Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

NewOrleansLA

By staff

Protesters march up Poydras Street in downtown New Orleans towards City Hall.

New Orleans, LA – On Monday, December 1, 100 people rallied in Lafayette Square and marched to City Hall in the pouring rain to oppose Trump’s latest assault on immigrants in Louisiana, dubbed Operation “Swamp Sweep.”

December 1 marked the first day of Swamp Sweep, an anti-immigrant operation that has sent 250 federal agents to Louisiana – specifically to New Orleans and surrounding areas – attempting to make 5000 arrests. This operation mirrors similar federal deployments in cities such as Washington D.C., Memphis and Charlotte. Like other cities, New Orleans showed up to resist the crackdown.

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By staff

New Orleans activists say, "Trump: No war on Venezuela!"

New Orleans, LA – On Sunday, November 23, two dozen activists packed a room for a panel about Venezuela and the U.S.’s escalating aggression and war against it. Freedom Road Socialist Organization organized the panel in collaboration with leaders from the student and anti-war movements.

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By staff

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, November 22, hundreds of New Orleans residents from all walks of life gathered to protest against the new presence of U.S. Border Patrol agents in the city.

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By staff

A crowd surrounds an NOPD vehicle as it tries to leave the court hearing, forcing it backwards down the street. Mothers Sean Coleman and Shanta Scott hold signs demanding police oversight as they fight for justice for their sons Junious Coleman and Jace Lee Scott, respectively.

New Orleans, LA – On Wednesday, November 19, a crowd of 30 people rallied outside of Loyola University Law School to protest a private court hearing on the termination of the federal consent decree over the New Orleans Police Department. After over a decade, this marked the end of federal oversight of the NOPD.

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By Carson Cruse

Striking UMC nurses on the picket line.

New Orleans, LA – On November 11, dozens of nurses represented by National Nurses United held a picket line demanding retention, an end to merit-based raises, and good faith contract negotiations. This three-day strike marks the fifth since University Medical Center (UMC) nurses won their union in December 2023. The New Orleans Nurses United is the first private-sector healthcare workers union to form in Louisiana.

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By Anthony Franklin

Tulane and Loyola students march over to Tulane University.

New Orleans, LA – On November 7, over 40 Tulane and Loyola students delivered letters to their university presidents saying no to the MAGA compact. The MAGA compact has been sent to many universities as the Trump administration continues attacks on higher education.

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By Annabelle Jones

Protesters gather across the street from an IDF event near Tulane's campus for a noise demonstration.

New Orleans, LA – On the night of Monday, November 3, 60 Tulane students and community members gathered for a noise demonstration to protest the first stop of a national “Combat on Campus Tour” of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. The IDF event was hosted by Tulane Students Supporting Israel (SSI) at the Chabad Center of Louisiana near Tulane University’s campus.

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By Rory Macdonald

Blu DiMarco, member of the Queer and Trans Community Action Project, speaks to the press in front of Tulane University.

New Orleans, LA – More than a dozen students gathered outside Tulane University’s uptown campus on October 24, for a press conference to protest Tulane's decision to quietly shut down the “Q-Spot.”

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By staff

A protester stands with a sign demanding justice for Junious Coleman. Coleman's death was wrongfully ruled a suicide after he was shot outside New Orleans East Public Library in November 2022.

New Orleans, LA – On Wednesday October 22, dozens of people rallied in front of City Hall for a protest against police brutality. Directly affected families spoke out about corruption and neglect in the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), demanding that the Public Integrity Bureau be held accountable for failing to hold officers accountable.

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By Juleea Berthelot

Loyola student and SDS member Rosalina Framboise addresses a crowd of fellow student supporters.

New Orleans, LA – On October 16, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) hosted a “No Troops, No Trump” emergency rally and spoke out at both Tulane University and at Loyola University New Orleans in response to a national day of action called by National SDS.

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By staff

Loyola students pack a student senate meeting to speak out against the founding of a TPUSA chapter on campus.

New Orleans, LA – On October 15, nearly 100 students at Loyola University New Orleans packed a student senate meeting to protest the chartering of a Turning Point USA chapter. Turning Point USA (TPUSA), co-founded by Charlie Kirk, is known for spreading racism, misogyny and transphobia on college campuses.

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By staff

Protestors march back down Lafitte Greenway to close out Saturday's No Kings demonstration.

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, October 18, more than 10,000 people rallied on the Lafitte Greenway’s Great Lawn to protest Trump’s agenda. Saturday’s protest was one of 2700 actions planned for No Kings day across the United States.

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By staff

Members of Students for a Democratic Society \[SDS\] gathered on Freret  Street near Tulane University to announce the organization’s campaign for an affordable campus.

New Orleans, LA – Together United Louisiana Students for a Democratic Society (TUL SDS) rallied on Friday, October 17 for an affordable campus. They demanded that Tulane lower attendance costs, increase Black and local enrollment, and protect DEI initiatives. They also pushed for more concrete actions against Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and raised issues with the racial disparities between Tulane’s majority-white composition and the surrounding majority-Black city.

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By staff

Protester holds signs for police accountability outside New Orleans Police Department headquarters during a rally on October 6.

New Orleans, LA – On October 13, several organizations stood outside the federal building to hold a press conference against the termination of the federal consent decree over the New Orleans Police Department. The conference also condemned the impending threat of federal marshals and troops descending on the city.

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Shanta Scott, mother of Jace Lee Scott, pictured calling out the PIB for dismissing both of her complaints on NOPD’s blatant corruption in the case of her son's murder.

New Orleans, LA – On Monday, October 6, dozens of people rallied outside the Public Integrity Bureau (PIB) office at the New Orleans Police Department headquarters to demand that they hold the corrupt officers accountable for their blatant neglect in the cases of several murders.

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By Serena Sojic-Borne

"Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth

New Orleans, LA – On September 30, “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth blew his bugle for the military’s next crusade. The world’s biggest and baddest armed forces folded in Afghanistan and burned in Vietnam. Hegseth and Trump looked at these defeats, and many more, then scratched their chins. At last, they ferreted out Benedict Arnold: DEI.

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By Antonia Mar

Glenn Foster Sr. of Black Lives Matter Grassroots addresses a crowd of protesters in front of the Hale Boggs Federal Building

New Orleans. LA – On Wednesday October 1, a powerful group of about 100 people gathered in front of the Hale Boggs Federal building in downtown New Orleans to denounce Governor Jeff Landry’s request for 1000 National Guard personnel.

The New Orleans Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression called the emergency protest immediately upon hearing the news which broke Monday night around 9 p.m. The No Troops, No Trump coalition, which consists of about a dozen partner organizations, sprang into action to endorse and hit the streets.

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By Toni Duplechain-Jones

Sean Coleman, mother of the late Junious Coleman, tells the crowd about how after filing a  complaint on an NOPD officer in 2021, the same officer later came to her house and told her not to continue with the process.

New Orleans, LA – On the evening of September 25, around 50 people attended a People's Townhall on Public Safety co-hosted by the New Orleans Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and Black Lives Matter Grassroots.

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By Carson Cruse

NOSHIP activists lead chants alongside Palestinian youth in downtown New Orleans.

New Orleans, LA – On September 21, around 70 people rallied and marched in response to recent attacks on the Gaza strip and also in support of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. Demands included “Hands off Gaza City!” “Hands off Mahmoud Khalil!” and “Arrest Netanyahu!”

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By Lev Deane

Protesters from the Queer and Trans Community Action Project rally outside the Louisiana Department of Health to fight back against cuts to trans healthcare.

New Orleans, LA – On Friday, September 5, members of the Queer and Trans Community Action Project held a rally outside of the Louisiana Department of Health to protest Medicaid no longer covering hormone replacement therapy (HRT). This loss of coverage, combined with the recent anti-trans legislation introduced by Louisiana’s Governor Jeff Landry, has sparked outrage among the queer and trans community in New Orleans.

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