Orlando, FL – On July 9, the family of Milagros “Millie” Ortiz, alongside attorney Ben Crump, announced plans to file a $92 million lawsuit following a t-bone collision by an Orlando Police Department officer on January 18, which resulted in her death.

This comes after the state attorney’s office for Orange and Osceola Counties declined to charge the officer responsible with vehicular manslaughter.

“I am here to say that we will not stop saying my grandmother's name, Milagros B. Ortiz, until justice is served,” her granddaughter Ashley Rodriguez said.

Ortiz, 92 years old, was in the passenger seat returning from her weekly Saturday night game of bingo. Footage obtained from a camera at the intersection of Semoran Boulevard and Hoffner Avenue shows an OPD vehicle stopped at a red light. OPD officer Andrew McKuhen reportedly saw another vehicle make an illegal U-turn, which prompted him to turn on his red and blue lights and begin driving through the intersection. However, the lights that came on were not flashing, but static, and an eyewitness reported not hearing the vehicle’s siren go off.

As the OPD vehicle crossed the middle of the intersection, the emergency lights shut off and the vehicle accelerated, slamming into the driver’s side of the car. Ortiz passed away at a local hospital several days later because of the crash injuries. Video from a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store shows the emergency lights on the vehicle coming back on 27 seconds after the crash.

According to OPD’s own preliminary crash report, the police vehicle “was at fault for the collision due to failure to yield right of way.” However, in June, after months of dodging questions from local news reporters pertaining to the crash, Chief Eric Smith appeared on a podcast and blamed the crash on faulty vehicle emergency lights.

“We will be filing a $92 million lawsuit against the Orlando Police Department, the maintenance company, and the product manufacturer because somebody is going to be held accountable,” Crump said.

During the press conference, Ortiz’s family surrounded the podium along with several large portraits depicting Ortiz. She was a beloved matriarch and a vibrant soul. Family members, including daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, spoke about who Ortiz was and her character.

“My mother was an angel,” daughter Judy Santiago said, adding, “If you all would have known her, you all would have fell in love with my mother.” Ortiz was full of life and vigor, and was known to all as the life of the party.

Ortiz’s family acknowledged that she is not the only victim of OPD traffic-related deaths in recent years, adding that they want to fight for change to ensure no other families experience such a tragedy.

“I don't know when our hearts are going to be healed, if ever,” Santiago said, “but justice for my mother, justice for Millie Ortiz.”

#OrlandoFL #FL #InjusticeSystem #MillieOrtiz #OPD #KillerCop #OppressedNationalities

Jacksonville, FL — On July 11, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) held an emergency rally in an area that has been seeing a growing presence of ICE. There were approximately 50 attendees demanding ICE leave their community for good.

When speaking on the extreme increase in ICE activity within Jacksonville, one of JIRA's own members stated, “I mean look around where we’re at, people in this very community have been taken away from their homes, ripped apart from their family and friends. They target our working-class immigrants at our very doorstep, all because they are the most vulnerable. It doesn’t matter to them if your documents are in order, they profile you immediately based off of their notions on what an immigrant looks like.”

There was an additional call for justice at this rally, as this took place within a week of the murder of ICE Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

JIRA stands in solidarity with the Lorenzo Salgado Araujo family in their demand for answers, as ICE has lied denied the family the right to claim his body while claiming to investigate their own crime.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #LorenzoSalgadoAraujo

Jacksonville, FL – While heat warnings shortened celebrations of the 250th July 4, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network took to the hot Florida pavement to protest U.S. aggression both domestically and abroad, including its support for the genocide in Gaza.

The rally started at Memorial Park in the heart of Riverside, where members of organizations spoke on the injustices carried out by the U.S.

A member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) told the crowd, “Over the last three years, at least 75,000 Palestinians have been murdered in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which the United States government has been bankrolling, another 1200 citizens in Syria killed in the regime change in their country, and another 3600 Iranians killed in the senseless war against their country and as if that's not bad enough, we have another 100 civilians of Venezuela killed in the kidnapping of their president, Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores.” The crowd yelled “Shame!” in response.

Focus was also brought to the attacks the Trump administration has made on immigrant communities. Crystal Aguilar of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance stated, “250 years of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But for who? Certainly not for me, or for the millions of working-class people living in America. Not for the immigrants who die crossing the border every day to enter this country, those who have died in ICE detention, and those whose labor is being exploited by greedy corporations. Is this what we choose to stand for? Is this what we are going to continue to allow in our country?” The crowd yelled back, “No!”

The rally became mobile as the participants began marching down Riverside Avenue toward the bustling arts market hosted under the Fuller Warren Bridge. Patrons of the market could hear the marchers steadily approach as the chanting and drumming grew louder. Anyone in the vicinity could hear roars of, “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air! U.S. out of everywhere!”

The chants echoed across the market with the help of the bridge's acoustics. Ryan Delaney of the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) and a co-organizer of the march addressed the market’s attendees: “We are out here today as part of a national day of action called by the Anti-War Action Network. We are organizing in cities around the country, saying that we reject this idea of 250 years of freedom when we continue to take the freedom away from people around the world and in our own country.”

Most of the market patrons stopped what they were doing to see what was going on. They listened intently as a call to action was issued, “Everybody who's here at the Riverside Arts Market, I want you all to know that we are going to continue to fight for this. And we want all of you to get involved. We want every single person here to wake up and rise to this occasion and get ready for the real fight ahead of us. So for every single one of y'all out here, if you're with us, we want y'all to march with us. Because we are going to continue to march, and we're going to go back to Memorial Park, where we're going to continue our program.”

The march made its way back to Memorial Park with more people than it had started with. Upon returning, the attendees cooled down in the shade. Food and water were distributed as folks socialized and built community.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #JPSN

Orlando, FL – On the evening of Friday, June 19, around 80 community members gathered from all over Orlando at the intersection of Anderson Street and Division Avenue. They carried signs that read “Defend voting rights” and “Justice for the victims of police crimes” as they marched toward city hall in response to Republican-led attacks on the voting rights of the Black community, as well as demanding community control of the police.

The protest was organized by Orlando Against Police Crimes (OAPC), a grassroots community organization fighting for the victims of police crimes. At the event, OAPC condemned recent attacks on voting rights by the Supreme Court of the United States in the Louisiana v. Callais case. The case made it harder to correct maps that dilute the voting rights of the Black community. It is a decision which also paved the way for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and right-wing legislators to redraw maps that undermine the political power of Black voters.

Gathered at the corner of Anderson and Division, the crowd was set to march across the Anderson Street Bridge as they made their way down to city hall. Community leader Lawanna Gelzer opened the event by talking about the significance of the location chosen. “They named this Division Avenue because it was the segregation line between Black and Caucasian people during Jim Crow. Now, Division Avenue stands for economic disparity and gentrification.”

Gelzer also spoke on the history of the Civil Rights Movement. She gave a particular focus to the historic march across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama – the site of a brutal attack on protestors perpetrated by police known as Bloody Sunday.

“This march is a reenactment of that moment. They call us radicals when all we’re asking for is to respect the voting rights we fought for and to bring back the police civilian review board they took away from us,” said Gelzer.

Protesters then marched across the Anderson Street Bridge, local activists leading chants such as “Donald Trump you racist clown, tell your courts we won’t back down!” and “Ron DeSantis shame on you, the KKK fear Black votes too!” Protesters sang ballads from the Civil Rights Movement such as We Shall Overcome and Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round.

Once the protesters arrived at Orlando City Hall, OAPC member Edmund Anglero told the crowd, “Some of you may be wondering why a group focused on police crimes organized an event around voting rights. Our right to vote is a building block upon which we amass more political power. Those rights were fought for, and earned, in blood. We must defend them with everything we have. The struggle for community control of the police is ultimately about expanding our basic democratic rights.”

Anglero also highlighted the recent murder of Kohen Wiley, a one-year-old child killed by Mississippi police in a Walmart parking lot, and called for justice and accountability.

The Orlando Singing Resistance choir and 50501 Orlando ended the event with songs and speeches while OAPC put out a call to action. They urged members of the community to join OAPC’s campaign in reinstating the Civilian Review Board and getting involved in the struggle for police accountability and community control of the police in Orlando.

#OrlandoFL #FL #Juneteenth #OppressedNationalities #OAPC #NAARPR

Tallahassee, FL – On June 20, the Tallahassee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TallyAARPR) held its Angelversary rally and vigil at the Lynching Historical Marker at Cascades Park to honor the lives of those killed by racist violence.

Organizers demanded justice for victims of police violence, such as Kohen Wiley, the one-year-old shot and killed by police in Senatobia, Mississippi, as well as those victims who still have not received justice, such as Mychael Johnson and Tony McDade, both killed by Tallahassee Police Department officers within weeks of each other in 2020.

Other groups in attendance included the Tallahassee Immigrants Rights Alliance (TIRA), Tallahassee SDS (Tally SDS), and the Tallahassee District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (Tally FRSO).

Aedan Bennett with TIRA said, “In Florida and in all of the southern states in the Black Belt South, Black and brown people are still criminalized just for existing. In Florida, Black children are transferred to adult court and tried as adults at seven times the rate of white children. For immigrants and Latino people in this country, they are thrown in jail for being here ‘illegally,’ a fake crime, where they are denied medical care and access to running water.”

Speaking for Tally SDS, JJ Glueck stated, “Most of y'all remember the first time you bought diapers or baby formula or pacis and that feeling of how good it feels and how nice it is to get to take care of this little sweet child that you're related to or that you know. I can't believe that Kohen Wiley's mom will never get to buy him another thing. It's heartbreaking that she'll never get to buy him another thing.”

Glueck continued, “They don't care about any of our lives. But most of all, they treat Black lives like they're disposable, like they're worth killing for some kind of $20 diaper.”

Brandon Beckett with Tallahassee FRSO spoke towards the broader causes of political repression. “This is what police terror looks like. Not an exception, but a pattern. Not a few bad officers, but a system that chooses the property of the capitalist class over the lives of Black people every single time. Over and over again, we see the same thing happen. A Black person is killed. The officer is put on paid leave. The investigation goes nowhere. The grand jury does nothing. And the cycle continues. It is predictable. It is deliberate. And it is by design.”

The event also highlighted the recent attacks on voting rights around the country. Speaking for TallyAARPR, Delilah Pierre said, “The right to vote for Black people wasn't fought in the courts. It was fought in the streets. The right to proportional representation to end gerrymandering is a fight that the people struggled for, not just a few politicians.”

Pierre continued, “We're fighting because in the 1870s, we fought for proportional representation, for Black people to have real rights. And that fight has not been finished. But let me tell you something. Our generation, our movement, our era, will be the ones to finish that fight, and we will be the ones to win.”

#TallahasseeFL #FL #InJusticeSystem #TAARPR

Cocoa, FL ‒ On June 14, the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance (SCIRA) held a rally in Cocoa, Florida as part of the Legalization 4 All network’s weekend of action against detention centers.

Dozens of demonstrators demanded “ICE out now” and chanted “Free our people, free them all!” while expressing solidarity with hunger strikers at Delaney Hall and Adelanto. The rally highlighted SCIRA's ongoing campaign to end 287(g) agreements in Brevard County, from municipal police forces to the county sheriff’s department.

Carlos Barreto of Orlando Against Police Crimes joined to emphasize the intersection of immigration enforcement with broader state violence, as the city of Orlando continues to fight against ongoing attempts to open a new ICE facility in Lake Nona. Edmund Anglero, member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, spoke on the socialist strategy of using an organized and militant working class to fight for immigrant rights.

Zaki Ahmed spoke for SCIRA, detailing that group’s goals and its strategy as a grassroots organization fighting for immigrant justice, how they deepen their ties to the Space Coast’s immigrant community, and their plans for the future.

The June 14 action marks SCIRA's first entirely self-directed rally after months of attending protests called by other organizations and building ties to the immigrant community through volunteering and barrio-walking in neighborhoods affected by Florida's ongoing deportation operations.

#CocoaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights

Tampa, FL – On a hot and humid Saturday, June 13, a spirited crowd of about 20 people stood outside Tampa’s police headquarters in downtown to demand the release of immigrant detainees from inhumane conditions, an end to Tampa’s collaboration with ICE, and legalization for all.

The crowd was there to take part in the Legalization for All network’s weekend of action in solidarity with detainees in custody in prisons like Adelanto and Delaney Hall. The call to action saw affiliates across the country rally in front of and march to detention centers.

This rally, called by the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee, was held outside Tampa police headquarters because of Tampa’s ongoing participation in the 287(g) program, which allows local police and other law enforcement to act as deputized ICE agents to carry out immigration arrests and enforcement. 

A speaker from local non-profit Magnified Voices raised the issue of human dignity being violated every day at these detention centers, as a hunger strike by detainees at Adelanto Detention Center in California has raged for weeks. Detainees report overcrowding, rotten food, dirty drinking water and inadequate clothing. Echoing reports from other detention centers across the country, detainees also report inadequate and slow medical care. 

Chants of, “From Duval to Delaney Hall, free our people, free them all!” sounded out throughout downtown as the rally proceeded.

Erain Boxtha, of the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee made the point, “Florida is number two in immigration detentions, and it is number one in local and state cooperation with ICE. Averaging about 100 daily arrests thanks to the help of local and state law enforcement cooperation.” He linked the profit motive of private detention center owners like CoreCivic and GEO Group to the increase in detentions and inhumane conditions, “And detention centers have created enormous wealth to private contractors aligned in exploiting the most vulnerable of us!” 

Activists heard directly from former GEO group executive George Zoley, in a recording from a shareholder meeting, bragging of a profit increase of 700 times since Trump came back to office,. The conclusion of the rally saw participants vow to keep fighting unjust detentions and Tampa’s 287(g) agreement.

#TampaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #TIRC

Jacksonville, FL- On June 10, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network held a press conference before the dismissal of the State Attorney’s Office’s municipal charge against Leah Grady for “resisting an officer without violence.”

The Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, in coalition with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, maintained Grady’s case as a flagrant attack against freedom of speech. State Attorney Melissa Nelson was further emboldened to attempt double jeopardy, another breach of constitutional law. On May 29, the state had already charged and sentenced them for a misdemeanor of the same title.

In the eyes of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network and the people of Jacksonville, the cases of Conor Cauley and Leah Grady have represented repeat violations of constitutional rights, most prominently the right to freedom of speech and protections from double jeopardy.

The targeting of activists was made clear to the public, as Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters had spoken to the press, demanding Grady and Cauley be made into an example. The collusion between city council officials and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was prevalent in pushing an identical agenda. As Ryan Delaney with JPSN reported, “the Director of City Council Jason Teal demanded an example needed to be made out of him [Conor Cauley]” in order to justify the harsh sentencing.

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee asserted Leah Grady and Conor Cauley’s cases are inextricably linked, contributing to the growing trend of repressing views that oppose the Jacksonville City Council and their continued injustices in the city. When interviewed by First Coast News, Monica Gold with JCAC noted, “They [Grady and Cauley] are being targeted for their political speech, for their practice of speaking out, for their practice of going to city council, for pointing out flaws in Jacksonville and trying to make Jacksonville a better place.”

Despite the aggressive year-long mission to repress the Palestine movement by State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s Office, the dismissal of Leah Grady’s second charge was a result of consistent community pressure and a competent defense campaign. Today’s win shows that the people will not accept these political attacks by Melissa Nelson or the Sheriff’s Office, and JPSN will work tirelessly to find the same victory in the upcoming appeals process.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ConorCauley #LeahGrady #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #JPSN #JCAC

Jacksonville, FL – Friends, family, and concerned community members gathered at Riverview Park on Saturday, June 6, to honor the life of Rashaud Martin.

The vigil was planned by A Mother’s Cry, a Jacksonville Community Action Committee coalition of family members who have lost their loved ones to police violence.

The afternoon was filled with music, poetry and reflection. Loved ones spoke on their fond memories and held balloons in Rashaud’s favorite colors. They also lamented that they are still looking for answers and justice.

On October 24, 2025 his family called for help during a mental health crisis. Rashaud was diagnosed with schizophrenia eight years before. Rashaud was Baker Acted (involuntary mental health examination and detention) by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Despite his mother receiving a call that he had arrived for care, Rashaud died in JSO custody in transport to the hospital. He was never admitted. Rashaud was 32 years old.

Despite eight months of the family’s demands, JSO has still refused to release body-worn camera footage of the incident.

“Raushaud Martin was someone’s child. And to deny anyone the closure of knowing why someone so important was taken from them– is a purposeful tactic to delay the inevitable fist of justice. But that is exactly what it is– inevitable,” said Moriyana Nieves, a speaker for the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.

For these grieving family members, Rashaud’s story is all too familiar. As a result, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee has taken up their fight for an emergency mental health response team in Jacksonville, Florida.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #RashaudMartin #InjusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #PoliceAccountability

Jacksonville, FL – El 29 de mayo, Miembros de la comunidad protestaron la sentencia grave de Conor Cauley y Leah Grady, dedicándose a seguir la lucha contra sus cargos y exigiendo la liberación de Conor Cauley, que actualmente se mantiene como prisionero político en la Cárcel del Condado Duval.

A pesar de las fuertes lluvias, más de 60 miembros de la comunidad protestaron delante del juzgado y, luego, detrás de la cárcel del condado bajo carpas que se combaban y rompían con el peso del agua de la lluvia. Esto no desanimó a los asistentes, que continuaban a gritar y concentrarse contra el tratamiento injusto a los organizadores contra la guerra.

Estas manifestaciones fueron dirigidas por la Red de Solidaridad con Palestina de Jacksonville junto con organizaciones comunitarias incluyendo la Comité de Acción Comunitaria de Jacksonville, la Alianza de Derechos de Inmigrantes de Jacksonville, los Brentwood 300, los Socialistas Democráticos de América, y la Organización Camino de la Libertad.

Cauley fue sentenciado a 60 días encarcelado y tres años de aprobación. Ya está siendo ordenado a quedarse más de 1000 pies del Policia Maykel Aliaga-Ruiz, el oficial que instigó el arresto inicial el año pasado por agarrarlo por el cuello a Cauley y tirarlo por una línea de sillas. La condición tendrá el efecto, como lo ha notado el abogado de Cauley en el juzgado, de efectivamente prohibirlo de asistir a las reuniones del consejo municipal en donde Aliaga-Ruiz trabaja, atacando directamente su derecho de hablar al aire libre con sus propios políticos elegidos y de ser organizador en la ciudad.

Grady fue sentenciada con seis meses de aprobación, 50 horas de servicios comunitario, y una orden de la corte de escribirle una “carta de disculpa” a la Presidenta Republicana del Consejo Randy White.

Ambas sentencias fueron más graves aún de lo que habían recomendado los prosecutores. La prosecución recomendaron tres meses de aprobación y 25 horas de servicio comunitario para Leah Grady y recomendaron 30 días de encarcelación y un año de aprobación para Conor Cauley. En los dos casos, los jueces o doblaron o triplicaron el castigo. Esto sale tras llamadas por el Sheriff de Jacksonville T.K. Waters que los jueces hagan un ejemplo de los organizadores de RSPJ así para intimidarlos políticamente.

Todo esto ocurrió a pesar de un despliegue enorme de apoyo comunitario en apoyo a los dos organizadores. Más de 40 cartas de carácter fueron entregadas a la corte por Conor Cauley, y testigos de gran nota hablaron a favor de Cauley, incluyendo la directora ejecutiva del local 1408 de la Asociación de Estibadores Internacional (AEI), Courtnee Staples.

“¿Quién salió hoy para acá para defender a Conor?” hizo la pregunta un miembro de la Organización Camino de la Libertad durante la concentración frente al juzgado. “Los profesores, vecinos, obreros de sindicato, estudiantes y gente de todas partes de Jacksonville – para resumir, un microcosmo de la comunidad entera. La ciudad no podía hacer más que rodear unos pocos para hablar contra Conor, y a quienes escogieron? La directora del consejo y el jefe de la policía.”

La Red de Solidaridad con Palestina de Jacksonville está comprometida a luchar contra los veredictos de los dos Conor Cauley y Leah Grady, habiéndo ya desarrollado un plan para oponer sus condenas de apelar contra ellas y pedir nuevo juicio. Harán más manifestaciones para exigir la liberación de Cauley hasta que esté fuera de la cárcel.

“Es por esta cárcel que, durante los próximos 60 días, Conor no verá justicia,” dijo Ryan Delaney de la Red de Acción Contra la Guerra. “Pues eso significa que nosotros seremos la razón por la cual, durante estos próximos 60 días, esta cárcel no sabrá ninguna paz!”

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #MoviemientoContraLaGuerra #SistemaInjusticia #RepresiónPolítica #JPSN #AWAN #Palestina #ConorCauley #Destacado

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