Green Bay, WI – On Saturday, February 8, nearly 100 people braved the winter cold and marched through downtown Green Bay, Wisconsin in a powerful demonstration against ICE’s escalating attacks on immigrant communities nationwide.

The protest was organized in opposition to Trump’s executive orders and the surge in ICE activity since his inauguration. One protester’s sign captured the spirit of the march, “The word criminal does not define who we are. If you want to label us, label us as loyal neighbors, dedicated workers, and caring community members.”

As the crowd marched through the snow, chants of “Aqui estamos y no nos vamos!” (We are here and we are not leaving!) reverberated with defiance and hope through the streets of Green Bay. The march was spearheaded by a local DACA recipient, who despite her fears, chose to stand up and organize her community to fight back. “Fear is real,” she shared with the crowd, “but so is our power. When we come together, we are stronger than any force that tries to divide us.”

This march was co-sponsored by local organizations Hate Free Outagamie (HFO), a group fighting for LGBTQ liberation, and Green Bay Anti-war Committee (GBAC), a group fighting against U.S. imperialism and war.

Mary Bogen, chair of HFO, addressed the crowd before the march, stating, “This is not about ‘law and order,’ this is about control. It's about keeping working people, especially Black and brown immigrants, queer folks, trans folks and their loved ones living in fear, so corporations and the ultra-rich can continue to exploit them.”

As the march concluded, protesters chanted “From Palestine to Mexico, all these walls have got to go!” Then Daniel Castillo of GBAC spoke of the anti-war movement’s unity with the immigrant rights movement, “Our movement understands that the struggle for peace isn't separate from the fight for justice at home. Every dollar spent on foreign military operations is a dollar stolen from our schools, our healthcare, and our communities.”

This protest is part of a growing wave of resistance sweeping the nation, coinciding with Legalization for All’s national week of action. As we continue to see people from the queer rights movements, the anti-war movement, the trade union movement and the immigrant rights movement unite to fight back against Trump’s attacks, we look forward to seeing what more the movement in the Fox Valley has in store.

#GreenBayWI #WI #ImmigrantRights #HFO #GBAC #Trump

Green Bay, WI – On March 3, the Green Bay Antiwar Committee (GBAC) rallied a dozen activists to disrupt a Democratic Party fundraiser featuring U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin.

The Brown County Democrats held the $100 a plate fundraiser at the historic Northland Hotel right after Baldwin voted yes to send nearly $100 billion of taxpayer-funded weapons to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel. Notably, Baldwin had already accepted $430,790 from pro-Israel, pro-genocide group AIPAC.

The anti-war activists greeted fundraiser attendees as they entered the venue, urging them to oppose any Democratic warmongering policies, and informing them of Baldwin’s hypocrisy.

After the fundraiser got started, the activists set up opposite the venue windows with signs, banners and multiple megaphones, and started chanting “Tammy Baldwin, you can’t hide – you’re supporting genocide!” They continued the chants throughout the entire fundraising event.

Attendees inside the fundraiser reported that they could hear the chants from inside the building, and the organizers were forced to turn up the volume of the music and speakers to try to drown out the constant chanting from outside.

Aodhan Bowman, who was with the activists chanting outside, said, “We know Baldwin is in there, and we know she can hear us. Protesters have been confronting her everywhere she goes. Green Bay and all of Wisconsin demands an end to funding war and genocide.”

#GreenBayWI #WI #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #GBAC

Green Bay, WI – On January 7, the Green Bay Anti-war Committee (GBAC) gathered two dozen dedicated community members to take advantage of the dense traffic leading to a Green Bay Packers football game, and displayed signs over the highway saying, “Long Live the Popular Palestinian Resistance!” and “End U.S. Support for Genocide!”

After an hour, the police arrived to try to blame the protestors for something but could only tell them to make sure nothing was dropped off the bridge. Incidentally, the police cruisers ended up disrupting traffic during this pointless interaction, giving GBAC even more visibility with their banners and flags.

The signs and the waving Palestinian flags attracted overwhelming support, with the very minimal opposition from a few lowlifes being drowned out by supportive honking horns and passengers flashing peace signs and thumbs-up as they drove by. Green Bay says from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

#GreenBayWI #International #Palestine #AntiWar #GBAC

Green Bay, WI – On Saturday, November 4, the newly formed Green Bay Anti-war Committee (GBAC) held their first official event, a rally at Leicht Memorial Park on the edge of downtown Green Bay. The event took place on the “National Day of Action for Palestine,” proclaimed after Israel’s genocidal actions, funded by the United States and Western Europe.

Following a daring attack of Palestinian resistance fighters on October 7, Israel has since carried out many utterly barbaric war crimes, such as bombing evacuating civilians along routes given to them by the Israeli government, targeting refugee camps with air-strikes, leveling of hospitals by the Israeli Air Force, and the deployment of white phosphorus.

The ethnic cleansing campaign by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has thus far amounted to the killing of at least 9400 Palestinians – nearly 4000 were children. Despite all this, Green Bay’s mayor, Eric Genrich, chose to light up Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge blue and white in solidarity with the Israel regime.

The event drew a lively, vocal crowd of nearly 20 locals. The tone of the rally was set well with chants of “Free, free Palestine!” and “Biden, Biden you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!” After that, organizers with the Green Bay Anti-war Committee, Hate Free Outagamie, a Teamsters union steward, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization delivered speeches.

Aodhan Bowman, founding member of the Green Bay Anti-war Committee, began remarks by tying the plight of Palestinians with the ongoing genocide of Native Americans in our own country and with a sharp denouncement of Mayor Genrich’s actions. Rally-goers were then keenly reminded that the current events we’re witnessing cannot be viewed in a vacuum and go back to the Nakba of 1948 when the Israeli apartheid state was officially launched by Western powers. It was also pointed out the U.S. has given billions of dollars to Israel and is now preparing to send $14 billion more.

“Being pro-Palestine, pro-queer liberation, and against antisemitism are not separate ideals; they are interconnected and reinforcing positions. All systems of oppression mutually uphold one another and it’s important to recognize that we cannot combat these injustices in isolation,” said Mary Blackburn of Hate Free Outagamie. “True queer liberation cannot be won by turning a blind eye to genocide, or by seeking a seat at the table with white supremacy and imperialism. Liberation can only be won through solidarity with all oppressed peoples of the world. None of us are free until all of us are free!”

“What we are witnessing is war, revolutionary war, a war of a whole people against a genocidal colonizing oppressor that kills indiscriminately and disproportionately,” said Ryan Hamann from FRSO. “Resistance to such a force, in any form, is entirely and completely justified.”

After the speeches, the group marched through the park and up onto Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge. The chanting, signs, and fluttering Palestinian flags were met with many supportive horns of passing by traffic. Upon getting into position, a large banner reading “Long live the popular Palestinian resistance from Green Bay to Palestine” was draped over the railing demonstrating that the people, even of small cities and towns across Wisconsin, stand in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation and against the U.S. war machine.

#GreenBayWI #Palestine #AntiWar #GBAC