The Anti War Action Network (AWAN) called for a national day of action on Tax Day, April 15, to protest Trump’s costly war on Iran. President Trump has asked Congress to authorize an additional $200 billion for his war on Iran while at the same time cutting funding to scientific research, environmental protection, and various social programs including housing assistance, Medicaid and SNAP.

From the AWAN post on their Instagram @antiwaractionnetwork, “Organize an action in your community for Tax Day – April 15th – to show that we want our tax dollars spent on human needs like education and healthcare instead of bombing schools and destroying hospitals in Iran!”

Rae Minji, an organizer with Seattle Against War (SAW), said, “Mainstream media constantly lies to Americans the extent to which their tax dollars have been used for purposes that have nothing to do with national security and everything to do with the interests of the billionaires. We have a right to have a say in how our taxes are invested, and in order to make that a reality, we need to expose the actors responsible for the constant flow of our taxes dollars to bombs and genocide.”

Minji continued, “In SAW, we are flyering commuters in Washington Congressional District 9, which is the seat of Representative Adam Smith, one of the politicians who has been saying a lot about stopping Trump’s war on Iran, but hasn’t done anything meaningful. And no wonder: he personally benefits from war. His campaign funding almost entirely comes from AIPAC, Palantir, and other war-profiteering companies, and he operates the U.S. Military and Defense PAC. The hypocrisy is laughable.”

Cities participating include New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis, Tucson, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Washington D.C., Seattle, Dallas/Fort Worth, Tulsa, New Orleans, Jacksonville and Grand Rapids.

#AWAN #AntiWarMovement #TaxDay #Iran #NationalDayofAction #Featured

Minneapolis, MN – More than 3000 rallied on the Hennepin County Government Center Plaza, June 13, as people across the country rallied and marched against police crimes. The spirited rally was followed by a march through downtown streets.

The protest was initially called by Black Lives Matter Minnesota as an International Solidarity Day of Protest Against Police Terror. The Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar joined the effort, as a part of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repressions’ National Day of Action to Stop Police Crimes. The Native Lives Matter Youth Alliance also joined, with a rally and march to this event, organized “to remember and raise awareness about our children taken by the police.”

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization was present at the protest, with members carrying a banner reading, “It’s right to rebel! End police crimes.”

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #NationalDayOfAction #TwinCitiesCoalition4JusticeForJamarTCC4J

Saint Paul, MN – More than 100 people protested in front of the Mexican Consulate on Dec. 3, calling for an end to ‘Plan México’ and all U.S. aid that goes to the Mexican military and police, because of their rampant repression and human rights abuses against the people of Mexico.

The protest was part of a national day of action in at least 43 U.S. cities in response to the September kidnapping and disappearance of 43 Mexican students from the rural teachers college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero by the Mexican police in collaboration with a local cartel.

Protest organizers used the hashtag #UStired2 (for “U.S. tired too”) as an echo of the hashtag being used by the movement in México: #YaMeCanse (“I’m tired of this”). #YaMeCanse was started after a top Mexican government official said he was tired of all the protests; the movement turned it around to mean that they are tired of the government’s murderous corruption and impunity.

What happened in Ayotzinapa has sent shock waves throughout México as massive militant protests rocked the country. Ayotzinapa is seen by many as the straw that broke the camel’s back after more than 100,000 people have been similarly ‘disappeared’ and killed since 2006 at the hands of the intertwined Mexican police, military and cartels.

Mexico receives large amounts of military aid and political support from Washington, DC. According to local immigration attorney and activist Susana De Leon, “Thousands of the 100,000 dead and 25,000 missing were killed and disappeared by a corrupt Mexican government which is widely acknowledged to be colluding with narcotraffickers. Billions in guns, ammunition and training for police, military and other security forces were paid for with our U.S. tax dollars. #UStired2’s goal is to promote peace by stopping Plan México. A major component of Plan México is Plan Merida, a multi-billion dollar security aid program that President Obama has promised to continue indefinitely.”

The 43 missing students, who studied at Ayotzinapa, a teacher training college in the state of Guerrero, Mexico, went missing on Sept. 26. After taking part in a protest in the city of Iguala, about 120 miles south of Mexico City, the convoy of buses they were travelling home in came under fire from Iguala’s municipal police. Subsequently a series of mass graves has been discovered just outside Iguala, though it’s as yet unconfirmed whether they contain the bodies of the students.

#SaintPaulMN #Mexico #PeoplesStruggles #MN #StPaul #Ayotzinapa #DrugCartels #NationalDayOfAction #Americas