Tallahassee, FL – On the morning of Wednesday, May 1, about 30 students at Florida State University (FSU) established a Palestine solidarity encampment on Landis Green, the epicenter of FSU campus. They had camped for three days prior to demand a meeting with FSU President Richard McCullough.

Students first gathered at Landis Green at 9:00 a.m. Students demanded a meeting with administration to demand FSU disclose and divest from all ties to Israel and end all campus partnerships with Boeing. At the encampment students chanted “FSU, do what’s right! Cut ties with Boeing and Birthright!” and “Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!”

At around 1:30 p.m., students erected tents on Landis Green despite orders from FSUPD to disperse. Almost immediately, more than 15 campus police descended on protesters erecting the tent and arrested five people: Elijah Ruby, Tavish Bryan, Katherine Kurzweil, Aeden Bennett, and Lou Orban. FSUPD was quick to drive protesters away and place them in holding at the Leon County Jail. SDS organizers and community members mobilized to the jail and waited more than six hours for all five protesters to be released.

Upon their release, the arrestees spoke to the crowd of 20 waiting outside the jail. Elijah Ruby stated, “We want Florida State to disclose all relationships with Israel and divest from all relationships with companies aiding Israel’s genocide. FSU’s engineering department has partnerships with Boeing and Northrop Grumman, which build the planes and bombs that kill Palestinian children every day.”

Aeden Bennett stated, “The fact that Florida State University can invest in weapons manufacturers and support an ongoing genocide, and at the same time criminalize peaceful student protest on their campus, is ridiculous. There’s no accountability – there’s no access or outlets to even talk to these administrators and list our demands. They’re stopping those of us who are graduating from walking at our own graduation and banning us from even going on campus. How is that ‘free speech?’”

Katy Kurzweil, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, stated, “I was planning to transfer to FSU, and now I’m not even allowed to step on campus. But why would I want to go to a school that supports genocide? I’ll keep my money.”

Tallahassee SDS will hold a press conference and rally to demand the charges be dropped and the university listen to student demands of divestment from Israel. The five students are accepting donations towards their legal fees through Cashapp: $SDSFSU

#TallahasseeFL #FSU #SDS #SDSFSU #FreePalestine #DropTheCharges

Minneapolis, MN – About 50 people gathered for a noon press conference on the frontage road above Interstate 94 to demand that charges be dropped against the 646-plus protesters who were arrested there one month ago.

On November 4, 1000 people marched against the triple pandemic of racism, economic crisis and COVID and demanded Trump not steal the presidential election, as part of a national day of protest called by the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The marchers were surrounded by hundreds of state patrol and other police on the interstate, and 647 people were arrested. Most were charged with misdemeanors, while at least one, Amina McCaskill, was hit with multiple bogus felony charges. Some believe it was the largest mass arrest in Minnesota history. On the frontage road above the freeway trench, more were arrested and brutalized as the Minneapolis Police Department tried to stop neighbors from observing and filming police or from supporting protesters in any way.

Press conference speakers included arrestees and organizers from November 4: Jae Yates of Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J), David Gilbert-Pederson of MN Workers United, Nekima Levy Armstrong of Racial Justice Network, Gabriel Black Elk of Native Lives Matter, Kent Mori of the Anti-War Committee and Toshira Garraway Allen of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence. All of them demanded the November 4 charges be dropped and pledged to continue the fight for police accountability and against racism.

Jae Yates of TCC4J said, “Since November 4, we have organized ourselves for our legal defense, and we and our supporters have signed petitions, made phone calls and joined car caravan protests to demand that charges be dropped. The Minneapolis City attorney has not dropped the hundreds of adult misdemeanor cases, and Mike Freeman’s office has not dropped the charges against minors and nor the bogus felony charges against Amina McCaskill. We are here today to once again demand that all these charges be dropped. And we demand that the political leaders in this city, county and state take a stand against the criminalization of protest, especially in a state where hundreds of murderous police officers have never been prosecuted for their crimes against our neighbors.”

Yates then read from TCC4J’s response to a statement by Governor Tim Walz about the mass arrests. “Since the formation of Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar, our demands have been clear. We want officers who commit violence against our communities to face justice for the harm that they do. We want compensation for families who have lost people to police violence. And we demand community control of the police, so we have the ability to self-determine how policing is done in our communities. Those demands have gone unanswered for years, and this summer, outrage boiled over when the torture and murder of George Floyd was captured on camera. Your response to that outrage was overwhelming force, with the National Guard. As yet, you have enacted no meaningful legislation or executive orders to address violent and racist policing. Yet once again, on November 4, you mobilized overwhelming police force to attack a thousand people marching in Minneapolis.”

The TCC4J statement continued, “While we were armed with picket signs and music, we faced off with hundreds of police in full riot gear, pointing their weapons at us. Police on the scene repeatedly took actions aimed at escalating the situation and provoking conflict. While organizers worked hard to keep protesters united, police tightened their cordon, pulled one young protester out of the crowd, brought in their sonic weapon and called on the press to leave. Some police threatened protesters, saying they were Proud Boys, others displaying Three Percenter badges on their uniforms. Some officers were seen wearing thin blue line masks, while others wore no mask at all. Pressing the crowd ever closer together, putting some on tightly packed buses, and removing protesters’ masks under pretense of taking pictures… all contributed towards creating a potential COVID super-spreader event.”

Walz claimed the mass arrest was necessary for the safety of protesters, but TCC4J answered back, “You have not passed any laws to hold drivers accountable for deliberately targeting protesters on roads or highways. You have not ensured accountability for police officers who openly encourage drivers to attack protesters. You have largely failed to arrest or prosecute drivers who have attacked protesters. And even in your statement, you offer a defense of the oil tanker driver who was criminally charged for driving into protesters on I-35W earlier this summer. It’s hypocritical to cite any safety concerns with our protests, while you allow armed, unmasked racists Trump supporters to party on your front lawn immediately after you announced new restrictions on gatherings. Why were they not arrested for their safety?”

TCC4J and other organizers will continue organizing in defense of the arrested protesters, and continue building the movement against police violence, racism and injustice.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #DropTheCharges #TCC4J #646Arrestees

Police pivot against protesters

Protesters marched on August 29 to the capitol and held the intersection there for an hour, observed by police who did not interfere. As a precaution against reactionary agitators, a caravan of cars made a large stationary circle around the protesters rallying at the center of the intersection. Nonetheless, police allowed a white supremist – who police confirmed was armed – entry to the clearly marked protest space. The racist initiated a fight and, when attendees defended themselves, he drew a gun and aimed it at protesters and police alike. Instead of arresting the gunman, police escorted him away, suddenly declared the protest unlawful, and demanded that attendees disperse, threatening “arrest, use of force and severe injury.” That same day police made changed their stance on the evening news, trading “peaceful” for “unpermitted” as their adjective of choice, and threatened arrest for “unpermitted” protests, especially in cases of blocked streets.

September 5 arrests

One week later, on September 5, nearly 300 officers clad in riot gear from many law enforcement agencies made good on these threats, violently attacking and shoving protesters on a sidewalk across from the historic capitol before dragging 14 people away, causing multiple injuries and sending three arrestees to the hospital. Police did not Mirandize anyone, nor did they inform anyone why they were being arrested. After transporting arrestees to a staging ground beneath the courthouse and then to the jail, officers from different departments took hours to decide among themselves who of the arrestees would be charged with what and which “arresting officers” would sign reports for each protester. The Tallahassee Police Department, Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Leon County Sheriff Office, and Florida State University Police Department took part – and there may have been more agencies – in the September 5 crackdown against those protesting grand jury decisions that cleared killer cops of any wrongdoing in the killings of three Tallahassee men earlier this year.

According to Trish Brown – a longtime community activist leader and organizer, recent candidate for city commission, and one of the Tally19 – protesters hit the street to “Demonstrate peacefully in solidarity; to demand justice and police accountability for victims, families and our communities who have been impacted by brutal and fatal police force.” Brown continued, “I was out that day to bring hope, power and positive change to our poverty-impacted communities and throughout our nation.”

Charges

Two were charged that day with felonies. Satya Stark-Bejnar was charged with resisting an officer with violence and one count of felony battery on a law enforcement officer, a charge that carries ten years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Stark-Bejnar was released that night on a $1000 bond. Timothy White was arrested on a felony charge of inciting a riot, which carried ten years in prison and $10,000 in fines, and one count of resisting an officer without violence. White was released on a $500 bond.

After-the-fact arrests continue

On September 9, law enforcement tracked down two more September 5 protest attendees using body cam and social media footage, arresting them late at night and with no warning. Police forcibly pulled Ben Grant from his home without showing him a warrant or telling him what his charges were. Police snatched another September 5 protester from a parking lot while she was leaving her gym. Both were released on bond later that night after 2 a.m. Grant was charged with felony count of battery on a law enforcement officer and a misdemeanor resisting without violence. His felony charge carries ten years in prison and $10,000 in fines. The next morning, police issued three more warrants for attendees of the September 5 protest, two of whom were alerted and able to turn themselves in. Both were bonded out later that day. The final, 19th warrant remains nameless, a month and a half later.

Movement response

Local organizers who were not jailed September 5 sprang into action immediately, raising funds for bail and reaching out to local attorneys, eight of whom agreed to represent September 5 arrestees pro bono. The Tallahassee Bail Fund posted bond for 11 of the people arrested, totaling more than $2000. This is in addition to their previous and ongoing decarceration work to reduce jail populations and slow the spread of COVID-19. One individual spent over $1000 of their own money to help just one arrestee bypass the use of a bondsman. Jail support was organized such that crowds of supporters were assembled, socially distanced, in the jail parking lot to cheer each arrestee as they were released, offering encouragement, water, snacks and rides home.

Support for the #Tally19 has taken the form of donations, jail support presence and mass mobilizations. Organizations and individuals from Tallahassee and beyond have applied persistent pressure on the city commission, city manager, law enforcement agencies, and State Attorney Jack Campbell to #DropTheCharges through call-in days, social media blasts, newspaper editorials and public comment during government meetings.

Changes to charges

Last week, several arrestees' charges were reduced and consolidated. Tim White’s felony charge was replaced with a different, lesser charge. State Attorney Jack Campbell announced a ‘Diversion Program’ offer to Tally 19’ers charged with only misdemeanors. A condition of this program is to participate for an unspecified duration of a 12-hour long virtual, city-sponsored Race Relations Summit, including a previously non-existing breakout session on “How to Safely and Lawfully Protest.” Diversion offers and terms were issued with only nine days’ notice before the Race Relations Summit, giving arrestees insufficient time to inform and make arrangements with their students, employers, professors, etc., and to obtain a stable internet connection. Not all Tally 19’ers offered diversion have internet service at their homes, and not all Tally 19’ers even have stable housing, which makes Campbell’s ‘diversion’ patently inaccessible to some, even if they wanted to take the offer. Tally 19’ers with felony charges were excluded from the diversion offer.

Regina Joseph, Tally19’er and president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), said, “I will not take this diversion offer while my wife [Stark-Bejnar] and my comrade [Grant] are still collectively facing decades in prison for democratically exercising their so-called First Amendment rights.”

Joseph showed this author a copy of the diversion deal that was offered to her. The document, titled “Diversion Program, Deferred Prosecution Agreement” states, “For the purpose of this program, the Defendant admits his or her guilt of the offense(s) charged, and recognizes that said admission could be used as evidence against the Defendant in the event of the prosecution of the case.”

Joseph continued, “The fact this wasn’t even offered to people with felony charges is awful. It shows those in power Jack Campbell, City Manager Reese Goad, Chief of TPD Lawrence Revell, LCSO, FSUPD and all of the law enforcement agencies involved in September will stop at nothing to vilify protesters and will do everything possible to ‘make an example’ out of us. An injury to one is an injury to all and we must stand in solidarity with those facing felony charges. Every time we refuse to admit guilt, they puff up for the press, but then they reduce charges and make small improvements to the terms of diversion. That said, zero arrestees have had all their charges dropped, and all charges must be dropped. The fight is not over.”

The Race Summit Diversion Program requirement was offered only days before the summit, and elements of the summit itself are almost laughable. Speakers at the ‘race summit’ include multiple members of the same Tallahassee Police Department that not only brutalized protesters on September 5, but is also responsible for killing three civilians in the first few months of 2020, deaths that sparked the last six months of frequent local protest activity in the first place. TPD Chief of Police Lawrence Revell was installed in his position in January, despite vocal community opposition. His ten-month tenure of terror is no surprise to longtime Tallahasseans who recall the 1990s, with then-officer Revell terrorizing the Black and low-income communities of Tallahassee with his all-white “Alpha Squad,” and Revell’s 1996 murder of Black teenager George “Lil Nuke” Williams. The state attorney has yet to offer any diversion programs to, much less file charges against, killer-cop Revell’s present-day killer cops.

Many protesters arrested related to September 5 are dedicated organizers who have for years been leading the fight for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) in Tallahassee. These arrests and charge – especially the felony charges – and diversion programs are political repression. The diversion program and the focus on ‘safety’ and ‘perfect lawfulness’ are designed to diminish and dilute public protest activity. Organizers and attendees have been safe at protests in Tallahassee for years, including while consistently taking the streets, even during a global pandemic. Thanks to consistent mask-wearing by attendees, Tallahassee protests haven’t resulted in any known spikes of COVID-19 spread. The only times protesters were hurt this year was when reactionary agitators armed with guns or trucks were allowed, by the police, to threaten and run through protest actions, or at the hands of police themselves.

The police have shown themselves time and time again to condone, as well as be themselves instigators of violence at protests across the country, and yet continuously face no consequences. And it gets worse. When civilians have the courage to stand up against hypocrisy to say, “This is unacceptable; no more!” and demand accountability for murderous and violent cops, they are brutalized and arrested.

Zeke Greenwood (he / they) is an activist in Tallahassee, FL.

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #Tally19

Milwaukee, WI – Activists rallied outside the Milwaukee County courthouse on the afternoon of July 11 to stand in solidarity with a student who was arrested and charged for taking a vulgar, racist sign away from a Nazi.

Grae Hosmanek is a freshman student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In May, she and others witnessed a racist student protesting a Jewish event on campus and gathered around to deter him from spreading hate speech and threats. The lone fascist, who called himself “Chris,” was holding a sign that read “(((GAS)))” a reference to the Nazi holocaust, and another sign bearing a Nazi swastika. The sign also advocated for “civil war.” Chris told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he wanted to “spark the conversation” about “Marxism ideology.”

Hosmanek stepped in to take a sign away from the Nazi student, to the supportive cheers of the crowd that had gathered. She ripped the sign in half and ran off with it. The campus police caught her and arrested her a few minutes later. While police allowed the Nazi student to continue his threats toward Jewish and other students, Hosmanek was charged with theft, vandalism, disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer.

After supporters gathered at her first court hearing, three of the charges were dropped. Hosmanek is still facing a charge of “vandalism,” and chose to fight her case at trial and plead not guilty to the bogus charge. “I want people to see me, what I did, and why I did it,” Hosmanek told Fight Back!, “You need to not only stand up for what is right, but be willing to put yourself on the line for it, every day.”

Inspired by her bold action, anti-racist activists, including students, immigrant rights groups, unionists, and university faculty are rallying to support Hosmanek and demand the bogus vandalism charge against her be dropped. Supporters have attended her first two court dates and are organizing support rallies for future hearings.

The support committee is asking people to attend the next trial on September 23. The support committee will meet at 2 p.m. at the Milwaukee County Courthouse fountain for a short rally to demand the judge “Drop the charges!” and walk into the courtroom together after the rally.

#MilwaukeeWI #UniversityOfWisconsinMilwaukee #Nazis #PoliticalRepression #Antifascism #DropTheCharges

During the hearing, about 15 community members and activists crowded into the courtroom on the third floor of the Duval County Courthouse to show their support. Outside, activists held a spirited solidarity picket and carried signs, “Jail killer cops, not justice protesters.”

The news came on the heels of a request by State Attorney Angela Corey's office to delay the court date for Siddie Friar, the one protester charged with two felonies. The rest of the protesters were charged with misdemeanors for obstructing traffic. As of Dec. 29, court records indicate that the state attorney has only filed the two felony charges on Friar. She is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment on Jan. 12.

This ongoing case emerged from a protest on Dec. 8 that stopped traffic on the Hart Bridge to demand justice for Eric Garner. Garner was the African American man who the NYPD choked, leading to his death. A New York grand jury refused to indict the white police officer Daniel Pantaleo, adding fuel to the flames of a nationwide protest movement against racism and police brutality.

Police seized every phone, camera and other storage device from the 19 bridge protesters after arresting them. Officers claimed they were seizing these personal belongings to use as evidence against the protesters and to identify the people who attended another protest earlier on the same day. As of Dec. 29, several phones and all cameras were still held in evidence.

The Jacksonville Sheriff Office sergeant at the scene originally told protesters they would receive verbal warnings and written citations for their offense, a misdemeanor in Florida. However, activists say the protesters were then arrested after a communication from Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford, who gave the order to arrest everyone.

Local activists say that Corey's office is hoping to make an example of Friar and the other protesters. The Hart Bridge shutdown came amid a citywide campaign launched by the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition demanding Corey's immediate resignation. Many of the Jacksonville 19 are active in the “Angela Corey Out Now” campaign.

Far and away, Corey's Fourth Judicial Circuit leads the state of Florida in direct commitment of juvenile offenders, most of whom are African American. From 2009 to 2013, Corey's office incarcerated 1475 juveniles in the Jacksonville area alone, compared to just 32 in Miami during the same period, according to the Florida Times-Union. In nearly four out of five of those cases, Corey threatened the juvenile defendant with being charged as an adult in order to coerce a plea deal, since adult charges carry harsher penalties.

While Florida and the U.S. incarcerate a disproportionate amount of African American and Latino people as a whole, the situation in Jacksonville is even more disastrous. In the entire state of Florida from 2006 to 2011, 52% of the male juvenile offenders tried as adults were African American, while white male juveniles comprised only 25% of those tried as adults. These inequalities alone are staggering, but in Corey's Fourth Judicial District during the same period, African American males comprised 70% of all juvenile offenders tried as adults, while white males comprised just 18%, according to an April 2014 report by Human Rights Watch.

Local activists will continue rallying support for the Jacksonville 19 throughout their court dates. They are demanding that Corey's office drop all charges on the protesters and return all belongings immediately.

#JacksonvilleFL #PoliceBrutality #EricGarner #DropTheCharges #Jacksonville19

Detroit, MI – Just one week before trial begins, new rulings will determine whether the prosecution will be allowed to bring Israeli conviction and allegations of ‘terrorism’ at trial, and whether Odeh can present evidence of torture in her defense.

On Tuesday, Oct. 28, Judge Gershwin Drain will hold a closed chambers session to address a number of questions that will define the terms for the trial of Palestinian American activist Rasmea Odeh. Supporters will gather outside the courthouse beginning at 2:00 p.m. A prominent Palestinian American community leader from Chicago, Odeh’s trial for alleged immigration fraud begins on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

The Department of Homeland Security arrested Odeh on Oct. 22, 2013, and charged her with Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization, for allegedly failing to disclose, in her 2004 application for U.S. citizenship, that she was arrested in Palestine in 1969 and tried in an Israeli military court that convicts 99.74% of Palestinians who come before it. Odeh’s conviction in 1969 was based on a confession that was forced in the wake of vicious physical and sexual torture by the Israelis. Defense attorneys contend that as a result of this torture, Ms. Odeh suffers from PTSD, which caused her to suppress the horrible recollection of the arrest when she filled out her naturalization application in 2004.

With just one week before the trial is set to begin, attorneys are awaiting rulings on several key motions that will determine the course of the trial, including whether Odeh can present evidence of torture and PTSD, which attorneys have said is key to her defense. Other important rulings are expected to determine whether prosecutors will be barred from raising the specter of ‘terrorism’ and evidence from the Israeli military tribunal responsible for Odeh’s conviction in 1969.

Supporters from across the country are mobilizing to fill the courtroom for every day of Rasmea Odeh’s trial and a team from the Rasmea Odeh Defense Committee is working full-time to mobilize supporters from the Detroit area. Jess Sundin described the outpouring of support, “The community is united behind Rasmea and against this unjust prosecution. From as far away as California, people are committing to be at the courthouse in Detroit, and demand that this trial deliver justice for Rasmea Odeh.”

#DetroitMI #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #politicalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #DropTheCharges