Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

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By Iain McNeely

A young man leads a protest, holding a mic with a slight smile.

Washington, D.C. — On Friday, September 5, over 30 activists and community members assembled in Washington, D.C. 's Navy Yard neighborhood for a “mass cop watch” organized by the DC Against Trump Agenda (DCAT) coalition.

This cop watch is just one of many actions that the coalition has organized in weeks since President Trump declared that he would be federalizing DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and deploying the National Guard to the city.

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By Kristen Bonner

A group of protesters protest in front of the mayor's office and city council building and hold signs that say, "I Like My Ice Crushed!"

Washington, DC – As the occupation enters its third week, on Wednesday afternoon, September 3, the DC Against Trump Coalition (DCAT) gathered in front of the Wilson Building, home to the mayor’s office and city council, to protest Mayor Muriel Bowser’s latest capitulation to the Trump administration.

Organized in less than 24 hours, DCAT mobilized 50 people to respond to an executive order signed by the mayor that will indefinitely allow local police forces to cooperate with federal law enforcement. This move represents the latest concession to the Trump administration, which ordered the National Guard into the city three weeks ago.

Protesters made their voices heard inside City Hall as they chanted, “We don’t need collaboration, end this racist occupation!” City Hall employees later confirmed that the crowd was heard loudly enough inside the building to disrupt meetings, and that Mayor Bowser was in the building.

“The DC Against Trump Coalition was built to fight back against Trump’s racist occupation of DC,” Merawi Gerima, emcee and member of the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, stated, “and now we see that also means fighting back against Mayor Bowser who is committed to rolling out the red carpet for him and his cronies.”

“DC police agencies are now hooking up with federal [law enforcement] agencies,” said Paige White, DCAARPR member and a leader of the DC Lawyers Against Trump Coalition, “and these federal agencies don’t actually know anything about policing. They don’t know anything about the Fourth Amendment, they don’t know anything about your Miranda Rights, and they certainly don’t want to protect them.”

Attendees were heard by police and politicians inside and outside the building, chanting, “Racist, coward, crooked, cops, get a fucking real job!” and “Bowser and Trump, sitting in a tree, attacking and terrorizing kids in DC!” before marching across the street to wave signs and chant as cars passed by.

“I get it from both sides. I am Black and an immigrant,” stated a protester who has become a regular figure at DCAT actions with a “Fuck ICE/Gestapo ICE 2025” banner mounted on poles. “I was scared at first, but then I realized I have to fight for my people who cannot. I will not be silent and allow the Trump occupation to do whatever it wants!”

DCAT’s next action is a Mass Cop Watch on Friday, September 5 at Navy Yard Metro at 7 p.m.

#WashingtonDC #DC #BlackLivesMatter #ImmigrantRights #Trump #InJusticeSystem #DCAT #DCAARPR #DCLAT

By Kristen Bonner

Protesters march through DC with the White House capitol building in the background. They hold banenrs saying "End the DC Occupation! Defend Black People! Defend Immigrants!"

Washington, DC – On Saturday, August 30, the DC Alliance Against Trump Coalition (DCAT) hit the streets again, this time partnering with the Long Live GoGo Foundation to host a march and live GoGo concert on August 30, aimed at fighting the Trump directed occupation of DC.

Since Trump’s federalization of DC, starting on August 11, the presence of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), ICE, and National Guard troops has increased their assumed powers over the community with unlawful curfew zones, check points, and kidnappings of residents focused on the immigrant communities.

Saturday’s event, dubbed Defend the District, was a powerful and direct anti-Trump response from the DC community, declaring “End the occupation!”

The event kicked off with a rally, emceed by activist and founder of Long Live GoGo Justin “Yaddiya” Johnson, and included speeches from DCAT, Guns Down Friday, and community members.

The energy from the rally quickly spilled into the streets of 14th and U – the site of last week’s DCAT rally – as the ensemble march began. Chant leads from Freedom Road Socialist Organization the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (DCAARPR) took to the front of the line to lead chants of “Racist, coward, crooked cops, get a fucking real job!” intermixed with dancing and song-like chants of “Fuck Donald Trump” to which the crowd shouted back, “Fuck ICE!”

The march ended at Sylvan Theater at the National Mall where a GoGo musical performance welcomed activated protesters. Before reaching their destination, protesters shouted down National Guard troops and MPD, with chants of “Troops go home,” interspersed with “Fuck the police” and “Chinga la Migra!”

At Sylvan Theater, live GoGo music played between speeches from community speakers such as Jawanna Hardy, founder of Guns Down Friday, DC Councilmember Robert White and DCAARPR’s Merawi Gerima speaking on behalf of the DC Alliance Against Trump Coalition.

“If you were out here last Saturday you saw that we shut down that racist curfew zone on 14th and U,” said Gerima, “that’s the power of the people, and that’s the power that we want to bring into a focused energy against Trump’s racist agenda in DC!”

The DC Against Trump coalition, an ever-growing coalition of local organizations aimed at fighting the Trump agenda and takeover of DC, announced plans for a mass cop watch event on Friday, September 5, at 7 p.m., at Navy Yard in Southeast DC.

#WashingtonDC #DC #PeoplesStruggles #ImmigrantRights #Trump #DCAARPR #DCAT #LongLiveGoGoFoundation #GDF

By Merawi Gerima

Washington DC protest against Trump's occupation of the city.

Washington, DC – Before organizers from the DC Against Trump Coalition (DCAT) even finished setting up for their August 23 rally at 14th and U Streets in Northwest Washington DC, community members began spontaneously chanting “Fuck Trump!”

Anti-Trump sentiment has been sky-high in Washington, DC since August 11, when Trump issued an executive order sweeping away the city’s home rule powers, federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department and flooding the city with federal law enforcement and National Guard troops.

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