Fuerzas reaccionarias se están uniendo para permitir violencia policial y socavar la rendición de cuentas que se ha logrado tras una ardua lucha. Las autoridades de Minnesota ahora piden calma si Trump decide indultar a Derek Chauvin, el asesino condenado de George Floyd.

La idea de un indulto federal para Chauvin, cuya condena solo se logró después de que millones de personas inundaron las calles en 2020, sería escupirle en la cara del movimiento que obligó un ajuste de cuentas con los crímenes policiales. Todos quienes defienden la justicia y creen que las vidas negras importan deben estar alerta. Si esto sucede, este indulto debe ser enfrentado con resistencia masiva.

La reciente orden ejecutiva de Trump titulada “Fortaleciendo y Liberando a la Policía de Estados Unidos” busca eliminar la supervisión policial, proteger a policías asesinos con mayor inmunidad y defensa, y empoderar al Departamento de Justicia para perseguir y atacar a funcionarios locales que intenten limitar los abusos policiales.

La jueza de Milwaukee, Hannah Dugan, y el alcalde de Newark, Ras Baraka, ya han sido arrestados por oponerse a los ataques de Trump contra inmigrantes – y las colaboraciones entre ICE y la policía siguen aumentando, desafiando medidas de santuario locales.

Por eso debemos movilizarnos. El 25 de mayo, en el quinto aniversario del asesinato de George Floyd, la Alianza Nacional Contra la Represión Racista y Política y sus aliados saldrán a las calles en un día de acción para exigir: “¡Justicia para George Floyd y todas las víctimas del terror policial! ¡Revoquen la orden ejecutiva de Trump sobre el Estado policial y carcelero! ¡Aprueben la Ley de Justicia Policial de George Floyd! ¡Control comunitario de la policía ahora!

Aunque el gobernador de Minnesota, Tim Walz, afirma que la condena estatal seguirá vigente, un indulto federal representaría un respaldo inaceptable a la brutalidad policial. Sería un mensaje claro a policías racistas y asesinos que ellos estarán protegidos. Este mensaje resuena en la orden ejecutiva de Trump, que está diseñada para intensificar y expandir la violencia policial y carcelaria. También asigna decenas de miles de agentes adicionales para cumplir las operaciones y detenciones de ICE que están separando a familias.

La rebelión del 2020, y la reacción contra ella, demostraron nuestro poder. Para derrotar la agenda de Trump, necesitamos un movimiento que una a todos los que puedan ser unidos, y que esté listo para alzarse y luchar. Si los rumores del indulto se vuelven realidad, encuéntranos en las calles. Únanse al llamado a acción de la Alianza Nacional el 25 de mayo.

#InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Reactionary forces are rallying to enable police violence and to undermine the accountability that has been hard won through struggle. Minnesota authorities are now appealing for calm if Trump decides to pardon Derek Chauvin, the convicted murderer of George Floyd.

The idea of a federal pardon for Chauvin, whose conviction was only secured after millions flooded the streets in 2020, would spit in the face of the movement that forced a reckoning with police crimes. All those who stand for justice and believe Black lives matter should be on alert. If it happens, this pardon must be met with mass resistance.

Trump’s recent executive order titled “Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement” aims to strip away police oversight, shield killer cops with expanded immunity and defense, and empower the Department of Justice to target and attack local officials who attempt to limit police abuses.

Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka have already been arrested for standing against Trump’s attacks on immigrants – and ICE collaborations with police continue to escalate, in defiance of local sanctuary measures.

This is why we must mobilize. On May 25, the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and its allies will take to the streets for a day of action demanding: “ Justice for George Floyd and all victims of police terror! Rescind Trump’s police and prison state executive order! Pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act! Community control of the police now!”

While Minnesota Governor Tim Walz claims the state conviction will still stand, a federal pardon would represent an unacceptable endorsement of police brutality. It would be a clear message to racist killer cops saying they will be protected. This message reverberates in Trump’s executive order, which is designed to escalate and expand the violence of police and prisons. It also deputizes tens of thousands of additional officers to enforce the ICE operations and detainments that are tearing families apart.

The 2020 rebellion, and the reaction against it, proves our power. To defeat Trump’s agenda, we need a movement that unites all who can be united, and is ready to stand up and fight back. If the pardon rumors become reality, meet us in the streets. Join up with the National Alliance’s call to action on May 25.

#InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin #KillerCops #PoliceCrimes #NAARPR #Feature

Tampa, Fl – On May 25, students and community members of Tampa Bay rallied to demand Derek Chauvin receive maximum sentencing for his murder of George Floyd. The protest was held by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) as a part of a national day of action to demand Chauvin get the sentencing appropriate for his crime.

Eithne Silva, member of SDS, stated, “We participated in this national day of action to demand that Derek Chauvin get a maximum sentence for the murder of George Floyd and that the other police officers who stood by and watched the murder get jailed for their complicity.”

The event was held in preparation for the sentencing of Chauvin, which is said to be sometime in June. There are multiple dates that have been presented for Chauvin’s sentencing, but the most recent one is said to be on June 16.

“The sentencing is being dragged out because the police hope that the people will forget so Chauvin can get a light sentence, so it's all the more important for us to continue having protests to put pressure on the police and the court to get true justice,” Silva stated.

Protesters also highlighted the fact that the chokehold that Chauvin used on Floyd is a common tactic of Israeli soldiers against Palestinians. Chauvin and other police officers often learn Zionist soldier tactics through conferences held in the U.S. or by traveling directly to occupied Palestine. Protesters demonstrated international solidarity with the people of occupied Palestine through chanting, “From Palestine to Chicago, occupation has got to go!”

The event also had community members who spoke about local cases of police crimes in Tampa.

Will Blake, member of Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC) stated, “After numerous cases of police brutality, misconduct, and murders, our local officials like the mayor and state attorney have shown that they have no interest in holding officers accountable. This is why we need community control of the police, because our officials and police do not at all represent the Black, brown and working people of this city.”

SDS will continue to call for justice for George Floyd and all victims of police brutality. If the courts attempt to give Chauvin a light sentence, SDS will demand that he receives the sentence he deserves.

Silva stated, “It’s important for us to reiterate the people's demand for community control of the police and our own demand to defund our university police.”

#TampaFl #TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TampaBayStudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Jacksonville FL – On April 21, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) organized a rally, uniting with the National Alliance against Racist and Political Repression call for protests to respond to the Chauvin trial and to demand justice for the countless number of victims of police crimes in Jacksonville and throughout the country.

Jacksonville is one of the many cities that have been plagued with countless murders at the hand of law enforcement.

The day after the guilty verdict, over a 100 people gathered in front of the Duval County Courthouse to demand justice for victims of police crimes. Christina Kittle, an organizer with JCAC, reiterated to the crowd that even with the Chauvin guilty verdict, we still must keep up the fight. She also shared the importance of community control of the police. Charity Baker, the mother of Leah Baker, a 28-year-old woman who was brutally shot and killed by JSO officers, spoke to the crowd and shared her daughter’s story. She also reminded the crowd that the fight for accountability wouldn’t be as prominent without the voice of the people.

The importance of the voice of the people was reiterated throughout the rally. The crowd chanted “The people united, will never be defeated.” Monique Sampson, another organizer with JCAC, emphasized to the crowd that “George Floyd sparked an entire movement. His death was not in vain. The guilty verdict wasn’t the result of the jury being the jury, it was the result of the peoples movement taking the street and changing the tide all over this country and all over the world.”

#JacksonvilleFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommitteeJCAC #DerekChauvin #NationalAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepressionNAARPR

Tears of joy and cries of justice spread from the family of George Floyd in the Minneapolis courtroom to people across the country and around world upon hearing the news that Floyd’s killer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted on all counts of murder.

This rare event, that a police officer was charged and convicted of murder, was a result of the millions upon millions of people who took to the streets following the killing of George Floyd. The prosecutors did their job, but not from a commitment to justice. They were afraid of the anger of the righteous masses who burned down the police station and confronted police last May. The armored vehicles, barricades, and National Guard troops showed the fear and weakness, not the strength, of the system.

Even as Derek Chauvin was on trial, we heard of the police killing of Daunte Wright in Minnesota as he tried to drive away. We saw the video of the police killing of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old who turned with his empty hands up right before being shot down in Chicago. For almost 100 years, racist vigilantes, many of them local police or sheriffs, put on their hoods and sheets to lynch African Americans to enforce a system of Jim Crow segregation. Jim Crow is gone, but the system of national oppression – the economic inequality, de facto segregation in housing, separate and unequal schools, lack of political rights, and police terror remain.

We of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization understand that at the root of national oppression is the system of monopoly capitalism where a handful of billionaires dominate the economic and political life of this country.

The United States was founded on the genocide and theft of the lands of Native Americans. The slave trade and southern slave plantations sucked the blood, sweat and tears of millions of Africans, creating both a new African American people and profits for Wall Street.

After the Civil War, the Rockefellers and other robber barons, who monopolized the oil, steel and other new industries, preyed upon immigrant workers from Europe to enrich themselves and the financiers of Wall Street. They unleashed the police and militias, now the National Guard, on striking workers, to try to crush their efforts to fight back. When federal troops we taken out of the South after reconstruction, the white planter class regained power – while the departed troops and state militias were used to suppress workers in the North.

The rollback of the post-Civil War reconstruction led to the formation of an African American nation in the Black Belt South. Around the same time Mexicans in the Southwest were forged into a new Chicano nation. And as the U.S. monopoly capitalists joined the race for colonies by European and Japanese imperialist nations, it overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii and brought into being another oppressed nation in our borders, the Hawaiian nation. We uphold the right to self-determination, up to and including political secession for oppressed nations in the United States.

The FRSO believes that an alliance of African Americans, native Americans, and other oppressed nationalities such as Chicanos, Latinos, Asian and Arab Americans, as well as other indigenous peoples such as native Hawaiians and Alaskan natives on one hand, with the multinational working class on the other, is needed. This strategic alliance will be at the center of a broad united front to topple the system of monopoly capitalism and bring about socialism.

But we can only win this fight by struggling side by side with all those who fight for justice, including the families of those taken from us by police crimes, and those fighting for community control of police. We unite with those fighting deportations and the incarceration of Central American children at the border – we support Legalization for All! We fight with Asian American communities being hit by a wave of racist violence; with workers on strike, fighting for a living wages and safe working conditions; with the unemployed and urban poor, with women, with queer and trans people, with students, with Arab Americans and Native Americans. And we fight in solidarity with countries, nations and peoples around the world who are struggling to be free of U.S. economic, political and military domination.

We fight for justice for all, we fight for socialism.

#UnitedStates #PeoplesStruggles #Socialism #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Minneapolis, MN – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Black Student Union held a protest on the University of Minnesota campus, April 17, to demand justice for Daunte Wright, to call for community control of the campus police (UMPD), and to speak out against the recent deployment of the UMPD to brutalize protesters in Brooklyn Center. About 1000 students were in attendance, marking the largest on-campus demonstration in recent history. Speakers included students and community members who have experienced brutality at the hands of the National Guard this week while out in the streets demanding justice for Daunte Wright.

Camille Winston of the Black Student Union condemned the university’s response to the murder of Daunte Wright, saying “University President Joan Gabel and Chief Clark [UMPD police chief] decided to support the police who shot and killed him.” SDS member Nadia Shaarawi said, “Joan Gabel has more of a commitment to a police contract than she ever has had to her students.”

Since the murder of George Floyd last May, SDS has been calling for more police accountability on campus and has faced continued resistance from administration. The recent deployment of UMPD in riot gear to Brooklyn Center shows the need for students, workers and community members to be able to control their campus police force. SDS is campaigning for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) to win this power for the university community.

Jae Yates, a recent U of MN graduate and a member of the Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice for Jamar, addressed the crowd, saying, “Daunte Wright could have come here. Daunte Wright was 20 years old. He was the same age as so many people who go to this university.”

Students who saw themselves or their peers in Daunte Wright’s story took the streets surrounding campus to shout his name and to demand justice for all stolen lives.

#MinneapolisMN #StudentMovement #SDS #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DerekChauvin #DaunteWright

The evening protest will include speakers with analysis of the day’s and week’s events. There will be a march – no matter how many streets the city tries to close off.

“We will assert our First Amendment rights,” say protest organizers.

The coalition demands are as follows: -- Convict Derek Chauvin and his co-killers of the highest possible charges and give them the longest possible sentence. -- Justice for George Floyd and all stolen lives – convict all killer cops. -- MN legislature must pass the nine police reform bills. And the people need community control of the police (CPAC). -- Drop the charges against the summer protesters, the November MN-646 and the recent Brooklyn Center arrestees. -- End Operation Safety Net! The crimes committed against our people by these goon squads have gone too far. They must be stopped.

Groups supporting the protest include: Anti-War Committee, Bikers Riding Against Police Brutality (BRAPB), Black Lives Matter MN, CAIR-MN, Climate Justice Committee, Communities United Against Police Brutality, Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, Freedom Road Socialist Organization – Twin Cities, Good Trouble for Justice, Locks for Loved Ones, MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, MN Uprising Arrestee Support, MN Workers United, MN Youth for Justice, NAACP – Minneapolis, National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, Native Lives Matter, On Site Public Media, Racial Justice Network, Student Movement Activists at South High (SMASH), Students for Democratic Society at UMN, Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Trial #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin #Chauvin

Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of people protested on Monday, March 29, to demand justice for George Floyd and conviction of Derek Chauvin. The demonstration took place after opening statements, and the first witnesses testified in court. Many were still reeling from an emotional day in court, where videos of Floyd’s murder were replayed several times, and the proceedings were broadcast live.

In opening arguments, special prosecutor Jerry Blackwell told jurors that George Floyd said he could not breathe 27 times while Chauvin kneeled on his neck and back. He played one of the bystander videos taken the day that Floyd was killed, which some jurors had not seen before. He said that Chauvin’s decision was not a split-second one, but instead deliberate, as Chauvin ignored pleas by Floyd and the nearby crowd for nine minutes 29 seconds (popularly reported as eight minutes 46 seconds, based on a viral video of the murder).

Blackwell said Chauvin’s actions were an exception, in a violation of Minneapolis Police Department use of force policies, and that several officers including the chief of police would testify for the prosecution. To suggest that Chauvin’s brutality is not typical of MPD behavior overlooks that MPD kills unarmed civilians every year, as do police forces across the country. What is unusual is that Floyd’s torture and murder were captured on video and broadcast live on social media, as it was happening.

Chauvin’s opening arguments, presented by defense attorney Eric Nelson, blamed George Floyd for his own death. Nelson argued that Floyd was much bigger than Chauvin, who had no choice but to use force; that Floyd had pre-existing health conditions and that he allegedly had used drugs. While the prosecution urged jurors to believe what they saw in the murder video, Nelson argued that it is common sense that there are two sides to every story.

Three prosecution witnesses testified March 29

Jena Scurry is a 911 dispatcher who had watched Floyd’s murder unfold on police surveillance cameras in the area. She testified that despite never having done so in her several years working dispatch, Scurry called to report the situation with George Floyd to the MPD sergeant supervising Chauvin and his accomplices. A recording of that call was played in court, “You can call me a snitch if you want to but we have the cameras up for [squad] 320's call and ... I don't know if they had to use force or not, but they got something out of the back of the squad and all of them sat on this man.”

The second witness was Alisha Oyler, a lead worker who was on duty at the Speedway gas station across the street when Floyd was killed. When asked why she took several videos of the murder, Oyler said it was because police “are always messing with people and it’s wrong.” The Speedway has been closed since that day, and has been renamed the People’s Way, part of the area known as George Floyd Square, an intersection has been closed to traffic by the community since Floyd’s murder.

The third prosecution witness on Monday was Donald Williams, a mixed martial arts fighter who said he witnessed Chauvin torturing Floyd with what he called a “blood choke.” When he described that move as deadly, the defense objected to his remarks because Williams is not a medical expert. The judge upheld the defense objection.

Williams was asked about his interaction with then-officer Tou Thao, who was holding the crowd back from coming to Floyd’s aid. “He did what America does and blamed it on drugs for being a Black man on the ground. He said ‘This is what drugs do to you,’ and I replied, ‘This is not what drugs do to you.’”

Before Williams’ testimony concluded, the court video feed stopped working, and court recessed, just as protesters were gathering outside.

Large protest outside trial venue

Emcees Sam Martinez, DJ Hooker and Angel Smith El energized the crowd with chants and invited them to get involved with ongoing organizing efforts, including the fight for community control of police. They work with Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J), which is leading an effort to change the city charter to establish an all-elected Civilian Police Accountability Commission (CPAC).

Michelle Gross, of Communities United Against Police Brutality, began by speaking about the razor wire and barricades around the courthouse, “That’s because the city and state are more afraid of the community than they are of violent police. What does that say about our city and our state?”

But Gross and others are not intimidated. “We are going to watch this trial very closely. In the meantime we are going to be out here demanding the changes we seek. We want those nine bills passed at legislature. We want our recommendations to be followed. Rein in those brutal-ass cops, who are still brutal to this day. We won’t quit until these cops are reined in.”

Gross and others are supporting several bills for police accountability currently being considered at the Minnesota state legislature, including bills to end qualified immunity, to eliminate the statute of limitations for wrongful death, to strengthen civilian oversight, and to create an independent investigatory and prosecutorial body for police homicides.

Toshira Garraway, founder of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, organizes not only for other families, but also for her son’s father, Justin Teigen, who was brutally beaten to death and thrown in a trash dumpster by Saint Paul police. She says that because state officials have allowed so many police murders to go ignored, they are responsible for George Floyd’s deaths. Other family speakers included Del Shea Perry, mother of Hardel Sherrell; Marilyn Hill, mother of Demetrius Hill; Bayle Gelle, father of Dolal Idd, and Paul Johnson, friend of Travis Jordan.

Kaia Hirt and Chaz Neal spoke about the Locks for Loved Ones Lost project, an ongoing effort of community members to attach padlocks to the police-state fencing around the Government Center. Twice, when locks have gone up during the day, National Guard and sheriff’s deputies cut them down at night. The organizers say the locks are to, “remember the people they killed and the families they shattered. They keep cutting them down and we keep putting them back. We'll never stop.” As a song played, hundreds more locks were placed on the fence.

Then, the group marched from the courthouse to the temporary headquarters of the Minneapolis police 3rd Precinct. The old 3rd Precinct building was destroyed by protesters just a few nights after George Floyd was killed.

Organizer Jae Yates spoke: “I’m representing Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar today, but I’m also representing myself as a Black trans American. I feel like trans people – specifically Black trans people – we always show up. Every time a Black person is killed, trans people are there, because trans people know that if they’re coming for us, and they’re coming for Black men, they’re coming for all of us. And we can’t continue to ignore the Black lives that some people in the Black community don’t want to claim. What we’re not gonna do is tolerate homophobia and transphobia in this movement. What I’m not gonna do is be out here and show up for Black lives and not even have my basic humanity respected.”

They concluded, “And when we fight together, they cannot beat us. There are not enough cops to stop us. There are not enough bosses to stop us. We outnumber every oppressive institution that is over us. When we fight, we win! All power to the people!”

Other speakers included Jaylani Hussein, of CAIR-Minnesota; Trahern Crews of Black Lives Matter Minnesota; Samantha Pree-Gonzalez; Meredith Aby-Keirstead of the Anti-War Committee; Victor Ramirez Bustamante for MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee; Gabriel Black Elk of Native Lives Matter, and brother of Paul Castaway; Monique Cullars-Doty, aunt of Marcus Golden, also with TCC4J; and Chauntyll Allen, Black Lives Matter Twin Cities Metro.

When the march returned to the courthouse, Kaia Hirt chained herself to the fencing, and vowed to stay until state and city political leaders meet with families of those murdered by police. As of Tuesday afternoon, Hirt was still chained to the fence, surrounded by supporters.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TCC4J #DerekChauvin

Organizers note, “We expect the lawyers for the killer-cop Chauvin to spit out lies. They will try to paper over the fact that Chauvin had his knee on the neck of George Floyd for eight minutes and 46 seconds, while in league with his fellow officers to aid and abet the murder.”

The evening protest and march will be combined with the ongoing effort of community members attaching locks – with the names of those murdered by law enforcement – to the police-state fencing around the government center.

The Coalition demands are as follows:

• Convict Derek Chauvin and his co-killers – give them the longest possible sentence.
• Justice for George Floyd and all stolen lives – convict all killer cops.
• MN legislature must pass the nine police reform bills. And the people need community control of the police (CPAC).
• Drop the charges against the summer protesters and the November MN-646+.

Coalition of groups in solidarity with our demands and actions include; the Anti-War Committee, Bikers Riding Against Police Brutality (BRAPB), Black Lives Matter MN, CAIR-MN, Climate Justice Committee, Communities United Against Police Brutality, Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, Freedom Road Socialist Organization – Twin Cities, Good Trouble for Justice, Locks for Loved Ones Lost, MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, MN Uprising Arrestee Support, MN Workers United, MN Youth for Justice, NAACP – Minneapolis, National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, Native Lives Matter, On Site Public Media, Racial Justice Network, Student Movement Activists at South High (SMASH), Students for Democratic Society at UMN, Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Kim DeFranco’s stunning photographs taken on March 8, when more than 1000 people rallied and marched demanding justice for George Floyd and the conviction of Derek Chauvin, one of the cops who murdered him.

#Minneapolis #AfricanAmerican #PoliceCrimes #DerekChauvin #photoEssay

Kim DeFranco’s stunning photographs taken on March 8, when more than 1000 people rallied and marched demanding justice for George Floyd and the conviction of Derek Chauvin, one of the cops who murdered him.

#Minneapolis #AfricanAmerican #PoliceCrimes #DerekChauvin #photoEssay

Aurora, CO – On, March 8, 45 community members and supporters gathered in front of MLK Library in Aurora for a rally in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis on the first day of Derek Chauvin’s trial. Chauvin is the first of the four Minneapolis killer cops to go on trial for the murder of George Floyd, whose death sparked a nationwide uprising last summer. The rally demanded that Chauvin be convicted for the murder of Floyd. It also called for renewed protests against police brutality.

The rally started with a speech from Shareef Aleem, a longtime Aurora community activist and founder of Aurora Copwatch. “In years past, this wouldn’t have even gone to trial,” stated Aleem, “It just would’ve been the police officer’s word against a dead person’s word, and the police officer’s word would win every time.” Aleem went on to express the importance of filming police brutality, so that the whole world can see the terror that the police impose on Black and other oppressed nationality communities.

The next speech was given by Jessie Crowe of Students for a Democratic Society, who spoke of his experience as a Black student at the University of Colorado and the latent racism of campus police. “The school-to-prison pipeline is a clear and present danger to Black people within educational institutions in America,” said Crowe, who has been targeted by administration and the campus police for speaking out against police brutality.

The rally ended with a call to action to continue to speak out against police crimes and demand justice for George Floyd as Derek Chauvin’s trial continues.

#AuroraCO #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Tampa, FL – On March 8, 40 protesters gathered in downtown Tampa to demand the conviction of Derek Chauvin. The protest was cohosted by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC). Speakers demanded justice for George Floyd. The groups held the protest in response to both the National SDS and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression calling for a day of action on the first day of Derek Chauvin’s trial.

The protesters also demanded justice for local victims of police violence like Jonas Joseph, Josiah Pinner and Dominique Mulkey. They demanded accountability through a civilian police accountability council and community control of the police.

“We must continue fighting for community control to make sure that we can get accountability and justice for victims of police brutality here in Tampa. To make sure that our communities are able to get the changes we need and police are held accountable,” said David Jones, a member of TBCAC.

TBCAC and SDS protested despite political repression after the George Floyd uprising last summer. Both groups stand against HB1 and SB484, bills that will criminalize protests in Florida. Tampa SDS continues to hold events despite a suspension from the University of South Florida. Two SDS members and one TBCAC member were arrested at a protest at USF one month before the start of the Derek Chauvin trial.

“Despite pressure from our school, it was extremely important to show solidarity with the family of George Floyd, and the people in Minneapolis. Even though our last protest ended abruptly due to police interference, that does not mean we’ll back down, especially since March 8 was on the start of Derek Chauvin’s trial,” said Gareth Dawkins, member of Tampa Bay SDS.

As Derek Chauvin’s trial carries on, SDS and TBCAC plan to continue to protest for justice for George Floyd, as well as justice for local victims of police brutality.

#TampaFL #StudentMovement #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TampaBayStudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin #TampaBayCommunityActionCommitteeTBCAC

Chicago, IL – Hundreds marched in Chicago to demand Justice for George Floyd, March 8, as part of a national day of solidarity with Minneapolis on the opening day of the trial of killer cop Derek Chauvin. Led by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the protest also called for community control of the police. After rallying at Federal Plaza, the marchers went to the State of Illinois Building to demand that Governor Pritzker pardon Gerald Reed and other prisoners who are survivors of torture at the hands of the Chicago police.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #IL #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Milwaukee, WI – 100 people gathered in the early afternoon, March 8, at the Milwaukee County Safety Building to demand justice for Joel Acevedo, a 25-year-old Puerto Rican man who was murdered by Milwaukee police officer Michael Mattioli. Mattioli was holding a house party on April 11, 2020 during the initial rolling out of the COVID-19 lockdown. March 8 is significant for Milwaukee because, in addition to its being day one for Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, it also marks the start of Mattioli’s trial.

The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression asked multiple groups to organize a rally and march to demand the following for Joel Acevedo and George Floyd: 1) Convict Mattioli and Chauvin; 2) Release of the body camera footage; 3) Charge the two other off-duty officers involved with Joel Acevedo’s death, Andrew Janikowski and Christopher Peters; 4) Recall District Attorney John Chisholm; and 5) Solidarity with Minneapolis.

One of the groups that led the demonstration was the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression. Alan Chavoya, a member of MAARPR, told the crowd, “Only community control of the police can ensure that killer cops get convicted. Reforming the police and other band-aid measures have not, are not, and will not work,”

Chavoya continued, “We need to be bold and take control of the police. The people decide who, how, and when we’re policed.”

In the leadup to March 8, Mattioli’s attorney filed a motion to get a change of venue for his client’s case, stating that he wouldn’t get a “fair trial” in Milwaukee because of the “public attention” that it has generated. What Mattioli’s attorney doesn’t mention is that Joel Acevedo received no trial at all, let alone a fair one, before his client decided to murder him. In any case, Acevedo’s supporters received some good news when Mattioli’s motion was denied. It is, however, scheduled to be revisited on April 28 pending the outcome of the trial’s first few weeks.

After the rally at the Public Safety Building, organizations such as The People’s Revolution, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, SDS-UWM, Party for Socialism and Liberation, and many more marched across the 16th Street bridge. In addition to these organizations, Joel Acevedo’s cousin, Jose, joined the march with the group and called for unity in Milwaukee.

Over the next few weeks more details will be released about this case. The people in Milwaukee are ready to keep this fight up until there is justice for the Acevedo and Floyd families.

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Wisconsin #Antiracism #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

The crowd marched from Portland State University campus to Pioneer Courthouse, part of the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Demonstrators chanted anti-police slogans and the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other recent victims of police violence.

“Last year the country was electrified by the call to support Black Lives. The forces of progress took to the streets and demanded justice. From Minneapolis to Jacksonville, New York to Portland, we demanded an end to the daily violence perpetrated against us by the police,” stated Keadin Stayer, of the Portland Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression.

“Today we stand united in saying what happened to George Floyd, what the murderer Derek Chauvin and his accomplices did, will not be forgotten, will not be accepted, and will not be ignored. We march to teach those in power that we too are powerful,” Stayer continued.

After the speeches, protesters continued to the Multnomah County Justice Center, headquarters of the Portland Police Bureau.

#PortlandOR #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin #OR

Grand Rapids, MI – 100 people joined the Justice for George Floyd rally on March 8 at Rosa Parks Circle in Grand Rapids, the largest turnout since winter began.

“We are standing in solidarity with our comrades in Minneapolis as we march for justice for George Floyd on the first day of the Derek Chauvin trial,” said Aly Bates, president of Justice for Black Lives.

Last summer, protests erupted across the country in response to the murder of George Floyd. In Grand Rapids over 2000 people surrounded the police station demanding that justice be served. That movement continues to this day.

“We are here in solidarity with Minneapolis, but also to push for and demand greater accountability for all the racist and political oppression committed by cops everywhere, including our own community,” said Barbara Howard, a local opponent of police crimes.

Howard continued, “Right here in Grand Rapids, we have the unjust victimization of Jilmar Ramos-Gonzales, a Marine veteran of the Afghan war who spent three days in ICE detention. He faced possible deportation despite being a natural born American citizen, after racist Grand Rapids Police Captain Curt VanderKooi called his ICE contacts to target Ramos-Gonzales.”

“We also have the unjustifiable and inhumane handcuffing of Honestie Hodges, age 11, in front of her home while she, and her mother and grandmother were held at gunpoint with no prior explanation. Poor Honestie died from COVID 19 this year at the age of 14,” Howard said.

As the rally ended, people began marching while chanting, “Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as hell!”

Marching in the streets with signs and banners, followed by the television and print media, the protest wound its way through downtown. As they approached the police station, the crowd was blocked by police on a street that is partially closed to traffic for restaurant patrons.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the police started arresting protest leaders by snatching them out of the crowd. As more people confronted the police about the first two arrests, they grabbed others until six were roughhoused, handcuffed and driven away. The police provocation was definitely meant to intimidate protesters and follows similar repressive police measures ordered by mayors and politicians in other cities.

Protesters plan to return to Rosa Parks Circle at 5 p.m. on the day the jury returns a verdict in the killer cop Derek Chauvin trial.

#GrandRapidsMI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Salt Lake City – On March 6, more than 30 cars gathered in a parking lot in downtown Salt Lake City, where activists, organizers and community members demanded justice in the upcoming trial of killer cop Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, nearly one year ago.

Organized by Utahns Against Police Brutality, a group that is affiliated with the National Alliance Against Racial and Political Repression, the crowd gathered to hear from speakers, passionately detailing what we need to do to keep our communities safe.

Devin Martinez from the Party for Socialism and Liberation spoke to the crowd: “When it comes to the struggle against racist police terror, the people’s demands seem pretty simple. We want more accountability for the police from the community.” Speakers from Black Lives Matter, Salt Lake Equal Rights Movement, Utahns Against Police Brutality, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization also issued calls for justice and repercussions for those who have murdered our family, friends and neighbors.

The topic of the day is community control of police, this demand is by no means new. Since its inception in 1973, the National Alliance Against Racial and Political Repression has been fighting for civilian control of police, the current focus passing legislation which would establish an elected Civilian Police Accountability Council. Speakers emphasized the necessity to hold police accountable to the people and communities whose lives they affect. It is this lack of accountability that allows the police to utilize one of their favorite weapons, intimidation.

In regard to a recently passed House Bill 237 in Utah, Rae Duckworth, a family member of the recently murdered Bobby Duckworth, said, “HB 237 would have saved Bobby’s life.” She added, “so these baby steps, they mean something to me.” The bill, passed through hard work and pressure from activists like Duckworth and the larger Salt Lake community, makes it illegal to use deadly force in response to a mental health crisis. These small steps cannot be where we end things, they must be the beginning. Smaller victories like this bill lay the foundation for greater material change in our communities. Each win keeps the ball rolling, and as the ball rolls, the movement builds, more people pay attention, and greater pressure is applied to those who would rather ignore the ever growing contradictions in our society.

As the speakers wrapped up, participants began lining their cars up to caravan around downtown Salt Lake. The route passed by the Salt Lake courthouse, the district attorney’s office and the public safety building, honking, chanting and playing music. We can be sure that the people were heard, and our voices will only get louder from here on out.

#SaltLakeCityUT #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Minneapolis, MN – More than 1000 protested March 8 outside the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis as the trial of Derek Chauvin, the disgraced ex-police officer who murdered George Floyd on May 25, 2020, started his trial at 8 a.m.

The Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J) spearheaded the day-one demonstration, which was supported by over 30 local activist organizations.

The early morning protest started on the city streets outside of the Government Center plaza, because the ‘public plaza’ was surrounded and intersected with heavy fencing and razor wire, leaving a tiny cage for the general public.

At 5 a.m., it was still unclear if the scheduled jury selection and trial would go forward, due to a Friday appeals court ruling to allow a third degree murder charge in the case. The coalition statement on this legal issue declared, “The monster Derek Chauvin inflicted nine slow minutes of intentional torture, causing death. The world watched a lynching – murder in every degree.”

After the opening rally, the crowd marched through the streets, stopping to hear speeches along the way. Longtime activists gave shoutouts to the many students who skipped school to attend. New activists gave props to folks who were fighting back in the 1960s.

At the trial, Judge Peter Cahill ordered that jury selection would go on, but there were so many motions that jury selection is paused. The organizers’ statement noted, “We will protest on key dates of the trial – including opening arguments, closing arguments and, of course, on verdict day.” They also said they will fight for convictions against the other three former officers who, “held down Mr. Floyd as he died, and stopped others from rescuing him.”

Many of the groups organizing the March 8 rally are also involved in efforts to stop the systems that gave rise to killer cops like Derek Chauvin. In Minneapolis, TCC4J plans to release a charter amendment for community control of the Minneapolis police. At the state capitol, activists are outraged at how state legislators of both parties are “putting their knee on the neck” of bills to stop our family members from being murdered with impunity.

Key demands of the coalition included: “Justice for George Floyd! Convict Derek Chauvin – give him the longest possible sentence. Justice for all stolen lives! Community control of the police – CPAC now! Drop the charges against the MN646+ and all protesters. Convict all killer cops!”

TCC4J and all the following groups plan protests at key points in the upcoming trial. Black Lives Matter MN, Black Lives Mater Twin Cities, CAIR-MN, Communities United Against Police Brutality, Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, NAACP – Minneapolis, Native Lives Matter, and the Racial Justice Network.. Others include the Anti-War Committee, Bikers Riding Against Police Brutality, Climate Justice Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization-Twin Cities, Good Trouble for Justice, MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, MN Uprising Arrestee Support, MN Workers United, MN Youth for Justice, National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, On Site Public Media, Student Movement Activists at South High (SMASH), Students for Democratic Society at UMN, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJustice4Jamar #DerekChauvin

Minneapolis, MN – A coalition of 20-plus Minnesota activist organizations plan to protest outside the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis at 8 a.m. on Monday, March 8, the first day of the trial of Derek Chauvin. Chauvin killed George Floyd in May 2020.

Family members who are enduring the aftermath of police murder will speak at Monday’s protest. Toshira Garraway of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence states, “Justice delayed is justice denied. An injustice to one of us is an injustice done to all of us.”

The government is barricading downtown Minneapolis. “Hennepin County thought they could stop our protest by posting notices prohibiting protest signs, noise and ‘offensive slogans.’ We made it clear that we would take them to court if necessary, to defend our First Amendment rights. A few hours later, those signs were down,” said Michelle Gross with Communities United Against Police Brutality, another coalition member.

Cities around the country will protest on March 8, and on key dates of the trial – including verdict day.

This past Friday, March 5, the MN courts ruled that Chauvin could also be tried for third-degree murder.

The Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar is the coordinating the March 8 protest.

The coalition also includes the Anti-War Committee, Bikers Riding Against Police Brutality, Black Lives Matter MN, CAIR-MN, CAIR-MN, Climate Justice Committee, Communities United Against Police Brutality, Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, Freedom Road Socialist Organization – Twin Cities, Good Trouble for Justice, MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, MN Uprising Arrestee Support, MN Workers United, MN Youth for Justice, NAACP – Minneapolis, National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, Native Lives Matter, On Site Public Media, Racial Justice Network, Student Movement Activists at South High (SMASH), Students for Democratic Society at UMN, and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin