Tallahassee, FL – On August 17, the Leon County Commission held a public hearing regarding the proposed Historic Harms amendment to the county charter. From the pressure of about a dozen speakers and the presence of dozens more, the commission voted 5-2 to advance the amendment to the November ballot for all county citizens to vote on. Commissioners Brian Welch and Christian Caban voted against the amendment. 

The Historic Harms amendment, if passed, would require the county to periodically investigate past county policies and determine what kind of harms were caused to certain geographic areas due to those policies.

The state of Florida’s SB 1134, which would end funding opportunities for programs based on diversity, equity, and inclusion or any programs that even seemed that way, was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis this past April. The original language of the Historic Harms amendment drew concerns from the Charter Review Committee and from the county attorney due to potentially coming into conflict with the new law. The amendment was rewritten to fit within these bounds – the new language looks purely at geographic neighborhoods regardless of the demographics of who was affected in those areas. This approach did get at least a tacit approval from the county attorney and did get voted through by the review committee.

Members of the Tallahassee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TallyAARPR), the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA), Capital Area Justice Ministry, the League of Women Voters, and Tallahassee ALERT, which wrote the amendment, spoke out in favor on Monday.

“I believe there are many communities in Tallahassee that have been left behind, and this amendment is the first step to really looking at the problems with the city and attempting to rectify them,” said Delilah Pierre with the Tallahassee Alliance.

Brandon Beckett with TIRA said, “I think we need to leave it in the people’s hands to address their futures,” adding, “This amendment is addressing community members that have been left behind through the development of Tallahassee.”

Beckett continued, “It’s their community as well. We need to make sure every member of this community feels respected and doesn't feel as if they’re left behind.”

The amendment will now appear on the ballot in the November elections. State Representative Angie Nixon won an upset victory for the Democratic nomination and will appear on the ballot. As well, there are three Tallahassee city commission seats in the runoff election. The Tallahassee Alliance will spread information about the amendment to educate the public and get people to vote in favor of it.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #PeoplesStruggles #InjusticeSystem #HistoricHarms #OppressedNationalities

Toledo, a student organizer involved in the Palestine solidarity and anti-war movement, was arrested by Cal Poly Humboldt police at his home around 1 a.m. on March 6. Police sought the warrant under allegations of felony false imprisonment and felony conspiracy stemming from a February 27 student protest.

Weeks later, police returned to Toledo’s home with a search warrant and seized phones, computers, cameras and hard drives under the guise that it was to investigate a “criminal conspiracy” among student protesters.

But the so-called conspiracy never actually materialized.

When Humboldt County District Attorney Stacey Eads finally filed charges, the felony conspiracy allegation used to justify the investigation was nowhere to be found. Toledo instead faces three bogus misdemeanors – assault, battery and false imprisonment. No alleged co-conspirators have been arrested, and the DA has now stated that they do not anticipate bringing additional charges. This just goes to show how weak and baseless the accusation was right from the start.

The aggressive police response stemmed from an encounter lasting only seconds at a February 27 protest. Toledo’s defense attorney made it clear that university police knowingly inflated the allegations into felonies, allowing them to secure a warrant, arrest a student organizer in the middle of the night and later search his home for evidence of a supposed conspiracy.

Toledo is fighting back. His attorney, Matthew Kellegrew of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, is challenging the arrest and search warrant, demanding the return of Toledo’s property. The defense’s position is that police violated Toledo’s constitutional rights and treated ordinary protest organizing and communication between activists as evidence of criminal conspiracy.

The prosecution made a damning admission during the August 10 hearing. When Judge Steven Steward asked Deputy District Attorney David Watson whether prosecutors actually needed Toledo’s seized phone and computer for their case, Watson answered simply: “No.” Yet nearly six months after the raid, Toledo’s property remains in government hands.

The case is part of an escalating campaign of repression against student activists at Cal Poly Humboldt. Students have organized around Palestine, opposition to ICE and other anti-war struggles, repeatedly putting them into conflict with university administrators and police.

Toledo has been consistently clear that these legal attacks are political. “I think it shows that she has it out for me personally, that she has it out for student activists and Palestine activists,” Toledo said of the university police officer who sought the warrant. The conspiracy allegation may have disappeared, but the damage caused by the repression has not.

University police and officials wanted to turn student organizing into a conspiracy. Instead, its own prosecution has abandoned the conspiracy allegation entirely.

Judge Steward is expected to rule August 31 on Toledo’s challenge to the warrants and demand for the return of his property. His misdemeanor trial is currently scheduled for September 28.

Toledo and his supporters are continuing the fight against political repression and demanding that the remaining charges be dropped.

#EurekaCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #StudentMovement #PoliticalRepression

Chicago, IL– 30 Chicago community members from the South and West sides gathered at the office of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression on Saturday, August 15 for an event discussing the widespread attacks on Black political power and Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s (FRSO) political line on the struggle to defend voting rights.

In late April, the Supreme Court struck a fatal blow to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, ruling that states could redraw congressional districts in a way that reduces Black voting power, as long as they say the racist outcomes aren’t intentional. The decision, called Louisiana v. Callais, was a major attack in a larger Trump offensive against the political power of Black people.

The program covered the history of African American struggle for voting rights in the United States, analyzed the current wave of attacks and racist redistricting, and explored Freedom Road’s line on the African American national question.

Frank Chapman, representing the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, described the history of the struggle for the African American right to vote in the context of the U.S. and explained the significance of the Reconstruction period following the Civil War.

“It was during this period that Black people expressed the right to vote,” Chapman said. “They elected members to Congress, sheriffs and constables, justices of the peace and mayors.”

After World War II, the Black Liberation Movement grew in the deep South into the historic Civil Rights struggle that culminated with what Chapman called the “Civil Rights Revolution.”

“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 once again set the nation upon a course of addressing the question of the oppression of Black people and recognizing the agency of Black people to end their oppression,” he said.

After the history lesson, FRSO member Tulsi McDaniels presented an analysis of the particular attacks on Black voters in key Southern states, suggesting that the racist redistricting that followed the Callais decision represents the greatest rollback in political power since the end of Reconstruction.

In Tennessee, for example, Republicans redrew the state map to eliminate the only Black-majority district that has existed in the state since Reconstruction. In response, Black legislators and community members fought back with a protest and sit-in at the Tennessee capitol building in Nashville in May, McDaniels said.

Dr. Dorothy Nairne, one of the plaintiffs in the Callais case, joined the program over Zoom to share more about the fight against Black voter suppression in her home state of Louisiana. Nairne has seen the Black population in Louisiana growing over the past decade, reaching two-thirds of the state population, often in territories where Black people were once held as slaves, she said.

“If we are two-thirds of the state, that means we should have two districts that have the chance to vote for the person of our choice,” Nairne said.

Louisiana is ranked worst in the country on many metrics, including incarceration, air quality and economic opportunities, all of which affect the Black population at higher rates, she said.

“Our lives are on the line in Louisiana,” she said. “We need some change here. When we vote and we have a candidate that supports us and a candidate that looks like us, things can change.”

Reverend Patricia Williams spoke next, connecting the struggle to defend voting rights with the fight for community control of the police in Chicago. Williams is a co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and has lived in Chicago for over 60 years.

“The Proud Boys and hate groups are on the police force,” Williams said. “We don’t know when our children go out the door if they’re going to get back in. We have to vote. We have to have power over our communities and power over the police.”

To close, FRSO member Kobi Guillory presented on how the struggle to defend voting rights connects to Freedom Road’s strategy for revolution. A core issue is Black political power and self-determination for the African American nation, he said.

“There is a tiny group of people called monopoly capitalists who steal from the majority of the world,” Guillory said. “Our strategy is to unite everyone who can be united against the monopoly capitalists.”

A crucial part of that united front is the African American nation, he said. FRSO understands a nation to be a stable, historically constituted group of people with a common language, territory, economic base and culture, which describes Black people in the U.S. South.

Just like in a marriage, if one party doesn’t have the agency to separate, the relationship is not free and equal, Guillory said. “FRSO supports full equality and self-determination for the Black nation, up to and including secession.”

#ChicagoIL #IL #InJusticeSystem #VotingRights #PeplesStruggles #CAARPR

Oakland, CA – On Friday, August 14, around 20 community members rallied at a street corner in downtown Oakland to protest another man being killed by Oakland Police Department (OPD). Jose Santos Castillo Ortega, a 43-year-old Latino man, was shot and killed by officers last month after a call by California Highway Patrol, which had pursued him from a homeless community. Very few details of the incident were revealed to the public until body camera footage was uploaded to the public records website.

The protest, called by the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, was joined by POOR Magazine, Black Alliance for Peace, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Community Service Organization. Some protesters held picker signs with the words “FIght against police brutality.”

Rickie Cleere of the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said, “Video and audio footage show Castillo clearly in mental distress almost the entire time as multiple officers aimed guns and tasers while they walked him down through Oakland streets, with him yelling ‘leave me alone’ and ‘I'm not doing nothing.’”

Cleere continued, “Through organizing and action can we move toward a future in which the police do not get away with murdering our community members. A future in which the people have a direct say over who polices them and how they are policed. This is a future with actual police accountability through community control, and the time to build that future is now!”

Noah Teller, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said, “These officers were amateurish and completely unprofessional. They antagonized a man who was posing no threat to anyone. Shame! Living in peace in a highway median, what is the crime? Who is he harming?”

The crowd formed a march contingent towards OPD headquarters while chanting “Justice for Jose Castillo! No more cops killing our people!” Protesters marched down several blocks to the police station, where they continued to chant and demand accountability and for the names of the officers involved in the shooting, before marching back.

The street corner where community members gathered is affectionately called Oscar Grant Plaza, after the man who was shot and killed by Bay Area Rapid Transit police in 2009 at Oakland’s Fruitvale station.

#OaklandCA #CA #InjusticeSystem #KillerCop #JoseCastillo #NAARPR

He was part of the Midnight Crew, a group of detectives led by Commander Jon Burge from the 1970s to the 1990s. The city of Chicago officially recognizes that they systematically tortured more than 125 mostly young Black men to make false confessions, which led to wrongful convictions and death sentences. The number of survivors of torture, recognized by the Illinois Torture Commission, is over 400.

Johnny Plummer is one of the men Boudreau tortured who is still in prison. He was 15 years old in 1991 when he confessed to a crime he didn’t commit after being beaten and denied permission to see his mother.

Finally, evidence (which Plummer has testified to for the past 35 years) has surfaced. The record of the medical intake from the day he was transferred from police custody to juvenile detention showed up in a routine file review. It proves that a doctor recorded Plummer’s report of beatings and a forced confession.

At a hearing in June, Judge Tyria B. Walton declared she thinks that a Brady violation occurred. A Brady violation is when prosecutors fail to disclose impeaching evidence to the defense. A Brady claim requires three things: first, evidence favorable to the accused because it tends to prove innocence; second, the prosecution suppressed or failed to turn over the evidence; and third, there is reason to think that the outcome of the trial would have been different.

Given the seriousness of this moment, justice should require that the offending police detective be summoned to court at the earliest moment. He was scheduled to appear on Thursday, August 6, but that morning, the judge allowed him to avoid appearing in the courtroom.

Jasmine Smith is with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), where she helps lead the Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Police Torture (CFIST). When told the hearing was canceled because Boudreau didn’t show up, she was outraged, “He was called to testify by a judge; he shouldn’t be able to cancel like that.”

With pressure from organizers in CAARPR and the CFIST campaign, and due to the ceaseless efforts of Johnny Plummer, his family, and his attorneys, there will be another day in court for Beaudreau.

#ChicagoIL #IL #InJusticeSystem #Torture #CAARPR #CFIST #Featured

Portland, OR – On August 11, a Multnomah County jury found Dr. Catherine Esperanza guilty of the bogus charge of “interfering with a police officer” after the Portland Police Bureau violently arrested her for protesting outside the ICE facility.

Local immigrant rights organization Portland Contra Las Deportaciones waged a campaign to drop the charges and condemned the sham conviction.

After helping build public pressure to fight the charges through an email campaign and confrontations of the district attorney, activists and community supporters held a press conference, August 10, before the trial and attended both days of the proceedings.

Both the arrest and the trial showed Multnomah County and Portland Police’s clear bias against immigrant rights protesters.

Esperanza was arrested after police pushed protesters out of the driveway of the ICE facility using batons during a May Day protest at the facility. Bodycam footage showed they made a targeted arrest of protester Cole Dunahugh, claiming he breached the gate at the facility. This was a complete falsehood and so the charges on Dunahugh were later dropped.

During the arrest, police shoved their way into the crowd and pushed a group of people down, on top of Esperanza. In the bodycam footage she could be heard screaming “I have a broken leg,” and attempting to get the crowd off of her injured leg. Police then flipped her onto her stomach and put a knee on her neck. She can be heard screaming “I can't breathe.” The district attorney painted this attempt as pulling police officers on top of her and forming a “human chain” to prevent arrests.

Judge Celia Howes curbed the defense attorney's ability to question witnesses, sustaining objections by the prosecutor to questions such as “Did police interact with protesters?” for being leading questions. When a witness stated police used batons to push back protesters, the prosecutor played a clipped video that began immediately after the use of batons and asked the witness to answer yes or no as to whether the police used batons in the video. When the witness attempted to say the use of batons was before the video began, judge Howes cut the witness off saying they could only answer in a yes or no format.

Additionally the prosecution continually said Dunahugh breached the gate at the ICE facility and that police were attacked with rocks, despite no evidence to support these claims.

After a two-hour deliberation, the jury delivered a guilty verdict. Supporters were angry, with many stating they see this as a complete miscarriage of justice.

Dr. Esperanza vowed not to allow the verdict to stop her fight for justice and to stop deportations. She released the following statement, “This guilty verdict is not a victory for justice; this case is a desperate attempt by the state to intimidate us into silence.”

The city has continually repressed the fight to revoke the permit to shut down the ICE facility, and this shameful guilty verdict is another example of this repression.

Esperanza’s statement declares, “They think that charging activists and targeting those who stand up for immigrant rights will break our resolve. They are wrong. Instead of chilling us, this blatant misuse of the legal system has galvanized our movement.”

The city continues to allow violations of human rights and the land use permit to occur at the ICE facility. Meanwhile, those who stand up for the human rights of immigrants and those impacted by ICE are persecuted for their work in advocating for dignity, equity, justice and care for all members of the Portland community.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #ICE #PoliticalRepression #InjusticeSystem

San Jose, CA – On August 9, around a dozen people gathered in front of MLK Library in San Jose for a vigil to demand justice for Corey Ruiz, a 34-year-old African-American man who was murdered by the police on July 22 in Madison, Wisconsin. Community members brought flowers, candles and signs with slogans like, “Justice for Corey, jail killer cops” and “Justice for victims of police violence.”

John Duroyan with the San Jose Coalition Against Trump, the coalition which organized the vigil, read a statement on the murder of Ruiz from the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, stating, “We won’t wait for empty answers. We won’t sit back quietly while they try to force us to passively support a system that lets cops kill adults, teenagers, children, and even infants through their negligence and aggression.”

Duroyan continued, “We know exactly what this is: A modern lynching justified with the language of law and order. It's time to hit the streets and demand an end to police terror! Justice for Corey Ruiz!”

At the vigil, community members discussed the parallels between the murder of Corey Ruiz and other racist and police murders which occurred on San Jose State University campus, directly adjacent to where the vigil took place. These include the murder of Antonio Guzman Lopez, an undocumented man murdered by San Jose State University police in 2014. Lopez’ murderer faced no repercussions.

Additionally, in 2008, African American SJSU student Gregory Johnson Jr was found hanging in the SJSU Sigma Chi fraternity house where he lived. Despite numerous suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, SJSUPD and SJPD engaged in cover-up tactics and refused to seriously investigate Sigma Chi’s majority-white, wealthy fraternity members for any wrongdoing.

As the vigil concluded, community members chanted, “Justice for Corey! End police brutality!”

#SanJoseCA #CA #InjusticeSystem #CoreyRuiz

Oak Lawn, IL – 50 people filled the chambers of the Oak Lawn Police and Fire Commission during its monthly meeting on Wednesday evening, August 5. They demanded the firing of officers involved in incidents of racism and an independent investigation by the attorney general into the police department. 

Commissioner Jim Baker began the meeting by telling members of the public to “maintain order and respect.” He asked community members not to disrupt, referring to protests which have happened at every commission meeting since July 2022.

“You talk about respect and order, but where was the respect and order when your officers beat an Arab teenager nearly to death?” Nadiah Alyafai, organizer with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) stated in the public comments part of the meeting. She asked the commissioners about the beating of Hadi Abuatelah in 2022, which sparked monthly protests against the OLPDs racism.

“Where was the respect when you let a white woman get away with murdering Murod Kurdi?” Alyafai continued, referring to Leanne Cusack, who ran Murod Kurdi over after she had been drinking in 2023. Cusack's only consequence has been a $750 fine.

“Is that what the life of an Arab man is worth?” a 17-year-old AAAN member questioned the commissioners. 

Several AAAN youth members spoke on the racism of OLPD and how the commission refused to hold the police accountable. All of them called on Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to investigate and clean out OLPD.

“It's not just Arabs. Black and brown people experience the corruption of the OLPD too,” one AAAN youth member said.

“Our community has always come in with peaceful intentions and we're treated like criminals,” another youth member said, pointing out the irony that Oak Lawn police have inflicted racist violence on people protesting their racist violence in past meetings.

Ten minutes later, Commission Chairman Jim Baker sicced the police on a 14-year-old Arab boy. 

“You forfeited your right to speak,” Baker said after the teenager called him a “fucking jackass” for his ongoing failure to pronounce Arab names.

Baker then motioned for police to remove the boy. Other community members, including the boy's mother, voiced their disapproval at this blatant violation of free speech. Police shoved the teenager, his mother, and other protesters out the meeting chambers and down the stairs. One officer held the boy in a chokehold and slammed him against a counter, and another twisted his mother's arm.

The 14-year-old sustained injuries to his neck, chest, arm and ankle and had to get treatment at a nearby hospital. 

Commissioners adjourned the meeting without hearing any further comments. Protesters banged on the outside windows while chanting “Justice for Murod Kurdi!” and “How do you spell racist? OLPD!”

“OLPD assaulted a minor, choked him, slammed him. His only crime was saying the f-word,” AAAN organizer Muhammad Sankari addressed protesters after the chants. “If we don't stand up, the injustice that happened to Hadi and Murod is gonna keep happening over and over again.”

“We need to show up stronger at the next meeting and even stronger at the one after that,” Sankari said, and encouraged protesters to bring friends to the next commission meeting on September 2.

AAAN organizers also urged people to sign and share the petition demanding Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul investigate OLPD: bit.ly/investigateOLPD.

#OakLawnIL #ChicagoIL #IL #OppressedNationalities #InjusticeSystem #AAAN #ArabAmerican #Police

This statement was written by Joe Iosbaker on behalf of the Labor Committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression – caarpr.org.

Carol and Aaron Ammons are African American elected officials in Champaign, Illinois. Trump’s Department of Justice has come after them, trying to drive them from office and to stop their efforts against racism and their support of the democratic demands of the Black community.

I believe Carol and Aaron Ammons

Aaron Ammons is my union brother. He’s a fighter for workers’ rights, for Black liberation and social justice.

He has the great fortune to have a soul mate who is also a freedom fighter: his wife, State Representative Carol Ammons.

Aaron and I met as members of the executive board of SEIU Local 73. We were both employees of the University of Illinois. I worked for the Chicago campus, and Aaron for the Urbana-Champaign campus.

Aaron went from organizing his co-workers for better wages and working conditions to running for and winning election as an alderman in the city of Urbana, and then winning election as Champaign County Clerk in 2018.

Carol was elected to the General Assembly in Springfield in 2014.

Theirs is a great story of the African American freedom struggle.

Mississippi up north

Today we have a racist culture war emanating from Trump’s presidency. It was a shock when I heard that Aaron and Carol were indicted by a grand jury for alleged misuse of campaign funds and state grants.

It was a shock, but it should not have been a surprise.

Illinois is a racist state. I live in Chicago, where the 21-year reign of Mayor Richard J. Daley caused the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to refer to the city as “Mississippi up north.” This week, marchers went into Marquette Park to commemorate 60 years since Dr. King marched there. In Dr. King’s words, “I've been in many demonstrations all across the South, but I can say that I had never seen, even in Mississippi, mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as in Chicago.”

Illinois is the only state in the country that has a Torture Commission in the state legislature. It was created to deal with the hundreds of cases of young Black and Latino men who were beaten and even electrocuted by Chicago police officers, led by the sadistic, racist Detective Jon Burge, into confessing to murders they did not commit.

Carol Ammons and the fight for reparations

Supporters in the Black Liberation movement in Illinois see the hand of the Trump administration in the indictment handed down by a grand jury.

Everyone knows that Trump has it in for Chicago, the city that sent Barack Obama, the first Black president to the White House. Everyone remembers it was his white racist anger at a Black man in the White House that propelled Trump to run for president in the first place. Furthermore, Trump hates on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson as well as Governor Pritzker for their defiance of his racist anti-immigrant attacks.

Trump’s Department of Justice joined a lawsuit against the city of Evanston for discrimination against white people for its reparations program, a program that aimed to address harm caused by discriminatory housing policies and disinvestment in Black communities over the past century.

Kamm Howard, director of Reparations United, said he believes Representative Ammons is facing false charges from the federal government in retaliation for her support in the General Assembly of reparations. There are several bills and other motions in Springfield to make amends for the enslavement of Black Americans, and the systemic racism still present in the U.S. today. Representative Ammons even travelled to Ghana, where she pledged to dedicate her public life to raising awareness of the transatlantic slave trade and advocating for reparative justice for people of African descent.

Indictments

“But they’ve been indicted,” say the corporate-owned media! “There was an investigation by a grand jury,” said the leadership in Springfield.

I know a little about grand juries. In 2010, because of activism against the criminal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, I was among a group of anti-war activists raided by the FBI and subpoenaed to a federal grand jury. The pro-Israel types in the Department of Justice thought they could intimidate the burgeoning BDS (boycott, divestment and sanction) movement. The Joint Terrorism Task Force tried to smear us with the lie that we were providing “material support to foreign terrorist organizations.”

They failed, because the anti-war movement rallied in our defense. We were also able to get unions representing over a million members and 14 members of Congress to speak out that ours was a civil liberties case.

What exactly is a grand jury?

A grand jury is an infamous prosecutorial tool. It’s an anti-constitutional instrument which returns indictments 99% of the time! Among prosecutors and civil liberties advocates, there’s a well-known adage: A grand jury will indict a ham sandwich. In other words, an inanimate object.

Grand jury proceedings are secret.

Grand jurors hear one side only; prosecutors draft and read the charges to the grand jurors who are not instructed on the law or screened for bias.

Defense counsel is barred from the grand jury, and no judge is present.

You don't have the right to have your lawyer present; to see the evidence presented against you; to cross-examine witnesses; to refuse to testify.

Most European countries stopped using grand juries decades ago because they are essentially tools for the prosecution.

Don’t believe the hype.

Aaron and Carol Ammons have done nothing wrong. All people of good conscience should oppose the railroad that the Trump Department of Justice has brought to threaten these courageous elected officials.

#ChicagoIL #IL #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #CAARPR #SEIU

Los Angeles, CA – On July 30, Centro CSO’s Police Accountability Committee held an emergency rally to demand justice for Corey Ruiz, a 34-year-old African American man who was killed by the police on July 22 in Madison, Wisconsin. Over a dozen community members gathered at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights.

The protest in Los Angeles was a part of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression week of action to demand justice for Corey Ruiz. The rally-goers held signs that uplifted the demands coming out of Madison, including “Jail killers cops” and “Community Control of police.” They also held posters with Corey Ruiz’s face on them.

Derek Mejia, the Centro CSO’s Police Accountability Committee co-chair, was the emcee. He started the program with, “We are here answering the national call put out by the National Alliance against Racist and Political Repression to demand justice for Corey Ruiz.”

Verita Topete, Centro CSO’s Immigration co-chair, also spoke at the rally, saying, “Justice for Corey Ruiz means more than words. It means a full, independent investigation. It means accountability for every officer involved. It means no more cover-ups. And it means putting power back into the hands of the people through community control of the police.”

Sammy Carrea, a Teamster and FRSO member said, “How many more lives need to be ripped away from their loved ones? How many more police killings before we organize for justice, before we organize to jail all killer cops, before we demand community control over the pigs, before we fight for Chicano self-determination, before we fight for self-determination for the Black Belt South? Justice for Corey Ruiz.”

Baba Akili from BLM LA Grassroots was the final speaker, “Too often what happens is the police kill us and we may not even see a blurb in the news and we just move on as if that's how it is in the world today. That is not how it is! What happened in Madison is a continuation of the war on Black people. What's happening with ICE is a continuation of the war on Latinos and immigrants.”

After the program, folks gather on the corner of First street and Vicente Fernandez Avenue, where Derek Mejia led the crowd in chants like “Justice for Corey Ruiz” and “When killer cops are on patrol

what do we want?” as the crowd yelled back “Community control!”

Luis Sifuentes, a longtime Centro CSO member said, “We’re here today to protest the killing of Corey Ruiz. This is another example of the police violence our communities continue to face in this country, especially Black communities. We’re standing in solidarity because what’s happening there is connected to what’s happening here in Los Angeles. Our struggles are connected, and that’s why we’re calling on people to come together, stand with one another, and demand justice.”

#LosAngelesCA #CA #InjusticeSystem #CoreyRuiz #KillerCop #CentroCSO

Anaheim, CA – On July 30, Community Service Organization, Orange County (CSO OC), the family of Albert Arzola, and residents of Anaheim delivered a petition of 1840 signatures to the Anaheim Police Department.

During the delivery, Rosie Camacho stated, “December 6, 2025 changed our whole life. I watched my son die in front of my doorsteps. There was no first aid, there was nothing. I had guns drawn to my head.” Camacho continued, “They dragged my son through the ground like a dog. My son deserves justice, and fire Nathan Garcia!” Camacho then lead a chant of “Fuck Anaheim PD!”

Nathan Garcia is the officer who killed Albert Arzola on December 6, 2025.

Protesters gathered in front of Anaheim Public Library and began to march towards the Anaheim Police Department. Their chants of “Justice for Albert Arzola!” and “Jail killer cops!” rang throughout the streets. When they arrived, protesters attempted to go inside. However, Anaheim PD had locked their doors. Immediately, two Anaheim police officers came outside from a side door. The family of Albert Arzola, along with CSO OC members ,confronted the officers and demanded that they be let inside.

During the confrontation, Juanita Lopez, the grandmother of Albert Arzola, handed the petition directly to one of the Anaheim police officers. The family began to list their demands. With family members and CSO OC members alike demanding, “We want officer Nathan Garcia fired!” and “Publicly release the body cam footage!”

Grace Arzola, the aunt of Albert Arzola, said this during the confrontation,“Why can't we go inside our department? You guys serve us, we don't serve you. We don’t understand why we aren’t being let in.” After the officer responded stating that’s not what he was saying, Arzola continued, “Then let us go in, so we can deliver the petition. We’ve spread our concerns for the last seven months, and we’ve been ignored and we get greeted here with the doors closed!”

After about five minutes of confronting the officers, the protesters were finally allowed to go inside the department. Once inside, family members and CSO OC members demanded to speak with the Chief of Police Manuel Cid. Anaheim police officers refused to let the family speak to Cid, using the excuse that he was at an event. They demanded for him to be put on the phone, which again was denied.

The family was left with a phone number and was told to contact Manuel Cid through the number and set up a meeting. The family made sure to point out that they will in fact hold Manuel Cid to that meeting.

During the whole confrontation, the department had no choice but to hear the Arzolas’ demands, with family members telling the officers that Nathan Garcia needs to be fired, and to release the autopsy report. The officers were very visibly shaken and were nervous the entire time. For months, the department has ignored the Arzolas, now they had no choice but to listen.

Afterward, protesters gathered out in front of the department and began with chants of “Nathan Garcia, lock him up!” The energy was angry with a lot of tears flowing from the family over being disregarded by Anaheim PD for the last several months.

Both the Arzolas and CSO OC vowed to keep confronting Anaheim PD and build pressure onto Anaheim Police Chief Manuel Cid until their demands are met and Nathan Garcia is fired. The family remains angry and frustrated, however, that doesn’t slow them down. It only fuels their fire to get officer Nathan Garcia fired and put behind bars.

#AnaheimCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #KillerCops #CSOOC

Brooklyn, NY – After the murder of Corey Ruiz by police in Madison, Wisconsin on Wednesday, July 22, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression called a National Week of Action.

In New York, the New York Alliance held their fifth monthly protest at the 71st Precinct on Thursday, July 30, uniting the calls for justice for Eudes Pierre, another Black man killed by police brutality, and Corey Ruiz.

Earlier that day, the New York Alliance had also organized a call-in to demand that one of Eudes Pierre’s murderers, NYPD Officer Conrado Abreu-Gerez, be immediately fired. Hundreds of calls from around the country jammed the phone line. The officers who answered grew increasingly upset, berating callers and claiming that Abreu-Gerez no longer worked at the 71st Precinct. Eventually, they stopped taking calls altogether, effectively shutting down the line.

Also present at the speakout were community members and the family and loved ones of Eudes Pierre. Speeches and chants connected Corey Ruiz’s murder to the murders of Eudes Pierre in 2021 as well as the murder of Óscar Granados Colindres by state and local police in Wappingers Falls, New York on June 27. For Eudes Pierre and Corey Ruiz, the police attempted to dehumanize and criminalize the people they murdered. For Eudes Pierre and Óscar Colindres, 911 sent police instead of healthcare workers.

In all three cases, police escalated to lethal force and have faced no accountability. Sheina Banatte, Eudes Pierre’s cousin and the managing director of advocacy for the Justice for Eudes Pierre Coalition, said, “This is what the NYPD does. They turn a blind eye when officers assault, brutalize, and murder us.” Chapters of the National Alliance work with families who fight similar battles against a system that protects killer cops.

Hannah Healy from the New York Alliance explained the goal of community control of the police as a path to justice. Healy said, “We’ve actually seen community control of the police work before…they drove out the KKK and protected their right to vote against violent counter-revolutionaries! We can achieve this again to serve and protect ourselves.”

Unlike the current toothless CCRB, a Civilian Police Accountability Council would have full control over police budget, staffing, and discipline. CPAC would empower impacted family members to fire and prosecute killer cops.

The New York Alliance will continue to protest the 71st Precinct on the last Thursday of every month. Next month, the protest will take place on August 27th. They will continue to fight until Eudes Pierre’s killers are fired and prosecuted, police are removed from mental health response, and the people win community control of the police.

#BrooklynNY #NY #InJusticeSystem #NAARPR #NYAARPR

North Charleston, SC – On July 30, the Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition held a rally in Park Circle in response to the arrests of the coalition organizers collectively known as the Ladson 3. They demanded the North Charleston Police Department drop what EOSC believes to be trumped-up charges against the protesters. The group is pushing back against the political repression faced by activists in the Charleston area.

Haley Sabados was the sole member of the Ladson 3 who was held overnight at the Charleston County Detention Center. She described the arrests as part of a pattern of “rogue and egregious” behavior on the part of North Charleston Police Department (NCPD), whose officers are hired by the Israeli-owned weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems, to work security in front of the Ladson, South Carolina facility. The facility has been in operation since 2023; EOSC formed in 2024 and has been picketing in front of the business every week since. Since they started picketing, NCPD has arrested five of their members.

“I am not intimidated, because protesting is not a crime,” Sabados said. “Protesting my city's direct involvement in weapons manufacturing, with my tax dollars, used in genocide is not a crime. Elbit out of South Carolina and Free Palestine!”

Last year Palestine solidarity activist Matthew Colburn was arrested on the picket line on misdemeanor charges, which the coalition took to trial and won a not guilty verdict, due to a lack of evidence.

Regarding the arrest of the Ladson 3, Colburn said NCPD chose to press charges they know won’t hold up in court. “This is NCPD deciding to escalate, and it might be a misdemeanor, but that doesn’t matter, because a weekend in jail is enough to [mess] a working-class person’s life up.” He went on to describe how these charges are a waste of city and county resources.

“Eblit is subsidized by the tax dollar. They use tax dollars to pay NCPD who’s double dipping, who also get paid by your tax dollar on their regular wages,” he said, “Then they come off duty and get your other tax dollars from Elbit and then they waste those tax dollars taking people to court knowing those charges won’t stick to intimidate us.”

It was disclosed by a member of NCPD under oath at Matt Colburn's 2025 trial that NCPD officers were being paid $60 per hour to work security at Elbit. Organizers have since called out what they believe to be a conflict of interest.

Organizers with the EOSC chose the Circle Park Pavilion in North Charleston as the location for the rally instead of the Elbit facility, because one of the Ladson 3 is facing trespassing charges. Before the rally began, a park employee attempted to halt the event and insisted a permit was required, despite also admitting the park was public property. She threatened to call NCPD on the demonstrators, but organizers were not deterred. They proceeded with the rally, which ended with a march around the pavilion.

They chanted “Justice for the Ladson 3! Palestine will be free!” as passing cars honked in solidarity and families from the adjacent playground joined in the march. They finished the event by asking the crowd to pack the courthouse for the Ladson 3 later in August.

#NorthCharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #Elbit #EOSC

New Orleans, LA — On Monday July 28, around 20 community members gathered outside the Hale Boggs Federal Building to demonstrate against the brutal murder of Corey Ruiz by police in Madison, Wisconsin. The action was called by the New Orleans Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NOAARPR).

Protesters held signs calling for an end to police terror and demanding community control of the police. They chanted to demand accountability: “Cell blocks for crooked cops!” and “Justice for Corey Ruiz!”

NOAARPR has been leading the charge against police crimes in New Orleans, fighting to get justice for Jace Lee Scott, whose murder, by the son of New Orleans Police Officer Victor Gant Jr, was covered up by local officials. His mother, Shanta Scott, urged people to continue organizing saying, “The people have to get out here and put our boots to the ground and show them that they can’t keep killing our children!”

Speaking for Freedom Road Socialist Organization, activist Toni Mar said, “We’re tired of hearing the same thing every time [the police] kill somebody in the streets. The time for talking is over, we want results!”

Protesters vowed to keep struggling for justice for all those affected by police brutality.

“Every life that is taken by the police has the potential to turn this country on its head, and that's exactly what we want to see!” said Mar.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #InjusticeSystem #CoreyRuiz

Washington, D.C. – Community members joined David Black, a DC native who was incarcerated for 26 years, and his attorneys on July 21 for a press conference and rally to demand that the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) does not oppose his Motion to Vacate his wrongful conviction.

The event was organized by the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (DCAARPR), joined by Museum Square Tenant’s Association, Save Chinatown DC, 50501 DC, and the International League of Peoples Struggles Baltimore-DMV.

In 1997, Black was convicted, with zero physical evidence, for the murder of Alice Chow, a beloved community member in Chinatown. Black was 21 years old and sentenced 50 years to life. Chow was killed by a stray bullet near the Museum Square Apartments as she walked home from church along K Street NW. Her death shocked the community and rattled the police, who, at the time, had one of the lowest homicide closure rates in the nation.

At the press conference, organizers announced the emergence of new evidence that proves Black’s innocence. Larry Johnson, the foundation of the government's case against Black, testified under oath that he was beaten and threatened with jail time by MPD Officer Roger Venzin, who also threatened Johnson’s family if he did not identify Black as the shooter. The only other witness in the case recanted back in 1997, saying that she was also coerced by police. Further, physical evidence proves that the facts of the case do not match up with the eyewitness testimony that was used to convict Black. He was not even in the area when the crime took place and had no idea how he was implicated.

“If we believe they are comfortable doing what they did to him, beating witnesses into false confessions, we believe they are comfortable because it is part of a pattern,” said Merawi Gerima of DCAARPR. “As you can see, wrongful convictions are a huge problem in America, and Black’s case is an icon of the great tragedies and miscarriages of justice against Washingtonians.”

Speaking on this, Black said, “No one ever imagines this could happen to them. It could happen to any one of us. What are we going to do to stop it from happening to the next person?”

The press conference connected the struggles between the Asian population in Chinatown DC and the neighboring Sorsum Corda, a low-income area hit hard by the impacts of the crack epidemic, where Black grew up. The police officers responsible for Black’s incarceration were members of the Asian Liaison Task Force.

Members of the Museum Square Tenant Association (MSTA), which represents a community of working-class Asian and Black longtime DC residents who have resisted displacement for more than a decade, spoke at the press conference in solidarity and discussed how the gentrification in that area was fueled by the same police that targeted Black.

A MSTA statement noted, “It is a matter of historical fact that policing has not been designed for, nor produced, greater safety or justice in Chinatown – its focus has, rather, been the protection of a particular development agenda built upon the exclusion, displacement, and criminalization of Black, brown, and immigrant communities, the targeting of our community's vulnerable including youth and the unhoused, and the pitting of communities of color against one another. We stand firmly in support of justice for Black and join the call for his immediate exoneration and for police to be held accountable for their crimes.”

Gerima stated, “Nobody was made safer by the wrongful conviction of David Black in Chinatown, in Museum Square Apartments, because police beat and coerced witnesses into wrongfully convicting this man. Police accountability and public safety are two sides of the same coin. We have to hold the police accountable for the things they do and do not do in our communities.”

Black was released from federal prison under the Second Chance Act, which means that he was let out of prison, but still has a record of being convicted of murder. This causes him to struggle navigating life post-release as someone with a felony conviction. Some challenges include things like rejection by employers and landlords. Black requires his conviction to be vacated, and he must be granted a Certificate of Innocence to move on with his life.

Black said, “I have problems with getting a job. Several times, I’ve gotten a job and a start date, but then when they find out I have a conviction, they take the job back from me. After being a productive citizen, I can’t get a job. I’ve been having a lot of issues since I’ve come home. It’s not easy and I need more help.”

The press conference ended with a noise demonstration in front of the USAO building, where protesters chanted, “Justice for David Black!” and “We want justice, you say how? Clear David Black right now!”

The USAO has until September 1 to respond to Black’s Motion to Vacate. DCAARPR demands the USAO not oppose the Motion to Vacate and Black’s pursuit of a Certificate of Innocence. Further, DCAARPR demands the officers involved in his wrongful conviction be held accountable and reaffirms their commitment to the fight for community control of the police.

DCAARPR is raising money to support Black in his fight for justice and help him cover basic necessities. To donate and keep up with the case, follow @DCAARPR on Instagram, or donate directly to @DCAARPR on PayPal and Venmo.

#WashingtonDC #DC #InjusticeSystem #DavidBlack

Dallas, TX — Members of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression Dallas spent this past weekend, July 24-25, honoring the life and mourning the death of Santos Rodriguez, the 12-year-old Mexican American boy murdered by Dallas police officer Darrell Cain on July 24, 1973. More than five decades later, his case remains a flashpoint in the fight against police crimes in Dallas, and a reminder that the struggle for the memory of, and justice for, Santos and his family continue.

Who was Santos Rodriguez?

In the early morning hours of July 24, 1973, Dallas police officers Darrell Cain and Roy Arnold responded to a report of an $8 burglary at a Fina gas station in Little Mexico, a Mexican American barrio near downtown Dallas. Acting on a hunch, the officers went to the home of the elderly, largely non-English-speaking foster grandfather of brothers David, 13, and Santos, 12.

The boys were pulled from bed in their pajamas, handcuffed and driven to the gas station for interrogation. While Santos sat handcuffed in the front seat, Officer Cain put his revolver to the boy's head in a game of “Russian roulette,” demanding a confession. Santos's last words were that he was telling the truth. Cain pulled the trigger a second time and killed him instantly, in front of his brother. Evidence later revealed Santos and his brother had no connection to the burglary.

Cain was indicted for murder, but a judge set his bond at a mere $5000. Outrage in the Chicano and Black communities of Dallas boiled over on July 28, 1973, when more than 1000 people marched from Kennedy Plaza to City Hall, torching police cars and smashing windows as police cracked down.

Cain was ultimately convicted of murder with malice but served only two-and-a-half years of a five-year sentence. It would take until 2021, 48 years later, for the Dallas Police Department to formally apologize to Santos's mother, Bessie Rodriguez. Killer cop Darrel Cain ultimately escaped justice and lived out his life quietly until 2019. There was no mention of the murder in his obituary.

July 24: Angelversary and vigil

On Friday, NAARPR Dallas members hosted an Angelversary commemoration for Santos Rodriguez at Pike Park, where a small statue of him sits, bringing together community members to remember his life and to reaffirm the ongoing fight of victims of police crimes still demanding justice. The gathering placed Rodriguez's murder within the broader history of police violence against Mexican Americans in Dallas and across the country, drawing a direct line from 1973 to the police killings communities continue to organize against today.

July 25: Gravesite visit

On Saturday, several NAARPR Dallas members traveled to Santos Rodriguez's gravesite to lay flowers and pay their respects to his memory, to his family, and to the decades-long fight for justice that his family carried on.

Xavi Velasquez, chair of NAARPR Dallas said of the weekend's events, “We attended several events for Santos this weekend, and a common question was, 'What do we do about his murder?' I had the opportunity to talk about community control of the police to many people this weekend, and most people wanted to know more. People want change and are looking for practical and people-powered solutions. This weekend's events solidified to me the need for community control of the police here in Dallas, not just for modern victims of police violence but to hold DPD accountable for police violence that is deep in Dallas history.”

#DallasTX #TX #InJusticeSystem #KillerCops #NAARPR

Madison, WI – On another hot day in Madison, July 28, at the intersection of Williamson and Baldwin streets, six days after the murder of Corey Ruiz by the Madison Police Department, Madisonians continue to occupy the streets.

Many people return time and time again to visit the memorial, now dressed with flowers, candles and pictures of victims of police crimes. There is also a continuous stream of new faces, as individuals and organizations travel from around the country to visit, pay their respects, and help to organize on the ground.

On this day, the spirits were high and the people were looking forward, seeking to create a lasting monument to resistance and the pursuit of justice. To the north of the memorial, in front of the closed Crystal Corner Bar, above which the marquee reads “Corey Ruiz,” Freedom Inc. has set up a tent to carry out a four-day educational series where they will discuss in detail their demands to get justice for Corey and create change in Madison.

On this first day of sessions, led by Freedom Inc., the immediate task was to write postcards laying out the demands to be delivered to city officials, including Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, who has presided over several police murders in his tenure and continuously refused to press charges despite consistent community backlash.

The demands are as follows: Arrest the killer cop (Kiel Baitinger-Peterson); defund the police; hand over all evidence to independent monitor so that OIPM (Office of the Independent Police Monitor) can do an investigation; strengthen the PCO (Police Civilian Oversight) Board, and community control over police.

These demands have been crafted by Freedom Inc. in coordination with the family of Corey Ruiz. After 26 years of struggle, first against racial profiling and gender inequality in Madison’s Southeast Asian community, and their shift in 2003 to do the same for the Black and LGBTQ peoples, Freedom Inc. along with their many partners are well-equipped to weather the battles ahead and achieve justice.

#MadisonWI #WI #InjusticeSystem #CoreyRuiz