Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

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By Joseph Nohava

Tampa, FL – On an unusually windy Saturday, February 14 in front of Tampa city hall, the Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee, along other groups, held a rally to shine a light on House Bill 419/Senate Bill 316, otherwise known as the Visible Act.

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By staff

Public comment section of Tallahassee City Commission meeting.

Tallahassee, FL – On February 18, the Tallahassee City Commission’s meeting marked a win for organizers, who were allowed to wield signs protesting the city’s collaboration with ICE in defiance of the commission’s attempts to repress them. At the previous meeting in January, the city commission and Tallahassee Police Department tried to illegally confiscate the signs of attendees, and conservative Mayor John Dailey ended the meeting early when they refused to comply.

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By staff

Tallahassee, FL – Protesters descended on Florida’s state capitol on Sunday, February 15, joining a statewide initiative from the Legalization for All Network to support the VISIBLE Act, a bill in the Florida legislature that would make it illegal for federal agents to hide their faces while preying on immigrant communities.

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By staff

Tallahassee, Florida students march to end collaboration with ICE.

Tallahassee, FL – On February 5, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and FSU Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) mobilized 90 people for a rally at the Integration Statue next to the FSU Student Union. The protesters then marched to Tanner Hall, FSUPD’s headquarters, to denounce its 287(g) agreement, which was signed behind closed doors and not shared publicly.

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By Chris Gibson

Participants in the “From The Classroom to The Shop Floor,” event at UCF.

Tampa, FL – UCF’s Students for a Democratic Society is taking steps to deepen its ties to organized labor and the working class by holding an event they dubbed “From The Classroom to The Shop Floor,” February 5, inviting representatives from local labor unions to explain their experiences organizing and labor solidarity to the students.

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By Gage Lacharite

Tampa high school students walk out to oppose attacks on immigrants.

Tampa, FL – Dozens of students from Wharton High School walked out on February 9 in protest of the Trump administration's vicious attacks on immigrants. Students chanted “No justice, no peace, no ICE in our streets” and other students cheered from buses as they left at the end of the school day.

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By staff

The Joseph Family being presented with a proclamation from District 63 State Representative Dianne Hart in support of their fight for justice against police violence.

Tampa, FL – This past weekend, the Andrew Joseph foundation held a benefit gala on the 12th year angelversary of Andrew Joseph III.

Lovingly known by family and friends as “Peewee,” Andrew Joseph, III was a 14-year-old student who was attending a school district-supported fair day with friends when he was struck and killed by a motorist as he tried to cross Interstate 4 on foot after being wrongfully detained, ejected, transported and then abandoned outside of the fair by local law enforcement officials, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, with no call to parents.

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By staff

Tallahassee protest against the sale of land with unmarked graves of the formerly enslaved.

Tallahassee, FL – On February 7, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) led a second protest against the sale and privatization of the Capital City Golf Course now owned by the Capital City Country Club (CCCC). The land itself is the site of at least 17 known, unmarked graves of formerly enslaved people, has never been thoroughly surveyed, and is marked only by a small memorial.

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By staff

Jacksonville, Florida protest demands ICE out now.

Jacksonville, FL – Over 100 community members in Jacksonville took to the streets on February 7 to demand ICE out of their city. Protesters filled the streets with chants such as, “ICE out of Jax now!” and “No hate! No fear! Immigrants are welcome here!”

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By Yunqing Zheng

Tampa high school students protest ICE.

Tampa, FL – On February 6, over 25 high school students from Blake High School in Tampa, Florida walked out to protest Trump's attacks on immigrants around the country.

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By staff

Orlando, FL protest against ICE terror.

Orlando, FL – On Saturday Jan 31, over 1000 community members from across Orlando lined the sidewalks for six blocks on East Colonial near the Fashion Square Mall to demand ICE out of Orlando!

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By Claudia Rodriguez

Miami, FL – In the wake of the ICE murders of Keith Porter, Jr., Renee Nicole Good,and Alex Pretti, protesters in Miami gathered at Torch of Friendship calling for an end to ICE terror. Dozens gathered in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis and demand that ICE get out of their own community, with slogans such as “In the Miami heat ICE will melt.”

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By staff

Tallahassee, Florida  protest against ICE.

Tallahassee, FL- On Saturday, January 31, the Tally Coalition Against Trump rallied outside the Florida Capitol building with more than 450 people.

They were joined by groups like the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society, Power Up People, and others to demand an end to the city’s 287(g) agreement and stand in solidarity with protesters in Minneapolis and around the country.

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By Victoria Hinckley

Tampa students protest against ICE.

Tampa, FL – On Thursday January 29 around 40 people attended a protest held by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society near the USF campus.

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By staff

Protest in Jacksonville, Florida after the murder of Alex Pretti by federal agents.

Jacksonville, FL – Over 1000 people marched through downtown and packed the courtyard outside the federal courthouse here on January 27, demanding justice for Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

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By staff

Trade unionists in Seminole, Florida demand justice for Alex Pretti.

Seminole, FL – On the morning of January 29, around 20 union members and community supporters rallied outside of Representative Anna Paulina Luna’s office in Seminole, Florida. The Florida AFL-CIO organized the event to demand justice and accountability for Alex Pretti, a Veterans Administration nurse and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union member who was murdered by Border Patrol in Minneapolis.

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By staff

Families who have lost loved ones to police violence demand accountability.

Jacksonville, FL – On January 24 families who have lost loved ones at the hands of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office rallied at James Weldon Johnson Park, outside of Jax City Hall. The event, organized by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, centered on shared frustrations over delayed investigations, a lack of communication from authorities, and narratives that misrepresent their loved ones.

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By staff

Jacksonville students push back against attacks on immigrants.

Jacksonville, FL– On Tuesday, January 20, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) quietly set up a recruitment table on the University of North Florida campus. Shortly after, a member of Jacksonville Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) reported the table’s presence, and the group quickly organized an emergency protest.

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By staff

Tampa protest following the ICE killing of Alex Pretti.

Tampa, FL – On a balmy Saturday evening at Tampa City Hall, January 24, the Tampa community came out for another emergency action after federal agents executed a Minneapolis man, Alex Pretti, for observing ICE operations.

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By Juniper Curtis

March in Tallahassee, Florida against ICE murderers and Trump's agenda.

Tallahassee, FL – On January 24, over 600 people marched and rallied at the Florida Capitol building, led by the Tallahassee Coalition Against Trump. Protesters took to the streets in an act of resistance against Trump’s racist and reactionary agenda, with demands of, “ICE out now!,” “End 287(g)!,” “No more U.S. intervention!” and “Stop FBI and DOJ repression!”

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