Appleton, WI – Over a dozen people gathered on April 18 and April 25 to continue voicing their outrage over the murders of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo who were gunned down by police this month. Body camera footage from both incidents quickly went viral, triggering protests around the country. Both incidents prompted local organizers and residents to hold a rally with signs, chants and music demanding action.

The group marched to the Appleton Police Station and held a moment of silence for all victims of police violence. The event organizer, Cole Bennet, wants to continue to rally saying, “We need to let people know that this is still happening. Even if it’s just 20 people protesting, we need to get out and make our voices heard.”

Despite multiple national calls for police accountability there are still many people dying at the hands of police.

#AppletonWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DaunteWright #AdamToledo

Dallas, TX – On April 18, about 90 people rallied at Dallas city hall to protest recent police killings such as the murder of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo. The rally was called by the Dallas Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression. Speeches were first held with DAARPR co-chair Jennifer Miller giving a passionate speech about her fears as a Black mother of an autistic child, “What happens when my son stops being a cute black boy and becomes a Black male threat. My son is Tamir Rice, my son is Trayvon Martin, and so many more.”

Next Kawana Scott of DAARPR spoke next, comparing the police murdering Daunte Wright with another case in which a Black man was tasered 15 times by a police officer, and called for justice. Afterwards local activist Olinka Green spoke, discussing local incidents of police terror in Dallas and calling for more intensity to the movement against police terror, calling for “more fire” in response to police violence. Green also discussed her concerns as a Black mother of a bipolar child, and her concerns that the police will abuse him in response to mental health incidents.

After the speeches 100 protesters marched around downtown Dallas, chanting, “Indict, convict, send all killer cops to jail. The whole damn system is guilty as hell!” and “The people united will never be defeated!” People in the march demanded the community control of the police to stop the violent massacre of Black and brown people.

#DallasTX #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DallasAllianceAgainstRacistPoliticalRepressionDAARPR #DaunteWright #AdamToledo

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.

Camille Winston of the Black Student Union condemned the university’s response to the murder of Daunte Wright, saying “University President Joan Gabel and Chief Clark [UMPD police chief] decided to support the police who shot and killed him.” SDS member Nadia Shaarawi said, “Joan Gabel has more of a commitment to a police contract than she ever has had to her students.”

Since the murder of George Floyd last May, SDS has been calling for more police accountability on campus and has faced continued resistance from administration. The recent deployment of UMPD in riot gear to Brooklyn Center shows the need for students, workers and community members to be able to control their campus police force. SDS is campaigning for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) to win this power for the university community.

Jae Yates, a recent U of MN graduate and a member of the Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice for Jamar, addressed the crowd, saying, “Daunte Wright could have come here. Daunte Wright was 20 years old. He was the same age as so many people who go to this university.”

Students who saw themselves or their peers in Daunte Wright’s story took the streets surrounding campus to shout his name and to demand justice for all stolen lives.

#MinneapolisMN #InJusticeSystem #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DaunteWright

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.

Camille Winston of the Black Student Union condemned the university’s response to the murder of Daunte Wright, saying “University President Joan Gabel and Chief Clark [UMPD police chief] decided to support the police who shot and killed him.” SDS member Nadia Shaarawi said, “Joan Gabel has more of a commitment to a police contract than she ever has had to her students.”

Since the murder of George Floyd last May, SDS has been calling for more police accountability on campus and has faced continued resistance from administration. The recent deployment of UMPD in riot gear to Brooklyn Center shows the need for students, workers and community members to be able to control their campus police force. SDS is campaigning for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) to win this power for the university community.

Jae Yates, a recent U of MN graduate and a member of the Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice for Jamar, addressed the crowd, saying, “Daunte Wright could have come here. Daunte Wright was 20 years old. He was the same age as so many people who go to this university.”

Students who saw themselves or their peers in Daunte Wright’s story took the streets surrounding campus to shout his name and to demand justice for all stolen lives.

#MinneapolisMN #StudentMovement #SDS #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DerekChauvin #DaunteWright

Brooklyn Center, MN – As of April 15, there have been five days and nights of protests, vigils, press conferences, city council scrambling, firings and resignations – as well as outright battles between protesters and the law enforcement bodies from around the state that converged here after the killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright.

The community actions by local grassroots movements have continued to pour out after the murder of Wright by former Brooklyn Center Police Department Officer Kim Potter, with some small victories.

On Sunday, April 11, Daunte Wright was pulled over by officer Kim Potter for an expired license plate. Daunte then called his mother asking for insurance information. Then the officer comes and orders Daunte to hang up the call and to get out of the car. Daunte asks, “For what?” and the officer responds “I’ll tell you when you get out of the car.” Officer Kim Potter, accompanied by two other officers, then attempted to handcuff him. Their reason was due to his hanging an air freshener in the rearview mirror of his car. Daunte understandably panics and tries to get back in the car. Potter then yells, “Taser, taser, taser!” and pulls out a handgun and shoots him dead.

This brutality sparked more protests, bringing hundreds of people from across the Twin Cities area to protest that night, the next four days, and into the foreseeable future.

While the people forced the Brooklyn Center police to stand down (the city of Brooklyn Center ordered them to not overtly fight the protesters) the state forces were poised to squelch the people’s rights to assembly and speech.

The so-called Operation Safety Net, put in place by the government to prepare against the people’s rage over the Floyd trial, was implemented early in the wake of Wright’s murder. On April 12, Governor Tim Walz declared a 7 p.m. curfew in the Twin Cities metro area. The city of Minneapolis declared their bought-and-paid-for groups of “Street Navigators” specifically exempt from the curfew; some of members of those groups actively disrupted speakers at protests. Also, hundreds of forces – ranging from the National Guard to Minnesota state patrol, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), county sheriffs, and on down to neighboring police departments – stood in formation against protesters. These authorities have been relentless in repressing the natural and righteous outrage of the protesters.

Despite the obstacles thrown by the Twin Cities’ governments towards the grassroots activists, such as imposing curfews and calling the Minnesota National Guard, there have already been some victories in pursuit of justice. On April 14, after pressure from multiple grassroots community activists and organizations, as well as from media coverage from across the world, officer Kim Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter, although activists are calling for the charges to be increased.

In addition, the pressure has forced the dismissal of former Brooklyn Center City Manager Curt Boganey, and the resignation of former Chief of Police Tim Gannon.

At the legislative level, bills written and pushed by anti-police crimes groups under the umbrella Minnesota Justice Coalition were given hearings this week, after months of being denied.

This murder occurs in the wake of the first trial of officer Derek Chauvin, the cop who murdered George Floyd in June 2020. Local activists point out that the repeated offences from the multiple police departments across the Twin Cities area indicate a larger problem with the police departments themselves.

The Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar, or TCC4J, is one of the grassroots organizations which has been actively fighting for community control of police since the police murder of Jamar Clark in November 2015. They just launched a petition drive to change the Minneapolis city charter so the community can exert some control over choosing the chief of police and holding officers with cases of brutality accountable – a Civilian Police Accountability Commission, or CPAC for short.

Besides keeping up the fight for justice for Daunte Wright, the MN Justice Coalition and dozens of other groups will protest in downtown Minneapolis on April 19, 5 p.m. That is when closing arguments in the Derek Chauvin trial are expected to be over, and the case for the murder of George Floyd goes to the jury.

#BrooklynCenterMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DaunteWright

St. Paul, MN – On April 14, union members from many unions across the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area heard reports that the National Guard was using the Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation (SPRLF) building as a staging area to carry out their repression campaign against protesters calling for justice for Daunte Wright.

Within an hour, dozens of members of at least nine unions showed up to the SPRLF and began chanting and demanding that the National Guard be kicked off union property. During the next 30 minutes the president of the SPRLF, Kera Peterson, was seen meeting with an SPRLF board member inside. Shortly thereafter, they came out and told the National Guard that they had to go. Minutes later, to the cheers of union members, the National Guard loaded up their gear and left the scene.

The mobilization happened very quickly, and while it was fairly small, many union members reported being on their way there at the time that the victory took place. Additionally, on the scene there were reports that many labor leaders and members were calling their unions and the SPRLF to demand that the National Guard be removed.

The crowd was jubilant after the quick victory, and several speeches were made.

Minnesota Nurses Association member and a nurse at St John’s hospital, Sarah O’Gorman, spoke, “This is against everything I know as a nurse. I don’t support anything about what the National Guard or anything about what the police are doing. It goes against everything we are taught, against everything we stand for, and I don’t know how to explain this to people that we were letting the National Guard occupy the Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation building. So, we came down here and we got them out!”

Sheigh Freeberg is the secretary treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 17 said, “My labor movement won’t stand for the National Guard occupying our city, and what did we do tonight? We kicked them out!” In follow-up conversations, Freeberg said, “My labor movement stands for justice. My labor movement stands on the side of the oppressed, and my labor movement stands for Black Lives Matter.”

The crowd of union members remained on scene for approximately another 30 minutes, chatting in solidarity with each other before dispersing. Spirits were clearly high after the swift victory.

#StPaulMN #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #DaunteWright #StPaulRegionalLaborFederation

Daunte Wright was allegedly pulled over for the air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror; later police claimed Wright had a warrant, which confused him, causing him to sit back down into his vehicle. While trying to forcefully remove him from his vehicle, Officer Potter shot Wright in the abdomen with her gun. She immediately claimed she thought she had been holding her taser. Protesters are calling this error “inexcusable” and are demanding that the ‘veteran’ Officer Potter be fully held accountable to the law the same way that any regular person would be.

Protesters in Oshkosh highlighted the similarities between the murder of Daunte Wright and the murder of Isaiah Tucker in their own community almost four years ago, when officer Aaron Achterberg fatally shot Tucker for entering his vehicle attempting to ‘flee.’

“For years we have seen cases of police shooting Black men, women and children with no accountability. It’s happening everywhere and not just in big cities,” said Hollie Poupart, a leader with United Action Oshkosh and of the Wisconsin Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. “Police are shooting and killing here in smaller cities like Oshkosh, Appleton, Green Bay and across the country. Enough is enough!”

Local grassroots organizations like United Action Oshkosh and the Wisconsin Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression are calling for a Civilian Police Accountability Council to be enacted to hold police officers accountable when they cause serious harm. More protests will take place as tensions resurface, fueling the drive for changes around the country.

#OshkoshWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #UnitedActionOshkosh #WisconsinAllianceAgainstRacistPoliticalRepressionWAARPR #DaunteWright

Brooklyn Center, MN – More than 1500 rallied in front of the police station on the evening of April 12, demanding justice for Daunte Wright, a young Black man murdered by police. Authorities, fearing another rebellion, have deployed the National Guard to the area, declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in three Twin Cities metro area counties.

#BrooklynCenterMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DaunteWright