Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

FL

By staff

Jacksonville, FL – During the week of August 10-17, JPSN answered the call to action by the Anti-War Action Network for protests demanding an end to the siege in Gaza. The Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) organized a total of five events during the week of action, with various ways for the community to get involved.

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By Elizaveta Vlasov

Protest against "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Everglades.

Miami, FL – The Miccosukee Tribe and Friends of the Everglades won their lawsuit to shut down the detention camp known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” as ruled by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Thursday, August 21. The lawsuit was filed on June 27, and Judge Williams ordered a temporary stop to the construction on the site two weeks ago. Now, the state has 60 days to move the detainees and dismantle what’s been constructed so far.

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By staff

Jacksonville, FL – On the first day of their fall semester, August 18, students from the University of North Florida held a banner over the campus’s central courtyard demanding a sanctuary campus. The banner raised three demands: an end to collaboration between the UNF Police Department and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), divestment from Israel, and protections for endangered courses and programs.

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By staff

Two people presenting a slideshow.

Orlando, FL – On August 12, the Orlando District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization held a presentation and discussion on the organization’s political program. The topics covered included a brief introduction of FRSO, its analysis of class in the United States, the organization’s strategy for revolution, and how it organizes to build the people’s struggles to fight for revolutionary change.

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By staff

Manifestantes contra ICE en Orlando, Florida

Orlando, FL – El 2 de agosto, alrededor de 30 miembros de la comunidad realizaron una manifestación de emergencia en las cámaras de la Comisión del Condado Orange para exigir que el condado vote en contra de ratificar una actualización al acuerdo de su contrato con el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de EE. UU., o ICE (por sus siglas en inglés). La actualización del acuerdo representa otro ataque contra los inmigrantes en el condado.

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By staff

A group of people holding signs in front of a stage.

Jacksonville, FL – Over 100 community members gathered at Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park, August 9, to demand justice for William McNeil Jr.

McNeil was brutally beaten by a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) officer after a traffic stop in February 2025. The officer shattered McNeil’s car window, forcibly removed him from the vehicle, and assaulted him. The protest, organized by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) in collaboration with McNeil’s family, amplified calls for accountability.

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By staff

A group of protesters holding signs.

Orlando, FL – On August 2, around 30 community members held an emergency rally at the Orange County Commission chambers to demand the county vote against ratifying an updated agreement to its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The updated agreement represents another attack on immigrants in the county.

The mobilization was called for by Orlando Against Police Crimes, after Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings caved in to threats from Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.

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By staff

A woman standing with a sign and a megaphone.

Orlando, FL – On Saturday, August 2, over 200 people gathered outside the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel to protest the Florida Freedom Forum, where the most ultra-conservative Republicans from Florida gathered to reiterate their right-wing agenda.

Protesters carried signs and banners supporting immigrants, denouncing ICE kidnappings in Orlando, and calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza.

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By Gage Lacharite

Workers on a sidewalk holding signs.

Tampa, FL – About 20 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) workers and supporters rallied at the VA clinic on Bruce B Downs Boulevard in Tampa early in the morning of August 4. The rally was put on by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 547 and is part of a larger nationwide campaign opposing ongoing attacks on federal workers by the Trump administration.

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By Kenya Smith

A group of protesters standing on steps.

Jacksonville, FL – The Jacksonville Community Action Committee, the Families of William McNeil Jr and Charles Faggart, along with dozens of other community members gathered at the steps of State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s office Saturday, August 2. The emergency rally was in response to the viral video showing the brutalization of William McNeil Jr. during a traffic stop. They demanded the reopening of the investigation into McNeil’s case, and justice for all victims of police terror.

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By Anthony Renzetti

A group of people in a cafe listening to someone speak.

Orlando, FL – On July 26, members of the Orlando community gathered for an educational panel covering the history of policing and the fight for community control. The event was hosted by Orlando Against Police Crimes (OAPC) at The Drunken Monkey coffee bar, located in the Mills 50 district of Orlando.

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By staff

A group of protesters holding signs.

Starke, FL – On July 19, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) called for activists across the state to mobilize to Starke, Florida in order to protest the planned construction of a new concentration camp in Camp Blanding. Over 700 gathered across the street from the gates of the base, along the side of State Road 16.

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By staff

A group of protesters holding signs outside city hall.

Jacksonville, FL – On July 24, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network and over 30 community members mobilized to City Hall at noon, demanding an end to the siege on Gaza. The call to action, made by Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda, was to disrupt business as usual in front of embassies, government buildings and companies perpetuating the starvation of Gaza.

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By staff

A protester speaks in front of a banner.

Jacksonville, FL – On Saturday, July 19, workers answered the call by the North Florida Future Labor Leaders to protest HR 86, the NOSHA Act, which would abolish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Union teachers, plumbers, electricians, warehouse workers and city employees gathered at the steps of Jacksonville city to demand, “No to NOSHA.”

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By staff

Tampa, FL — On July 14, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a press conference in their Tampa office for Sayfollah “Saif” Musallet, a Florida-born Palestinian man that was killed by Israeli settlers on July 11 while on a trip to visit family in the West Bank.

Musallet was only 20 years old when he was beaten by settlers looking to steal his family’s land in the town of Sinjil, while the Israeli occupation forces stopped ambulances and help from coming through.

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By Anthony Renzetti

A group of protesters holding signs.

Orlando, FL – On July 16, community members and organizers with Orlando Against Police Crimes (OAPC) attended a spaghetti dinner hosted by a local news station to demand answers from Orange County Sheriff John Mina.

The mobilization, organized by OAPC, sought answers and accountability from Sheriff Mina regarding the victims of police crimes. The extrajudicial murders of Luis Lopez and Tyrone Bartley committed by the Orange County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) were emphasized.

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By Victoria Hinckley

A group of people mourning.

Tampa, Fl – Around 100 people gathered at the Islamic Community of Tampa on Saturday, July 19, to have a vigil for Palestinian martyr Sayfollah Musallet.

Musallet was a 20-year-old Tampa resident and U.S. citizen. He was a well-known community member and owned a local ice cream shop named Ice Sssscreamin. He was visiting family in the occupied West Bank when he was beaten to death by Israeli settlers on his family’s land on July 11.

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By Ben Grant

A group of protesters marching.

Tallahassee, FL – Around 100 community members gathered at Florida’s historic Capitol building to stand against Donald Trump's administration as part of a National Day of Action encouraging “Good Trouble.”

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By Saba Indawala

A group of protesters holding signs.

Tampa, FL – On Saturday, July 12, over 200 people gathered for a protest at Tampa City Hall to say no to the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) Student Action Summit that was held in Tampa over the weekend.

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By Vicky Tong

University of South Florida Graduate Assistants United negotiate for a union contract.

Tampa, FL – On July 10, the Graduate Assistants United (GAU) negotiated with the University of South Florida (USF) Board of Trustees over their union’s contract. It was their seventh round of meetings with university representatives. Protection of international students continues to be a major issue for union members.

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