Washington, D.C. – On July 20, community organizations gathered for an emergency press conference at the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) with the legal team and family of Nolberto Sanabria Meza, a father and husband killed during a U.S. Park Police chase. The press conference discussed massive developments in the case and their struggle for justice.
The event was held by the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (DCAARPR), partner organizations and attorneys E. Paige White and Bernadette Armand to discuss the enormous implications of USAO’s refusal to prosecute for the killing of Meza, which happened 30 days earlier, when Park Police initiated a reckless police chase under the pretext of stopping a stolen vehicle.
Charleston, SC – On Saturday, July 25, 100 people marched in the “Fight for the First” rally through the heart of the historic district protesting the city’s repressive First Amendment Demonstration Ordinance, which has restricted the ability for activists to organize actions in their own city for the past five years.
Quietly passed in July of 2021 in a closed-door session with no opportunity for public opposition or comment, the ordinance requires any “First Amendment Demonstration” consisting of more than 25 people not spontaneous in nature to apply for a permit from Charleston Police Department or be declared unlawful. The city of Charleston defines First Amendment Demonstrations as any demonstration, assembly, picketing, speechmaking, marching, protesting, vigil or religious service, and all other like forms of conduct. This ordinance has hamstrung organizing in the city, restricting organizers’ ability to plan and promote impactful actions within city limits.
Milwaukee, WI – As part of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression’s National Week of Action for Corey Ruiz, the Milwaukee Alliance held a vigil, July 26, in conjunction with Freedom Inc.’s vigil in Madison.
Milwaukee’s vigil gathered families and community members in order to raise the names of multiple victims of police crimes, alongside Corey Ruiz. Ruiz’s execution has been deeply felt by the people of Milwaukee, who are no strangers to police violence and building movements around such cases.
Los Angeles, CA – On July 25 in the City of Industry, 50 people protested outside the Industry Sheriff’s Station to demand justice for Joseph Perez and for his immediate release from jail.
Detroit, MI – On Wednesday, July 22, community members came together outside of the 3rd Police Precinct in Detroit to demand justice for Alonzo Lee-Perkins, a local teenager who was shot in the back by a Detroit Police Officer a month before. He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, resisting and obstructing a police officer, and felony firearm violation.
Madison, WI – On July 25, the fourth evening since the murder of Corey Ruiz in Madison, Wisconsin, people from across the city gather again to mourn and demand justice.
As they awaited a larger crowd marching from the site of the execution, dozens chanted and talked until their arrival. Many spoke, including Jay Gonstead, one of Corey’s unhoused neighbors, who expressed his deep grief at the loss of a friend, emphasizing that this violence is nothing new to Madison’s homeless community. With a $98 million budget, the Madison Police Department is withholding resources that could be used to help people. Instead, they use resources to murder people and destroy the lives of families.
Chicago, IL – On Wednesday morning, July 22, Chicago’s City Council voted to place five referendums on the ballot for the November 2026 and February 2027 elections. Only three referendums can be on a single ballot. Two referendums, the Community Power Over Policing (CPOP) ordinance and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed referendum to tax the rich, are now ineligible for the February 2027 ballot.
Santa Ana, CA – El viernes, 17 de julio, varios miembros de la Organización de Servicio Comunitario del Condado de Orange (CSO OC) entregaron una petición en el Tribunal de Inmigración de Santa Ana. En mayo de 2025, este tribunal fue uno de los primeros lugares donde el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) comenzó a arrestar personas. Desde entonces, CSO OC ha llevado a cabo una campaña para presionar a los jueces de inmigración a que trasladen todas las audiencias a un formato virtual, para evitar así que las personas que asisten a sus audiencias tengan que enfrentarse a ICE en el tribunal. Recopilaron más de 1000 firmas en apoyo a esta medida.
Madison, WI – Hundreds gathered, for the third night in a row, July 24, in the spot where the Madison Police Department (MPD) murdered Corey Ruiz. Another police killing took place on this same street 11 years ago, when officer Matt Kenny shot and killed Tony Robinson Jr.
Among the organizations in attendance were Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Madison Students for a Democratic Society, and Freedom Inc, a group that consistently fights for community control over police.
Madison, WI – Three days after the brutal July 22 murder of Corey Ruiz by the Madison Police Department, the city continues to mourn. At the intersection of Williamson and Baldwin, protesters are still occupying the street. Hundreds of candles and flowers cover the ground where his life was stolen. All four roads are blocked by barricades and city trucks. The sentiment is firm that they will not leave until justice is achieved.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
On Wednesday, July 22nd, a Madison Police Officer murdered Cory Ruiz, with an officer firing three rounds into him while he lay down, unable to fight back. The people of Madison are already protesting, fed up with unjust police killings justified with press conferences and proclamations. They know what happens if we sit back and do nothing. The police and their supporters will offer empty promises of investigation and accountability. They will place a few officers on administrative leave and transfer them to different departments. They will say they did their best. They will attempt to wait for the story to leave the limelight, to fade from the public narrative.
The people in the streets of Madison – and the Alliance- refuse to accept that. 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. We will agitate and organize and fight until we make the death of Ruiz impossible to ignore. NAARPR branches across the country should mobilize and protest in solidarity and for all victims of police crimes in their cities.
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!
Oakland, CA- On Saturday, July 18, 32 community members gathered at the site where the Oakland Police Department (OPD) shot and killed a man in Oakland's Fruitvale district on Monday afternoon. Mourners placed flowers and candles on a street median near a shopping center where the victim died, held moments of silence, and created protest art in the street to honor his life while demanding justice and accountability.
Fight Back New Service is circulating the following statement from National Students for a Democratic Society.
On July 1st, Nadia Topete was given a subpoena to a grand jury that ordered her to speak on July 8th. Grand Jurys are kangaroo courts meant to bring down the hammer, evidenced by their 90% indictment rate. Law enforcement is not neutral when it comes to activists, like we’ve seen with Mahmoud Khalil and Alejandro Oreana. Law enforcement attacks activists to repress those fighting for a better world. We demand: Hands Off Nadia!
New Orleans, LA – On the morning of July 20, Shanta Scott and a group of supporters showed up at city hall to deliver a letter to the mayor and request a meeting. Participants wore t-shirts reading “Justice for Jace Lee Scott” as they walked into the building.
After waiting for the second floor to open at 9 a.m., the group went upstairs to the mayor’s office. They spoke briefly with security who brought out Director of Executive Affairs Leo Maya to greet the group.
Los Angeles – On July 14, Centro CSO and the family of Jeremy Anthony Flores, along with allies, gathered at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights to honor Jeremy's life on his one year Angelversary. Flores, a 26-year-old Chicano, was shot and killed by officers from LAPD’s Hollenbeck Division on July 14, 2025.
The vigil for Flores began with setting out flowers, photos, candles and handmade posters It was followed by a small program of speakers from local organizations and other impacted families.
Los Angeles, CA- On Friday July 17, over 100 community members in Boyle Heights gathered at Mariachi Plaza for a vigil and press conference protesting the recent ICE killings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Guerrero. This event was one of many held across the country as part of the Legalization for All national week of action.
Orlando, FL – On Tuesday, July 14, a dozen members of the Orlando community gathered at Lake Eola for a vigil marking one month since an officer with the Senatobia Police Department in Mississippi shot and killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley.
The event was organized by Orlando Against Police Crimes to remember Wiley’s life, cut short by police violence, and to echo the family's call for transparency, accountability and justice for their baby boy.
“Wiley never had a chance to grow up to experience any number of things that we all take for granted on a daily basis – never got to form any childhood memories, never got to experience being a kid,” said Richard Thomas, member of Orlando Against Police Crimes.
Santa Ana, CA – On June 15, Community Service Organization Orange County and movement lawyers with the Peace and Justice Law Center served a demand letter threatening to sue Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) for not disclosing records about the arrest and death of Freddie Washington. On July 1, SAPD was forced to release 18 body camera videos, 58 photographs and two incident reports. These records reveal the moments leading up to Freddie’s arrest on January 15, 2025.
Milwaukee, WI – On July 13, dozens of community members and organizers mobilized to the intersection of 35th and Vliet Streets on Milwaukee’s North Side. This corner was the site of a deadly crash in September 2025 in which a reckless police pursuit killed three residents, the youngest victim being just 15 years old. Almost a year later, a spirited fight for community-led policy has only grown and hopes to win big as it soon goes to vote by city alderpeople.
San Jose, CA – On July 12, around 75 community members rallied together at the Mexican Heritage Plaza after the Community Service Organization San Jose (CSO San Jose) called an emergency action to protest the ICE murder of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and to demand an end to the political repression directed at Los Angles immigrant rights activist Nadia Topete.
