This morning, June 16th, there were multiple coordinated raids on immigrant rights activists in the Twin Cities. At least 15 people have been indicted, with the U.S. Grand Jury charging “conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer,” alongside a number of other trumped-up charges.

The fact is, people here in the Twin Cities correctly and courageously stood up to Operation Metro Surge and built an outpouring of militant resistance to ICE terror. People from all walks of life were in the streets to oppose deportations and ICE agents. Now the government is cracking back. These kinds of bogus charges are part of framing community defense and activism as terrorism, and they want to intimidate and repress the immigrant rights movement by criminalizing protest.

This isn’t the first go-round with the feds retaliating against anti-ICE activists since the beginning of the year, with attempts to scare the immigrant rights movement into submission. It didn’t work before, and it wont work this time, either. This is a serious attack, and we are going to stand with these activists. We should be prepared to defend all those who are being targeted and persecuted, and to fight the charges.

Stop deportations!

Protesting ICE is not a crime!

#ImmigrantRights #FRSO #PoliticalRepression #ICE

Los Angeles, CA – On June 3, Centro CSO held a press conference at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights demanding that the state keep its hands off Nadia Topete. On May 20, Topete, a Chicana immigrant rights activist with Centro CSO, was served a subpoena by the FBI demanding that she testifies in front of a grand jury. She did not appear at the grand jury proceedings, which were set for the same day.

Press conference organizers state, “Nadia bravely refused to rat on her fellow activists who did nothing wrong, risking serious jail time. Cases of blatant political repression like this one have continued to intensify in the wake of Trump’s racist, reactionary agenda. Nadia Topete’s determination is a strong example of the people’s refusal to back down.”

At the press conference, Centro CSO member Verita Topete, Nadia’s sister and herself a victim of FBI repression, led attendees in chants of “When we fight, we win!”

“Our enemies are trying to find ways to attack us, but we won’t stand down. This is a fight we are willing to take. We will win,” said Henry Cornejo, a Teamster at UPS and member of Centro CSO.

Carlos Montes, a longtime Chicano activist and member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization who has experienced political repression over the decades, said, “Federal grand juries have been used by the Trump administration to go after immigrant rights activists. We are united to denounce the use of the grand jury and the FBI by the Trump administration and the U.S. Attorney’s office to harass and intimidate activists who oppose Trump’s attacks on our immigrant community.”

In order to support Topete, the Committee to Stop FBI Repression is requesting donations: tinyurl.com/csfrdonate.

#LosAngelesCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #CSFR #CentroCSO #NadiaTopete #Featured

Chicago, IL – Around 150 people gathered outside of the Hyatt Regency hotel on Saturday, June 6 to demand that the American Medical Association (AMA) advocate for the immediate release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a Palestinian pediatrician who was abducted by the Israeli military in late 2024 due to his refusal to abandon his young patients.

The campaign to demand his freedom was formed in August 2025 by US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and Healthcare Workers for Palestine and was later joined by Code Pink. The organizations called Saturday’s action to target AMA’s House of Delegates and Board of Trustees, who were gathered inside the Hyatt Regency for the organization’s annual conference.

“The inaction and silence of the AMA and its leadership in regard to a medical colleague who survived a genocide and horrific imprisonment in Israeli prisons is a betrayal to its oath. It is directly violating AMA’s own civil and human rights policy and only exposes the organization’s anti-Palestinian bias, hypocrisy and selective advocacy,” said Rania Salem of USPCN.

“We've tried a lot of different things,” stated Erin of Healthcare Workers for Palestine, “We tried to go and talk to them, we tried to get them to meet with us. We've had call campaigns, we've had email campaigns. 
We've had press conferences outside of their central office, which is here in Chicago. We've gone to their House of Delegates meetings where we were outside because they wouldn't let us inside.”

One campaign tactic that proved successful happened a few months ago when organizers cornered the president of the AMA, Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, and set up a meeting with him. In this meeting, Mukkamala stated that the AMA prioritized remaining “neutral” to not alienate either side. Yet on Saturday, the campaign learned from a medical student attending the conference that on the opening night, the AMA gave a special acknowledgement to the members of the Israeli Medical Association that were invited and present in the room with the entire organization.

The call for Dr. Abu Safiya’s release became even more urgent when on Thursday, June 4, he was placed in solitary confinement. When April Ward of Mothers Activating Movements for Abolition and Solidarity (MAMAS) heard the story of Dr. Abu Safiya, she thought of her son, Mickiael Ward, who was tortured into a false confession by Chicago police and held in solitary confinement. She described it as “mental torture.”

“We hear, watch, and talk about the cruelty and inhumanity in Palestine and Gaza, specifically, and we want the mothers, the sisters, the aunties, and the caregivers in Palestine to know that we are in unconditional solidarity with you,” Ward stated.

Many of the methods of torture that the Israeli military uses against Palestinian prisoners are also used by the Chicago police. “There are hundreds of people who are locked up here with credible, verified accounts of torture by the police, who still, and were forced into signing false confessions, who were still locked up in prisons today,” said Merawi Gerima on behalf of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), “and so we know that Black people, brown people, working and poor people here in the United States, have every interest to stand in solidarity with Dr. Safiya and all Palestinian prisoners.”

Despite its location on a small side street, the rally drew lots of attention as it unfolded. Many medical professionals attending the conference watched the speakers from the building’s glass skywalk, and several passersby stopped to listen and join the chanting.

“Dr. Husam represents a value that is often forgotten among doctors today. He represents the value of the medical fight against imperialism. That's why it's crucial we organize globally like how we are today to demand the release of Dr. Husam,” said Alfonso Castillo of Anti-War Committee – Chicago (AWC).

The rally ended with a reading of testimonies of Palestinian medical workers and naming the 83 medical workers who are in Israeli detention today.

Individuals can send a letter to the AMA delegates demanding they immediately advocate for the release of Dr. Abu Safiya and follow @uspcn and @hcw4palichi and @codepinkalert on Instagram for updates on the campaign.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #USPCN

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

Nadia Topete, immigrants' rights activist in Los Angeles, refused to testify in front of a grand jury. Because of this, she could be arrested and held in jail for an unknown period of time. The CSFR calls on all supporters to, on Monday, June 8, call into the offices of the US Attorney Bilal Essayli and Assistant US Attorney Michael Wheat, to say, “Hands Off Nadia!”

While we don't know why Nadia Topete was subpoenaed, we know that she was part of the 2025 anti-ICE uprisings in LA. Grand juries result in indictments nine times out of ten and are tools of political repression. Refusing to testify is a heroic act that every person of conscience should look at as a model for what to do if you are ever summoned to a grand jury. She, like everyone else in that movement, did nothing wrong and should be able to walk free.

Call in on Monday, 6/8! Hands Off Nadia Topete!

When: June 8, Monday, from 9am to 5pm PDT

Who: call both

1. Bilal Essayli, US Attorney Central District Office Line @ (714) 338-3500, press 0

2. Assistant US Attorney Michael Wheat @ (619) 557-5610

Script:

“I am [NAME] calling from [STATE] and I demand that Nadia Topete not be arrested for refusing to testify in front of a grand jury. She did nothing wrong, committed no crime, and we will stand with her against any kind of repression. Hands Off Nadia Topete!”

#InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #CSFR #NadiaTopete #Featured

Salt Lake City, UT — On the afternoon of May 31, the Utah Anti-War Committee, along with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization held a workshop titled “Anti-War Organizing in the Face of Repression” at the University of Utah Union building. The workshop drew community members, students and organizers committed to defending the movement against escalating political repression. The event also raised funds for Rick Toledo, a student activist and educator who was fired from his teaching position at Cal Poly Humboldt University in retaliation for his participation in a pro-Palestine protest.

Before the workshop, the UAWC had released a statement on Toledo’s case, that stated, “We have watched with outrage and disgust as Cal Poly Humboldt University has escalated its campaign of repression against a graduate student whose only 'crime' was standing up for the individuals and families Palestine whose lives are being not only destroyed, but eradicated.”

Adrian Romero, a local organizer with the Utah Anti-War Committee, delivered a workshop presentation that covered knowing your rights when facing law enforcement and grand jury subpoenas, organizational security practices, and building campaigns to defend targeted organizers.

Romero stated, “Grand jury proceedings are designed to isolate and intimidate people. You still have rights. Go public, mobilize the community in any way that you can and show [the enemy] that you won't be silenced.”

After their presentation, Rick Toledo joined via Zoom to speak directly on his case and the circumstances of his firing. ”We know that when the state wants something, they'll do whatever they can get away with. They like to make an example out of student organizers and protesters to try and scare other people. That's one of the things really at the heart of my case – but you can't let them break you, because that's what they want.”

The event raised approximately $375 through admission donations as well as book, zine and apparel donations contributed by UAWC and FRSO, with pledges still coming in. All proceeds go directly to Toledo's legal defense fees and expenses.

The targeting of Rick Toledo is part of a broader wave of repression facing the movement for Palestinian liberation and the fight against U.S. imperialism. University administrations discipline and expel student organizers and fire faculty who speak out.

As the imperialist war in Gaza continues and the domestic crackdown on dissent escalates, the duty of every socialist and anti-war activist is to build the defenses necessary to protect our ranks and advance the struggle. The ruling class expects us to be silenced; our response must be louder, more organized, and more united than ever before.

#SaltLakeCityUT #UT #AntiWarMovement #UAWC #Palestine #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

On May 20, Nadia Topete was visited by two FBI agents and served a subpoena demanding that she testify in front of a grand jury on June 3. Even now, it is not known why she is being subpoenaed; all we know is that she is an immigrants rights activist and an outspoken political Chicana organizer. She refused to go and testify, the penalty to which can be prison time without a known end date. Topete is a hero who stood with the people and the movement at a potentially huge cost to herself and her freedom. We in the Committee to Stop FBI Repression say, “Hands Off!” and we will fight any attempt to jail her, tooth and nail.

Grand juries, nine times out of ten, result in indictments. They do not permit the person being questioned to be in the room with a lawyer, nor to present a defense of any kind, nor even any witnesses. There would have been nothing but Topete and the prosecutors interrogating her and looking for somebody to indict. The result of refusing to go is often jailtime without knowing when you would get out. She did the right, brave thing by saying no. Every activist reading this statement needs to learn from her example.

Topete did nothing wrong. Neither did the other members of the activist group she is in, Centro CSO in Los Angeles, who were charged by the federal government after their participation in the anti ICE uprising in Los Angeles in 2025, such as Alejandro Orellana whose charges were dropped. They did nothing wrong either. We view this as a political attack on activists in Los Angeles, and we say a loud, resounding “No!” to political repression. We say, “Hands Off Nadia Topete!” We will do whatever it takes to defend her, a true daughter of Aztlán.

#InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #NadiaTopete #ImmigrantRights #CentroCSO #CSFR #Featured

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following update from the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network regarding the sentencing of pro-Palestine Jax activist, Conor Cauley.

Conor Cauley was sentenced to 60 days with time served, 3 years of probation, court fines, 150 community service hours and a stay away order from the same officer, Officer Aliaga Ruiz, who threw him over a row of chairs!

We will reiterate what our beloved member Conor Cauley has repeatedly mentioned, this fight is for every single person in the city of Jacksonville, and this sentencing will not deter us. We know Palestinians experience torturous conditions in Zionist prisons, and we also acknowledge the decrepit nature and condition of the Duval County Jail.

From Palestine to Jacksonville, Zionists and imperialists will use the system as it’s designed; to break you down and destroy your spirit. But we know the power of the people is greater than the people in power!

Please visit and donate to Conor’s Gofundme and we will see folks later to protest at the Jail! Find the Gofundme here.

SHAME ON MELISSA NELSON!

SHAME ON JSO!

FREE CONOR CAULEY NOW!

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #ConorCauley #JPSN #CSFR #AWAN

Jacksonville, FL – On May 29, Community members protested against the harsh sentencing of Conor Cauley and Leah Grady, vowing to continue the fight against their charges and demanding the release of Conor Cauley, who is currently being held in Duval County Jail as a political prisoner.

Despite heavy rainstorms, over 60 community members protested in front of the courthouse and, later, in front of the county jail under tents buckling and breaking from the weight of rainwater. This did not discourage attendees, who continued to chant and rally against the unjust treatment of anti-war organizers.

These protests were led by Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network alongside community organizations including Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, Brentwood 300, Democratic Socialists of America, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Cauley was sentenced to 60 days jail and three years of probation. He is additionally being ordered to stay more than 1000 feet from Officer Maykel Aliaga-Ruiz, the arresting officer who instigated the initial arrest last year by violently grabbing Cauley by the neck and throwing him over a row of chairs. This condition will, as Cauley’s lawyer pointed out in the courtroom, effectively ban him from city council meetings where Aliaga-Ruiz works, directly attacking his right to speak openly to his own elected officials and organize in the city.

Grady was sentenced to six months’ probation, 50 hours of community service, and court-ordered to write a “letter of apology” to the Republican City Council President Randy White.

Both sentences were heavier even than what had been recommended by the prosecutors. The prosecution requested three months’ probation and 25 hours community service for Leah Grady and requested 30 days of jail and one year of probation for Conor Cauley. In both instances, the judges either doubled or tripled the sentences. This comes after public calls by Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters for judges to make an example out of the arrested JPSN organizers in order to politically intimidate them.

This was also in spite of an overwhelming display of community support for both organizers. Over 40 character letters were submitted to the court for Conor Cauley, and high profile character witnesses spoke in Cauley’s favor, including the executive director of the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) Local 1408, Courtnee Staples.

“Who came out to defend Conor today?” asked a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization during the rally at the courthouse. “Teachers, neighbors, union workers, students and people from all walks of life in Jacksonville – in short, a microcosm of the entire community. The city could only wrangle up a handful of people to speak against Conor, and who did they pick? The director of city council and chief of police.”

Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network is committing to fight the verdicts of both Conor Cauley and Leah Grady, having developed a plan to fight their convictions through appeal for retrial. They will be rallying to demand Cauley’s release until he is out of jail.

“It’s because of this jail that, for the next 60 days, Conor will see no justice,” said Ryan Delaney of the Anti-War Action Network. “Well that means that we’re gonna be the reason that for the next 60 days, this jail will see no peace!”

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #JPSN #AWAN #Palestine #ConorCauley #Featured

Los Angeles, CA – On the morning of Wednesday, May 20, Nadia Topete, a Chicana organizer with Centro Community Service Organization (CSO), was served with a subpoena to appear June 3 in front of a grand jury.

The subpoena was signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael G Wheat. Nadia Topete did nothing wrong and this is an attack on the immigrant rights movement and on Centro CSO.

In June of 2025, Centro CSO member Alejandro Orellana was raided by the FBI, National Guard and East Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. A week later, Verita Topete, the sister of Nadia Topete, was ambushed by FBI Agents and her phone was seized. The agents had a search warrant but have yet to give her phone back.

Due to a nationwide defense campaign, charges against Alejandro Orellana were dropped, Verita Topete was not charged, and Centro CSO assumed the FBI witch hunt was over. Almost a year later, Topete is now being targeted by the United States. She is being ordered to appear at the Orange County Federal Courthouse.

Carlos Montes, a longtime Centro CSO leader and Chicano activist, stated, “Nadia is actively advocating for our community, this federal subpoena is just an intimidating tactic by the Trump government.”

Centro CSO is committed to fighting back against this act of political repression and its members will not be intimidated.

Follow @CentroCSO on social media for any updates.

#LosAngelesCA #PoliticalRepression #InJusticeSystem #GrandJury #CentroCSO #Featured

Jacksonville, FL- A broad coalition, led by Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN), rallied outside Duval County Jail on May 20 to condemn the guilty verdict against local organizer Conor Cauley, who now faces up to five years in prison.

A crowd of over 50 people mobilized within an hour of the verdict. Cauley, who was originally facing ten years with two felony charges, had one felony for resisting violence dropped after a year-long grassroots campaign against the district attorney Melissa Nelson. He is now in jail awaiting sentencing.

Hundreds of people from Jacksonville and across the country called and emailed State Attorney Melissa Nelson, calling on her to drop these trumped-up charges. But, as highlighted in a statement by JPSN, “Melissa Nelson proved to the people that her allegiance is not to them, it's to a corrupt Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and city council that have publicly called for the state to make an example out of us in hopes that they can stop our movement.”

The rally called out the backward political slant of the trial, and the unjust rulings by the judge. Among them were the judge's refusal to allow the political nature of the arrest to be discussed in trial, banning the keffiyeh from the courtroom, not allowing Cauley's lawyer to question arresting Officer Aliaga's history of harassment complaints, and not allowing political repression to be described to the jury.

The judge elected to revoke Cauley's bond upon the guilty verdict, remanding him to police custody. This comes after public pressure on the judge by Sheriff T.K. Waters and multiple Trump-aligned city council members to make an example of Cauley.

“They think they are gods!” shouted Maceo George, president of the Central Labor Council as he spoke to the crowd. “We have to send a message to city council that they won't be in office if they don't support the people!”

The rally was composed of community members, labor leaders, and organizers from JPSN, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, Democratic Socialists of America, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), AFL-CIO's Central Labor Council, and Students for a Democratic Society.

“Here are our demands: Free Conor, no jail time, protesting is not a crime! We want Conor back home with us,” declared María García-Gerardo of FRSO. JPSN and the coalition in attendance have committed to continue the campaign, shifting now from one demanding the state drop the charges to a “Free Conor Cauley” campaign. Cauley is set to appear in court on Tuesday, May 26 for the setting of the sentencing date.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #JPSN #Palestine #PoliticalRepression #ConorCauley #InjusticeSystem

Tallahassee FL, – On Monday, April 20, Tallahassee Students For A Democratic Society (SDS) held a teach-in to inform students and community members on how to combat repression. The event was a part of a coordinated National Day of Action, called in solidarity with Rick Toledo, an organizer at Cal Poly Humboldt who was charged with assault, battery and false imprisonment after a February building occupation protest, which called for the university to divest its funds from Israel’s ongoing genocide.

Among the many important aspects of fighting repression is ensuring that you are public-facing and continue to put public pressure on officials.

“Holding actions is the most important part. We need to show that we’re still fighting,” said Kaiden Rosa, the vice president of Tallahassee SDS, said, “And that’s why you’ll see us rally outside courthouses, oftentimes rallying if there's a university conduct case because we’re going to keep the pressure on.”

Tallahassee SDS is no stranger to political repression. Florida State University has continuously attempted to ignore and repress the organization, recently banning SDS from registration as a student organization for over two years due to “protesting after dark.”

Rosa explained the importance of solidarity and how cases like Rick Toledo's can have ramifications nationwide, stating, “He was suspended from his school and fired, and they’re just trying to turn it against him [and] make it so that the Palestine protests can be more easily silenced, if they can be silenced in one place, they can be silenced anywhere else.”

Attendees also learned more about the case of Alejandro Orellana, an organizer with Centro CSO from Los Angeles, arrested in the wake of the Los Angeles uprising against ICE oppression.

Orellana had his house raided and faced charges of conspiracy, along with aiding and abetting civil disorder, simply for handing out face-coverings to protestors.

During the LA uprising, the LAPD faced scrutiny for its violence against protesters, launching tear gas canisters at protesters and journalists, firing rubber bullets and riding horses over passersby.

A campaign was launched by organizations like Centro CSO to drop the charges against Orellana, and after intense public pressure and outcry, that is what happened.

The Repression Teach-in rang very true for attendees who witnessed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrest of Sadie Carlson at the recent No Kings Protest after marchers stepped into a closed and empty street as the sidewalk ended.

“At the end of the day, the most important thing is solidarity,” Rosa said.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #StudentMovement #SDS #PoliticalRepression

Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns the Italian authorities for the raids on the homes of members of CARC (Committees of Support for Resistance – for Communism) Party. It is an attack on the democratic rights of Italian revolutionaries, who we stand in solidarity with.

On April 21, Italy’s political police searched the homes of six comrades associated with the CARC Party, five in Naples and one in Florence. Three of the homes raided were those of members of the CARC Party’s National Executive Committee: Paolo Babini, Igor Papaleo and Marco Coppola. The government is lying and trying to put the tag of “terrorism” on them.

Members of FRSO know about repression firsthand, and we stand with those who are experiencing repression. The decline of imperialism is accelerating, and the capitalists are using repression to preserve the existing order of things. They will certainly fail.

The Italian working class has a proud history of struggle that is an inspiration to workers everywhere. We are confident that the CARC Party will defeat these attacks.

End the repression against the CARC Party!

Long live international solidarity!

#FRSO #International #CARC #Italy #PoliticalRepression

Fight Back News Service and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression are circulating the following call to action from Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network.

On May 27, 2025, three organizers, including two Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network members, were unjustly arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) after being targeted during a city council meeting. Conor Cauley was violently attacked by JSO officers, and is facing up to 10 years in prison for felony charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery of a law enforcement officer. Activists Leah Grady and Dragon Belloit were also arrested.

Videos of the arrest clearly show that the only violence came from JSO officers. These are trumped-up, bogus charges. Sheriff T.K. Waters publicly stated he wants to make an example out of these activists in order to silence people who use their right to protest Jacksonville’s involvement in the genocide of Palestinians.

With one week to go before Conor’s trial, we need to be louder than ever to demand that these charges get dropped. Every single call helps!

Please call and email the office of State Attorney Melissa Nelson and Prosecutor Kelli Lynn Shobe at (904) 255-2500 – press 0 to reach the front desk and ask to leave a message for Nelson or Shobe.

You can email them at SAO4th@coj.net and kshobe@coj.net

Here is a sample script for calls or emails:

Hello, my name is [FIRST NAME, LAST NAME], and I am a resident of [CITY, STATE]. On May 27, 2025, three community members, Conor Cauley, Leah Grady, and Dragon Belloit, were arrested and brutalized during a city council meeting simply for speaking up against the genocide of Gaza. Thousands witnessed the viral video in which one member of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, Conor, was violently grabbed by the neck and flipped over a row of benches. Yet, the State Attorney’s Office has persisted in launching a campaign of clear political repression by targeting Conor with two felony charges. No jury of our peers would convict someone who JSO threw over a row of chairs and the State Attorney’s Ofice is wasting taxpayer time and money by refusing to drop these charges. I am calling to demand that sheriff T.K. Waters fire both the arresting officers, Maykel Aliaga-Ruiz and Donovan Davis, and that State Attorney Melissa Nelson drop all charges against Conor Cauley, Leah Grady, and Dragon Belloit immediately.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #CSFR #Featured

The New Orleans Alliance stands with Pro-Palestine student activist Rick Toledo. We demand no charges be filed against him for standing up for Palestine. On February 27, 2026, students held a sit-in at Cal Poly Tech Humboldt to demand the university divest from Israel. They bravely occupied a university building for 14 hours. We believe standing up against genocide and demanding divestment is the right thing to do.

For his participation in this action, the University is attempting to charge Rick with four bogus felonies: false imprisonment, conspiracy, battery, and assault. All for standing in a building. Together, these charges would carry 15 years of prison time. This is an outrageous attack against student free speech on campus, and a plot to scare activists into silence.

College protest is a long-standing tradition. The progressive demands of the student movement have played an important role in raising political consciousness across the country, especially the Palestine encampment movement of 2024. The encampment at Cal Poly Humboldt inspired young people across the world when it stood up against police repression. The attacks on Toledo, we believe, are also tied to this bold moment of resistance.

Since his arrest, the university has fired Rick from his teaching job. He spent time in jail without any charges and was eventually released on a 25K bond. University Police seized his electronics and tried to force him to give up passcodes, which he did not. He did the right thing, and activists can learn from his example of not telling the police a single thing.

We demand the witch hunt against Rick Toledo end immediately and no charges be filed. We uplift the public defense campaign by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression and urge organizations to:

1. Sign onto the letter by the Committee to Stop FBI repression: tinyurl.com/ricktoledosds

2. Write a statement in solidarity and submit it to stopFBI@gmail.com

3. Donate to Rick’s legal fund: tinyurl.com/toledoLDF

4. Plug in for a call-to-action on April 20 (Rick’s first hearing) by following @csfrstopfbi and @sds_humboldt

#NewOrleansLA #LA #InJusticeSystem #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PoliticalRepression

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

On the night of March 19, 2026, University Police Department returned with a warrant to the apartment of Rick Toledo, Students for a Democratic Society organizer at Cal Poly Tech Humboldt, and seized his laptop, phone, and other electronics such as a camera. They attempted to force him to give up his passcodes, and he told them no. He did the right thing.

This violation of his privacy comes as part of their effort to charge him with four bogus felonies – false imprisonment, conspiracy, battery, and assault – related to the student protest on Feb 27. This is the latest in their string of acts to suppress any campus free speech for Palestine and divestment from Israel, along with suspending and firing him from his university teaching job.

We should be perfectly clear about it: there is nothing wrong with supporting any student action, including building occupations, that is taken to make demands of a university. Our rights to free speech and freedom of assembly are protected by the First Amendment, enshrined in the constitution. College protest is a long-time tradition, and it continues on today. Toledo committed no crime in supporting the student protest, and the university is determined to create lie after lie in order to demonize him.

In our view, what they really want to do is punish Toledo not for the one-day building occupation last month, but for the 9-day building occupation during the encampment movement in spring of 2024. That display of courage by the students in the name of ending university support for a genocide made it to millions of TV screens, and the state of California and university want someone to pay. Toledo is their target of choice, years later.

We demand that he not be charged of any crime, because he didn't do anything wrong. We demand that his devices be returned ASAP. Activists should learn from his example of not telling the police a single thing, including a passcode. The university and police are the criminals here for trying to scare activists out of speaking out against the university's continued financial support to Israeli apartheid. Now is not the time to suffer in silence; it’s the time to speak out. We need to condemn political repression, stand with Rick Toledo, and defend our rights to speak out for Palestine.

Don’t Charge Rick Toledo!

Give Him His Property Back!

Protesting for Palestine Is Not a Crime!

#CSFR #StopFBI #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

Austin, TX – On Friday, March 13, around 20 students rallied in front of the Student Services Building at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) in support of students targeted by UT administration for protesting against Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” and the consolidation of ethnic and gender studies departments.

This rally was organized by Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) for the defense of Daniel Ramirez, who is currently facing the possibility of suspension. Daniel Ramirez, who is also a member of Austin SDS, addressed the crowd before walking into his suspension hearing, pointing out, “This repression will not stop us. While repression doesn’t mean we’re winning, it means they’re scared of us.”

As Ramirez walked into the Student Services Building, the crowd cheered him on, chanting, “We want justice you say how, drop all the charges now,” “No more secrets, no more lies, student voices will never die!” and “The students united, will never be defeated!”

Elise James, a member of Austin SDS, elaborated on why Austin SDS felt compelled to protest against the university administration. James said, “For most of its history, UT has pushed its students to protest because they do not care about us. We have to make them listen.” She challenged the university’s narrative, saying, “To the people who tell us we should have been respectful, we were. We have been trying to reach them for months, but they did not listen.”

Jesse Valdelamar, a member of La Frontera Unida, spoke on the effect consolidation will have on the ability for Chicanos to learn about their own history, stating, “UT President Jim Davis and his lackeys want Tejanos to forget about our history, to forget about the pain and suffering that’s we’ve had to endure, and above all, to not be proud about who we are.”

Mia Reballosa, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “The university is making millions of dollars from oil and exploitative contracts with sweatshops. They also hire war hawks and war criminals.”

Reballosa continued, “When we are repressed, we need to double down. We need to be bolder. We need to let the university know that we won’t back down.”

Despite the repression, Austin SDS plans to continue its campaign against department consolidation.

#AustinTX #TX #StudentMovement #SDS #PoliticalRepression

Grand Rapids, MI – Nida Abu Baker was a child when the FBI began their decades long campaign of repression against her father, Shukri Abu Baker, and the charity he helped run, The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF).

After trumped-up material support for terrorism charges and nearly two decades of prison, Shukri and his colleague Ghassan Elashi still remain behind bars. Their crime: fundraising for humanitarian aid and the construction of schools and clinics within Palestine.

It was weeks after 9/11, and the U.S. was already flexing its domestic muscle by ramping up its Islamophobic “war on terror.” Shukri Abu Baker, alongside his colleagues Mohammad El-Mezain, Ghassan Elashi, Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulrahman Odeh, were some of its earliest domestic victims.

Palestine solidarity activists in Grand Rapids were honored to have Nida Abu Baker speak on her own activism and the struggle to free her father and his colleagues from prison. She was joined by Zena Ozier, an activist-lawyer with the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), and Tom Burke, a member of the Anti-war 23 and labor leader, for a panel discussion featuring the story of the Holy Land 5 and the struggle of political prisoners at home and in Palestine.

“Politically, I didn’t choose activism. Activism chose me. I had no choice. My politicization came from my personal experience,” Nida Abu Baker began. “Everything that I am now is because of my childhood. When the HLF shutdown it’s like I lost my home. A lot of people in the community felt the same way. Homes were raided. Phones were tapped, people we loved were suddenly gone and deported. I was only seven years old when the initial raids happened, but I understood why we were being targeted – that helping Palestinians was being criminalized.”

After their sentencing, it became clear that the U.S. had been surveilling the Holy Land Foundation since the mid-90s. In 2001, the Foundation was raided and its assets were frozen. In 2004, the U.S. indicted the Holy Land 5 and raided their homes. In 2008, the five were convicted and sent to jail with heavy sentences ranging from 15 to 65 years.

“Growing up I remember seeing an unmarked FBI vehicle always parked in our neighborhood. The phones always sounded fuzzy – we knew we were tapped and we knew we were being watched. But that didn’t stop us from living normally,” said Abu Baker

When asked about her background and her own activism, Zena Ozier explained: “I learned to question the law. As a Lebanese American, I understood occupation. My maternal village had been occupied by Israel. My own lineage and family carried the struggle – it's part of my ancestry. The law here isn’t meant to protect people like us.”

Ozier continued, “Since the repression of the Holy Land 5, the U.S. uses several mechanisms to repress activists. For example, the prosecution itself was meant to send a chilling message to other organizations that even humanitarian aid could lead to prison time.”

The panelists also made it clear that solidarity between activists, groups, and between those facing political repression was necessary for combating these types of bogus charges.

“There were ties between what happened to the Anti-war 23 and the Holy Land 5,” explained Tom Burke. “Their goal was to give us sentences like what the Holyland 5 received – 15 years for just one charge.”

Both Shukri Abu Baker and Ghassan Elashi are in Beaumont Prison complex in Texas. Both face worsening conditions brought on through almost 20 years of imprisonment and mistreatment.

“My father has had two near-death experiences while in Beaumont,” Nida Abu Baker said. “The conditions there are horrible. Once, my father was gassed by guards while other prisoners were fighting and he collapsed. If it weren’t for other inmates coming to his aid he would’ve passed away. Guards are constantly harassing him, raiding his room, and cutting him off from the outside world. Despite this he is an activist within the prison and has helped transform the lives of his fellow inmates for the better.”

The panelists fielded many questions from the audience on international solidarity, the Palestinian prisoner movement, and on organizing strategies.

Watch the full livestream of the event on Instagram @palestinesolidarity_gr

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #HolyLand5 #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

The Governor’s argument for persecuting CAIR builds on the legacy of the sham prosecution of the Holy Land 5, which was based in the North Texas city of Richardson, and conflates support for Palestinians with “terrorist activity.”

Groups in Dallas-Fort Worth showed their firm solidarity with CAIR, the co-coordinator of DFW Anti-War Committee (DAWC), Josh Rudd had this to say, “We as DAWC firmly oppose these racist attacks on CAIR by the Abbott regime. We will always stand in solidarity with our Muslim siblings against Islamophobia. We recognize the way the U.S. weaponizes Islamophobia and other forms of racism to continue ‘forever wars’ against Asian and African communities. We are working to shut down the bomb factory, Repkon, in Garland, Texas, that builds the genocidal weapons of U.S. imperialism.”

Greg Abbot and the Texas GOP have repeatedly tried to use Islamophobic sentiment to rally their base, but they have been repeatedly defeated in their attempts. In Republican controlled Tarrant County, the district attorney sought to send Raunaq Alam and Afsheen Khan to prison for decades for pro-Palestine graffiti. They failed in part due to organizations like the National Lawyers Guild, CAIR and the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), which organized support committees for the targeted individuals.

Other tactics by the state against Muslims include the targeting of the East Plano Islamic Center, which announced plans in March 2024 to build a residential community and mosque in rural Collin County. In that case, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed multiple frivolous lawsuits against the developers and directed state agencies to launch fraudulent investigations into all aspects of the mosque, including directing the Texas Funeral Services Commission to revoke EPIC’s permission to perform burial services.

Texts unearthed in the lawsuit revealed that Kristin Tips, the director of the Texas Funeral Services Commission and an Abbot appointee, was sending anti-Islam media from a pro-Israel media network to her executive director. Notably, these tactics of administrative investigation presaged a similar wave of tactics used by the national Republican party to investigate critics and whistleblowers in the federal workforce, such as the cooperation by the Federal Finance Housing Agency in prosecution of New York Attorney General Letita James.

To date, all of these unjust prosecutions and administrative actions have been defeated in courts. But instead of accepting his losses, Greg Abbot continues with the unjust and likely illegal attacks. In their response to the publicity stunt by the right-wing governor, CAIR touts their record, having defeated Abbot numerous times, including thwarting a 2019 anti-BDS law that led to the firing of a Muslim teacher, his 2024 efforts to ban Palestinian solidarity organizations from campuses, and protecting the rights of individuals with pro-Palestine views to qualify for public employment and contracts.

But the fight is not over. Local organizations, including PYM and the Muslim American Society, have joined the chorus of opposition to Abbot’s anti-Muslim agenda. As Texas continues to serve as a right-wing laboratory for state persecution, all eyes should turn to the organizing that has successfully pushed back this Islamophobic agenda.

#DallasTX #TX #OppressedNationalities #AntiWarMovement #CAIR #ArabAmericans #Palestine #InJusticeSystem #DAWC #PoliticalRepression

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following October 5 statement by LSU Students for a Democratic Society.

On Wednesday, October 1st, LSU Students for a Democratic Society attended the second meeting of the LSU Presidential Search Committee to protest the corrupt and undemocratic presidential search process. Several SDS members gave public comments to voice their concerns and demands to the committee. After going over her allotted time by a mere 10 seconds, Gabriela Juarez was violently dragged out of the building by LSU PD officers Thomas Schiebe and Dayton Landry without warning, resulting in extensive bruising. LSU’s Todd Woodward stated that she was given lawful orders, but this was a lie. She was then arrested and placed in a police car.

Other SDS members demanded her release and stood in front of the police car as they linked arms. Six more protestors were then arrested as well—SDS President Margo Wilson, SDS Vice President Ziad Eissa, SDS Treasurer Carson Wall, and members Scott Sonnier, Enola Guyer, and Ryan Spalt. All seven were taken to the LSU PD station.

While in custody, they overheard officers say, “We've got to figure out what we’re going to charge these kids with,” AFTER they had already been arrested. Some officers were overheard using ChatGPT to understand the charges they were writing on the summons. After multiple hours, all but Juarez were released. Juarez was instead transferred to the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, where she was held until nearly 2 AM the next morning, totaling a detainment of over 13 hours. Juarez was released only after pressure was placed upon the prison through constant phone calls from the students demanding her release. Additionally, Juarez faced relentless transphobia throughout the entire booking process and even after being released, Juarez has been made a target for violent transphobia through online comments and harassment.

All seven members face at least 2 misdemeanor charges, with one having received 3. These charges include simple obstruction of a highway of commerce 14:97, resisting an officer 14:108, and interference with an educational process 14:329.5. No one was charged with disturbing the peace 14:103, despite that being what the officers arresting Juarez stated she was being charged with. This inconsistency of charges is confounding, considering the member who received 3 charges was not sent to prison like Juarez. It is clear Juarez was only booked due to her ethnicity, gender identity, and prior doxxing on the LAGOP facebook.

LSU Board of Supervisors Chairman and Search Committee Chairman Scott Ballard stated he hopes the students arrested aren’t held criminally accountable, but admitted to being the one who requested LSUPD’s presence at the meeting. Trey Jones, LSU’s attorney, admitted in a meeting that search committee members had worked out an agreement with LSUPD prior to the arrests. Trey Jones explained that it was “constitutionally legal” for the search committee to request our removal from the building. LSUPD and the search committee both understood prior to the arrests that all the committee would have to do is give the police the wave, and they would remove us.

Given that there was a plan in place beforehand, these arrests highlight the lengths LSU administrators are willing to go to crush any dissent. Instead of waiting for Juarez to finish her comment, LSU chose to escalate the situation and have her arrested. The fact that this agreement was worked out beforehand tells SDS that our No MAGA President campaign is clearly threatening their agenda.

One LSU administrator even admitted that now we have a “constitutional issue to piggyback off of,” and LSU’s Police Chief said he thought Wednesday’s actions were regrettable. LSU may not understand why their actions were wrong, but it is clear they regret their actions due to the negative publicity. Additionally, it has ultimately brought more attention to the corruption taking place in the process of hiring LSU’s next president. They know the students are not intimidated by them, and SDS has every intention of seeing our 'No MAGA President' campaign through.

SDS demands a public apology from LSU for these unjust arrests, but more importantly, we demand ‘No MAGA President’ and that the DA doesn’t file any charges!

DARE TO STRUGGLE, DARE TO WIN!

#StudentMovement #SDS #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression

The temperature is rising by the day and the air is thick with a dangerous new electricity. The magnified polarization of this country points to the unraveling of a system built on inequality, repression and an empire whose decline is accelerating. Flashpoint events like Kirk’s killing are not isolated incidents, they’re symptoms of a terminal illness.

Figures like Charlie Kirk and his machine, Turning Point USA, were once fringe commentators. But they seeped into mainstream politics during Trump’s first and second terms and have been systematically forging a political atmosphere of reactionary hatred.

The playbook is clear: poison the well of public opinion and debate with the raw sewage of white supremacist conspiracy theories like the “Great Replacement,” dehumanize immigrants as predators, LGBTQ people as “groomers” and resistance as terror and crime. In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, Kirk called him a “scumbag.” He claimed that the millions who flooded the streets after Floyd’s extra-judicial execution had simply “misinterpreted” the situation.

This is the kind of bald-faced reaction Kirk stood for and propagated. It is the deliberate drumming up of moral panic to justify a crackdown.

Political violence comes with this climate – a climate his movement has meticulously cultivated. Now they wield the event of Kirk’s going into that good night as both a national tragedy to be mourned and as a weapon to brand all progressive movements and dissent as terrorism. Declaring states of emergency and deploying National Guard troops in Black cities is another weapon they’ve been wielding. They are going to use this killing as justification for another wave of repression and reaction. We’re going to oppose every attack, and we will be in the streets, with as many people joining us as possible.

But their weakness is our opportunity. A system this desperate and openly corrosive can’t stand. Through the cracks, and the incredible energy of the masses fighting back, we can see a glimpse of a different future.

The call is to build something real. Joining together in a revolutionary group means moving from just being a target of reaction to being architects of our own liberation. We are building a movement that has enough power and enough bounce-back to weather attacks, to tear down the rotting structure of the current system, and to lay down the foundation for what comes next: a society based on justice, equality and real freedom.

The question is not if this system will fall, but what will rise in its place. We’re not going to let them drag us into their dark age. This is a historic moment of crisis and transformation that we have to seize. Now is not the time to hide or slow down. It’s the time to organize, unite and fight for the world we know is possible: socialism.

The future is not something we wait for; it is something we build together starting today. Join FRSO.

#PeoplesStruggles #CharlieKirk #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #FRSO #Statement