Appleton, WI – On Saturday, September 23, students, faculty, and other members of the Fox Valley community gathered at Lawrence University’s Warch Cinema in defense of the Tampa 5. In their second stop on their national tour, Lauren Pineiro and Chrisley Carpio of the Tampa 5 spoke to the LU community. Opening with chants of ‘drop the charges now!’ and ‘fight back!’, the Tampa 5 representatives spoke in detail of their case and its repercussions to the group of 35 people. For some, it was their first time hearing of the infuriating case, where the five protesters are facing five to ten years in prison on false charges.

Milwaukee, WI – More than 30 activists, organizers and supporters gathered at ZAO Church in Milwaukee on the evening of September 25 to listen to the Tampa 5's Chrisley Carpio and Lauren Pineiro talk about the situation in Florida and what led to their current struggle.

Minneapolis, MN – “All of us were brutalized. I saw my friends kicked, punched, pushed into walls, put in chokeholds,” said Lauren Pineiro to a 100-person crowd that nearly filled the University of Minnesota lecture hall. “The chief of police even groped a student.”

Fight Back! is circulating this statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

The Tampa 5 – Gia Davila, Lauren Pineiro, Laura Rodriguez, Jeanie K, and Chrisley Carpio – are the five Students for a Democratic Society protesters at the University of South Florida who were attacked by campus police and are now facing five to ten years in prison for protesting Governor Ron DeSantis' attacks on diversity programs and all of higher education.

Milwaukee, WI – On Thursday, September 14, UW-Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and supporting community organizations rallied together to demand justice for Déjah Welsh. Welsh is a Black former student who attended UWM in 2013. Like many students, she was struggling with mental health issues, and while having a mental health crisis, UWM police officers attacked her and nearly suffocated her to death. They only stopped when she said, “I don’t want to end up like Derek Williams.” Williams was suffocated to death in the back of a Milwaukee police squad car in 2011. Once they stopped, they put her in a mental health facility.

Austin, TX – On Tuesday afternoon, September 19, a group of students gathered on Speedway and 21st Street at the University of Texas at Austin to rally in defense of campus diversity programs. Since the signing of Texas Senate Bill 17 in June, diversity, equity, and inclusion offices have been banned at public universities, and the UT administration has still not taken any action to protect diversity programs on campus.

Jacksonville, FL – Over a dozen community members and students organized by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) and University of North Florida SDS gathered as part of an emergency National Day of Action to demand Justice for the Tampa 5. Rallying on August 9 during rush hour traffic of busy State Street in downtown Jax, the protesters withstood record heat to raise the banner and chants, demanding “Drop the charges.”

Milwaukee, WI – On July 19, a dozen activists gathered in front of the Sunburst Statue for a rally demonstrating solidarity and demanding justice for the Tampa 5. Protesters demanded charges be dropped against the Tampa 5, with calls to action to sign the petition and donate to their legal fund.

Denver, CO – On July 12, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Denver was joined at the Union Station by members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Black Student Alliance of MSU Denver, and other members of the community. They staged a speak-out demanding that the politically-motivated charges against the Tampa 5 be dropped.

San Jose, CA – On June 26, around 35 people gathered at Willow Street Frank Bramhall Park in San Jose to honor political prisoner and American Indian Movement leader Leonard Peltier. The event was organized by Leonard Peltier Support Group Silicon Valley and Indian Health Center Silicon Valley on the 48th anniversary of the historic shootout at Oglala on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The rally was emceed by Donna Wallach, chair of Leonard Peltier Support Group Silicon Valley and longtime community organizer.

Minneapolis, MN – Jon Melrod’s newly-published memoir, Fighting Times, is more than just a remembrance. It details his time as a revolutionary helping to build the fighting people’s movements – from the student movement of the 1960s in SDS and being part of the Revolutionary Union, to the solidarity struggle with the Menominee Warrior Society occupation in 1975, to building a fighting UAW local at an American Motors plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin – and the lessons learned from each fight. It is a book that class-struggle union militants, student organizers and activists from all the people’s movements alike would do well to read.

![Denver SDS rallies outside Tivoli Commons on Auraria Campus to demand the end](https://i.snap.as/JauUOYOO.jpg “Denver SDS rallies outside Tivoli Commons on Auraria Campus to demand the end Denver SDS rallies outside Tivoli Commons on Auraria Campus to demand the end of ACPD’s participation in the Pentagon 1033 Program.

(Fight Back! News/Staff)”)

Denver, CO – On February 10, students gathered outside Tivoli Commons on Auraria Campus to demand the disarmament of Auraria Campus Police Department (ACPD) and the end to their involvement in the Pentagon 1033 Program. Denver Students for a Democratic Society began their “Defund, Disarm, Demilitarize” campaign, joining many student and community organizations around the country in the struggle against police injustice.

Minneapolis, MN – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Black Student Union held a protest on the University of Minnesota campus, April 17, to demand justice for Daunte Wright, to call for community control of the campus police (UMPD), and to speak out against the recent deployment of the UMPD to brutalize protesters in Brooklyn Center. About 1000 students were in attendance, marking the largest on-campus demonstration in recent history. Speakers included students and community members who have experienced brutality at the hands of the National Guard this week while out in the streets demanding justice for Daunte Wright.

Tallahassee, FL – Florida State University’s (FSU) Presidential Task Force on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion recently released their recommendation to permanently remove the Eppes statue and change the names of Eppes Hall and B. K. Roberts Hall. On January 27, FSU President John Thrasher approved the task force recommendation. This decision comes after years of campaigning and struggle from FSU’s campus chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

Tampa, FL – On October 9, student and youth activists held a webinar to launch a national campaign to fight for police accountability, on and off campus, under the headline, “Students and Youth Demand Police Accountability.” The main organizations represented were New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), AnakBayan USA, and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Tampa, FL – On May 14, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a car protest at the University of South Florida (USF) to demand COVID-19 relief funds for undocumented students. USF has offered no financial help for undocumented students during the pandemic and the only COVID-19 aid for students is the CARES Act Fund, for which DACA and undocumented students are ineligible.

Minneapolis, MN – On April 30, 1970, President Richard Nixon, elected on promises to end the war in Vietnam, instead announced U.S. ground troops would invade neighboring Cambodia to prevent another Tet Offensive.

Tampa, FL – On January 4, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a protest against U.S. military intervention in the Middle East. The event was in response to recent aggression from the Trump administration against Iran following the assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani. “Shortly after we heard the news, we decided that it was important for us to organize a demonstration against a new war as quickly as possible,” said Matthew Wheat of Tampa Bay SDS.

Aurora, CO – Immigrant rights groups from the greater Denver area came together on September 19 to confront Johnny Choate, the warden of Aurora’s notorious ICE detention facility, at his Aurora home.