Jacksonville, FL – On Saturday, August 15, community members and leaders of Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) rallied to demand an end to the U.S.-Israeli continued murder of Palestinian journalists.

The event was just five days after the anniversary of the martyrdom of Anas Al-Sharif, an award-winning frontline Palestinian journalist. Al-Sharif was murdered by a targeted airstrike on August 10, 2025, by the Israeli occupation forces.

The rally featured several speakers from JPSN who shared stories of the martyred journalists. People understand the journalists as the bearers of truth who risk their lives every day to capture the horrors of Israeli occupation for the world to see.

Reporting from Gaza has been in significant decline due to the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists. Since the start of the escalated genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023, there has been a recorded 242 Palestinian journalists killed by the Israeli occupation forces.

The loved ones of journalists are targets as well, with many families of journalists killed by the Israeli forces. Even after death, their stories and their voices live on through the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their unified resistance.

Immediately after the rally, JPSN hosted a vigil to honor all of the martyred journalists, reading aloud the wills of Anas Al-Sharif, Saleh Aljafawari, and Hossam Shabat. This was followed by a moment of silence. Just as Palestinian journalists resolve to report on the war and genocide in the face of death, Jacksonville protesters promised to continue their solidarity effort to not let free speech die.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Gaza #JPSN

Tallahassee, FL – On August 17, the Leon County Commission held a public hearing regarding the proposed Historic Harms amendment to the county charter. From the pressure of about a dozen speakers and the presence of dozens more, the commission voted 5-2 to advance the amendment to the November ballot for all county citizens to vote on. Commissioners Brian Welch and Christian Caban voted against the amendment. 

The Historic Harms amendment, if passed, would require the county to periodically investigate past county policies and determine what kind of harms were caused to certain geographic areas due to those policies.

The state of Florida’s SB 1134, which would end funding opportunities for programs based on diversity, equity, and inclusion or any programs that even seemed that way, was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis this past April. The original language of the Historic Harms amendment drew concerns from the Charter Review Committee and from the county attorney due to potentially coming into conflict with the new law. The amendment was rewritten to fit within these bounds – the new language looks purely at geographic neighborhoods regardless of the demographics of who was affected in those areas. This approach did get at least a tacit approval from the county attorney and did get voted through by the review committee.

Members of the Tallahassee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TallyAARPR), the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA), Capital Area Justice Ministry, the League of Women Voters, and Tallahassee ALERT, which wrote the amendment, spoke out in favor on Monday.

“I believe there are many communities in Tallahassee that have been left behind, and this amendment is the first step to really looking at the problems with the city and attempting to rectify them,” said Delilah Pierre with the Tallahassee Alliance.

Brandon Beckett with TIRA said, “I think we need to leave it in the people’s hands to address their futures,” adding, “This amendment is addressing community members that have been left behind through the development of Tallahassee.”

Beckett continued, “It’s their community as well. We need to make sure every member of this community feels respected and doesn't feel as if they’re left behind.”

The amendment will now appear on the ballot in the November elections. State Representative Angie Nixon won an upset victory for the Democratic nomination and will appear on the ballot. As well, there are three Tallahassee city commission seats in the runoff election. The Tallahassee Alliance will spread information about the amendment to educate the public and get people to vote in favor of it.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #PeoplesStruggles #InjusticeSystem #HistoricHarms #OppressedNationalities

Tampa, FL – On August 20, community members spoke at a Tampa City Council meeting demanding they pass an ordinance to end ICE cooperation.

The Tampa Police Department and ICE cooperate based on a federal 287(g) agreement. A 287(g) agreement creates a formal partnership that allows ICE to deputize local law enforcement to carry out the duties of federal immigration enforcement officers. 

“I have been speaking with my neighbors, with church leaders, business owners and everyday Tampa residents. There’s always one thing that keeps coming up in the conversations and it is the impact of ICE in our city and in our neighborhoods,” Erain Boxtha, a member of Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee (IRC) stated.

Boxtha continued, “We are seeing businesses lose traffic because of ICE activity in our community. Churches closing because of impacted communities. And we are seeing families torn apart and left to pick up the pieces.” 

Tampa City Councilmember Bill Carlson commented on the public’s opposition to the 287(g) agreement, saying, “it was not an act of city council” and “city council is very limited in what we can do.”

The 287(g)-agreement was signed in the spring of 2025 between TPD and ICE under Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and the Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw. They have the power to cancel the agreement.

Tampa IRC continues the fight to end local police cooperation with ICE. They are educating the public and targeting the city council, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, and the new police chief.

Members of the Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee, along with individuals from Indivisible Pinellas, League of Women Voters and Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico, all spoke on public record.

#TampaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #287g

Melbourne, FL – On Saturday, August 8, over 30 community members from throughout Florida's Space Coast gathered in Melbourn to a protest called by the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance (SCIRA).

Florida contains the highest population of Haitian immigrants of all 50 states, with over 4000 of residing in Brevard County.

Demonstrators gathered in front of the office complex housing the office of Representative Mike Haridopolos, demanding the U.S. government reinstate Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants, a policy recently cancelled by the Trump administration as part of its escalating terror campaign against immigrants.

The protest was attended by activists from groups including Brevard Youth for Democracy, Awake Brevard Action Alliance, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization Orlando, all of whom held signs and chanted facing the busy intersection.

Jack Apostos with Brevard Youth Democracy told the crowd “The fight doesn’t end here today and pick up at the next rally; it is 24/7, seven days a week until we win.”

A member of the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance stated, “Haiti, an island nation founded by formerly enslaved Africans, has never seen a day of peace ever since they declared independence in 1804.” He continued, “There must be an end to 287(g) immediately. We cannot allow this constant cycle of abuse. We cannot allow a felon and his masked thugs to hide behind the police department and other local law enforcement entities.”

#MelbourneFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #Haitians

Tampa, FL – On Sunday, August 8,about 20 people came out to downtown Tampa to demand that Trump and ICE stop their attacks on Haitian immigrants, after the revocation of Temporary Protected Status.

Since the end of TPS, Haitians have been subject to cruel and inhumane treatment, such as being told to report for self-deportation or face humiliating measures like ankle-monitors. They have been targeted in large scale immigration raids in places like Immokalee, a rural mostly farmworker community in southwest Florida. The activists rallied under the slogans of legalization for all, stop the deportations, and protect TPS.

One in ten Haitians have had to flee Haiti due to the violence brought about by U.S.-led interventions that have destabilized the country, resulting in over 8100 killings last year.

5.7 million people face starvation, as cholera runs rampant due to a non-existent health system. To say that Haitians here do not deserve protected status is as absurd as it is racist. Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TAARPR) and Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee (Tampa IRC) organized this action, as part of a call to action by the Legalization for All network.

Emma Rice, an organizer with TAARPR stated, “Haiti has also suffered massive ecological disasters. Its original TPS designation came after the 2010 earthquake, when DHS granted temporary protections for Haitians already in the U.S. Yet UN camp conditions sparked a cholera outbreak that killed over 10,000 people. While the U.S. and its allies claim they want to ‘stabilize’ Haiti, their interference has fueled the gang violence, political chaos, and economic collapse we see today.”

Joe Nohava, of the Tampa IRC, spoke about Tampa Police Department officers participating in these deportations through its 287(g) agreement with ICE, asking, “Do we want our local police force to be part of this atrocity? Our city council and mayor could put an end to this- by passing an ordinance to end 287(g), and banning cooperation with ICE and immigration police, they could make this city a safer place for Haitian and all immigrants. They could do this tomorrow.”

All speakers and organizations present agreed to come out the next time Trump attacks the people. As emcee Yunqing Zheng put it, “Donald Trump has pissed a lot of people off, and so he creates his own enemies. It’s up to us to organize everyone he’s pissed off.”

#TampaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #Haitians #Haiti #TAARPR #TIRC #TPS

Jacksonville, FL – On Wednesday, August 5, Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network held their first class in a series of free educational sessions, inspired by the popular education that arose as a form of resistance in the First Intifada.

Approximately 30 community members attended this teach-in to learn about the phases and effects of the First and Second Intifada, and the history of popular education in Palestine, which was necessitated by the closing of schools by Israeli occupying forces.

Attendees were provided with literature, including a collection of excerpts outlining the origin and revolutionary nature of education in Palestine. During breakout sessions groups were provided with different topics to discuss and present to the class. The conclusion drawn by each group during discussion was abundantly clear – regardless of the force exerted upon them, Palestinians will always remain resilient, and each attack by the enemy only hardens their resolve.

“We see another example of repression just breeding more resistance. Kicking people out of schools simply created another opportunity for Palestinians to root themselves in their identities and open another avenue of resistance,” stated Lindsay Bowyer of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network.

“It caused education to seep into other areas of the resistance. They responded more fired up because of these policies,” said another attendee.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

Tampa, FL – Some 50 people gathered in front of Tampa City Hall, Sunday, July 19, to honor the three lives recently stolen from their families and communities by ICE murderers. The protest was organized by the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee (TampaIRC) as a part of the Legalization for All national week of action.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo from Houston, Texas, and Joan Sebastian Guerrero, from Maine, were gunned down when they were stopped by ICE in their vehicles. ICE claimed both men weaponized their vehicles – the same justification utilized when immigration enforcement killed Renee Good in Minneapolis in January. Videos that surfaced in all three cases contradicted the agency’s account. The other person killed was Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran, a tourist from Mexico, who was hit by a semi-truck as he ran away from ICE in St. Augustine, Florida.

No ICE agent has been arrested for their deaths.

Protesters chanted, “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA,” “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here” and, “When immigrants are under attack what do we do? Stand up fight back!”

Attention was also drawn to the grand jury investigation of Los Angeles-based immigrant rights activist Nadia Topete, a 21-year-old Chicana immigrant rights activist with Centro Community Service Organization in Los Angeles, who was targeted and subpoenaed by the FBI for her organizing work. She was called to appear before a grand jury where she exercised her right to stay silent.

Alvaro Montealegre, member of TIRC said, “it is clear she is facing repression for demanding justice for our immigrant and undocumented community members. We all stand in solidarity with Nadia and everyone facing repression for protecting the rights of immigrants. Today it’s Nadia; tomorrow it could be any one of us.”

The chair of the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee, said, “it's not enough to simply get rid of ICE. What we need is legalization for all. Because, before ICE, there was the Immigration and Naturalization Services, the INS, which was restructured into ICE. The violent tactics that we see from ICE existed long before ICE. We need legalization for all. Legalization for all would mean that immigrants would not be criminalized regardless of documentation status, without the need to give up the citizenship of their country of origin. We need to remove the basis that criminalizes us immigrants to begin with. If no one can ever be illegal on U.S. soil, there would be no need for ICE, Border Patrol, 287(g) agreements or whatever else the federal and state governments cook up.”

Before an enthusiastic crowd, they ended with the chant, “What do we want? Legalization! When do we want it? Now!”

The rally ended just in time, as heavy rain began to fall.

#TampaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #NadiaTopete #LorenzoSalgadoAraujo #JoanSebastianGuerrero

Orlando, FL – On Saturday, July 18, about 50 members of the Puerto Rican community and allies in Orlando gathered on the corner of Semoran and Curry Ford to demand Puerto Rico’s independence from the U.S., the dissolution of the fiscal oversight and management board, and an end to the United States’ colonial occupation. The rally and march coincided with the annual Marcha Por La Independencia happening in San Juan.

The event was organized by Floriboris – a local group that represents the interests of the Puerto Rican community in Florida and aims to unite Puerto Ricans across the state through culture, education, community-building and action.

Attendees gathered on the corner of the busy intersection waving signs that read “Viva Borikén libre” and “Escencia no va” while shouting chants including “¡Perto Rico no se vende, Puerto Rico se defiende!” and “¡Par arriba, pa abajo, la Junta pal carajo!” The rally also commemorated Father Roberto Morales, a local priest and community leader who dedicated his life to the struggle for Puerto Rican independence.

Speakers highlighted the plight inflicted on Puerto Ricans by the U.S. colonial occupation and the need for resistance and independence. “La Junta is an unelected, undemocratic body that controls Puerto Rico’s economy without the consent of our people,” said Gisselle Bermudez, an organizer with Diaspora Pa’lante Collective. “It has enriched corporations while imposing austerity measures on our communities, privatizing public services, cutting pensions and closing schools and hospitals in Puerto Rico. After 128 years of colonial rule, we say enough! Our liberation cannot wait.”

The rally also condemned Escencia, a widely unpopular $2 billion dollar luxury complex currently in development that would sit on 2000 acres of seized Puerto Rican land to siphon the wealth of the island into the hands of capitalists.

The long history of U.S. military testing in Puerto Rico was highlighted as well. “The military out of Vieques was a 60-year struggle. For 60 years they tested all kinds of weapons in Vieques, including radioactive experiments,” said Rafael Olivera-Cintrón, an organizer with Floriboris. “Now, the population in Vieques suffers heavily from higher rates of cancer than other parts of the island. Vieques is left behind. Vieques doesn’t have a functional hospital and a functional clinic because of this whole colonial structure that prevents us from being able to take care of ourselves!”

The group marched down the streets with lively chants, waving Puerto Rican flags and carrying a banner that read “Independcia ya! Despierten Boricuas!” People passing by on foot and in cars showed overwhelming support by honking in solidarity, singing and dancing, and joining in on chants, showing that the struggle for Puerto Rico’s independence is a popular sentiment in Orlando.

#OrlandoFL #FL #OppresseNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #PuertoRico

Orlando, FL – On Tuesday, July 14, a dozen members of the Orlando community gathered at Lake Eola for a vigil marking one month since an officer with the Senatobia Police Department in Mississippi shot and killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley.

The event was organized by Orlando Against Police Crimes to remember Wiley’s life, cut short by police violence, and to echo the family's call for transparency, accountability and justice for their baby boy.

“Wiley never had a chance to grow up to experience any number of things that we all take for granted on a daily basis – never got to form any childhood memories, never got to experience being a kid,” said Richard Thomas, member of Orlando Against Police Crimes.

Those who spoke made connections between this police shooting and several others that have happened in Orlando at the hands of Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office. In particular, deadly incidents that occurred outside of Walmarts due to suspected theft.

“On February 19, 16-year-old Jairus Jones was shot and killed at a Walmart in Poinciana by an off-duty Osceola County deputy. Just three days later, Jason Anthony Beal, age 48, was shot by Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies and taken to a hospital for his injuries. Both Jones and Beal were suspected of shoplifting.”

The group gathered under the Florida rain to hear speeches from various activists and sang songs of unity and perseverance, led by the Orlando Singing Resistance.

Before leaving, those in attendance called for local accountability by committing themselves to the ongoing campaign to reinstate the Orlando Civilian Police Review Board. They laid flowers at the foot of a large poster of Kohen Wiley and used tea light candles to spell out the word “Justice.”

#OrlandoFL #FL #InjusticeSystem #KohenWiley #KillerCop

The action happened in the wake of an increase of ICE activity in the area and just days after Juan Jario Carasquillo Durán, a local 28-year-old Mexican immigrant, was struck and killed by a semi truck while crossing a highway fleeing from ICE in Saint Augustine, a city only around 40 minutes away from Jacksonville.

Durán’s death marked the third death in the past week during an ICE interaction, with the second death being Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian father and husband who was shot and killed in front of his wife and daughter in Maine.

Around 100 local activists and community members gathered to demand justice for the victims. Organizations such as the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, and 50501 Vets were among several groups that spoke. Signs held at the rally said, “ICE out of our community,” “Hands off Nadia Topete” and “Florida will melt ICE.”

“We can’t just let a member of our community pass away and not have anything to say about it,” said a member of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, “We can’t just stand by and watch as our other community members for weeks have been terrorized, scared to even leave their own homes to go to their jobs.”

JIRA continues to stand in solidarity with the families of the victims as they fight for justice for their loved ones and advocate for the rights of immigrants in Jacksonville through know your rights initiatives, demanding an end to the cruelty camps, and demanding an end to the 287(g) agreement, which allows local law enforcement to act as ICE.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #JIRA

Orlando, FL – On July 9, the family of Milagros “Millie” Ortiz, alongside attorney Ben Crump, announced plans to file a $92 million lawsuit following a t-bone collision by an Orlando Police Department officer on January 18, which resulted in her death.

This comes after the state attorney’s office for Orange and Osceola Counties declined to charge the officer responsible with vehicular manslaughter.

“I am here to say that we will not stop saying my grandmother's name, Milagros B. Ortiz, until justice is served,” her granddaughter Ashley Rodriguez said.

Ortiz, 92 years old, was in the passenger seat returning from her weekly Saturday night game of bingo. Footage obtained from a camera at the intersection of Semoran Boulevard and Hoffner Avenue shows an OPD vehicle stopped at a red light. OPD officer Andrew McKuhen reportedly saw another vehicle make an illegal U-turn, which prompted him to turn on his red and blue lights and begin driving through the intersection. However, the lights that came on were not flashing, but static, and an eyewitness reported not hearing the vehicle’s siren go off.

As the OPD vehicle crossed the middle of the intersection, the emergency lights shut off and the vehicle accelerated, slamming into the driver’s side of the car. Ortiz passed away at a local hospital several days later because of the crash injuries. Video from a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store shows the emergency lights on the vehicle coming back on 27 seconds after the crash.

According to OPD’s own preliminary crash report, the police vehicle “was at fault for the collision due to failure to yield right of way.” However, in June, after months of dodging questions from local news reporters pertaining to the crash, Chief Eric Smith appeared on a podcast and blamed the crash on faulty vehicle emergency lights.

“We will be filing a $92 million lawsuit against the Orlando Police Department, the maintenance company, and the product manufacturer because somebody is going to be held accountable,” Crump said.

During the press conference, Ortiz’s family surrounded the podium along with several large portraits depicting Ortiz. She was a beloved matriarch and a vibrant soul. Family members, including daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, spoke about who Ortiz was and her character.

“My mother was an angel,” daughter Judy Santiago said, adding, “If you all would have known her, you all would have fell in love with my mother.” Ortiz was full of life and vigor, and was known to all as the life of the party.

Ortiz’s family acknowledged that she is not the only victim of OPD traffic-related deaths in recent years, adding that they want to fight for change to ensure no other families experience such a tragedy.

“I don't know when our hearts are going to be healed, if ever,” Santiago said, “but justice for my mother, justice for Millie Ortiz.”

#OrlandoFL #FL #InjusticeSystem #MillieOrtiz #OPD #KillerCop #OppressedNationalities

Jacksonville, FL — On July 11, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) held an emergency rally in an area that has been seeing a growing presence of ICE. There were approximately 50 attendees demanding ICE leave their community for good.

When speaking on the extreme increase in ICE activity within Jacksonville, one of JIRA's own members stated, “I mean look around where we’re at, people in this very community have been taken away from their homes, ripped apart from their family and friends. They target our working-class immigrants at our very doorstep, all because they are the most vulnerable. It doesn’t matter to them if your documents are in order, they profile you immediately based off of their notions on what an immigrant looks like.”

There was an additional call for justice at this rally, as this took place within a week of the murder of ICE Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

JIRA stands in solidarity with the Lorenzo Salgado Araujo family in their demand for answers, as ICE has lied denied the family the right to claim his body while claiming to investigate their own crime.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #LorenzoSalgadoAraujo

Jacksonville, FL – While heat warnings shortened celebrations of the 250th July 4, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network took to the hot Florida pavement to protest U.S. aggression both domestically and abroad, including its support for the genocide in Gaza.

The rally started at Memorial Park in the heart of Riverside, where members of organizations spoke on the injustices carried out by the U.S.

A member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) told the crowd, “Over the last three years, at least 75,000 Palestinians have been murdered in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which the United States government has been bankrolling, another 1200 citizens in Syria killed in the regime change in their country, and another 3600 Iranians killed in the senseless war against their country and as if that's not bad enough, we have another 100 civilians of Venezuela killed in the kidnapping of their president, Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores.” The crowd yelled “Shame!” in response.

Focus was also brought to the attacks the Trump administration has made on immigrant communities. Crystal Aguilar of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance stated, “250 years of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But for who? Certainly not for me, or for the millions of working-class people living in America. Not for the immigrants who die crossing the border every day to enter this country, those who have died in ICE detention, and those whose labor is being exploited by greedy corporations. Is this what we choose to stand for? Is this what we are going to continue to allow in our country?” The crowd yelled back, “No!”

The rally became mobile as the participants began marching down Riverside Avenue toward the bustling arts market hosted under the Fuller Warren Bridge. Patrons of the market could hear the marchers steadily approach as the chanting and drumming grew louder. Anyone in the vicinity could hear roars of, “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air! U.S. out of everywhere!”

The chants echoed across the market with the help of the bridge's acoustics. Ryan Delaney of the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) and a co-organizer of the march addressed the market’s attendees: “We are out here today as part of a national day of action called by the Anti-War Action Network. We are organizing in cities around the country, saying that we reject this idea of 250 years of freedom when we continue to take the freedom away from people around the world and in our own country.”

Most of the market patrons stopped what they were doing to see what was going on. They listened intently as a call to action was issued, “Everybody who's here at the Riverside Arts Market, I want you all to know that we are going to continue to fight for this. And we want all of you to get involved. We want every single person here to wake up and rise to this occasion and get ready for the real fight ahead of us. So for every single one of y'all out here, if you're with us, we want y'all to march with us. Because we are going to continue to march, and we're going to go back to Memorial Park, where we're going to continue our program.”

The march made its way back to Memorial Park with more people than it had started with. Upon returning, the attendees cooled down in the shade. Food and water were distributed as folks socialized and built community.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #JPSN

Orlando, FL – On the evening of Friday, June 19, around 80 community members gathered from all over Orlando at the intersection of Anderson Street and Division Avenue. They carried signs that read “Defend voting rights” and “Justice for the victims of police crimes” as they marched toward city hall in response to Republican-led attacks on the voting rights of the Black community, as well as demanding community control of the police.

The protest was organized by Orlando Against Police Crimes (OAPC), a grassroots community organization fighting for the victims of police crimes. At the event, OAPC condemned recent attacks on voting rights by the Supreme Court of the United States in the Louisiana v. Callais case. The case made it harder to correct maps that dilute the voting rights of the Black community. It is a decision which also paved the way for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and right-wing legislators to redraw maps that undermine the political power of Black voters.

Gathered at the corner of Anderson and Division, the crowd was set to march across the Anderson Street Bridge as they made their way down to city hall. Community leader Lawanna Gelzer opened the event by talking about the significance of the location chosen. “They named this Division Avenue because it was the segregation line between Black and Caucasian people during Jim Crow. Now, Division Avenue stands for economic disparity and gentrification.”

Gelzer also spoke on the history of the Civil Rights Movement. She gave a particular focus to the historic march across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama – the site of a brutal attack on protestors perpetrated by police known as Bloody Sunday.

“This march is a reenactment of that moment. They call us radicals when all we’re asking for is to respect the voting rights we fought for and to bring back the police civilian review board they took away from us,” said Gelzer.

Protesters then marched across the Anderson Street Bridge, local activists leading chants such as “Donald Trump you racist clown, tell your courts we won’t back down!” and “Ron DeSantis shame on you, the KKK fear Black votes too!” Protesters sang ballads from the Civil Rights Movement such as We Shall Overcome and Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round.

Once the protesters arrived at Orlando City Hall, OAPC member Edmund Anglero told the crowd, “Some of you may be wondering why a group focused on police crimes organized an event around voting rights. Our right to vote is a building block upon which we amass more political power. Those rights were fought for, and earned, in blood. We must defend them with everything we have. The struggle for community control of the police is ultimately about expanding our basic democratic rights.”

Anglero also highlighted the recent murder of Kohen Wiley, a one-year-old child killed by Mississippi police in a Walmart parking lot, and called for justice and accountability.

The Orlando Singing Resistance choir and 50501 Orlando ended the event with songs and speeches while OAPC put out a call to action. They urged members of the community to join OAPC’s campaign in reinstating the Civilian Review Board and getting involved in the struggle for police accountability and community control of the police in Orlando.

#OrlandoFL #FL #Juneteenth #OppressedNationalities #OAPC #NAARPR

Tallahassee, FL – On June 20, the Tallahassee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TallyAARPR) held its Angelversary rally and vigil at the Lynching Historical Marker at Cascades Park to honor the lives of those killed by racist violence.

Organizers demanded justice for victims of police violence, such as Kohen Wiley, the one-year-old shot and killed by police in Senatobia, Mississippi, as well as those victims who still have not received justice, such as Mychael Johnson and Tony McDade, both killed by Tallahassee Police Department officers within weeks of each other in 2020.

Other groups in attendance included the Tallahassee Immigrants Rights Alliance (TIRA), Tallahassee SDS (Tally SDS), and the Tallahassee District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (Tally FRSO).

Aedan Bennett with TIRA said, “In Florida and in all of the southern states in the Black Belt South, Black and brown people are still criminalized just for existing. In Florida, Black children are transferred to adult court and tried as adults at seven times the rate of white children. For immigrants and Latino people in this country, they are thrown in jail for being here ‘illegally,’ a fake crime, where they are denied medical care and access to running water.”

Speaking for Tally SDS, JJ Glueck stated, “Most of y'all remember the first time you bought diapers or baby formula or pacis and that feeling of how good it feels and how nice it is to get to take care of this little sweet child that you're related to or that you know. I can't believe that Kohen Wiley's mom will never get to buy him another thing. It's heartbreaking that she'll never get to buy him another thing.”

Glueck continued, “They don't care about any of our lives. But most of all, they treat Black lives like they're disposable, like they're worth killing for some kind of $20 diaper.”

Brandon Beckett with Tallahassee FRSO spoke towards the broader causes of political repression. “This is what police terror looks like. Not an exception, but a pattern. Not a few bad officers, but a system that chooses the property of the capitalist class over the lives of Black people every single time. Over and over again, we see the same thing happen. A Black person is killed. The officer is put on paid leave. The investigation goes nowhere. The grand jury does nothing. And the cycle continues. It is predictable. It is deliberate. And it is by design.”

The event also highlighted the recent attacks on voting rights around the country. Speaking for TallyAARPR, Delilah Pierre said, “The right to vote for Black people wasn't fought in the courts. It was fought in the streets. The right to proportional representation to end gerrymandering is a fight that the people struggled for, not just a few politicians.”

Pierre continued, “We're fighting because in the 1870s, we fought for proportional representation, for Black people to have real rights. And that fight has not been finished. But let me tell you something. Our generation, our movement, our era, will be the ones to finish that fight, and we will be the ones to win.”

#TallahasseeFL #FL #InJusticeSystem #TAARPR

Cocoa, FL ‒ On June 14, the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance (SCIRA) held a rally in Cocoa, Florida as part of the Legalization 4 All network’s weekend of action against detention centers.

Dozens of demonstrators demanded “ICE out now” and chanted “Free our people, free them all!” while expressing solidarity with hunger strikers at Delaney Hall and Adelanto. The rally highlighted SCIRA's ongoing campaign to end 287(g) agreements in Brevard County, from municipal police forces to the county sheriff’s department.

Carlos Barreto of Orlando Against Police Crimes joined to emphasize the intersection of immigration enforcement with broader state violence, as the city of Orlando continues to fight against ongoing attempts to open a new ICE facility in Lake Nona. Edmund Anglero, member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, spoke on the socialist strategy of using an organized and militant working class to fight for immigrant rights.

Zaki Ahmed spoke for SCIRA, detailing that group’s goals and its strategy as a grassroots organization fighting for immigrant justice, how they deepen their ties to the Space Coast’s immigrant community, and their plans for the future.

The June 14 action marks SCIRA's first entirely self-directed rally after months of attending protests called by other organizations and building ties to the immigrant community through volunteering and barrio-walking in neighborhoods affected by Florida's ongoing deportation operations.

#CocoaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights

Tampa, FL – On a hot and humid Saturday, June 13, a spirited crowd of about 20 people stood outside Tampa’s police headquarters in downtown to demand the release of immigrant detainees from inhumane conditions, an end to Tampa’s collaboration with ICE, and legalization for all.

The crowd was there to take part in the Legalization for All network’s weekend of action in solidarity with detainees in custody in prisons like Adelanto and Delaney Hall. The call to action saw affiliates across the country rally in front of and march to detention centers.

This rally, called by the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee, was held outside Tampa police headquarters because of Tampa’s ongoing participation in the 287(g) program, which allows local police and other law enforcement to act as deputized ICE agents to carry out immigration arrests and enforcement. 

A speaker from local non-profit Magnified Voices raised the issue of human dignity being violated every day at these detention centers, as a hunger strike by detainees at Adelanto Detention Center in California has raged for weeks. Detainees report overcrowding, rotten food, dirty drinking water and inadequate clothing. Echoing reports from other detention centers across the country, detainees also report inadequate and slow medical care. 

Chants of, “From Duval to Delaney Hall, free our people, free them all!” sounded out throughout downtown as the rally proceeded.

Erain Boxtha, of the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee made the point, “Florida is number two in immigration detentions, and it is number one in local and state cooperation with ICE. Averaging about 100 daily arrests thanks to the help of local and state law enforcement cooperation.” He linked the profit motive of private detention center owners like CoreCivic and GEO Group to the increase in detentions and inhumane conditions, “And detention centers have created enormous wealth to private contractors aligned in exploiting the most vulnerable of us!” 

Activists heard directly from former GEO group executive George Zoley, in a recording from a shareholder meeting, bragging of a profit increase of 700 times since Trump came back to office,. The conclusion of the rally saw participants vow to keep fighting unjust detentions and Tampa’s 287(g) agreement.

#TampaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #TIRC

Jacksonville, FL- On June 10, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network held a press conference before the dismissal of the State Attorney’s Office’s municipal charge against Leah Grady for “resisting an officer without violence.”

The Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, in coalition with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, maintained Grady’s case as a flagrant attack against freedom of speech. State Attorney Melissa Nelson was further emboldened to attempt double jeopardy, another breach of constitutional law. On May 29, the state had already charged and sentenced them for a misdemeanor of the same title.

In the eyes of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network and the people of Jacksonville, the cases of Conor Cauley and Leah Grady have represented repeat violations of constitutional rights, most prominently the right to freedom of speech and protections from double jeopardy.

The targeting of activists was made clear to the public, as Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters had spoken to the press, demanding Grady and Cauley be made into an example. The collusion between city council officials and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was prevalent in pushing an identical agenda. As Ryan Delaney with JPSN reported, “the Director of City Council Jason Teal demanded an example needed to be made out of him [Conor Cauley]” in order to justify the harsh sentencing.

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee asserted Leah Grady and Conor Cauley’s cases are inextricably linked, contributing to the growing trend of repressing views that oppose the Jacksonville City Council and their continued injustices in the city. When interviewed by First Coast News, Monica Gold with JCAC noted, “They [Grady and Cauley] are being targeted for their political speech, for their practice of speaking out, for their practice of going to city council, for pointing out flaws in Jacksonville and trying to make Jacksonville a better place.”

Despite the aggressive year-long mission to repress the Palestine movement by State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s Office, the dismissal of Leah Grady’s second charge was a result of consistent community pressure and a competent defense campaign. Today’s win shows that the people will not accept these political attacks by Melissa Nelson or the Sheriff’s Office, and JPSN will work tirelessly to find the same victory in the upcoming appeals process.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ConorCauley #LeahGrady #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #JPSN #JCAC

Jacksonville, FL – Friends, family, and concerned community members gathered at Riverview Park on Saturday, June 6, to honor the life of Rashaud Martin.

The vigil was planned by A Mother’s Cry, a Jacksonville Community Action Committee coalition of family members who have lost their loved ones to police violence.

The afternoon was filled with music, poetry and reflection. Loved ones spoke on their fond memories and held balloons in Rashaud’s favorite colors. They also lamented that they are still looking for answers and justice.

On October 24, 2025 his family called for help during a mental health crisis. Rashaud was diagnosed with schizophrenia eight years before. Rashaud was Baker Acted (involuntary mental health examination and detention) by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Despite his mother receiving a call that he had arrived for care, Rashaud died in JSO custody in transport to the hospital. He was never admitted. Rashaud was 32 years old.

Despite eight months of the family’s demands, JSO has still refused to release body-worn camera footage of the incident.

“Raushaud Martin was someone’s child. And to deny anyone the closure of knowing why someone so important was taken from them– is a purposeful tactic to delay the inevitable fist of justice. But that is exactly what it is– inevitable,” said Moriyana Nieves, a speaker for the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.

For these grieving family members, Rashaud’s story is all too familiar. As a result, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee has taken up their fight for an emergency mental health response team in Jacksonville, Florida.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #RashaudMartin #InjusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #PoliceAccountability

Jacksonville, FL – El 29 de mayo, Miembros de la comunidad protestaron la sentencia grave de Conor Cauley y Leah Grady, dedicándose a seguir la lucha contra sus cargos y exigiendo la liberación de Conor Cauley, que actualmente se mantiene como prisionero político en la Cárcel del Condado Duval.

A pesar de las fuertes lluvias, más de 60 miembros de la comunidad protestaron delante del juzgado y, luego, detrás de la cárcel del condado bajo carpas que se combaban y rompían con el peso del agua de la lluvia. Esto no desanimó a los asistentes, que continuaban a gritar y concentrarse contra el tratamiento injusto a los organizadores contra la guerra.

Estas manifestaciones fueron dirigidas por la Red de Solidaridad con Palestina de Jacksonville junto con organizaciones comunitarias incluyendo la Comité de Acción Comunitaria de Jacksonville, la Alianza de Derechos de Inmigrantes de Jacksonville, los Brentwood 300, los Socialistas Democráticos de América, y la Organización Camino de la Libertad.

Cauley fue sentenciado a 60 días encarcelado y tres años de aprobación. Ya está siendo ordenado a quedarse más de 1000 pies del Policia Maykel Aliaga-Ruiz, el oficial que instigó el arresto inicial el año pasado por agarrarlo por el cuello a Cauley y tirarlo por una línea de sillas. La condición tendrá el efecto, como lo ha notado el abogado de Cauley en el juzgado, de efectivamente prohibirlo de asistir a las reuniones del consejo municipal en donde Aliaga-Ruiz trabaja, atacando directamente su derecho de hablar al aire libre con sus propios políticos elegidos y de ser organizador en la ciudad.

Grady fue sentenciada con seis meses de aprobación, 50 horas de servicios comunitario, y una orden de la corte de escribirle una “carta de disculpa” a la Presidenta Republicana del Consejo Randy White.

Ambas sentencias fueron más graves aún de lo que habían recomendado los prosecutores. La prosecución recomendaron tres meses de aprobación y 25 horas de servicio comunitario para Leah Grady y recomendaron 30 días de encarcelación y un año de aprobación para Conor Cauley. En los dos casos, los jueces o doblaron o triplicaron el castigo. Esto sale tras llamadas por el Sheriff de Jacksonville T.K. Waters que los jueces hagan un ejemplo de los organizadores de RSPJ así para intimidarlos políticamente.

Todo esto ocurrió a pesar de un despliegue enorme de apoyo comunitario en apoyo a los dos organizadores. Más de 40 cartas de carácter fueron entregadas a la corte por Conor Cauley, y testigos de gran nota hablaron a favor de Cauley, incluyendo la directora ejecutiva del local 1408 de la Asociación de Estibadores Internacional (AEI), Courtnee Staples.

“¿Quién salió hoy para acá para defender a Conor?” hizo la pregunta un miembro de la Organización Camino de la Libertad durante la concentración frente al juzgado. “Los profesores, vecinos, obreros de sindicato, estudiantes y gente de todas partes de Jacksonville – para resumir, un microcosmo de la comunidad entera. La ciudad no podía hacer más que rodear unos pocos para hablar contra Conor, y a quienes escogieron? La directora del consejo y el jefe de la policía.”

La Red de Solidaridad con Palestina de Jacksonville está comprometida a luchar contra los veredictos de los dos Conor Cauley y Leah Grady, habiéndo ya desarrollado un plan para oponer sus condenas de apelar contra ellas y pedir nuevo juicio. Harán más manifestaciones para exigir la liberación de Cauley hasta que esté fuera de la cárcel.

“Es por esta cárcel que, durante los próximos 60 días, Conor no verá justicia,” dijo Ryan Delaney de la Red de Acción Contra la Guerra. “Pues eso significa que nosotros seremos la razón por la cual, durante estos próximos 60 días, esta cárcel no sabrá ninguna paz!”

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #MoviemientoContraLaGuerra #SistemaInjusticia #RepresiónPolítica #JPSN #AWAN #Palestina #ConorCauley #Destacado