Minneapolis, MN – On the morning of December 20, after weeks of continued pressure, activists occupied Senator Klobuchar's office with the goal of meeting with the senator directly to demand she introduce the American Dream and Promise Act in the Senate. The mobilization came less than two weeks after a militant street protest in front of Klobuchar's office that ended with a promise to “be back.”

The action began with members and supporters of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) entering the building that houses Klobuchar’s office demanding to meet with the senator’s staff. The senator's top local aides led participants to an office conference room for a formal meeting. Activists called once more for Klobuchar to introduce the American Dream and Promise Act, which passed the House 21 months ago and must be introduced in her Senate committee. The bill would permanently legalize over 3 million Dreamers and TPS recipients who currently have no other pathway to citizenship – and who are on the verge of losing their status at the hands of the Supreme Court.

Activists expressed anger and frustration over the senator's inaction for immigrant rights during such a crucial time. They demanded to meet with Klobuchar directly, and stated they would not leave the office until Klobuchar herself spoke with them, staging a sit-in.

During this time, other members and supporters began to arrive and were forcefully pushed from the door of the building by building staff and were denied entry. They were told that Klobuchar’s office instructed them to not allow anyone inside. Even a member of the press was initially kept out, finally negotiating his way in.

When it was clear to the senator's aides that the activists would not leave, they got Klobuchar to agree to speak directly with two MIRAC representatives. On a conference call from D.C., activists explained their demand directly to Klobuchar – introduce the American Dream and Promise Act immediately so it can be voted on in the Senate. Klobuchar verbally agreed to immediately bring this demand to Senators Schumer and Durbin to begin to take real action.

The sit-in concluded with a message from members on the ground to their supporters via social media livestream that their demand had been met – that Klobuchar herself spoke with them and agreed to take real steps to introduce the bill. MIRAC ended the mobilization for the day, but reminded supporters that we must continue the pressure and keep contacting Klobuchar and all our senators because the fight to defend DACA is not over. We must continue the fight for legalization for all now!

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #DACA #MinnesotaImmigrantRightsActionCommitteeMIRAC

Minneapolis, MN – Over 50 immigrant rights protesters held a ‘noise demo’ June 8 outside of Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office to demand she take action to protect those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) status.

The action was organized by the Minnesota Immigrants Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) to demand that the U.S. Senate pass the American Dream and Promise Act, a bill which would permanently legalize people with DACA, TPS, and DED.

The bill passed in the U.S. House in March and is currently sitting in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety. It will need to pass both the subcommittee, and then the committee, before going on to the full Senate for a vote. Senator Klobuchar sits on both committees.

The protesters held signs reading, “Honk for DACA and TPS,” and “Amy Klobuchar, act on DACA.” People cheered, blew noisemakers, and chanted “Pass the bill,” as many cars and buses honked in support.

The event’s main speaker described her experience as a TPS recipient and demanded legalization for all, asserting that no one should need to be traumatized to be granted U.S. citizenship. After the protest, signs were left outside the building. Passing cars continued to honk in response to the signs, even after the protesters dispersed.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #DACA #TPS

Minneapolis, MN – On May 13, the Climate Justice Committee organized an event which brought together local activist groups in front of the offices of Senator Amy Klobuchar to examine the actions taken on environmental policy by the Biden administration during its first 100 days in office.

Climate Justice Committee (CJC) speaker Tracy Molm explained how when Biden took office in January, the CJC held his campaign accountable for the promise of doing more on climate, demanded a People's Agenda, and a reversal of Trump's many disastrous executive orders on climate change – picking 11 of the worst for Biden to overturn t during his first 100 days in office. Of these 11, Biden has only reversed one: rejoining the Paris Agreement. Other measures which could have been changed with a simple signature on day one, like going back to pre-Trump era emissions standards, were flatly ignored. A big point of disagreement, respecting treaty rights and ending fossil fuel pipelines was minimally addressed with the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, while larger pipeline endeavors such as DAPL and Line 3 continue to trespass and trample on indigenous sovereign land while still severely contaminating our environment.

The grave impact of these dirty pipelines was further emphasized by the testimony of Water Protector Betsy Foy, who told of her experience being arrested twice for her resistance to pipeline construction. Foy spoke of the disturbing legal process arrestees were put through and the inhumane treatment inflicted upon them by the police – one example described officers placing protesters ‘in isolation’ using blindfolds, headphones and sacks over their heads to cut them off of their surroundings.

“Indigenous treaties across what is now known as the United States do not endow rights to Native Americans,” reminded Robert Hendrickson, reading a statement from a MN350 Pipeline resistance team member, “They provide rights to non-Indigenous people to live upon these lands. Mni-sota is built-up over the territory of the Anishinaabe and Dakota people, who are the custodians of these lands, past and present.”

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, speaking for the MN Anti-War Committee, listed further instances of the Biden administration’s failure to address a people's agenda. She pointed to his silence on Israel's most recent desecration of a Muslim holy site, the horrific and continuous bombing of Gaza, the evictions of Jerusalem residents in Sheikh Jarrah and the systematic violation of Palestinian human and civil rights, the “plan to privatize the occupation of Afghanistan,” with performative theatrics of bringing our soldiers home while leaving the bulk of occupation in the form of U.S. Special Forces, mercenaries, intelligence operatives and 18,000 Pentagon contractors “all planning to stay,” the continuation of Trump’s anti-immigrant policies, with ICE, last week, detaining about 15,000 immigrants, including more than 1500 parents and children at the family holding facilities; all pointed to the fact that Biden is not substantially changing Trump's policies. “The only change is in the rhetoric,” Aby-Keirstead declared.

So for this, the action of the Biden administration Aby-Keirstead graded with Needs Improvement. “And since I am a teacher,” Aby-Keirstead concluded, “that's official.”

“What we need to force change is a fighting movement,” said Tracy Molm. “While politicians are happy to talk about all of us making choices to be more green – reduce waste by recycling, and all – our personal choices are minor compared to the impact of the U.S. military. So we need to be outraged and demand cuts to the U.S. military, demand that the U.S. military account for their role in climate change. To do this we need all of you to join us, like today, out at events. And we need to continue to connect issues like climate change to attacks on our Black and brown siblings and attacks on immigrants. We need to demand justice and a People’s Agenda.”

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #EnvironmentalJustice #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #ClimateJusticeCommittee

Minneapolis, MN – On March 15, 30 protesters gathered in front of Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Minneapolis office to condemn her support for the Trump administration policy of regime change in Venezuela and support of U.S. aid to Israel. Since Klobuchar has kicked off her presidential campaign, the Twin Cities anti-war movement has responded by holding multiple protests, including a picket at her presidential announcement at Boom Island, to draw attention to the senator’s long record of voting for military aid and U.S. intervention.

Responding to the savage and racist mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, Misty Rowan of the MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) opened the protest with, “The reactions of Klobuchar and other politicians to the recent tweets and comments by Ilhan Omar about AIPAC demonstrate the dangers of seeing one form of discrimination but not another.” She continued, “I've just been informed that a fellow committee member called Klobuchar's office this morning to ask if she has made any statement about the Christchurch attacks. The office person said, basically, no comment. So while she felt it was important to put out a statement against her fellow lawmaker, this [Christchurch] happens and she chooses to stay silent.”

Christine Hauschildt, also a member of the AWC, addressed the crowd on the senator’s hawkish stance on Venezuela, “We are concerned with the overwhelming negative impact that the U.S. intervention has had on the safety and security of the Venezuelan people. Senator Amy Klobuchar does not share that concern.” Instead, “Senator Klobuchar supports the destabilizing a foreign, elected leader through U.S. intervention.” This intervention includes the brutal sanctions imposed on Venezuela, disguising weapon shipments to the right-wing Venezuelan coup forces as ‘humanitarian’ aid, and the sabotage that affected the Venezuelan national electrical grid.

Brad Sigal from Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) spoke about the primary focus of MIRAC being the fight for legalization and full equality for immigrants, while also opposing U.S. interventions across the world. Sigal explained, “we also stand with anti-war efforts to put an end to U.S. government policies that provoke forced migration. And that means ending U.S. intervention in other countries. So many people come here from Mexico, Central America, East Africa and Southeast Asia because they are displaced by U.S. intervention in their countries. We stand with the anti-war movement because today's war creates tomorrow's migrants and refugees.”

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, a member of the Anti-War committee, was the last speaker at the protest. She contrasted the courageous stands by Representative Ilhan Omar with the terrible positions that Senator Klobuchar has taken during her run for president. Minnesota’s 5th district Representative Ilhan Omar dared speak truth to power about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and exposed the injustice of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Senator Klobuchar is the only Democratic presidential candidate to vote to penalize the BDS – the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement; she is the candidate seeking to be recognized as most friendly with AIPAC, and joined in the racist attacks against Representative Ilhan Omar.

Aby-Keirstead continued by noting that Klobuchar’s support for Israeli human rights abuses is not new. From 2006 until the present, as thousands of Palestinians have been killed and wounded by Israeli aggressions, Klobuchar has been silent. To underscore this indifference she explained, “In 2008 I was at a constituent meeting with Senator Klobuchar where she heard testimony from our local Palestinian community about how Operation Cast Lead was affecting their families in Palestine. They showed her pictures of dead children and told her horror stories, but she was shockingly unmoved despite the heartache of her constituents.”

The protest was organized by the MN Anti-War Committee and endorsed by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) UMN and Women Against Military Madness.

The next Twin Cities protest concerning U.S. intervention in Venezuela will be on March 30 at 1:30 p.m. at the intersection of Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #SenatorAmyKlobuchar

Minneapolis, MN – A contingent of demonstrators braved the cold and dense snowfall, February 10, establishing an anti-war presence at Boom Island Park, where Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar announced her 2020 presidential bid.

Klobuchar has a long history of voting with Republicans on the issues of foreign intervention and militarism, to include voting “Yea” on bills that imposed economic sanctions on Syria and Iran, added $61 billion to the defense budget, extended the expiration date of the PATRIOT Act, and authorized President Trump to transfer precision guided munitions to the Israeli apartheid regime. She also has expressed, in interviews leading up to the government shutdown, her willingness to capitulate to the Trump administration's demand for funding for the proposed inhumane wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

This record led members of Women Against Military Madness, Veterans for Peace, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, and the Anti-War Committee to make their voices heard at Senator Klobuchar's rally. The contingent utilized the opportunity to bring attention to the tendency of mainstream politicians, including Klobuchar, to advocate for sanctions, intervention and regime change in the sovereign state of Venezuela, with signs that illustrated the U.S. moves to install brutal dictators in Latin American countries.

The activists prioritized engaging with and educating passers-by at the event, expressing their concerns about the U.S.'s aggressive foreign policy towards the Middle East and Latin America. “U.S.-backed regime change has never improved the livelihoods of the people living in its victim nations,” said Cullom McCormick of the Anti-War Committee. “The U.S. backing of bloodthirsty dictators such as the Shah of Iran, Pinochet in Chile, and Armas in Guatemala are just a few examples that illustrate the disastrous results of this type of intervention.”

As the 2020 presidential election cycle begins to ramp up, it is as important as ever to understand the fact that the Republicans are not the only political party in the U.S. that advocates for militarism and intervention in the affairs of other sovereign states. Senator Klobuchar is in lockstep with the current Republican majority in these matters and will likely continue the legacy of pro-war Democrats.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #SenatorAmyKlobuchar

Building on a successful rally at the Federal Building and march through downtown Minneapolis on November 30, and a well-attended educational forum on December 16, organizers are planning on a strong turnout to send a strong message to Senator Klobuchar: Minnesotans believe that a border wall is a cruel, unnecessary waste of money. Protesters will demand that asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants be welcomed, not face imprisonment and death at the U.S. border.

“Klobuchar insists that border funding ‘isn’t just the wall.’ Actually, she’s right! It isn’t just the wall. It’s also funding for ICE’s brutality, funding for keeping migrant children in detention until they die, and funding for militarizing our border in response to a humanitarian crisis our government caused,” according to CJ McCormick, a member of the Anti-War Committee. “Klobuchar thinks portraying herself as open to compromise is her best bet for the presidency. Let’s tell Klobuchar that a deal with Trump is a deal that destroys families. A deal with ICE is a deal that ends lives! A deal for the wall is harmful to us all!”

William Martinez, a Salvadoran activist from MIRAc (MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee) concurs. “The struggle for immigrant rights cannot be fought without a clear understanding of the roots of migration. U.S. war and economic policy destroys lives and homes around the world. Within our borders, immigrants have the right to demand equality from the U.S. government. We stand with our migrant sisters and brothers reaching the border and with our immigrant sisters and brothers already here in the U.S. to say: No wall! Legalization for all!”

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #Minnesota #Antiracism #Trump

Minneapolis, MN – On Feb. 28, students from multiple Minneapolis middle and high schools walked out of classes to demand a clean Dream Act. More than 75 students rallied briefly at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park before travelling to the University of Minnesota campus and marching to the office of Senator Amy Klobuchar. Once they arrived at Klobuchar’s office, students stormed into the building and refused to leave until the senator agreed to meet with them.

While a delegation of the students met with one of Senator Klobuchar’s aides, the rest of the students continued to hold a sit-in in the building’s lobby. It was only after the senator agreed to schedule a meeting that students left, promising to return if Klobuchar fails to get a meeting on the books by the deadline of March 2. As they filed out of the office building, students chanted “We believe that we will win!” and “We’ll be back!”

The students are demanding that Senator Klobuchar support a clean Dream Act, one that doesn’t tie the legalization of some immigrants to the criminalization and deportation of others by imposing things like increased border militarization or an increase in policing of immigrant communities. Congress and the Trump administration have said that they won’t do one without the other.

The students who walked out on Wed. joined a growing number of students and youth around the country who are demanding that Congress take action for a clean Dream Act. There are around 800,000 immigrant youth who currently have DACA, all of whom are in jeopardy of losing legal status with Trump’s order to end the program. While rulings by two federal district courts have forced the Trump administration to continue the program while legal challenges continue, this is only a temporary reprieve. Young immigrants are demanding permanent protection.

Students focused their protest on Senator Klobuchar because earlier this year, just two days into the government shutdown, she played a key role pulling together a ‘moderate’ caucus that voted to end the shutdown by giving their votes for a budget, without winning anything concrete for immigrant youth. All they got was a promise from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell that he’d let immigration be discussed in the Senate. And as could be predicted, the Senate then discussed immigration but didn’t pass any bills. The fate of 800,000 young immigrants that will be at risk of deportation with the end of DACA was left twisting in the wind.

At Klobuchar’s office on Wednesday, students, some of whom are DACA recipients themselves, stood up and refused to allow the senator abandon earlier promises to take action on immigration. At the same time, they made it clear that they aren’t going to accept any legislation that sells out other immigrants or further criminalizes immigrant communities. If Klobuchar refuses to schedule an appointment to meet with the students by March 2, they have promised to return to her office.

The protest was organized by members of the Interracial Student Movement (ISM) and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), who were joined by members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Navigate.

#MinneapolisMN #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #CleanDREAMAct

Minneapolis, MN – On Feb. 22, the snow fell as Minnesotans stood outside the offices of Senator Klobuchar to oppose the U.S. war threats against Korea. A statement from protest organizers, the Anti-War Committee, said, “Korea has a right to self-determination. The Trump regime needs to stand down, end U.S. war preparations on the Korean peninsula and not add the deaths of millions of Koreans to the administration’s already bloody tally.”

The world has been focused on the Korean peninsula this month for the Olympic Games. North and south Korea are struggling to honor the tradition of the Olympics as a time of truce by taking steps towards reconciliation through a unified Olympics team and flag, and towards a thawing of hostilities. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to do everything it can to block potential peace by maintaining and expanding threats of war against north Korea.

Rhea Smykalski, speaking for the MN Anti-War Committee, addressed the crowd first, “It may be cold outside, but we’re bringing the heat to Amy Klobuchar. In the last few months, Trump has been ramping up the attacks on Korea. Throughout his presidency, he has proven over and over that he knows nothing about diplomacy, and his impetuous behavior is about to cause a nuclear war.”

Smykalski continued, “Recently, bombers that can carry nuclear weapons are now positioned in Guam only 2200 miles away, several ships that carry advanced attack planes are headed to the region, and Japan is preparing to evacuate its citizens from north Korea. Our ‘shithole’ president is trying to take credit for the peace talks while carrying out endless dangerous and aggressive military maneuvers that are provoking nuclear war. We need to act now to oppose the U.S. government and its senseless threats of war against north Korea. Korea has a right to self-determination. We need to demand the U.S. stop threatening millions of Koreans with obliteration. It is our duty as U.S. citizens to put pressure on him and Congress to stop impeding peace efforts in the region, and to do everything we can to stop Trump from starting a world war!”

Sarah Martin, from Women Against Military Madness, also spoke. She said, “It’s important to be here today to call for ‘Hands off Korea!’ We’ve breathed a little easier over past two weeks during this Olympic break when the Trump administration was forced to back off. Imagine the relief the Koreans have felt who have been in the cross hairs of the U.S. war machine for decades.”

Martin concluded, “Almost 70 years ago, we entered into a war with north Korea that has never ended. At the time, only a handful of Americans raised their voices in opposition. We will not be silent this time. It is so important we are here once again in front of Senator Klobuchar’s office to say ‘End the sanctions,’ ‘Stop the military exercises’, ‘No more demonization,’ and ‘Hands off Korea!’ The stakes are catastrophically high.”

The protest follows up on call-in day to the senator earlier in February. Senator Klobuchar was unwilling to meet with the Anti-War Committee on Feb. 22 and the committee plans to continue to pressure their senators to play a role in opposing U.S. war threats on Korea.

The MN Peace Action Coalition has initiated a call for a march on April 15 with the slogan of “No U.S. War on North Korea”. The protest will start at 1:30 p.m. at Hennepin and Lagoon Avenues in Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #DemocraticPeoplesRepublicOfKorea

Minneapolis, MN – On the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, a group of activists from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) brought day-late gift-wrapped ‘presents’ and a Christmas tree to the Minneapolis office of Senator Amy Klobuchar emblazoned with messages of “Clean Dream Act now,” “Keep families together” and “No more deportations.”

The activists arrived at Senator Klobuchar’s office with the tree and gift-wrapped signs to express the fact that every day that Congress fails to pass a Clean Dream Act is a day too late. President Trump announced the end of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) in September without anything to replace it. DACA has been shielding over 800,000 immigrant youth from deportation. Every day, DACA status expires for around 122 more immigrant youth, exposing them to immediate threat of deportation by the Trump administration.

When the MIRAC delegation arrived at Senator Klobuchar’s office, they had a meeting with Senator Klobuchar’s state director, Ben Hill. He led off by saying that Senator Klobuchar agrees with the need for a legislative fix for DACA recipients. Hill also said that one of the reasons Klobuchar voted against the continuing resolution to fund Congress’s budget last week was because it didn’t include a solution for immigrant youth who are losing their DACA status. Votes on the budget are one of the few pressure points the Democrats have in the Republican-controlled Congress, since some Democratic votes are required to pass it. Despite many Democrats voting against it, the Senate Democratic leadership supported and helped to pass the continuing resolution, temporarily funding the government again until Jan. 19, setting the stage for another showdown.

The delegation of MIRAC members at Senator Klobuchar’s office included a high school student who is a DACA recipient, along with several other immigrants and supporters. The DACA recipient, a 16-year-old Minneapolis high school student, starkly expressed the urgency of the situation, saying “my days are numbered” and expressing that she is not the only one – there are thousands more in her situation in Minnesota. She demanded immediate action to protect immigrant youth.

The members of the MIRAC delegation said that they expect Minnesota’s senators and representatives to not just vote the right way, but to take the next step and “stick their necks out” by actively working to convince the leadership of their party to make a stand for immigrant youth and refuse to vote for another budget before the upcoming Jan. 19 budget deadline unless there is a Clean Dream Act, even if that means a government shutdown. They said the rallying cry should be “No Clean Dream Act, no budget.”

Members of the group also emphasized the importance of a “Clean” Dream Act, which means that the legalization of young immigrants must not be paired with repression and deportations of other immigrants, such as increased border militarization and increased raids on immigrants in their communities and workplaces. They spoke about how it doesn’t make sense to try to legalize some young immigrants while targeting their parents and community members for deportation. News reports say some Democratic congressional leaders are negotiating with Republicans for this type of repressive legislation.

The activists said they will keep the pressure on Senator Klobuchar and all Minnesota congress members to help lead the way to pass a Clean Dream Act before the next congressional budget deadline Jan. 19.

#MinneapolisMN #MIRAc #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #CleanDREAMAct

Minneapolis, MN – Planned to coincide with a call for nationally coordinated local actions, Nov. 6 – 11, against the growing danger of a U.S. war on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Twin Cities area peace groups will hold an anti-war protest in front of the Minneapolis office of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.

The protest will be held Thursday, Nov. 9 from 4:30 – 5:30 pm at 1200 Washington Avenue South in Minneapolis.

The call for the national week of actions, which is supported by a broad range of organizations, has been initiated by the National Mobilization to Stop Trump’s War on North Korea. The week of actions coincides with a trip to Asia by President Trump.

“The danger of a new war in Korea is real,” said a statement issued by organizers.

“We are going to the office of Senator Klobuchar to call on her to speak out strongly against the growing war danger. All U.S. representatives and senators must speak out against a new war in Korea, a war that could cost millions of lives and could lead to global war,” the statement said.

The statement goes on to say, “The U.S. has three aircraft carriers in waters near the Korean Peninsula. There has been an unending series of U.S. military maneuvers, and the Trump administration has made more war-like talk threatening military action against North Korea.”

“During the Korean War, 1950-53, the U.S. dropped 635,000 tons of bombs on Korea and 20% of the population of Korea was killed. That war was never formally ended with a peace treaty. Instead, the U.S. has maintained a hostile stance against North Korea, and carried out annual military exercises simulating an invasion of the north. The U.S. government must step back from the brink. After U.S. interventions and invasions of Iraq (twice), Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere around the world, it is the U.S. that needs to end its endless wars and war threats,” the statement concluded.

The protest was initiated by Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and is endorsed by Anti-War Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Immigrant Movement for Justice, Korean Quarterly, Mayday Books, Progressive Coalition Minnesota, St. Joan of Arc Peacemakers, St. Paul Eastside Neighbors for Peace, Socialist Action, SLAM – Sharp Left @ Mac (Macalester College), The New North, Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Veterans for Peace, Women Against Military Madness and others.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Korea #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #DPRK

Last summer 2200 Palestinians were massacred, including 519 children, by Israel during its 51-day war on Gaza. Israel receives more than $3 billion in U.S. aid every year and the protest will focus on Senator Amy Klobuchar’s support of this policy.

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, an organizer for the protest explains, “Senator Klobuchar has repeatedly voted for U.S. military aid to Israel and she needs to be reminded of what are the consequences of those votes. Every vote she makes for more U.S. aid to Israel allows Israel more weapons to use on the Palestinian people.”

The protest will honor the lives of those who were brutally killed last summer, through speakers, poetry and a play.

Karmel Sabry, a Palestinian American activist with the Anti-War Committee, says, “It’s important to react when act of injustice occurs but it is equally, if not more important to fight just as hard when the struggle isn’t making headlines. At the end of the day, consistency and perseverance are what win the battle.”

The protest was initiated by the Anti-War Committee and is endorsed by American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voices for Peace – Twin Cities, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAc), Students for a Democratic Society at UMN, Students for Justice in Palestine – U of MN, Welfare Rights Committee, Veterans for Peace, U.S. Palestinian Communities Network – MN Chapter, and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #GazaWar #SenatorAmyKlobuchar

Minneapolis, MN – Members of the Twin Cities-based Welfare Rights Committee held signs and banners during rush-hour, Nov. 12, in front of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office, telling her to undo the November Food Stamp/SNAP cuts, and to stop further cuts to Food Stamps.

Senator Klobuchar sits on the Agriculture conference committee in Washington D.C. that will decide the fate of the Food Stamp (now known as SNAP) program. Both houses of Congress are proposing cuts to this basic survival program. Now, people across the country are reeling from November’s across the board cuts to Food Stamps (the result of an expiration of a part of the federal stimulus program).

According to the Welfare Rights Committee’s Loretta VanPelt, “It seems that when budgets need to be ‘balanced’ it is balanced on the backs of the poor and working class, and we are the ones who have to pay the price for these budgets. We ask that Senator Klobuchar, as a member of the Ag Committee, to use her influence to undo all cuts to food stamps.”

#MinneapolisMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #lowincomeFamilies #foodStamps #SNAP

Minneapolis, MN – More than 175 people demonstrated in front of the office of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar to oppose a U.S. military attack on Syria. The protest was initiated by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and was endorsed by the Anti-War Committee, Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Veterans for Peace, Women Against Military Madness and others.

Meredith Aby, of the Twin Cites-based Anti-War Committee told the crowd, “The White House and Pentagon are preparing a cruise missile attack on Syria. Failing to receive international support for these plans, and in the face of overwhelming opposition from the U.S. public, the Obama administration is now turning to Congress for cover in the form of a resolution authorizing the use of military force. When Congress returns to D.C. next week, on Sept. 9, their votes will determine whether and how a war on Syria may begin. This week, while they are in their home districts across the country, politicians need to hear from their constituents.”

Aby also stated, “Syria’s real ‘crime’ is to remain independent, ignoring the agenda of U.S. empire in the Middle East and befriending the patriotic peoples of Iran, Lebanon and Palestine. They speak of chemical weapons, hoping that we have forgotten their plan for ‘regime change’ in Syria. The U.S. government has no right to determine who should lead the Syrian government. Beyond just openly calling for the Syrian president to be thrown out, the U.S. has already given more than a billion dollars’ worth of battlefield support to the Syrian opposition. And devastating Syria with hundreds of cruise missiles will only make it harder for the Syrian people to decide their own future and ensures a continued escalation of U.S. involvement in Syria and the Middle East.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Syria #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #USImperialism #chemicalWeapons #destroyers

Minneapolis, MN – A coalition of peace and anti-war organizations are organizing a protest on Sept. 3, in front of the offices of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, to oppose U.S. military intervention in Syria.

The building that houses Klobuchar’s office is located near the entrance ramps for 35W at 1200 Washington Avenue South in Minneapolis. The picket will run from 4:30 to 5:30 pm.

A statement issued by organizers says in part, “The Obama administration has announced that it wants Congress to vote on a new war with Syria. Time is of the essence to send a clear message to Congress: the majority of people in the U.S. are against new wars and interventions. Military intervention will not bring peace and justice to the people of Syria.”

The statement continues, “The opposition to a new war is everywhere. This opposition forced the Obama administration to step back from a bombing campaign this past weekend. But the danger also exists for an even larger war against Syria as Obama seeks to make a deal with pro-war senators and congresspersons to pass a war resolution in Congress.”

The call for the Sept. 3 protest vigil to speak out against a U.S. war in Syria was initiated by Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and is endorsed by the Anti-War Committee, Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Veterans for Peace, Women Against Military Madness and others.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Syria #SenatorAmyKlobuchar #USImperialism #chemicalWeapons #destroyers

On Thursday, anti-war activists protested at Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office to demonstrate against the Obama administration’s escalating war in Afghanistan. The Anti-War Committee of Minneapolis-St. Paul organized the protest.

With the deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan last December, civilian casualties increased dramatically. Rhetoric from the Obama administration expresses concern for civilian deaths, but the violence continues. Last month, Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry reported that civilian casualties jumped by 33% in a recent month-long period. Afghan officials reported 173 civilian deaths from March 21-April 21 of this year and stated, “An increasing number are at the hands of U.S. and foreign forces.” On May 10, the New York Times reported that shootings of Afghan civilians by U.S. and NATO convoys at military checkpoints have spiked sharply. At least 28 Afghans were killed and 43 wounded in convoy and checkpoint shootings this year. Despite widespread opposition from the people of Afghanistan, the U.S. is considering a large-scale military offensive in Kandahar, a city of half a million people.

Anti-War Committee member Katrina Plotz explains, “The presence of U.S. troops is an unjust foreign occupation that is actually causing, rather than solving the problems of violence, displacement, and poverty in Afghanistan. The Afghan people deserve the right to determine the future of their country for themselves. The U.S. has no business attacking Kandahar or continuing to occupy Afghan soil for another day.”

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that U.S. geologists discovered $1 trillion in untapped mineral reserves in Afghanistan, including large deposits of gold, copper, cobalt, and lithium – a key mineral in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and cell phones. American geologists began studying the potential for mining in Afghanistan in 2004. The Pentagon already hired international accounting firms with mining expertise and is preparing to turn over technical data to multinational mining companies and American investors.

“It has recently surfaced that Afghanistan is rich in mineral reserves and I cringe to think of the fresh exploitation that promises to come of this. Because as loudly as we proclaim “No Blood for Oil” we must also demand “No Blood for Lithium” either,” said Misty Rowan of the Anti-War Committee to the crowd. “Do not make the citizens of Kandahar pay with their lives, and do not make the citizens of this country pay with the tax dollars we desperately need here at home!”

Ray Camper from Iraq Veterans Against War also spoke at the demonstration, “As a Veteran, I am using my voice for those who cannot. I am speaking not just on behalf of myself, but for all those who have seen enough war, enough death, and enough of our human and monetary capital being diverted away from where it is needed the most. Bring our men and women home and provide them with jobs. Keep our money here, and provide schools and an education for our children. Let’s build houses and communities here, instead of tearing down and destroying them abroad.”

The Twin Cities Anti-War Committee is planning more public outreach and protests in the coming months.

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