Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

TallahasseeFL

By staff

Rally against the Trump agenda in Tallahassee, Florida.

Tallahassee, FL – On Saturday, June 14, thousands of people gathered at the Florida State Capitol building to show their opposition to the Trump administration. The No Kings protest – which was created by the 50501 movement – has over 1500 cities participating.

Protesters gathered to voice their outrage at the administration’s attacks on democratic rights, at violence against community members, and at the increasingly unchecked power of the president.

Read more...

Por Cas Casanova

Manifestantes se unen en el Capitolio de Florida para protestar contra una redada de nota de ICE.  |  Foto: Ben Grant

Tallahassee, FL – El viernes, 30 de mayo, más de cuatrocientas personas se congregaron en el Capitolio de Florida para protestar una operación de escala grande realizada jueves, 29 de mayo, en un sitio de construcción en College Town, un barrio a pocas calles de la Universidad del Estado de Florida. La manifestación de emergencia fue llamada por la Alianza de Derechos de Inmigrantes de Tallahassee (TIRA).

Leer más...

By Cas Casanova

Protesters gather at Florida Capitol to rally against a major ICE raid. 

Tallahassee, FL – On Friday, May 30, more than 400 people gathered at the Florida Capitol to protest a large-scale ICE operation carried out Thursday, May 29, on a construction site in College Town, a neighborhood a few streets away from Florida State University. The emergency protest was called by the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA).

Speakers led the crowd, which spanned the entirety of the Capital complex, in chants such as “¡Aquí estamos, y no nos vamos!” and “Say it once, say it twice! We will not put up with ICE!”

Read more...

By Olivia Minor

Lain Dorsey. 

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, May 29, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a press conference in support of member Lain Dorsey, who was arrested for protesting Florida State University’s platforming of white supremacists.

Read more...

By Juniper Curtis

Tallahassee, FL – On Sunday, May 25, 20 people rallied outside City Hall against Trump’s Executive Order 14288 on the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. Between chants from the crowd, local organizers spoke out against Trump’s policy.

“Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14288, a racist dog whistle, is not just another policy. It’s a declaration of war against our movements for justice,” said Nicole Soza, speaking on behalf of 50501 and Voices for Florida. “This is not about public safety. It is about protecting those who maim and kill with a badge and giving them more tools to silence dissent simply because they have that badge.”

Read more...

By Emily Lu and Justin Jordan

Tallahassee, FL – On Saturday, May 24, a group of students and community members joined to oppose the appointment of Marva Johnson as the 13th president of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). FAMU is a Historically Black college and university in Tallahassee, Florida.

Read more...

By staff

May Day rally in Tallahassee, Florida.

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, May 1, at 5:30 p.m., around 40 people attended a May Day rally organized by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The protesters demanded the city of Tallahassee end its attacks on immigrants in the city and denounce the 287(g) agreement with ICE.

Read more...

By staff

Campus police arrest Lain Dorsey    for speaking out against white supremacy.

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, April 24, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized a rally demanding the FSU administration stop allowing manifestations of white supremacy on campus.

Read more...

By Justin Jordan

Tallahassee, Florida students protest following mass shooting on campus.

Tallahassee, FL- On Sunday, April 20, over 100 students and community members rallied at the Florida State Capitol building to stand against gun violence and white supremacist ideology. This rally comes mere days after Phoenix Ikner, a 20-year-old student at Florida State University who had reportedly espoused racist and white supremacist beliefs, killed Tiru Chabba and Robert Morales and injured six others in a mass shooting at FSU.

Read more...

By staff

Tallahassee students hold fundraiser for those impacted by mass shooting at FSU.

Tallahassee, FL – On Saturday, April 19, Students for a Democratic Society held their Queer Rave fundraiser at The Bark. The event had been in the works for a couple of months, but after the mass shooting at Florida State University on April 17, SDS members were unsure of how to move forward. On that tragic Thursday, two non-students – Robert Morales and Tiru Chabba – were killed and six others were wounded by the shooter.

Read more...

By Cas Casanova

Miembros de la comunidad exigen la liberación del ciudadano estadounidense Juan Carlos López-Gómez, quien fue detenido ilegalmente por ICE. 

Tallahassee, FL – El jueves, 16 de abril, alrededor de 75 miembros de la comunidad se manifestaron en la cárcel del condado de León para exigir la liberación inmediata de Juan Carlos López-Gómez, un ciudadano estadounidense detenido ilegalmente por ICE. La movilización de emergencia fue convocada por la Alianza por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes de Tallahassee (TIRA, por sus siglas en inglés).

Leer más...

By Cas Casanova

Community members demand the release of U.S. citizen Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, who was unlawfully detained by ICE.

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, April 16, about 75 community members rallied at the Leon County Jail to demand the immediate release of Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S. citizen illegally detained by ICE. The emergency mobilization was called by the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA).

Lopez-Gomez, who lives in Georgia and works in Tallahassee, was detained by Florida Highway Patrol during a traffic stop after crossing state lines Wednesday morning. Despite presenting his U.S. birth certificate to the court, ICE formally requested that Lopez-Gomez be held in jail for pickup and processing, superseding Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans’s assessment that the birth certificate was in fact legitimate.

Read more...

By Lain Dorsey and Lochlan Montanus

Tallahassee protest against Trump and Musk billionaires' agenda.

Tallahassee, FL – On Saturday, April 5, over 1000 people gathered at the Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee to protest the Trump administration’s reactionary agenda. The protest was organized as a part of the 50501 Movement alongside hundreds of other demonstrations held in Florida and across the country, telling Trump, Elon Musk, and their cronies, “Hands off!”

Read more...

By staff

Cowardly FSU President McCullough runs away when asked questions. 

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, April 3, Students for a Democratic Society crashed the FSU president’s ice cream social, demanding answers about the university's subservience to President Trump’s and Governor Desantis’ attacks on DEI initiatives and free speech.

Read more...

By Regina Joseph

Tallahassee, FL – The city of Tallahassee is considering the sale of Tallahassee Memorial Health after TMH’s leadership proposed restructuring its governance agreement with the city, which city staff say would give Tallahassee less oversight. The Tallahassee Democrat first broke the news about this potential sale, which caused outrage among Tallahassee residents.

Read more...

By Cas Casanova

Tallahassee, FL – On Wednesday, March 26, the chamber of the Tallahassee City Commission was packed with community members from across the city to speak on a variety of issues, such as a proposed gas station’s environmental impacts and the future ownership of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. The most pressing issue, however, concerned the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD).

Read more...

By Kaiden Rosa and JJ Glueck

A crowd of people with banners and Palestinean flags.

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, March 27, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) came together with community members to demand the release of political prisoners. This comes in the light of growing arrests and threatened deportations of pro-Palestine activists including Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia.

Read more...

By Oliver Cheese

Tallahassee, FL – Shouts cut through the gray skies outside Florida’s state capitol on March 8, International Women’s Day, as people gathered to mark the new phase in the fight for women’s rights that came with the second Trump administration. Hosted by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) alongside various community organizations, the rally brought out around one hundred people who braved the rain.

Read more...

By Christopher Sharpe and Joelle Nuñez

Tallahassee, FL protest against Charlie Kirk.

Tallahassee, FL – On Friday, February 28, students and other groups held a protest against the arrival of right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk on FSU.

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, is known for his reactionary statements about LGBTQ people and Black Americans, insisting that the Civil Rights Act of 1965 was a mistake and should be repealed, while calling Martin Luther King Jr. an “awful person.” He has spoken at several universities as part of his “American Comeback” speaking tour.

Read more...

By Lain Dorsey

Tallahassee students win LGBTQ+ housing.

Tallahassee, FL – On February 19, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society held a rally to celebrate the restoration of LGBTQ+ housing at Florida State University and to voice support for FSU’s queer community.

Read more...