Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

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By Tristen McFarland

Aurora, Colorado candlelight vigil on the one-year anniversary of the police killing of Kory Dillard.

Aurora, CO – On Friday, October 3, family, friends and members of the community gathered for a candlelight vigil to remember the life of Kory Dillard one year after his death. The vigil took place where Dillard was killed by officers Kevin Rodier and Ryan Shamblin of the Aurora Police Department.

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By Tristen McFarland

Press conference and rally demands justice for Kory Dillard.

Aurora, CO – On Friday, October 3, the family of Kory Dillard and representatives of Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) met with the 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason. The day marked one year since the death of Dillard at the hands of Kevin Rodier and Ryan Shamblin of the Aurora Police Department, and the group specifically sought to know if the district attorney had any plans to prosecute them criminally.

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By Salem Chadwick

Public school workers are fighting for union recognition in Aurora, Colorado.

Aurora, CO – On August 19, Aurora Public School (APS) workers packed into their school's offices to demand the school board put an end to union busting and give all workers the right to organize a union.

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By Sarina E. Ouellette

Aurora, CO – On August 16, the Denver Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) and community supporters gathered at Firehouse Station 2 for an all-ages community fair. The event called “FUNd the Fight,” raised funds for the Dillard family, who has been facing financial hardship while simultaneously fighting for justice for Kory Dillard.

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By Brandon Gehrke Quintanilla

A group of protesters holding signs.

Aurora, CO – On July 7, over 500 community members gathered in a powerful show of solidarity outside the Aurora GEO Detention Facility, demanding the immediate release of Jeanette Vizguerra and all political prisoners.

For the past three months, community members have held weekly Monday vigils for Vizguerra , who has been unjustly detained at the GEO facility for her political organizing. Over 20 organizations have joined this growing movement, culminating in the July 7 day of action. With slogans like “Free Jeanette now” and “Oversight now,” protesters demanded immediate accountability for the reported human rights abuses occurring within the privately run detention center.

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By Yoselin Corrales

Colorado protest demands release of ICE detainees. 

Aurora, CO – On Saturday, May 24, the community came together at the GEO Detention Center to stand in solidarity with immigrants everywhere. Shouting chants like “Free Hector, free Jeanette, free them all,” the message was clear – the Aurora community stands united with all immigrants and demands an end to family separation.

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Por Brandon Gehrke Quintanilla

Conferencia de prensa en Aurora, Colorado después de la liberación de Carla Medina.

Aurora, CO – El 8 de mayo, organizadores, familiares y apoyadores de la comunidad se reunieron afuera del Centro de Procesamiento de ICE del Grupo GEO en Aurora para una conferencia de prensa donde compartieron actualizaciones sobre la audiencia de asilo de Carla Medina, realizada más temprano ese día. La conferencia de prensa, organizada por Aurora Unidos CSO y el Comité de Servicio de los Amigos Americanos (AFSC), forma parte de un movimiento creciente para liberar a los prisioneros políticos detenidos en el complejo de detención de GEO en Aurora.

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By staff

Protest against police killing in Aurora, Colorado.

Aurora CO – On Saturday, May 17, a dozen community members gathered in front of the Aurora Police Department Headquarters for an emergency rally to protest the killing of another Black man by the APD, and the subsequent cover-up that is still unfolding.

It was on May 12, Monday evening, that the APD received calls about a “suspicious person” wandering a private Park-and-Ride near the Denver International Airport.

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By Brandon Gehrke Quintanilla

Aurora, Colorado press conference after the release of Carla Medina.

Aurora, CO – On May 8, organizers, family members and community supporters gathered outside the GEO Group ICE Processing Center in Aurora for a press conference providing updates on Carla Medina’s asylum hearing from earlier in the day. The press conference, organized by Aurora Unidos CSO and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), is part of a growing movement to free the political prisoners held in the GEO detention facility in Aurora.

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By Tristen Hust

Sigh bearing the name of Kory Dillard, who was killed by the police. 

Aurora, CO – On April 30, a call-in was organized to place pressure on Colorado’s 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason to charge and convict the police responsible for two acts of racist police violence that happened last year.

The murder of Kory Dillard and the brutalization of Te’Erica Mosely, both at the hands of the police, led to members of the Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) organizing the action.

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By Nels Pine

Aurora, Colorado protest demands release of Jeanette Vizguerra.

Aurora, CO – On the evening of Monday March 24, around 300 community members rallied in front of the GEO Group ICE Processing Center in Aurora, Colorado for a vigil protesting the unjust detention of community organizer Jeanette Vizguerra. It marked one week since Jeanette was abducted by ICE from her place of work without warning.

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By Nels Pine

A woman, Jeanette Vizguerra, gives speech and holds up flyers that say, "Free Them All!"

Aurora CO – On March 17, at 11 p.m., a growing crowd of around 40 community members gathered outside the GEO Group ICE Processing Center in Aurora for a vigil to protest the unjust detention of Jeanette Vizguerra. Among those present are activists, a news crew, indigenous people burning sacred herbs, and the family members of Vizguerra.

Vizguerra is an undocumented community organizer and has long been a champion of people’s freedom. Her consistent support of people’s struggles has led a variety of supporters to come to her aid, and protest ICE and its attempts to tear her away from her family.

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By staff

Aurora, Colorado rally against police crimes.

Aurora CO – On March 1, during an unseasonably warm Saturday, family members of Kory Dillard and 15 of their supporters gathered outside of the Aurora Municipal Center, for a rally against police crimes.

Dillard, described by attendees as a beloved community member and veteran, was murdered by the Aurora Police Department (APD) on October 3, 2024.

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By staff

Colorado protest against deportations.

Aurora, CO – On February 8, around 50 community members gathered outside Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, to protest the base’s collaboration with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the detention of immigrants.

Organized by Aurora Unidos CSO and Denver Anti-War Action, the protest was part of a larger national week of action by the Legalization for All Network.

Protesters voiced their opposition to the role the base would play in the Trump administration's plans for mass deportations. Yoselin Corrales, an organizer with Aurora Unidos CSO, said, “Today, we are here to fight against recent discussions to potentially detain and imprison our neighbors on the Buckley Space Force Base.”

The protest comes in the wake of a controversial announcement in late January, wherein the U.S. Military’s Northern Command revealed plans to make facilities at Buckley Space Force Base available to ICE to set up processing and staging areas for detained immigrants at the request of the Department of Homeland Security.

Speakers at the rally emphasized the strength of the community coming together to fight, with Brandon Gehrke, another organizer with Aurora Unidos CSO, addressing the crowd, “We keep us safe – not ICE, not the military, not those who seek to use fear to control us. When we stand together, we are stronger than any force that tries to break us. Together, we will demand legalization for all. and put an end to these harmful and inhumane operations.”

Jason Crow, congressman for Colorado’s 6th District, recently reported that the base has agreed to only use the base for staging and logistics for now, but this is likely only temporary. The scale of deportation being discussed by the Trump administration’s “Operation Aurora” requires expansions of ICE’s detention capacity. Currently, Aurora has a processing center that holds around 1500 people, operated by GEO Group, a private for-profit prison corporation.

Aurora Unidos CSO pledges to stand opposed to the expansion of ICE’s capacity to detain people and calls on all people to actively hinder the ability of the Trump administration to carry out their racist and reactionary agenda.

As the protest ended, many of those who attended expressed their commitment to continuing the fight for immigrant rights. The rally at Buckley Space Force Base is proof to lawmakers and the military that the community will not stand by while the government targets immigrants, and that efforts for legalization and justice will continue.

#AuroraCO #CO #ImmigrantRights #SpaceForce #CSO #CSOAU #DAWA

By staff

Colorado march against mass deportations.

Aurora, CO – On Saturday, January 25, approximately 1000 protesters gathered at Fletcher Plaza in Aurora, Colorado to march against Donald Trump’s threats of mass deportation.

Aurora is one of the most diverse cities in Colorado, with roughly 20% of its residents being immigrants. In addition to this, Aurora also has a high population of Chicanos and African Americans. Protest organizers say that Trump’s targeting of Aurora is in line with his racist, reactionary policies.

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By staff

Picket for police accountability in Aurora, Colorado.

Aurora, CO – On January 18, despite the cold and snowy weather, the Denver Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) and community members gathered outside the Aurora Police Department headquarters to demand transparency and justice.

In the past few years, the Aurora Police Department (APD) has killed at least three unarmed Black men – Jordell Richardson, Kilyn Lewis, and Kory Dillard – and has brutalized dozens of other community members, such as Te’Erica Mosle, who was recording police harassing an unarmed Black man, only to be assaulted herself by the police.

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By Tom Burke

Aurora, CO – On November 21, the FBI knocked on the door of Jonce Palmer, a general member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and co-founder of Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee. Palmer confirmed their name, but did not answer the FBI’s questions, and then firmly shut the door and the agent left.

Palmer explained, “About 1 p.m. I was cooking in my apartment, and I saw a silhouette walk by my window and heard a knock at the door. I opened the door, asking ‘Hi, can I help you?’”

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By staff

Aurora, Colorado vigil demands justice for Kory Dillard.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Aurora, CO – On November 17, around 40 members of the Aurora community gathered in front of Aurora Police Headquarters to hold a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Kory Dillard and to speak out against the system that unjustly ended his life.

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By staff

Memorial to Jor'del Richardson held by the Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Aurora, CO – On Saturday, June 1, the family of Jor’dell Richardson, Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) organizers, and community members, hosted a safe summer kickoff at Del Mar Park, in memory of Jor’dell Richardson. Jor’dell was a 14-year-old who was shot and killed by the Aurora Police Department on June 1, 2023.

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By staff

Protesters demand justice for the police killing of 14-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson at the hands of Aurora PD. | Fight Back! News/staff

Aurora, CO – On September 27 community members and activists gathered to support the family of Jor’Dell Richardson, who was murdered by police. The crowd demanded accountability for his killing at a meeting with officials of the city of Aurora and Arapahoe County.

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