Jacksonville, FL – Dozens gathered at Marion Park on Saturday, May 30, for “Popular Education in the Park.” Marion Park, located in Jacksonville’s historic Northside, served as the backdrop for an evening of community dialogue and connection as well as the kickoff for the Jacksonville Community Action Committee’s annual participatory budgeting drive.

Hosted by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, the gathering brought neighbors together for a circle discussion under the trees while children played nearby. Attendees shared food and conversation, with the evening’s programming centered on the People’s Budget, a JCAC initiative to reimagine public safety and measure the impact of community reinvestment.

A major focus of the discussion was mental health. Community members advocated strongly for redirecting portions of the city budget away from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) and toward a dedicated mental health clinician program.

Committee members began preliminary discussions of proposing a mental health clinical response program modeled after the nationally recognized CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon. Participants argued that such a program would provide a more effective, humane response to mental health crises than traditional policing.

The urgency of the conversation was underscored by data from a recent JCAC report analyzing police use of force across the city. The report found that police shootings are heavily concentrated in Northside neighborhoods like the one surrounding Marion Park, with Districts 4 and 5 accounting for 48 of the 126 serious use of force incidents examined since 2020. Black residents appear in the largest share of these incidents, despite representing a minority of Jacksonville’s overall population. Even more alarming, the report found that Jacksonville’s rate of police killings is more than double the national average.

“We’re not just talking about the statistics you read online. We’re talking about our cousins, our neighbors, our children,” said a longtime Northside resident who attended with his two children. “When 64% of Black people in this city are worried about police brutality, it highlights a problem and that number is simply a reaction to a pattern. And it’s happening right here, in our zip code.”

The discussion also turned to accountability. Attendees expressed frustration that Jacksonville remains one of the only cities in Florida without a civilian oversight body responsible for independently reviewing police use of force. This is an initiative that works in tandem with the participatory budgeting campaign to give residents a greater say in how they are policed and kept safe. According to the report, only 43% of residents believe misconduct investigations are adequately reported to the public, and Patrol Zone 5, which covers much of the Northside and has a 72% Black population, has reported some of the lowest approval ratings of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Popular Education in the Park is an ongoing series “created to truly meet folks where they are in Black and working-class communities,” according to the event program. JCAC will continue selecting parks in Jacksonville’s Black and working-class neighborhoods throughout the summer, canvassing and deepening community ties to further refine the People’s Budget with direct input from residents most affected by budgetary shifts and chronic disinvestment.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #JCAC

Tampa, FL – On Thursday, May 28, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a press conference to announce an update to their ongoing lawsuit against the University of South Florida (USF) Board of Trustees, the USF Police Department, former President Rhea Law, former Dean of Students Danielle McDonald, and Assistant Dean Melissa Graham.

“Our legal team has appealed the lower court’s decision to dismiss our legal case because we are confident in our suit and in our legal claims that USF has violated our rights. Although we do not have a timeline on the outcome of this right now, we are confident that the court will consider our case and protect our rights as students,” said Tampa Bay SDS member and plaintiff Victoria Hinckley.

The lawsuit was filed on October 8 of 2025, because of continued repression against free speech on campus, including expelling Tampa Bay SDS as an organization, creating policies limiting protest, and expelling SDS member Victoria Hinckley along with charging others with conduct violations.

Ending the press conference, plaintiff Vicky Tong said, “The community should have the right to organize on a public campus. Tampa Bay SDS continues to fight for these rights, and we encourage folks to stand by us and to join our movement for free speech on campus!”

In the meantime, Tampa Bay SDS will continue to organize for free speech on campus.

#TampaFL #FL #StudentMovement #SDS #FreeSpeech

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following update from the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network regarding the sentencing of pro-Palestine Jax activist, Conor Cauley.

Conor Cauley was sentenced to 60 days with time served, 3 years of probation, court fines, 150 community service hours and a stay away order from the same officer, Officer Aliaga Ruiz, who threw him over a row of chairs!

We will reiterate what our beloved member Conor Cauley has repeatedly mentioned, this fight is for every single person in the city of Jacksonville, and this sentencing will not deter us. We know Palestinians experience torturous conditions in Zionist prisons, and we also acknowledge the decrepit nature and condition of the Duval County Jail.

From Palestine to Jacksonville, Zionists and imperialists will use the system as it’s designed; to break you down and destroy your spirit. But we know the power of the people is greater than the people in power!

Please visit and donate to Conor’s Gofundme and we will see folks later to protest at the Jail! Find the Gofundme here.

SHAME ON MELISSA NELSON!

SHAME ON JSO!

FREE CONOR CAULEY NOW!

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #ConorCauley #JPSN #CSFR #AWAN

Jacksonville, FL – On May 29, Community members protested against the harsh sentencing of Conor Cauley and Leah Grady, vowing to continue the fight against their charges and demanding the release of Conor Cauley, who is currently being held in Duval County Jail as a political prisoner.

Despite heavy rainstorms, over 60 community members protested in front of the courthouse and, later, in front of the county jail under tents buckling and breaking from the weight of rainwater. This did not discourage attendees, who continued to chant and rally against the unjust treatment of anti-war organizers.

These protests were led by Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network alongside community organizations including Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, Brentwood 300, Democratic Socialists of America, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Cauley was sentenced to 60 days jail and three years of probation. He is additionally being ordered to stay more than 1000 feet from Officer Maykel Aliaga-Ruiz, the arresting officer who instigated the initial arrest last year by violently grabbing Cauley by the neck and throwing him over a row of chairs. This condition will, as Cauley’s lawyer pointed out in the courtroom, effectively ban him from city council meetings where Aliaga-Ruiz works, directly attacking his right to speak openly to his own elected officials and organize in the city.

Grady was sentenced to six months’ probation, 50 hours of community service, and court-ordered to write a “letter of apology” to the Republican City Council President Randy White.

Both sentences were heavier even than what had been recommended by the prosecutors. The prosecution requested three months’ probation and 25 hours community service for Leah Grady and requested 30 days of jail and one year of probation for Conor Cauley. In both instances, the judges either doubled or tripled the sentences. This comes after public calls by Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters for judges to make an example out of the arrested JPSN organizers in order to politically intimidate them.

This was also in spite of an overwhelming display of community support for both organizers. Over 40 character letters were submitted to the court for Conor Cauley, and high profile character witnesses spoke in Cauley’s favor, including the executive director of the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) Local 1408, Courtnee Staples.

“Who came out to defend Conor today?” asked a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization during the rally at the courthouse. “Teachers, neighbors, union workers, students and people from all walks of life in Jacksonville – in short, a microcosm of the entire community. The city could only wrangle up a handful of people to speak against Conor, and who did they pick? The director of city council and chief of police.”

Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network is committing to fight the verdicts of both Conor Cauley and Leah Grady, having developed a plan to fight their convictions through appeal for retrial. They will be rallying to demand Cauley’s release until he is out of jail.

“It’s because of this jail that, for the next 60 days, Conor will see no justice,” said Ryan Delaney of the Anti-War Action Network. “Well that means that we’re gonna be the reason that for the next 60 days, this jail will see no peace!”

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #JPSN #AWAN #Palestine #ConorCauley #Featured

Tampa, FL – On Thursday, May 21st, members of the Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee spoke at a Tampa City Hall public meeting to demand the city pass an ordinance rescinding Tampa’s 287(g) agreement with the federal government, which has the Tampa Police Department functioning as immigration enforcement officers.

Tampa City Council and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor have yet to publicly comment on 287(g) since Tampa signed on early spring 2025.

“This agreement (287g) is an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars and an inhuman affront to the people of Tampa,” said a member of the Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee.

He continued, “Immigration enforcement under Trump has led to a rapid increase in deaths at the hands of ICE within communities and in inhumane detention centers. Ever since the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, and Keith Porter in LA, cities around the country have been demanding ICE out of our communities. People all around the country are demanding that their city governments take a stand against the racist repressive policies of Trump and his lackeys like DeSantis.”

The Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee is currently pursuing a campaign to end Tampa's 287(g) agreement that targets Tampa City Council, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, and Tampa Chief of Police Lee Bercaw.

#TampaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #TIRC #287g

Jacksonville, FL- A broad coalition, led by Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN), rallied outside Duval County Jail on May 20 to condemn the guilty verdict against local organizer Conor Cauley, who now faces up to five years in prison.

A crowd of over 50 people mobilized within an hour of the verdict. Cauley, who was originally facing ten years with two felony charges, had one felony for resisting violence dropped after a year-long grassroots campaign against the district attorney Melissa Nelson. He is now in jail awaiting sentencing.

Hundreds of people from Jacksonville and across the country called and emailed State Attorney Melissa Nelson, calling on her to drop these trumped-up charges. But, as highlighted in a statement by JPSN, “Melissa Nelson proved to the people that her allegiance is not to them, it's to a corrupt Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and city council that have publicly called for the state to make an example out of us in hopes that they can stop our movement.”

The rally called out the backward political slant of the trial, and the unjust rulings by the judge. Among them were the judge's refusal to allow the political nature of the arrest to be discussed in trial, banning the keffiyeh from the courtroom, not allowing Cauley's lawyer to question arresting Officer Aliaga's history of harassment complaints, and not allowing political repression to be described to the jury.

The judge elected to revoke Cauley's bond upon the guilty verdict, remanding him to police custody. This comes after public pressure on the judge by Sheriff T.K. Waters and multiple Trump-aligned city council members to make an example of Cauley.

“They think they are gods!” shouted Maceo George, president of the Central Labor Council as he spoke to the crowd. “We have to send a message to city council that they won't be in office if they don't support the people!”

The rally was composed of community members, labor leaders, and organizers from JPSN, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, Democratic Socialists of America, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), AFL-CIO's Central Labor Council, and Students for a Democratic Society.

“Here are our demands: Free Conor, no jail time, protesting is not a crime! We want Conor back home with us,” declared María García-Gerardo of FRSO. JPSN and the coalition in attendance have committed to continue the campaign, shifting now from one demanding the state drop the charges to a “Free Conor Cauley” campaign. Cauley is set to appear in court on Tuesday, May 26 for the setting of the sentencing date.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #JPSN #Palestine #PoliticalRepression #ConorCauley #InjusticeSystem

Partners for Palestine set up a poster gallery around the church’s main hall for attendees to browse as they entered, depicting Palestinian artwork and daily life, as well as statistics regarding life under occupation. Attendees shared food potluck-style which included catering from Oasis Cafe, a local Palestinian restaurant, paid for by the uncle of Mohammed Ibrahim. Last year, 16-year-old Ibrahim was kidnapped and illegally detained in an Israeli prison under torturous conditions. He has since been released.

Community activist Luann Roseberry gave a presentation on the history and significance of the Nakba. Caroline Abidin, member of the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance, followed with a lesson on the Palestinian cultural traditions of tatreez and dabke.

Many in attendance had come to know the history of the Nakba after the great Palestinian uprising on October 7, 2023.

When asked what the Nakba and Palestine meant to her, Abidin said, “Palestine became deeply personal to me because the genocide didn't just inform my views, it broke my old world apart and rebuilt me from the inside out. Watching it happen in real time, with undeniable proof, shifted something fundamental. I could no longer believe that justice would come from institutions I once trusted, or that silence was neutral. That realization was world-shifting.”

Abidin added, “I stopped waiting for others to act. That shift pushed me to organize, to use whatever platform or energy I had to bring attention to Palestine because looking away was no longer an option.”

Throughout the event, several calls to action were shared, including a number to call to demand justice for Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old Palestinian from Tampa killed by settlers in the occupied West Bank in July of 2025.

#SpaceCoastFL #RockledgeFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

Tampa, FL — Despite a thunderstorm and tornado warning, a small but passionate group of workers and community members rallied in Ybor City on May 2 to celebrate International Workers' Day. The rally was organized by the West Central Florida Future Labor Leaders, the youth branch of the West Central Florida Central Labor Council, with demands to defend workers’ and immigrants’ rights.

The speakers included workers from a wide range of unions, such as Graduate Assistants United, the American Federation of Government Employees, Service Employees International Union, Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Polk Education Association. An immigrant rights group, the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee, also spoke in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Day Without Immigrants protests.

Just one day before the rally, on May Day itself, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the union-busting SB 1296 into law. The bill is a direct attack on public-sector unions in the state, creating additional barriers to recertification. SB 1296 comes just three years after SB 256, another bill that raised the bar for recertification and decertified more than 100 public-sector unions in the state.

Shortly after losing their union in 2023, the University of South Florida's custodial, groundskeeping and maintenance workers had their jobs privatized. This past year, the workers unionized again, this time with SEIU.

“Since we were privatized, they have taken everything away from us,” said Juan Pena, an electrician at USF and organizer with SEIU 32BJ. “We’re fighting for fair wages, fair contract and salary.”

Speaking in Spanish, Paola Gutierrez with SEIU 32BJ said, “Siempre he dicho que todos unidos somos una sola voz y por eso creo que los sindicatos están listos para defendernos,” or “I have always said all of us united are one single voice and that’s why I believe that unions are ready to defend us.”

The rally ended with a short march around Centennial Park, with attendees chanting “Get up, get down, Tampa is a union town!” The march came to a close just behind the “Immigrant Statue,” a bronze sculpture honoring the Cuban, Italian and Spanish families who immigrated to and built Ybor City.

#TampaFL #FL #MayDay #InternationalWorkersDay #ImmigrantRights #Labor

Jacksonville, FL – On Tuesday, May 12, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee led another mobilization to city council demanding the permanent installment of a mental health emergency response team. This demand is co-signed by a coalition of families who have lost loved ones at the hands of the inept and violent Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO).

Harold Kari, Leah Baker, Justin Knight, Brian Gillis and Rashaud Martin are just a few people who experienced mental health crises then became victims of JSO. In a city where nearly 40% of the yearly budget is allotted to JSO operations, Jacksonville families' only recourse is to call the police in these situations. Protesters demanded that there be another option for Jacksonville residents in need.

“The people of Jacksonville need better,” said Neal Jefferson from the Jacksonville Community Action Committee. “We're tired of the killing. We want to see community care. We want care not cops.”

During public comments, members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee and residents made their demands clear.

They expressed their concerns that JSO officers are unequipped and untrained to respond to 911 calls requiring mental health evaluations, de-escalations and routing residents to care. Demands included the need for officers to radio-confirm appropriate methods for de-escalation and use non-lethal force only, real consequences for officers who use excessive force, and that the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office must share requested records of all calls to families within seven business days.

The families’ coalition and the Jacksonville Community Action Committee have held meetings with Mayor Donna Deegan and city council members to further this campaign. The community says they will continue to fight until justice and care are served.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #InJusticeSystem #JCAC

Orlando, FL – An hour before the Orlando City Commission meeting, community organizers rallied outside City Hall to put police accountability back on the agenda. Activists and community members toughed it out in the heat. They crowded around a banner that read, “Say their names” and held “Bring back the Civilian Review Board” signs.

The action was called for by Orlando Against Police Crimes (OAPC), a local grassroots group that fights for justice for the victims of police violence. OAPC is advocating for the return of a civilian review board (CRB) as a step towards justice, accountability and community control over the police.

OAPC organizer Richard Thomas addressed the crowd, “in 2024, the Civilian Police Review Board was dismantled and in the years following there has been an immediate surge in police brutality and community victims.” Thomas went on to describe how that hasty decision was made unnecessarily after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis passed HB 601, a law designed to intimidate local governments into abandoning civilian oversight of the police.

Longtime community activist Lawanna Gelzer spoke passionately about the right of the community to have real oversight and accountability. Speaking about the long struggle against police crimes in Orlando, she said, “The city council is now debating ICE’s role in the community, but for years they have been acting like ICE in our community!”

Organizer Cassia Laham directed her comments at Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Right now, when the police kill a community member, the media repeats their false narrative, the FDLE [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] whitewashes the investigation, and everything is swept under the rug. The CRB can give families a voice. You have the power to bring it back.” Laham also referred to an ACLU study about the decision to abandon civilian review boards across Florida. It concluded that HB 601 cannot in fact prevent cities from establishing review boards. There are currently two ways that a new CRB could be created in Orlando: through a ballot referendum or mayoral decree.

As the action drew to a close, emcee Edmund Anglero led the crowd in chants of “Justice for Kaleb Williams,” a 20-year-old local tattoo artist who was killed in November by OPD in a botched SWAT raid. Standing alongside Williams’ family, it was a powerful reminder to all in attendance of exactly why the fight for justice must go on.

Afterward, the group attended the city commission meeting and participated in public comment. OAPC organizers vowed to continue their campaign to bring back the CRB. This may have been the first time that some commissioners heard about the fight for police accountability, but it will not be the last.

#OrlandoFL #FL #InJusticeSystem #OAPC #Featured

Jacksonville, FL – Chants of “Who got the power? We got the power! What kind of power? Workers’ power!” echoed in the streets of downtown Jacksonville, May 1, as Duval County celebrated its largest May Day commemoration yet. With over a dozen organizations and union locals in attendance, the community showed up in solidarity with the workers' struggle, with immigrants, and all oppressed peoples of the world.

Attendees reaffirmed the critical work of union organizing and the power of collective action to gain us the rights we have and the rights we'll continue to fight for. “When the beast of imperialism tries to take a bite out of an organized working class, it chokes!” said a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

People's movements united under one banner that read “Workers of the world unite! Fight fight fight!” Other signs read “Money for workers, not bombs!” and “Union busting is disgusting!”

Attendees heard union reps speak from Duval Teachers United, IATSE 115, Starbucks Workers United, IBEW 177, and the North Florida Central Labor Council. Immigrant rights was the highlight of many speeches throughout the program, with connections being made between the movement for legalization for all and workers' rights, the anti-war movement, and state-sanctioned violence experienced by the people who fight back.

“Just like the migrants who work alongside us, we have been reduced to nothing but our labor and the profits we produce for the ruling class,” said a member of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance.

The president of the North Florida Central Labor Council said, “We're here today on May Day to talk about the successful labor struggles of working people, especially our immigrant brothers and sisters, in Palestine, and everyone. We support them.”

The programming closed out with everyone singing in unison Solidarity Forever.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #Labor #ImmigrantRights #MayDay

Space Coast, FL – On May 1, over 100 workers, union members and community members rallied at Kiwanis Park to mark International Workers’ Day, featuring a series of speeches by community organizers and union members.

Speakers included members from the Airline Pilots Association (AFL-CIO), the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance and the pro-Palestine community organization Space Coast Progress Hub. Their demands were heard loud and clear: workers over billionaires, taxing the rich, standing with immigrant workers and highlighting the Palestinian struggle.

Caroline Abidin, member of the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance opened her speech by asking the crowd to join her in chanting, “Los inmigrantes son bienvenidos aquí.” Her speech marked the 20th anniversary of May Day 2006, known as A Day Without Immigrants, when millions of people marched nationwide to protest the anti-immigrant bill HR 4437.

Abidin emphasized that because of May Day 2006, HR 4437 never became law, but 20 years later, the fight is not over. The presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), due to Trump’s anti-immigrant and racist policies, continue to cast a long shadow over American communities by disrupting families and generating widespread fear among both immigrant and American citizen residents.

Abidin closed her speech with the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance’s campaign to end the 287(g) agreements with local police departments in Brevard County, stating, “Ending 287(g) is not just about immigration. It is labor strategy. Our labor is our leverage, and our unity is our power. Every worker, regardless of where they were born, deserves dignity, a living wage and the right to come home safe.”

Vance Ahrens, co-founder of the Space Coast Progress Hub, explained how Palestine and the ongoing genocide are central to understanding International Workers’ Day and must not be forgotten.

Ahrens stated, “The Palestinian people are not separate from the global working-class struggle. The same system that exploits workers here arms occupation there. The same ruling class that tells us there is no money for housing, healthcare or schools sends billions to maintain apartheid, siege and war. The same corporations that profit from low wages also profit from weapons, surveillance, checkpoints, prisons and displacements.”

Ahrens told the crowd labor unions around the world have widely adopted the Palestinian cause and have called for union action to halt investment of trade union pension funds in Israel, refuse to handle arms to Israel, and “elevate the American trade union position to the level of the global labor movement.”

Participants concluded the rally by marching across the bridge on the Melbourne Causeway. They carried signs calling for kicking ICE out of Florida, fighting back against billionaires, and removing Trump from office.

#SpaceCoastFL #FL #Labor #ImmigrantsRights #MayDay

Orlando, FL – On Friday, May 1, dozens of community members gathered at BookBurn Cafe and Social in Orlando's Milk District to celebrate International Workers' Day. The interactive, educational event was presented by Freedom Road Socialist Organization Orlando, and included discussions led by rank-and-file union members from the public and private sector.

The four different presenters spoke about their firsthand experiences organizing union drives and strikes, fighting for decent contracts, resisting anti-union policies from the Florida legislature, and the ever-growing need for communist and militant union members to engage in class struggle unionism.

“The strike has always been the greatest weapon that the working class can wield against the greedy bosses,” said FRSO Orlando member and public high school teacher Edmund Anglero. “And throughout history, there are numerous instances of union workers wielding that power to win fair contracts. That is what we should be building toward today and is why FRSO members make our home in the organized working class.”

After a lively Q and A session, the educational portion of the event ended and was followed by a social for those in attendance to celebrate the holiday together.

#OrlandoFL #FL #Labor #ImmigrantRights #Labor #FRSO

Tampa FL- On Friday, May 1, two high schools in the Tampa Bay area participated in the national call put out by the Legalization for All Network to hold May Day walkouts in remembrance of the Day Without Immigrants mega protests held in 2006.The participating high schools were Middleton and Wharton. Both events were supported by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society and the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee. The protests this year called for slogans such as “Ice out now!” and “Legalization for all!” in response to the Trump administration’s continued attacks on immigrant communities across the country.

At the Middleton walkout, two students participated and still drew attention from the high school administration. As said by ZJ Jeudy, a member of the Middleton’s Students for a Democratic Society, “I organized and participated in the walkout because to me, it’s important to not only speak up for what’s right, but to also demonstrate it even if you are the only one doing it.”

Later in the day at Wharton, high school students participated in a rally after school at the corner of the school premises.

“If you go back to the early 2000s or go back to the 70s, students coming out and protesting is a major part of the Vietnam War timeline, that kind of thing. That’s how you organize,” said Nicole Cochrin, a member of Wharton’s Students for a Democratic Society. “Even if the protest itself doesn’t really do much, it’s going to spark more protests. People are going to make more of a change instead of sitting idly hoping someone else does something for them.”

These actions were two of the many held across the country on May Day for the National Day of Action called by the Legalization for All Network and National Students for a Democratic Society.

#TampaFL #FL #StudentMovement #L4A #SDS #ImmigrantRights #Highschool #MayDay

Tallahassee FL, – On Monday, April 20, Tallahassee Students For A Democratic Society (SDS) held a teach-in to inform students and community members on how to combat repression. The event was a part of a coordinated National Day of Action, called in solidarity with Rick Toledo, an organizer at Cal Poly Humboldt who was charged with assault, battery and false imprisonment after a February building occupation protest, which called for the university to divest its funds from Israel’s ongoing genocide.

Among the many important aspects of fighting repression is ensuring that you are public-facing and continue to put public pressure on officials.

“Holding actions is the most important part. We need to show that we’re still fighting,” said Kaiden Rosa, the vice president of Tallahassee SDS, said, “And that’s why you’ll see us rally outside courthouses, oftentimes rallying if there's a university conduct case because we’re going to keep the pressure on.”

Tallahassee SDS is no stranger to political repression. Florida State University has continuously attempted to ignore and repress the organization, recently banning SDS from registration as a student organization for over two years due to “protesting after dark.”

Rosa explained the importance of solidarity and how cases like Rick Toledo's can have ramifications nationwide, stating, “He was suspended from his school and fired, and they’re just trying to turn it against him [and] make it so that the Palestine protests can be more easily silenced, if they can be silenced in one place, they can be silenced anywhere else.”

Attendees also learned more about the case of Alejandro Orellana, an organizer with Centro CSO from Los Angeles, arrested in the wake of the Los Angeles uprising against ICE oppression.

Orellana had his house raided and faced charges of conspiracy, along with aiding and abetting civil disorder, simply for handing out face-coverings to protestors.

During the LA uprising, the LAPD faced scrutiny for its violence against protesters, launching tear gas canisters at protesters and journalists, firing rubber bullets and riding horses over passersby.

A campaign was launched by organizations like Centro CSO to drop the charges against Orellana, and after intense public pressure and outcry, that is what happened.

The Repression Teach-in rang very true for attendees who witnessed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrest of Sadie Carlson at the recent No Kings Protest after marchers stepped into a closed and empty street as the sidewalk ended.

“At the end of the day, the most important thing is solidarity,” Rosa said.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #StudentMovement #SDS #PoliticalRepression

Fight Back News Service and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression are circulating the following call to action from Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network.

On May 27, 2025, three organizers, including two Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network members, were unjustly arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) after being targeted during a city council meeting. Conor Cauley was violently attacked by JSO officers, and is facing up to 10 years in prison for felony charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery of a law enforcement officer. Activists Leah Grady and Dragon Belloit were also arrested.

Videos of the arrest clearly show that the only violence came from JSO officers. These are trumped-up, bogus charges. Sheriff T.K. Waters publicly stated he wants to make an example out of these activists in order to silence people who use their right to protest Jacksonville’s involvement in the genocide of Palestinians.

With one week to go before Conor’s trial, we need to be louder than ever to demand that these charges get dropped. Every single call helps!

Please call and email the office of State Attorney Melissa Nelson and Prosecutor Kelli Lynn Shobe at (904) 255-2500 – press 0 to reach the front desk and ask to leave a message for Nelson or Shobe.

You can email them at SAO4th@coj.net and kshobe@coj.net

Here is a sample script for calls or emails:

Hello, my name is [FIRST NAME, LAST NAME], and I am a resident of [CITY, STATE]. On May 27, 2025, three community members, Conor Cauley, Leah Grady, and Dragon Belloit, were arrested and brutalized during a city council meeting simply for speaking up against the genocide of Gaza. Thousands witnessed the viral video in which one member of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, Conor, was violently grabbed by the neck and flipped over a row of benches. Yet, the State Attorney’s Office has persisted in launching a campaign of clear political repression by targeting Conor with two felony charges. No jury of our peers would convict someone who JSO threw over a row of chairs and the State Attorney’s Ofice is wasting taxpayer time and money by refusing to drop these charges. I am calling to demand that sheriff T.K. Waters fire both the arresting officers, Maykel Aliaga-Ruiz and Donovan Davis, and that State Attorney Melissa Nelson drop all charges against Conor Cauley, Leah Grady, and Dragon Belloit immediately.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #CSFR #Featured

Tallahassee, FL – On Friday, April 10, Tallahassee SDS, along with Freedom Road Socialist Organization and FSU YDSA brought together over 40 people on FSU’s Landis Green to protest the Israel Fair, an event sponsored by pro-Israel groups across the campus to celebrate Israel as it carries out genocide against Palestinians.

The event took place two days after Israel conducted 100 airstrikes against Lebanon in ten minutes, killing hundreds.

“It is shameful that FSU is allowing an event on our campus in the name of a state that is built on colonization and genocide,” said Maria Duarte, a member of Tallahassee SDS who spoke at the protest. “Israel is a state that has been displacing and murdering Palestinians for over 70 years. A state that believes that bombing children and innocent civilians is ‘self-defense.’ It is disgusting how our university is whitewashing genocide while Palestinians continue to be murdered and displaced.”

The fair was created by various Zionist organizations, including Students Supporting Israel, Hasbara Fellowships, Hillel at FSU, Zionist Organization of America and the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis.

The protest began at 1 p.m. and was supposed to go until 2 p.m. but continued until around 3:45 p.m. Students chanted “Free Palestine” and made statements that showed solidarity with Palestine, condemned Israel, and ridiculed those involved with the fair.

Zionist counterprotesters responded with slurs and attempts to disrupt the rally, which the protesters ignored. As for the Israel Fair, it should have gone until 3:30 p.m., but it was closed down a little after 2:00 p.m. due to pressures from the protest – which would outnumber the attendees of the Israel Fair.

The speakers made a point to emphasize FSU’s support of Israel and, by extension, the genocide of Palestinians.

The speakers mentioned how the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering partners with Boeing. A close partner of Israel for 75 years, the company recently signed an $8.6 billion contract with the Pentagon to make 25 new F-15 Fighters for Israel. More recently, in March, Boeing signed another deal for $289 million to deliver 5000 air-launched smart bombs to Israel.

“Make no mistake, our campus is heavily complicit,” said one protester.

Before the Israel Fair, FSU power washed pro-Palestinian statements that were written in chalk on Landis Green. An anonymous affiliate of the fair’s organizers posted on YikYak, “this is what FSU thinks of your anti-fair chalk,” with a picture of the Landis Green walkways being power washed.

The “anti-fair chalk” included statements such as “72,000+ dead” (the number of Palestinians who have been killed thus far in the Gaza genocide), “One should not be killed for just being a Palestinian” and a list of names of children who were killed in Gaza and the West Bank by the Israeli occupation forces.

As FSU’s administration defends allowing of Zionist organizations on their campus, Israel continues to perpetuate its genocide of Palestinians. Tallahassee SDS deplores FSU’s hypocrisy in sanctioning hate groups on their campus while suppressing leftist student movements, and they remain in solidarity with Palestinians.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #FRSO

Orlando, FL – El jueves, 26 de marzo, los Estudiantes Por una Sociedad Democrática de UFC con los Socialistas Democráticos Jóvenes de América organizaron una demostración de más de 40 en la que hicieron una marcha para el Salón Millican, el edificio administrativo de la Universidad de Florida Central.

Esta acción fue la cuarta concentración para exigir un fin al acuerdo 287 (g) a que el Presidente de la universidad Alexander Cartwright se reúna con los líderes estudiantiles para convertir a UFC en campus santuario.

Después de una acción de llamadas a la oficina del presidente, Adrienne Frame, uno de los “designados de comunicación entre estudiantes del presidente,” aceptó sentarse en una reunión entre la oficina y los EESD. Luego que los ESD enviaron sus horas preferidas de reunirse, la administración de UFC siguió ignorando a los estudiantes.

Al inicio de la concentración, Hazel Hazelwood, participante de ESD de UFC les explico a las multitudes, “Estamos entre más de 60,000 de los jóvenes más ambicioso del estado. Nos dicen que podemos alcanzar todo al que nos dedicamos, y no obstante Cartwright anticipa que nos quedemos callados mientras nuestros amigos viven con miedo.”

Desde delante de la Unión Estudiantil, los estudiantes marcharon al Salon Millican, mientras cantaban consignas como, “Atrévete a luchar, atrévete a ganar,” y “Sacate Cartwright!”

Los activistas estudiantes llevaron pancartas con frases como, “Campus santuario ahora” y “Fuera del Campus ICE, acaba con 287(g).” También había señales que representaron al Presidente de UFC Alexander Cartwright como “Dónde Está Wally” con la consigna proclamando “Dónde Está Cartwright” debido a su reputación de asistir a los eventos en campus con poca frecuencia.

Una vez que la concentración llegó al Salon Millican, Adrien Daugherty, otro miembro de los ESD de UFC, fue el primer en hablar, “Esto es nuestro campus. Pagamos para asistir. La administración de la UFC debe servirnos, no suplicar a cualquier administración federal que suba al poder. Somos sus constituyentes – y es una vergüenza que aún consideren la idea de dejar que ICE venga a secuestrar a uno de nosotros. Vergüenza!”

El hablador final fue Ken Pham de SDJA, quien decidió hablar de qué significa realmente la decisión de la administración de UFC a firmar el acuerdo de 287(g), proclamada, “Neutralidad en la cara de la represión estatal no es neutralidad. Es complicidad. El Presidente Cartwright y sus administradores han tomado su decisión. Ya son colaboradores.”

Después de corear consignas en el Salon Millican exigiendo que el Presidente de UFC Cartwright salga a hablar con los estudiantes, la manifestación marchó tras el campus para la Alameda Memoria y concluyó gritando “Creo que vamos a ganar.”

#OrlandoFL #FL #MovimientoEstudiantil #EESD #DerechosdelosInmigrantes #ImmigrantRights #StudentMovement #SDS

Jacksonville, FL – On Wednesday, April 8, students at the University of North Florida gathered to protest Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, a vehement racist and xenophobe, who was allowed to speak on campus.

The protest was organized by Jacksonville Students for a Democratic Society and drew more than 20 students to picket the building where Fishback was giving his speech. Signs read “No racist governor” and “Fishback hates immigrants.”

During his campaign for Florida governor, Fishback has appealed to the emerging far right section of young voters. He has stated that he views all immigrants, documented and undocumented, as invaders. Recently, he also came under fire after a viral video showed him telling a Black man he should be lynched.

Students picketed the building for more than three hours, braving rain, cold weather and intimidation from police.

The demonstration drew much opposition from Fishback’s supporters, but some were swayed by the protest, admitting they didn't actually know Fishback’s stances beforehand.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #StudentMovement #SDS

Jacksonville, FL – On April 14, dozens of community members gathered on the steps of Jacksonville City Hall to demand the establishment of a permanent professional mental health team to respond to mental health crises, instead of police.

In 2025 the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office was responsible for more than five killings while responding to mental health crises. Concerned community members and mothers of the victims of this police violence led by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee made their voices heard.

Protesters demanded the creation of permanent mental health emergency response team professionals, for officers on mental health calls to radio-confirm deescalation and non-lethal force only, and consequences for cops that use excessive force.

“Mental health episode should not be a death sentence,” said Amelia Moss in her speech representing the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.

After the rally, the group headed into the city council chambers to reiterate their demands in the meeting's public comment section.

During the comment section of the meeting, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee showed solidarity with sister organization Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network by demanding the trumped-up politically motivated charges on fellow organizers be dropped.

Despite attempts at intimidation by city council members and the police, the people made their voices heard.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #JCAC #PoliceAccountability #InjusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities