Gainesville, FL – A dozen protesters gathered here, June 16, to speak out against the political repression of Carlos Montes, a longtime immigrant and Chicano rights activist. The rally was put on by the Gainesville Committee to Stop FBI Repression and took place in front of the local FBI office. Carlos Montes’ home was raided by Los Angeles sheriffs and the FBI on May 17 and he is facing trumped up charges. The raid on his home is linked to the raids on other anti-war and international solidarity activists that started on Sept. 24, 2010.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 protesters gathered in front of the FBI offices here, June 16, to demand that the charges be dropped against veteran Los Angles Chicano activist Carlos Montes. Protest organizers blasted the growing attacks by the FBI and other police agencies on anti-war, international solidarity and progressive political activists.
Chicago, IL – Chicago activists, including those from the immigrant rights and Chicano movements, rallied at the Dirksen Federal building on June 16 in solidarity with veteran Chicano activist, Carlos Montes. Montes was raided by the Los Angeles County Sherriff and FBI on charges of a firearm code violation. They seized his personal effects and over 40 years worth of political movement documentation.
Los Angeles, CA – Video of veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes speaking after his June 16 Court appearance. Montes talks about the LA Sheriffs and FBI raid on his home, legal developments in the case, and how his case is an extension of the repression that is being employed against anti war and international solidarity activists in other parts of the United States.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Students for a Democratic Society's National Working Committee in support of the veteran Chicano leader Carlos Montes.
Join the National Day of Action – Thursday, June 16, 2011
Fight Back News Service is circulating the call from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, urging cities to organize actions in support of Carlos Montes, a longtime activist for worker and immigrants’ rights.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following petition demanding an end to the prosecution of veteran Chicano leader Carlos Montes. We urge all of our readers to sign it.
Chicago, IL – On May 25, the Committee Against Political Repression brought together 30 supporters of Carlos Montes to denounce the raid by the FBI and Los Angeles Sheriff. Gathering in front of the Federal Building in Chicago, despite a thunder storm, the press conference and rally included a number of speakers.
Los Angeles, CA – On May 20, a lively crowd of over 100 supporters gathered in front of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles to denounce the recent home invasion and arrest of Carlos Montes. Montes is a veteran Chicano activist and member of the Los Angeles Committee to Stop FBI Repression. The crowd represented a diverse range of local activist groups and movements – including LAUSD teachers and parent activists, members of the immigrant rights movement, anti-cutback activists from the University of California, organizers against police brutality and representatives from international solidarity movements.
Minneapolis, MN – On April 7, four Latino and immigrant leaders spoke against political repression on a panel at the University of Minnesota. They spoke out in solidarity with the 23 anti-war activists facing FBI and grand jury repression and told their stories of solidarity in the face of repression.
Minneapolis, MN – On Dec. 10, seven students here started a hunger strike to demand that Congress pass the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act is a proposed law that would give some undocumented immigrant youth the possibility to gain legalization if they go to college or join the military.
Brother Ray Sosa was a Chicano Los Angeles community organizer and revolutionary who dedicated his entire life to the struggle to achieve justice, equality and liberation for working and oppressed peoples.
Los Angeles, CA – The Guatemalan community, especially the indigenous Mayan sector, has been protesting and angry over the brutal killing of their community member Manuel Jamines. Jamines was shot in the head and body on a busy street in the late afternoon in the Pico Union, a Central American community, by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on Sept. 5.
Commemoration of 40th anniversary of Chicano moratorium
Los Angeles, CA – The powerful slogan “Chicano power” was heard here as marchers headed down Whittier Boulevard in the heart of East Los Angeles, Aug. 28. The 40th Chicano Moratorium against war had participants from as far away as El Paso, Texas and Arizona. Large numbers of high school and college students joined with the many veteran activists of the late 1960s. The march message was clear, “No to war” and “Legalization now.” Many onlookers smiled and waved to the marchers.
Los Angeles, CA – The August 29th Chicano Moratorium Organizing Committee held a press conference here Aug. 25 to announce a protest march and rally set for Aug. 28 in East Los Angeles. The march commemorates 40 years since the Chicano Moratorium.
August 29, 2010, marks the 40th anniversary of the historic Chicano Moratorium protest against the Vietnam War. On Aug. 29, 1970 over 30,000 Chicanos marched down Whittier Boulevard in the heart of East Los Angeles protesting the Vietnam War, the high casualty rate of Chicano soldiers and racist conditions in the barrios. The participants included youth and families of a mainly working class community with delegations from throughout the Southwest. The marchers chanted “¡Raza Si, Guerra No!” inspired by the call for Chicano self-determination and opposition to the imperialist U.S. war in Vietnam. Many Chicano youth had been drafted into the military after being pushed out of high school. The Chicano Movement was on the rise after several years of mass actions like the East Los Angeles high-school walkouts of 1968, land struggles in New Mexico, strikes by the United Farm Workers union, and the growth of new Chicano groups like the Brown Berets and MEChA (Movemiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan, a Chicano Student Movement of the Southwest).
Salt Lake City, UT- 200 protesters filled the Utah State Capitol Building in solidarity with undocumented immigrants on July 29. Their chants rang through the capitol, expressing outrage at Arizona’s latest piece of racist legislation aimed at Mexican and Chicano people. On the day that SB1070, the anti-immigrant law, went into effect in the neighboring state of Arizona, groups such as the Salt Lake Autonomous Brown Berets and the Revolutionary Student Union (RSU) joined with Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) for a rally. The coalition sent a clear message to Utah’s legislators, “Racist legislation not welcome here!”
Chicago, IL – 300 people rallied at the Cook County Courthouse, at the corner of 26th Street and California Avenue, July 29. They demanded an end to deportations, and said no to SB1070, Arizona’s racist, anti-immigrant law.
