Minneapolis, MN – On April 21, around 100 protesters rallied at the busy intersection of Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis, holding signs that read, “No Muslim ban ever,” “No U.S. bombing Syria,” and “Stop the war on Muslims at home and abroad.” The rally was organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) to send a message of support to the Muslim community in anticipation for the upcoming Supreme Court hearing on the Muslim ban.

Protesters rallied for an hour and half and then held the busy intersection in an act of defiance. No arrests were made.

At the rally there was a wide variety of speakers including Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of MN CAIR, Misty Rowan of the Anti-War Committee, civil liberties and immigrant advocates, and leaders from the Japanese American and Dakota communities.

Mike Madden, a longtime member of Veterans for Peace, who was arrested in January 2017 for holding a sign that said, “Muslims welcome”, also spoke to the crowd. He is facing a charge of criminal trespass at a critical public service facility and if he is found guilty he could face up to a year in prison and a $3000 fine. His trial was supposed to start on April 23 but he announced at the protest that it has been delayed until June 4. Rally organizers asked the crowd to be ready to support Madden in June and pack the courtroom to show support for him and the right to protest.

On April 23, the MN Anti-War Committee and CAIR will co-host a forum at 7 p.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis so that community members will be well informed about the significance of the case and how the Muslim ban affects the large Somali community in Minnesota.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #PeoplesStruggles #MinneapolisAntiwarMovement #Syria #MuslimBan

Minneapolis, MN – The Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) organized a news conference on the afternoon of April 14 to speak out against the U.S. bombing of Syria the evening before.

The news conference also announced plans for a Minneapolis protest being held Sunday, April 15 as part of the national spring anti-war actions.

Kristin Dooley, Director of Women Against Military Madness said, “U.S. military attacks are not intended to help people, or to resolve the internal conflicts of small nations in a humanitarian manner. U.S. intervention only serves the interests of the U.S. elite, who care nothing of Syrian people or the people of the Middle East.

Dooley continued, “The U.S. government has carried out an endless series of wars and intervention for years in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. This new escalation will only lead to more dead, injured and displaced.”

Meredith Aby, a member of the Anti-War Committee said, “Yesterday the U.S. launched 112 tomahawk missiles at Syria, at a cost of $1.87 million each, which is $224 million total. We demand money for human needs like repairing Flint’s water pipes, like rebuilding American schools, like making health care available to everyone – instead of war.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #MinneapolisAntiwarMovement #Syria

Minneapolis, MN – Wayne Wittman, age 86, a longtime activist in the labor and peace movements in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, died Feb. 23. Wayne suffered a heart attack while on a bus coming home from a labor meeting where he introduced a resolution