership of the U.S., waged “so-called 'humanitarian wars'” in Yugoslavia, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan that have left these countries “dismembered and impoverished.” She drew attention to the role that NATO played in stoking the current war in Ukraine, saying “Even Jens Stoltenberg, military head of NATO and war hawk if there ever there was one, recently admitted at an EU Parliament meeting that Putin went to war to prevent NATO, more NATO, close to his borders.”

Minnesota Anti-War Committee representative Andrew Josefchak spoke at the close of the rally, focusing on how U.S. interference has prolonged the war in Ukraine and resulted in greater death and destruction. “All wars end in negotiation,” said Josefchak, “But the U.S. and NATO, of which it is the de facto head, have done everything they can to sabotage negotiations. Every time Ukraine and Russia have been ready to go to the negotiating table – which they have been a number of times, the idea that Russia refuses to negotiate is a lie spread by the media – the U.S. has stepped in with yet another mountain of weapons and yet another false promise of total victory for Ukraine. We are here to demand that the U.S. stop blocking peace talks, stop all weapons shipments, and that when negotiations do begin, the U.S. keeps its blood-soaked hands out of it.”

The rally was hosted by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), joined by Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) and Veterans for Peace Local 27.

The event ended with chants of “Fuck you NATO and your war, we won’t take it anymore!” and “What’s the biggest threat to world today? NATO and the USA!”

#MinneapolisMN #Ukraine #NATO #AWC #WAMM #VFP #UNAC