Portland, OR – On August 11, a Multnomah County jury found Dr. Catherine Esperanza guilty of the bogus charge of “interfering with a police officer” after the Portland Police Bureau violently arrested her for protesting outside the ICE facility.

Local immigrant rights organization Portland Contra Las Deportaciones waged a campaign to drop the charges and condemned the sham conviction.

After helping build public pressure to fight the charges through an email campaign and confrontations of the district attorney, activists and community supporters held a press conference, August 10, before the trial and attended both days of the proceedings.

Both the arrest and the trial showed Multnomah County and Portland Police’s clear bias against immigrant rights protesters.

Esperanza was arrested after police pushed protesters out of the driveway of the ICE facility using batons during a May Day protest at the facility. Bodycam footage showed they made a targeted arrest of protester Cole Dunahugh, claiming he breached the gate at the facility. This was a complete falsehood and so the charges on Dunahugh were later dropped.

During the arrest, police shoved their way into the crowd and pushed a group of people down, on top of Esperanza. In the bodycam footage she could be heard screaming “I have a broken leg,” and attempting to get the crowd off of her injured leg. Police then flipped her onto her stomach and put a knee on her neck. She can be heard screaming “I can't breathe.” The district attorney painted this attempt as pulling police officers on top of her and forming a “human chain” to prevent arrests.

Judge Celia Howes curbed the defense attorney's ability to question witnesses, sustaining objections by the prosecutor to questions such as “Did police interact with protesters?” for being leading questions. When a witness stated police used batons to push back protesters, the prosecutor played a clipped video that began immediately after the use of batons and asked the witness to answer yes or no as to whether the police used batons in the video. When the witness attempted to say the use of batons was before the video began, judge Howes cut the witness off saying they could only answer in a yes or no format.

Additionally the prosecution continually said Dunahugh breached the gate at the ICE facility and that police were attacked with rocks, despite no evidence to support these claims.

After a two-hour deliberation, the jury delivered a guilty verdict. Supporters were angry, with many stating they see this as a complete miscarriage of justice.

Dr. Esperanza vowed not to allow the verdict to stop her fight for justice and to stop deportations. She released the following statement, “This guilty verdict is not a victory for justice; this case is a desperate attempt by the state to intimidate us into silence.”

The city has continually repressed the fight to revoke the permit to shut down the ICE facility, and this shameful guilty verdict is another example of this repression.

Esperanza’s statement declares, “They think that charging activists and targeting those who stand up for immigrant rights will break our resolve. They are wrong. Instead of chilling us, this blatant misuse of the legal system has galvanized our movement.”

The city continues to allow violations of human rights and the land use permit to occur at the ICE facility. Meanwhile, those who stand up for the human rights of immigrants and those impacted by ICE are persecuted for their work in advocating for dignity, equity, justice and care for all members of the Portland community.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #ICE #PoliticalRepression #InjusticeSystem

North Charleston, SC – On July 30, the Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition held a rally in Park Circle in response to the arrests of the coalition organizers collectively known as the Ladson 3. They demanded the North Charleston Police Department drop what EOSC believes to be trumped-up charges against the protesters. The group is pushing back against the political repression faced by activists in the Charleston area.

Haley Sabados was the sole member of the Ladson 3 who was held overnight at the Charleston County Detention Center. She described the arrests as part of a pattern of “rogue and egregious” behavior on the part of North Charleston Police Department (NCPD), whose officers are hired by the Israeli-owned weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems, to work security in front of the Ladson, South Carolina facility. The facility has been in operation since 2023; EOSC formed in 2024 and has been picketing in front of the business every week since. Since they started picketing, NCPD has arrested five of their members.

“I am not intimidated, because protesting is not a crime,” Sabados said. “Protesting my city's direct involvement in weapons manufacturing, with my tax dollars, used in genocide is not a crime. Elbit out of South Carolina and Free Palestine!”

Last year Palestine solidarity activist Matthew Colburn was arrested on the picket line on misdemeanor charges, which the coalition took to trial and won a not guilty verdict, due to a lack of evidence.

Regarding the arrest of the Ladson 3, Colburn said NCPD chose to press charges they know won’t hold up in court. “This is NCPD deciding to escalate, and it might be a misdemeanor, but that doesn’t matter, because a weekend in jail is enough to [mess] a working-class person’s life up.” He went on to describe how these charges are a waste of city and county resources.

“Eblit is subsidized by the tax dollar. They use tax dollars to pay NCPD who’s double dipping, who also get paid by your tax dollar on their regular wages,” he said, “Then they come off duty and get your other tax dollars from Elbit and then they waste those tax dollars taking people to court knowing those charges won’t stick to intimidate us.”

It was disclosed by a member of NCPD under oath at Matt Colburn's 2025 trial that NCPD officers were being paid $60 per hour to work security at Elbit. Organizers have since called out what they believe to be a conflict of interest.

Organizers with the EOSC chose the Circle Park Pavilion in North Charleston as the location for the rally instead of the Elbit facility, because one of the Ladson 3 is facing trespassing charges. Before the rally began, a park employee attempted to halt the event and insisted a permit was required, despite also admitting the park was public property. She threatened to call NCPD on the demonstrators, but organizers were not deterred. They proceeded with the rally, which ended with a march around the pavilion.

They chanted “Justice for the Ladson 3! Palestine will be free!” as passing cars honked in solidarity and families from the adjacent playground joined in the march. They finished the event by asking the crowd to pack the courthouse for the Ladson 3 later in August.

#NorthCharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #Elbit #EOSC

On July 1st, Nadia Topete was given a subpoena to a grand jury that ordered her to speak on July 8th. Grand Jurys are kangaroo courts meant to bring down the hammer, evidenced by their 90% indictment rate. Law enforcement is not neutral when it comes to activists, like we’ve seen with Mahmoud Khalil and Alejandro Oreana. Law enforcement attacks activists to repress those fighting for a better world. We demand: Hands Off Nadia!

Nadia Topete, a member of Centro CSO, is an immigrant rights activist in Los Angeles. Centro CSO organizes self defense against racist and illegal ICE raids, that makes them heroes. Los Angeles is a city the Donald Trump administration attacked by mobilizing federal troops, even sending marines. This is because of the bravery and amazing work the people of Los Angeles have done in defending their immigrant neighbors. They tried going after Alejandro Oreana with federal charges after an FBI raid and WE BEAT THEM BACK!

SDS has been organizing sanctuary campus campaigns all over the country because we also understand the need to oppose the attacks on immigrants from Trump and his goons. We are standing with Nadia because we understand that this is an attack on the immigrant rights and people’s movement as a whole.

Hands Off Nadia!

#ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #NadiaTopete #SDS #StudentMovement #CentroCSO #CSFR

The Utah Anti-War Committee stands in solidarity with immigrant rights activist Nadia Topete. On July 1st, law enforcement came to the door of Nadia Topete, delivering her a second subpoena to testify in front of a grand jury due to her involvement in the 2025 protests against the occupation of Los Angeles by ICE and other federal police agencies working for Trump.

On July 8th, Nadia invoked her 5th Amendment right and refused to testify against fellow activists. We applaud her courage in doing so, and we recognize that Nadia has done nothing wrong by simply protesting.

#UT #ImmigrantRights #NadiaTopete #PoliticalRepression

On July 1, law enforcement came to the home of a Los Angeles immigrants’ rights activist and Centro CSO member, Nadia Topete, to deliver a second subpoena ordering her to speak in front of a grand jury on July 8. Topete had been first subpoenaed to testify in June. Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) condemns this second subpoena of Topete and will fight against any attempt to jail her.

We now know that this grand jury is related to the anti-ICE activism in Los Angeles that took place last summer. We also have every reason to believe that this is an attempt to re-examine the case of Alejandro Orellana, another immigrants’ rights activist who participated in the anti-ICE protests last year. Orellana was charged with conspiracy to commit civil unrest. The bogus charges were later dropped.

Nothing good comes from speaking in front of a grand jury. Grand juries, nine times out of ten, result in indictments, and they are frequently used against activists. Not testifying against one’s fellow activists can mean jail time. Those who refuse to testify in front of grand juries are heroes. We should learn from their example and exercise that kind of courage in order to protect our movements from harm.

Women Against Military Madness members Sarah Martin and Meredith Aby resisted grand jury subpoenas in 2010 as a part of the “Justice” Department’s investigation into the anti-war and international solidarity movements. Martin was re-subpoenaed in an effort to pressure her to speak. She refused and in the end none of the Anti War 23 went to jail. Our movement had this victory because people around the country stood up for our people. We understand the importance of doing this again.

WAMM also understands that the targeting of activists in LA is a part of a broader effort to criminalize anti-ICE activism nationally. We also stand with the MN 15 who were indicted on “conspiracy to impede federal officers.” People across MN, including WAMM members, stood with our immigrant siblings to demand ICE leave MN last winter and protesting political repression of our immigrant siblings is NOT a crime.

Neither Topete nor Orellana did anything wrong by protesting against the ICE occupation of Los Angeles. Nor did Topete do anything wrong by not speaking about her activism in front of the grand jury. We ask all fair-minded people to stand with Nadia Topete. She has only ever done the right thing, which is to stand by the Chicano people and the people of Aztlán. We call upon our supporters to dial into the office of Assistant US Attorney Michael Wheat and demand, Hands Off Nadia Topete!

#MinneapolisMN #MN #WAMM #ImmigrantRights #AntiWarMovement #NadiaTopete #PoliticalRepression

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns the unjust arrest and the U.S. Department of Justice’s extradition attempt of Fergie Chambers, a progressive philanthropist and steadfast supporter of the Palestinian cause. He was dragged away from his family in Spain on dubious charges ranging from money laundering to material support for terrorism. If extradited to the U.S., he could be facing decades in prison.

Chambers is a son of billionaires who made the legitimate choice long ago to direct his funds towards progress, from free medical clinics to legal defense for activists facing repression. Now, the Trump DOJ is fabricating a narrative of terrorist financing. They want to create an upside-down world and twist the legal system so that humanitarian aid and solidarity land you behind bars, but the architects of the ongoing genocide in Gaza walk free. Ultimately, they want to use every avenue to squash and punish the tidal wave of support for the cause of Palestinian liberation that has stretched to every corner of the globe.

We are in a period of intensifying repression, and the imperialists are constantly in search of new ways to crush resistance and silence opposition. And that means that people like Chambers who use their resources to amplify the voices that call for freedom and liberation become targets, too. All those who oppose the Trump administration’s crackdown on our movements and the erosion of democratic rights need to stand against this. Solidarity is not a crime!

#PoliticalRepression #InjusticeSystem #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #PeoplesStruggles

Santa Ana, CA – On July 8, over 50 Chicanos rallied outside a federal courthouse in support of Nadia Topete, a Chicana immigrant rights activist with Centro CSO who was inside with a grand jury. Just days before, on July 1, federal agents showed up to Nadia's home with another grand jury subpoena, threatening that, if she did not appear, she could be held in contempt.

Nadia Topete walked out the federal courthouse with her head up high and stated she had exercised her Fifth Amendment right. She was greeted by chants of “Hands off Nadia Topete,” “Chinga la migra” and “DOJ hands off Nadia!” that were loud enough to be heard inside the federal building.

“Protesting ICE is not a crime!” said Verita Topete, Nadia’s sister and fellow Chicana organizer. “Our communities are stronger than Trump and the DOJ’s ruling class interests. The targeting of Nadia is a pattern of political repression from the federal government.”

Jasia Topete, older sister of both Nadia and Verita, stated, “Today was a very moving gesture of unity and support for my baby sister, Nadia. Seeing the tremendous support she has gained on a national level through the calls to action online by different organizations was very heartening to see. Witnessing how many people took the time to come out and show her love was very heart warming and reassuring to our family. We know she did nothing wrong. Amplifying the voices of our people is not a crime. She will continue to hold her head high like the confident resilient that she is. Nadia, we love you, Thank you so much to everyone that is rooting for Nadia!”

Mick Kelly of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression told the crowd, “I would like to salute Nadia, a woman of uncommon courage who is standing up for all of us. This will certainly not end here. We will stand with Nadia every inch of the way.”

Emiliano Martin Del Campo, member of Centro CSO, stated, “I see this attack from the DOJ and the Trump administration as not only a direct attack on our sister Nadia but a direct blow to all of us fighting against this administration. An attack on one is an attack on all!”

Speakers from Centro CSO, CSO OC, CLUE, ILPS, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Legalization for All spoke in defense of Topete, condemning the political repression of Immigrant Rights activists.

It is unclear what is next, but if the DOJ witch hunt continues, Centro CSO and their allies will be ready to defend their own, Nadia Topete, a daughter of Aztlan.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #GrandJury #PoliticalRepression #ImmigrantRights #CentroCSO #NadiaTopete #CSFR #Featured

The MORE Caucus stands in absolute solidarity with Nadia Topete, an immigrant’s rights activist who has been subpoenaed a second time to a grand jury for her role protesting ICE. We know grand juries are used by the DOJ and Trump as a weapon to target activists for speaking out.

Protesting and organizing against ICE terror is not a crime. Last year, the UFT’s delegate assembly adopted an organizing resolution that supports both the rights of immigrant students as well as anti-ICE activists and unionists in the face of bogus charges from the corrupt Trump government. We know very well that these blatant attacks will not stop at activists and will attempt to put a muzzle on the brave people’s resistance to ICE, and as progressive educators we cannot allow that to happen. Hands off Nadia Topete!

#InJusticeSystem #ImmigrantRights #NadiaTopete #PoliticalRepression #MORE #UFT