Charleston, SC – Over 500 people gathered at Marion Square in Charleston, South Carolina on January 25 for an emergency protest after ICE shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis the day before.

“This is the third time this month that we’ve had to organize an emergency protest,” Erica Veal, of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Lowcountry Action Committee, remarked. “The violence of the Trump administration doesn’t let up but every time we rally together, more people show up and want to get involved. Their actions will be their downfall.”

The emergency protest was organized by a newly formed the District of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Lowcountry Action Committee, the Charleston Community Service Organization, Charleston Democratic Socialists of American, College of Charleston Students for a Democratic Society, the Charleston Climate Coalition, Indivisible Summerville, and others in another showing of the broad, united front against Trump in the Lowcountry.

Speakers at the action repeated their demands like “ICE out of our communities,” “End 287(g),” “Justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti,” and “Legalization for all.”

The Charleston Community Service Organization led the crowds in chants alternating between Spanish and English and gave moving speeches about the immigrant rights movement in Charleston.

“Filming ICE is not a crime. We must continue to stand up in solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters. We are not domestic terrorists, they are,” organizer Lucia Peña said.

During the rally, which was surrounded by nearly 50 police, one attendee was arrested for violating South Carolina’s anti-mask law by wearing a keffiyeh over her face. As law enforcement led the woman away, some of the attendees confronted police, who were unable to hold the line against the people advancing until officers on horseback arrived. The woman arrested has since been released.

“The law isn’t meant to protect us, it’s meant to hurt us and keep us down,” event organizer Matt Colburn told the attendees. “If ICE agents were at this protest, they’d all be hiding their faces with masks and the police surrounding us right now wouldn’t do a damn thing about it. You have to remember whose side they’re on!”

During her speech, Syd Loving, standing committee member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, reminded the crowd that they’re joined in protest by hundreds of thousands across the country. “Trump and his racist gang have done everything to snuff out the waves of protest against his anti-immigrant agenda, up to deploying the National Guard. But there's not less and less protests, there's more.”

Loving continued, “There's not less and less people taking the streets. There’s more! In spite of the danger, in spite of the fear because in our unity there's strength and we are going to build that unity against each and every attack. We are not going to stay home and be quiet like they want us to.”

Throughout the protest, speakers stressed the need to get involved with the organizations who helped plan the emergency rally.

“All of our struggles are connected,” said Nate Hubler, organizer with the Elbit Out of South Carolina Coalition and the Lowcountry Action Committee. “Whether you’re organizing for immigrant rights, fighting against Elbit Systems, building the campaign against our city’s unconstitutional First Amendment Ordinance, rallying to keep Dominion Energy out of the Santee, or working to end police violence, you need to be a part of an organization fighting for the liberation of all of us.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #ImmigrantRights #AlexPretti #ICE #KillerICE #LCAC #FRSO #CCSO

Charleston, SC – Over 100 people gathered in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, January 4 for an emergency protest against U.S. military aggression in Venezuela. Protesters condemned Washington’s attempts to destabilize the Venezuelan government through sanctions, military posturing and political interference and demanded the release of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

Members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s Charleston District, the Lowcountry Action Committee, Charleston Democratic Socialists of America, the Charleston Climate Coalition, Free Palestine Charleston, and others led chants like “Up, up, up with liberation; down, down, down with occupation” and “Free, Free! President Maduro!”

Attendees held signs denouncing U.S. interference in Venezuela and condemning the ongoing attempts to overthrow the democratically elected Maduro government. Speakers rejected U.S. narratives used to justify sanctions and military threats.

“The Venezuelan people are the only ones who have the right to determine who leads their country. Not Trump and his cronies,” said Erica Veal, member of Freedom Road and the Lowcountry Action Committee.

Organizers also pointed to the devastating humanitarian impacts of economic warfare imposed by Washington, D.C.

“When the U.S. government pours billions into war and sanctions, it’s working-class people here and abroad who pay the price,” said FRSO member Sasha Bozanic. “We’re out here today to say we refuse to accept war budgets while our communities face housing insecurity, climate disasters and police brutality.”

Speakers and participants stressed the local and environmental consequences of U.S. militarism, drawing clear connections between massive military spending abroad and underfunded housing, education and mitigation of climate change efforts in Charleston. Surrounded by dozens of Charleston Police Department officers, including several mounted on horses, organizers highlighted how militarization abroad mirrors the conditions of police occupation and surveillance in working-class, Black and brown communities at home.

Protesters also connected U.S. aggression against Venezuela to sanctions imposed on Cuba and other countries resisting U.S. imperial control, emphasizing how these policies harm everyday people while enriching weapons manufacturers and corporate elites.

Shaquille Fontenot of the Lowcountry Action Committee emphasized international solidarity, stating, “What the U.S. is doing to Venezuela is the same logic it uses to justify policing and repression at home. Imperialism abroad and occupation at home are two sides of the same system, and our fight against it has to be collective and global.”

Organizers concluded by calling for an end to U.S. sanctions, military threats, and respect for Venezuelan sovereignty. They urged Charleston residents to continue organizing locally while standing in international solidarity against imperialism, occupation, and war on Venezuela and elsewhere.

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #FRSO #LCAC