Fight Back! News is circulating the following statement and call-to-action from National Students for a Democratic Society:

SDS members – Sarah Rogala, Jay Francabandera, community member Claire Wagoner, and one other student – are at threat of suspension, arrest, and job loss at Northern Arizona University due to protests that mobilized hundreds to say no to any ICE presence in Flagstaff, Arizona, as well as to say no to the opening of a new ICE office across NAU.

On Wednesday and Friday, Rogala and Francabandera face conduct hearings. We in SDS call on our supporters to call NAU on Wednesday Sept 23, and to tell them these hearings must end at once.

This is a flagrant violation of these students' and community member's First Amendment rights to free speech. Civil liberties and constitutional rights, especially ones as fundamental as the First Amendment, do not end at the threshold of a university, especially a public university, regardless of what made-up, slapdash, hastily fabricated, inconsistent, and unprecedented conduct policies might be sent in an email from one administrator to another.

College protest, flyering, and student assembly is a longtime tradition of campus life. Just because administrators would rather keep silent about Trump and ICE's crimes, does not mean they should have the power to crush student dissent and expression. We said no when similar attacks happened across universities in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and the Midwest, and we are saying no here now!

Call in on Wednesday morning, between 9am PDT and 5pm PDT (MDT Arizona), and help us defend free speech at Northern Arizona University!

When: Wednesday, September 23rd, between 9am and 5pm PDT (Arizona MDT)

Who to Call:

1. Megan Gavin, Dean of Students

928-523-5181

2. Justin Mallett, Vice President of “Inclusion Excellence” and Director of SPEAK

928-523-0373

3. Jose Luis Cruz Rivera, President of NAU

928-523-3232

Script:

“Hi there, my name is NAME and I am from, CITY, STATE. I am calling to say no to the conduct hearings on Sarah Rogala, Jay Francabandera, and a third SDSer whose hearing is also today, as well as to demand the repeal of the trespass warning and arrest threat on Claire Wagoner. We will call in until this repression on students at Northern Arizona University stops at once. Hands off campus free speech and the First Amendment right to assemble!”

#FlagstaffAZ #AZ #StudentMovement #NAU #PoliticalRepression #FlagstaffSDS

Minneapolis, MN – El 30 de agosto, T-Mobile y AT&T divulgaron que habían enviado los registros telefónicos de varios activistas de las Ciudades Gemelas a ICE y agentes de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional después de recibir una citación presentada por Seguridad Nacional en abril 12, 2026. Estos incluían los datos de telecomunicaciones de Jess Sundin, Steff Yorek y otros activistas anti guerra y anti ICE, como registros para la línea telefónica del Minnesota Council for American-Islamic Relations (Consejo de Minnesota para Relaciones Americano-Islámicas).

T-Mobile y AT&T cumplieron con la citación a pesar de que ninguno de los tres fueron acusados de cargos criminales, ni fueron notificados o pedidos de consentir a tales divulgaciones. Dada la naturaleza fraudulenta de la citación, otras compañías, como Google, rechazaron divulgar cualquier información.

Esta citación vino como parte de una investigación federal en desarrollo de los activistas que protestaron en enero 18 en Saint Paul contra el predicador en Cities Church, David Easterwood, quien es el director interino de la oficina local de las Operaciones de Detención y Deportación, también conocida como ERO St. Paul. 39 activistas de Minnesota, incluyendo activistas comunitarios negros Monique Cullars-Doty y Nekima Levy Armstrong, fueron arrestados en relación a esta acción, al igual que los reporteros notorios Georgia Fort y Don Lemon.

Sundin y Yorek son activistas anti guerra cuyo historial de activismo de solidaridad internacional se remonta a décadas atrás. Fueron incluídas en las redadas del FBI en 2010 y citaciones subsecuentes a un jurado de acusación, las cuales rehusaron cumplir. No estuvieron presentes ni estuvieron involucradas con la planeación de la protesta en Cities Church. La línea telefónica del Consejo de Minnesota para Relaciones Americano-Islámicas también carece de alguna relación discernible con la acción en Cities Church.

Un aspecto importante de la citación es que no son órdenes de cateo emitidas por una corte. Listado en la citación como uno de los receptores de la información es el agente especial del HSI Timothy Gerber, quien trabajó para el IRS antes de pasar a ICE en 2026. Él intentó, primero en febrero 2026 y después en marzo 2026, asegurar órdenes de cateo para incautar datos electrónicos de cinco acusados en el caso de Cities Church pero fue anulado por el juez John Docherty por fallar en establecer causa probable. Dos veces.

Desde entonces, Gerber, Grayson Cooper y el agente especial Steven Schrank han recurrido a citaciones de ICE para recuperar estos datos. La citación cita una ley que ordena la divulgación de datos relacionados a tasas pagadas a aduanas y otros asuntos de aduanas. La investigación de Cities Church no está relacionada a esto en absoluto. La citación de ICE ha recibido el extenso desdén de abogados y organizaciones de libertades civiles.

Esta citación viene como el siguiente paso en la saga de represión política lanzada contra los activistas anti ICE en las Ciudades Gemelas. Aparte de la protesta de Cities Church, 15 protestantes anti ICE, ahora conocidos como los 15 de Minnesota, han sido procesados con cargos federales falaces y enfrentan hasta más de una década en prisión por su activismo en el Whipple Building federal en Minneapolis. Los cargos incluyen el delito de conspiración para impedir un oficial federal, asalto de un oficial federal, acoso interestatal, amenazas interestatales, y más.

A pesar de las protestas involucrando más de 100,000 personas en el curso de meses invernales de temperatura subzero, Jonathan Ross, el agente de ICE que mató a Renee Good, y Jesus Ochoa y Raymundo Gutierrez, los agentes de ICE que mataron a Alex Pretti, están caminando libres y no han sido procesados por ningún crimen.

“Muchos de los 39 protestantes justos de Cities Church son mis amigos y colegas en el movimiento,” dijo Jess Sundin, una de los 23 Anti Guerra y una de los activistas de las Ciudades Gemelas cuyos registros telefónicos fueron incautados. “Ellos están siendo procesados por hacer lo correcto – oponerse a los ataques brutales de ICE contra inmigrantes. La idea de que el gobierno use una citación falaz para conseguir registros de sus comunicaciones conmigo es un intento desesperado para formar un caso de nada. En vez de dividirnos, o silenciarnos, las acciones del gobierno solo están fortaleciendo nuestra solidaridad y compromiso de seguir luchando por la justicia.”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #ICE #DHS #PoliticalRepression #Minnesota15

Student activists at Northern Arizona University, members of the Flagstaff Students for a Democratic Society chapter, are facing harassment and threats of suspension for holding anti-ICE rallies this past spring. One leader, Sarah Rogala, is facing a second round of conduct hearings heading towards suspension. Another leader, Claire Wagoner, has been trespassed by campus police and is threatened with arrest if she appears on campus.

We wholeheartedly condemn this violation of their First Amendment rights to free speech and the right to assembly.

Flagstaff SDS came into existence in January 2026. By February and March, they were holding rallies of up to 400 people each, first demanding a sanctuary campus and then denouncing the construction of a new ICE office across from NAU. These rallies culminated in a 200-student sit-in at the president's office, spanning dozens of student organizations. These demands clearly reflected the will of the student body. By mid-April, the administration hit both Rogala and Wagoner with bogus conduct hearings and threats of suspension.

A student group like SDS, which takes a fighting approach to organizing, is a special target for administrators. Justin Mallett, the vice president of NAU Center for “Inclusive Excellence and Access” and a stooge for administration, was heard saying, “I'll be damned before I let SDS become an official student organization.”

The retaliation bears an eerie resemblance to similar anti-free speech policies enacted across the country. In Florida, long-standing SDS chapters that have been around for over a decade have leaders facing potential suspensions for even witnessing the act of people passing out fliers, such as at the University of North Florida and Florida State University.

Student leaders at University of Texas Austin have been suspended for protesting Trump's compact, which sought to bribe universities to wipe out any ethnic cultural organizations, programs such as women's and gender studies, and any course that addresses racism or oppression. Students in Louisiana have been hit hard with constant conduct charges, even for simply for giving speeches about Palestine in other parts of the city, including off campus.

These anti-protest policies take many forms: so-called “time, place and manner” policies at schools such as Cal Poly Humboldt in California, where any expression-related activity has to be approved by the university; bald-faced criminalization, where youth, such as Claire Wagoner in Arizona and SDS leaders in Tampa, Florida, are trespassed from campus and told that campus police will arrest them if they appear; policies setting strict limits on the ability to meet, give out flyers, or hold protests where students can actually see them; and more.

These policies began to appear everywhere at the end of the encampment for Gaza movement in 2024. They have become a norm across campuses and are wielded against protests of ICE and of Trump.

University presidents, such as NAU President Cruz Rivera, want everyone to think that there is nothing wrong in the U.S. and nothing to protest. They lie. They side with the Trump administration for chump change. They want to force students to look the other way as ICE strives to deport record numbers of immigrants and sets up an office across from campus. They will trample on students so that ICE can have free rein over students and staff at NAU.

So far, the brave student organizers in SDS will not let them, and neither will we. We condemn NAU's violation of Rogala and Wagoner's First Amendment rights to free speech and the freedom of assembly. We call on all progressives to do the same. We assert our right to protest on campus, and we will not let it go without a fight.

And when we fight, we win!

#FlagstaffAZ #AZ #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #PoliticalRepression #ICE #NAU

Flagstaff, AZ – On Friday, September 4, the Flagstaff chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held their first protest of the school semester at Northern Arizona University (NAU). The organization has been fighting to demand a sanctuary campus, and has held multiple marches, call-in campaigns and sit-ins during meetings with university administration.

SDS Flagstaff President Claire Wagoner and Vice-president Sarah Rogala have been charged with several policy violations by the university’s administration for their protests and actions advocating for a sanctuary campus, including protesting the opening of an ICE administrative office in Flagstaff.

According to multiple SDS members, the organization as a whole also faces repression from university administration.

SDS member Eris Wolfer said, “Admin constantly restricts where we can distribute flyers, where we can table; we have to fight to reserve rooms to hold meetings. The policies being cited to restrict us are contradictory, confusing, or just entirely nonexistent when we look for them. The conservatives on campus aren't faced with the same scrutiny and are actively assisted when their events fail to capture attention, it all just feels really targeted.”

At the start of the September 4 protest, students gave speeches condemning both ICE and NAU admin. Claire Wagoner told the crowd, “NAU needs to immediately take action to become the ‘progressive’ campus they claim to be.”

Wagoner continued, “We know everything they say is a lie, they are willing to protect their image and profit over the well-being of their students.”

The final speaker, Judah Francabandera, said, “This year we have seen ICE take the lives of countless people, both with direct lethal force, and by starving them of their human needs. We have seen ICE lease a building just a mile off campus. They’ve already taken people out of our city.”

Francabandera concluded, “Will we be spineless? No? Then let’s fucking march!”

The students then marched from the south side of campus to Flagstaff City Hall, chanting on the NAU campus and the streets of downtown Flagstaff. The protesters carried both a handmade banner and flag reading “Students for a Democratic Society,” as well as signs with such slogans as “Stop deportations!” “ICE kills children!” and “Join us against ICE!”

As they marched across campus, several students not participating in the march opened their windows to shout words of support.

While heading both to and from Flagstaff City Hall, the students marched through a monthly city art fair known as the First Friday ArtWalk. Hundreds of attendees parted the way for the protestors and cheered them on.

The protest ended with speeches in which anyone to share their perspective. One student gave an account of how her aunt was taken by ICE. SDS member Giovanni Alvarez stated, “A family friend of mine, who is Navajo, by the way, was detained by ICE and was taken to Page, Arizona. She has no family in Page, and never went there prior.”

Alvarez added, “I have been stopped by ICE myself when I lived in Scottsdale. They asked me if I was ‘legal,’ if I had ‘paperwork.’ I was born here in Arizona, what do you want from me?”

SDS Flagstaff plans to escalate its campaign for a sanctuary campus while continuing to oppose the ICE office in Flagstaff.

#FlagstaffAZ #AZ #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #ICE #SanctuaryCampus #PoliticalRepression

Minneapolis, MN – On August 30, T-Mobile and AT&T disclosed that they had sent the phone records of several Twin Cities activists to ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents after receiving a summons filed by Homeland Security on April 12, 2026. These included the telecommunications data of Jess Sundin, Steff Yorek and other anti-ICE and anti-war activists, such records for the phone line for Minnesota Council for American-Islamic Relations.

T-Mobile and AT&T complied with the summons even though none of the three were charged with any criminal charges, nor were they notified or asked to consent to such disclosures. Given the fraudulent nature of the summons, other companies, such as Google, declined to disclose any data.

These summons came as part of an ongoing federal investigation of the activists who protested on January 18 in Saint Paul against the preacher in Cities Church, David Easterwood, who is the acting field office director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, known as ERO St. Paul. 39 Minnesota activists, including Black community activists Monique Cullars-Doty and Nekima Levy Armstrong, were arrested in connection to this action, along with the high-profile journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon.

Sundin and Yorek are anti-war activists whose record of international solidarity activism goes back decades. They were included in FBI raids in 2010 and subsequent subpoenas to a grand jury, with which they refused to comply. They were not present at nor involved with the planning of the Cities Church protest. The Minnesota Council for American-Islamic Relations phone line also lacks any discernible connection to the Cities Church action.

One important aspect of the summons is that they are not court-issued search warrants. Listed on the summons as one of the recipients of the data is HSI Special Agent Timothy Gerber, who worked for the IRS before moving over to ICE in 2026. He attempted, first in February 2026 and then again in March 2026, to secure search warrants to seize electronic data for five defendants in the Cities Church case but was struck down by Judge John Docherty for failure to establish probable cause. Twice.

Since then, Gerber, Grayson Cooper and Special Agent Steven Schrank have resorted to ICE summons to retrieve this data. The summons cites a law that mandates the disclosure of data related to fees paid to customs and other customs business. The City Church investigation is not related to this at all. The ICE summons has received widespread disdain from lawyers and civil liberties organizations.

These summons come as the next step in the saga of political repression launched against anti-ICE activists in the Twin Cities. Apart from the Cities Church protest, 15 anti-ICE protesters, known now as the Minnesota 15, have been indicted on bogus federal charges and face up to over a decade in prison for their activism at the federal Whipple Building in Minneapolis. The charges include felony conspiracy to impede a federal officer, assault of a federal officer, interstate stalking, interstate threats, and more.

In spite of protests involving over 100,000 people over the course of subzero winter months, Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who killed Renee Good, and Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez, the ICE agents who killed Alex Pretti, are walking free and have not been charged for any crimes.

“Many of the Righteous 39 Cities Church protesters are my friends and movement colleagues,” said Jess Sundin, one of the Anti-War 23 and one of the Twin Cities activists whose phone records were seized. “They are being prosecuted for doing the right thing – standing against ICE's brutal attacks on immigrants. The idea that the government would use a bogus summons to get records of their communications with me is a desperate attempt to make a case out of nothing. Instead of dividing us, or silencing us, the government's actions are only strengthening our solidarity and commitment to keep fighting for justice.”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #PoliticalRepression #ICE #DHS #InjusticeSystem #Feature

Pittsburgh, PA – In a partial victory for students, Carnegie Mellon University dropped its case against eight students charged with discrimination and harassment. The students were charged after painting a series of anti-Zionist messages on the university’s designated “free speech fence.”

While the exonerated students and other activists recognize this as a step towards victory, a ninth student involved in the original case, Rosalyn Tosh, is now facing additional charges, including the threat of expulsion.

Aster Lufkin, one of the exonerated students, said, “Our free speech victory is important, but we still have work ahead of us. The university is still persecuting Rosalyn. And, ultimately, securing our right to speak out about Palestine is step zero to organize for divestment and other truly impactful ways of supporting Palestinian liberation.”

Tosh spoke with Fight Back! News about her ongoing struggle with university administration. “CMU is trying to break me. It unilaterally cut my housing contract a week before move-in, which has put me in an unstable housing situation, citing a third charge it added on a whim. It denied my request for permission to schedule times for dining on campus property, preventing me from using financial aid to afford food, after months of documentation of my limited access. I can barely study and my physical health is deteriorating. It is using those as bargaining chips to pressure me to take their deal.”

The exoneration of eight students comes after activists around the city rallied behind the fence painters, with the support of the groups Palestine Legal and Jewish Voice for Peace. Shortly after the charges were levied against the students, a joint letter from activist organizations, including the American Association of University Professors, Coalition for Higher Education, Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff, Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism, Palestine Legal, the Sunrise Movement, and Jewish Voice for Peace, called on the university to clear the students from all charges.

In August, the charged students worked with the International Solidarity Committee of Pittsburgh (ISCPIT) to lead a call-in action during move-in week. ISCPIT leader Dot Bodwell spoke about her experience tabling near CMU campus during the call-in, “We managed to speak face-to-face with over 120 CMU students and quickly found out the student body does care about this; they don’t want to face repercussions for political speech in these moments when they are first learning and figuring out their politics.”

Marigold Cameron, chair of ISCPIT’s actions subcommittee, went into further detail about the significance of the recent development. “This decision from the administration shows the value of raising our voices to confront repression. The targeted students didn’t hide or go for a quiet legal defense; they showed up at activist meetings, spoke at protests, and helped us organize our call-in where students and community members alike flooded CMU’s voicemail with messages of discontent. It is thanks to pursuing this activist work alongside the defense by Palestine Legal that nearly all of the students are free.”

“The decision also shows the absurd arbitrariness of CMU’s position, by letting only some of the students off the hook despite the original charges being the same,” Cameron added. “Administration is in for a rude awakening if they think we are leaving Rosalyn behind.”

In July of this year, Carnegie Mellon began investigations into the students, barring many of them from campus on the grounds that their anti-Zionist, pro-Palestine statements painted on the fence constituted “threatening,” and “antisemitic” speech, and therefore violated campus anti-discrimination rules.

An earlier Fight Back! News article reported that ten students were facing repression. At this time, one of the original fence painters is no longer being represented within the same defense as the nine others and does not wish for any aspects of their case to be made public.

#PittsburghPA #PA #StudentMovement #PoliticalRepression #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #FreeSpeech

Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, August 27, over 100 people turned out to the federal courthouse in Minneapolis for the latest hearing for Minnesota 15, the group of anti-ICE protesters who have been indicted on bogus federal conspiracy charges for their alleged activities during Operation Metro Surge.

Recently, documents were released by the courts which detailed the Trump administration’s massive surveillance operation in Minneapolis targeting anti-ICE activists, labor unions and community groups. It included tactics such as sending undercover agents to public meetings and protests, using AI facial recognition software to track individuals, and recording suspected activists’ license plates in public parking lots.

This hearing was around a motion by the defense to get the government to release more of its evidence in the case against the 15, a move the Trump-appointed prosecutors are resisting.

The courtroom quickly filled up, but the plaza outside the building remained packed with supporters throughout the hearing.

Meredith Aby, director of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM), a member organization of the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump, was one of the people who managed to get into the courtroom. She stated, “The courtroom was filled with supporters because people are outraged that community activists are being targeted by the Trump administration for standing with our immigrant neighbors.”

After the hearing, some of the defendants spoke at a press conference, including Isaac Sant, who stated, “They were spying on us from day one. In fact, five days before Operation Metro Surge was declared, they began spying on our organizations. They had a directive to get out there and find ‘Antifa.’” Sant continued, “If it wasn’t us on trial, it was going to be one of you.” He concluded, “This is a politically-motivated prosecution, and I believe we’re going to win, and this is going to be thrown out.”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #PoliticalRepression #MN15 #ICE #OperationMetroSurge #Feature

Toledo, a student organizer involved in the Palestine solidarity and anti-war movement, was arrested by Cal Poly Humboldt police at his home around 1 a.m. on March 6. Police sought the warrant under allegations of felony false imprisonment and felony conspiracy stemming from a February 27 student protest.

Weeks later, police returned to Toledo’s home with a search warrant and seized phones, computers, cameras and hard drives under the guise that it was to investigate a “criminal conspiracy” among student protesters.

But the so-called conspiracy never actually materialized.

When Humboldt County District Attorney Stacey Eads finally filed charges, the felony conspiracy allegation used to justify the investigation was nowhere to be found. Toledo instead faces three bogus misdemeanors – assault, battery and false imprisonment. No alleged co-conspirators have been arrested, and the DA has now stated that they do not anticipate bringing additional charges. This just goes to show how weak and baseless the accusation was right from the start.

The aggressive police response stemmed from an encounter lasting only seconds at a February 27 protest. Toledo’s defense attorney made it clear that university police knowingly inflated the allegations into felonies, allowing them to secure a warrant, arrest a student organizer in the middle of the night and later search his home for evidence of a supposed conspiracy.

Toledo is fighting back. His attorney, Matthew Kellegrew of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, is challenging the arrest and search warrant, demanding the return of Toledo’s property. The defense’s position is that police violated Toledo’s constitutional rights and treated ordinary protest organizing and communication between activists as evidence of criminal conspiracy.

The prosecution made a damning admission during the August 10 hearing. When Judge Steven Steward asked Deputy District Attorney David Watson whether prosecutors actually needed Toledo’s seized phone and computer for their case, Watson answered simply: “No.” Yet nearly six months after the raid, Toledo’s property remains in government hands.

The case is part of an escalating campaign of repression against student activists at Cal Poly Humboldt. Students have organized around Palestine, opposition to ICE and other anti-war struggles, repeatedly putting them into conflict with university administrators and police.

Toledo has been consistently clear that these legal attacks are political. “I think it shows that she has it out for me personally, that she has it out for student activists and Palestine activists,” Toledo said of the university police officer who sought the warrant. The conspiracy allegation may have disappeared, but the damage caused by the repression has not.

University police and officials wanted to turn student organizing into a conspiracy. Instead, its own prosecution has abandoned the conspiracy allegation entirely.

Judge Steward is expected to rule August 31 on Toledo’s challenge to the warrants and demand for the return of his property. His misdemeanor trial is currently scheduled for September 28.

Toledo and his supporters are continuing the fight against political repression and demanding that the remaining charges be dropped.

#EurekaCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #StudentMovement #PoliticalRepression

Portland, OR – On August 11, a Multnomah County jury found Dr. Catherine Esperanza guilty of the bogus charge of “interfering with a police officer” after the Portland Police Bureau violently arrested her for protesting outside the ICE facility.

Local immigrant rights organization Portland Contra Las Deportaciones waged a campaign to drop the charges and condemned the sham conviction.

After helping build public pressure to fight the charges through an email campaign and confrontations of the district attorney, activists and community supporters held a press conference, August 10, before the trial and attended both days of the proceedings.

Both the arrest and the trial showed Multnomah County and Portland Police’s clear bias against immigrant rights protesters.

Esperanza was arrested after police pushed protesters out of the driveway of the ICE facility using batons during a May Day protest at the facility. Bodycam footage showed they made a targeted arrest of protester Cole Dunahugh, claiming he breached the gate at the facility. This was a complete falsehood and so the charges on Dunahugh were later dropped.

During the arrest, police shoved their way into the crowd and pushed a group of people down, on top of Esperanza. In the bodycam footage she could be heard screaming “I have a broken leg,” and attempting to get the crowd off of her injured leg. Police then flipped her onto her stomach and put a knee on her neck. She can be heard screaming “I can't breathe.” The district attorney painted this attempt as pulling police officers on top of her and forming a “human chain” to prevent arrests.

Judge Celia Howes curbed the defense attorney's ability to question witnesses, sustaining objections by the prosecutor to questions such as “Did police interact with protesters?” for being leading questions. When a witness stated police used batons to push back protesters, the prosecutor played a clipped video that began immediately after the use of batons and asked the witness to answer yes or no as to whether the police used batons in the video. When the witness attempted to say the use of batons was before the video began, judge Howes cut the witness off saying they could only answer in a yes or no format.

Additionally the prosecution continually said Dunahugh breached the gate at the ICE facility and that police were attacked with rocks, despite no evidence to support these claims.

After a two-hour deliberation, the jury delivered a guilty verdict. Supporters were angry, with many stating they see this as a complete miscarriage of justice.

Dr. Esperanza vowed not to allow the verdict to stop her fight for justice and to stop deportations. She released the following statement, “This guilty verdict is not a victory for justice; this case is a desperate attempt by the state to intimidate us into silence.”

The city has continually repressed the fight to revoke the permit to shut down the ICE facility, and this shameful guilty verdict is another example of this repression.

Esperanza’s statement declares, “They think that charging activists and targeting those who stand up for immigrant rights will break our resolve. They are wrong. Instead of chilling us, this blatant misuse of the legal system has galvanized our movement.”

The city continues to allow violations of human rights and the land use permit to occur at the ICE facility. Meanwhile, those who stand up for the human rights of immigrants and those impacted by ICE are persecuted for their work in advocating for dignity, equity, justice and care for all members of the Portland community.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #ICE #PoliticalRepression #InjusticeSystem

North Charleston, SC – On July 30, the Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition held a rally in Park Circle in response to the arrests of the coalition organizers collectively known as the Ladson 3. They demanded the North Charleston Police Department drop what EOSC believes to be trumped-up charges against the protesters. The group is pushing back against the political repression faced by activists in the Charleston area.

Haley Sabados was the sole member of the Ladson 3 who was held overnight at the Charleston County Detention Center. She described the arrests as part of a pattern of “rogue and egregious” behavior on the part of North Charleston Police Department (NCPD), whose officers are hired by the Israeli-owned weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems, to work security in front of the Ladson, South Carolina facility. The facility has been in operation since 2023; EOSC formed in 2024 and has been picketing in front of the business every week since. Since they started picketing, NCPD has arrested five of their members.

“I am not intimidated, because protesting is not a crime,” Sabados said. “Protesting my city's direct involvement in weapons manufacturing, with my tax dollars, used in genocide is not a crime. Elbit out of South Carolina and Free Palestine!”

Last year Palestine solidarity activist Matthew Colburn was arrested on the picket line on misdemeanor charges, which the coalition took to trial and won a not guilty verdict, due to a lack of evidence.

Regarding the arrest of the Ladson 3, Colburn said NCPD chose to press charges they know won’t hold up in court. “This is NCPD deciding to escalate, and it might be a misdemeanor, but that doesn’t matter, because a weekend in jail is enough to [mess] a working-class person’s life up.” He went on to describe how these charges are a waste of city and county resources.

“Eblit is subsidized by the tax dollar. They use tax dollars to pay NCPD who’s double dipping, who also get paid by your tax dollar on their regular wages,” he said, “Then they come off duty and get your other tax dollars from Elbit and then they waste those tax dollars taking people to court knowing those charges won’t stick to intimidate us.”

It was disclosed by a member of NCPD under oath at Matt Colburn's 2025 trial that NCPD officers were being paid $60 per hour to work security at Elbit. Organizers have since called out what they believe to be a conflict of interest.

Organizers with the EOSC chose the Circle Park Pavilion in North Charleston as the location for the rally instead of the Elbit facility, because one of the Ladson 3 is facing trespassing charges. Before the rally began, a park employee attempted to halt the event and insisted a permit was required, despite also admitting the park was public property. She threatened to call NCPD on the demonstrators, but organizers were not deterred. They proceeded with the rally, which ended with a march around the pavilion.

They chanted “Justice for the Ladson 3! Palestine will be free!” as passing cars honked in solidarity and families from the adjacent playground joined in the march. They finished the event by asking the crowd to pack the courthouse for the Ladson 3 later in August.

#NorthCharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #Elbit #EOSC

On July 1st, Nadia Topete was given a subpoena to a grand jury that ordered her to speak on July 8th. Grand Jurys are kangaroo courts meant to bring down the hammer, evidenced by their 90% indictment rate. Law enforcement is not neutral when it comes to activists, like we’ve seen with Mahmoud Khalil and Alejandro Oreana. Law enforcement attacks activists to repress those fighting for a better world. We demand: Hands Off Nadia!

Nadia Topete, a member of Centro CSO, is an immigrant rights activist in Los Angeles. Centro CSO organizes self defense against racist and illegal ICE raids, that makes them heroes. Los Angeles is a city the Donald Trump administration attacked by mobilizing federal troops, even sending marines. This is because of the bravery and amazing work the people of Los Angeles have done in defending their immigrant neighbors. They tried going after Alejandro Oreana with federal charges after an FBI raid and WE BEAT THEM BACK!

SDS has been organizing sanctuary campus campaigns all over the country because we also understand the need to oppose the attacks on immigrants from Trump and his goons. We are standing with Nadia because we understand that this is an attack on the immigrant rights and people’s movement as a whole.

Hands Off Nadia!

#ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #NadiaTopete #SDS #StudentMovement #CentroCSO #CSFR

The Utah Anti-War Committee stands in solidarity with immigrant rights activist Nadia Topete. On July 1st, law enforcement came to the door of Nadia Topete, delivering her a second subpoena to testify in front of a grand jury due to her involvement in the 2025 protests against the occupation of Los Angeles by ICE and other federal police agencies working for Trump.

On July 8th, Nadia invoked her 5th Amendment right and refused to testify against fellow activists. We applaud her courage in doing so, and we recognize that Nadia has done nothing wrong by simply protesting.

#UT #ImmigrantRights #NadiaTopete #PoliticalRepression

On July 1, law enforcement came to the home of a Los Angeles immigrants’ rights activist and Centro CSO member, Nadia Topete, to deliver a second subpoena ordering her to speak in front of a grand jury on July 8. Topete had been first subpoenaed to testify in June. Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) condemns this second subpoena of Topete and will fight against any attempt to jail her.

We now know that this grand jury is related to the anti-ICE activism in Los Angeles that took place last summer. We also have every reason to believe that this is an attempt to re-examine the case of Alejandro Orellana, another immigrants’ rights activist who participated in the anti-ICE protests last year. Orellana was charged with conspiracy to commit civil unrest. The bogus charges were later dropped.

Nothing good comes from speaking in front of a grand jury. Grand juries, nine times out of ten, result in indictments, and they are frequently used against activists. Not testifying against one’s fellow activists can mean jail time. Those who refuse to testify in front of grand juries are heroes. We should learn from their example and exercise that kind of courage in order to protect our movements from harm.

Women Against Military Madness members Sarah Martin and Meredith Aby resisted grand jury subpoenas in 2010 as a part of the “Justice” Department’s investigation into the anti-war and international solidarity movements. Martin was re-subpoenaed in an effort to pressure her to speak. She refused and in the end none of the Anti War 23 went to jail. Our movement had this victory because people around the country stood up for our people. We understand the importance of doing this again.

WAMM also understands that the targeting of activists in LA is a part of a broader effort to criminalize anti-ICE activism nationally. We also stand with the MN 15 who were indicted on “conspiracy to impede federal officers.” People across MN, including WAMM members, stood with our immigrant siblings to demand ICE leave MN last winter and protesting political repression of our immigrant siblings is NOT a crime.

Neither Topete nor Orellana did anything wrong by protesting against the ICE occupation of Los Angeles. Nor did Topete do anything wrong by not speaking about her activism in front of the grand jury. We ask all fair-minded people to stand with Nadia Topete. She has only ever done the right thing, which is to stand by the Chicano people and the people of Aztlán. We call upon our supporters to dial into the office of Assistant US Attorney Michael Wheat and demand, Hands Off Nadia Topete!

#MinneapolisMN #MN #WAMM #ImmigrantRights #AntiWarMovement #NadiaTopete #PoliticalRepression

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns the unjust arrest and the U.S. Department of Justice’s extradition attempt of Fergie Chambers, a progressive philanthropist and steadfast supporter of the Palestinian cause. He was dragged away from his family in Spain on dubious charges ranging from money laundering to material support for terrorism. If extradited to the U.S., he could be facing decades in prison.

Chambers is a son of billionaires who made the legitimate choice long ago to direct his funds towards progress, from free medical clinics to legal defense for activists facing repression. Now, the Trump DOJ is fabricating a narrative of terrorist financing. They want to create an upside-down world and twist the legal system so that humanitarian aid and solidarity land you behind bars, but the architects of the ongoing genocide in Gaza walk free. Ultimately, they want to use every avenue to squash and punish the tidal wave of support for the cause of Palestinian liberation that has stretched to every corner of the globe.

We are in a period of intensifying repression, and the imperialists are constantly in search of new ways to crush resistance and silence opposition. And that means that people like Chambers who use their resources to amplify the voices that call for freedom and liberation become targets, too. All those who oppose the Trump administration’s crackdown on our movements and the erosion of democratic rights need to stand against this. Solidarity is not a crime!

#PoliticalRepression #InjusticeSystem #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #PeoplesStruggles

Santa Ana, CA – On July 8, over 50 Chicanos rallied outside a federal courthouse in support of Nadia Topete, a Chicana immigrant rights activist with Centro CSO who was inside with a grand jury. Just days before, on July 1, federal agents showed up to Nadia's home with another grand jury subpoena, threatening that, if she did not appear, she could be held in contempt.

Nadia Topete walked out the federal courthouse with her head up high and stated she had exercised her Fifth Amendment right. She was greeted by chants of “Hands off Nadia Topete,” “Chinga la migra” and “DOJ hands off Nadia!” that were loud enough to be heard inside the federal building.

“Protesting ICE is not a crime!” said Verita Topete, Nadia’s sister and fellow Chicana organizer. “Our communities are stronger than Trump and the DOJ’s ruling class interests. The targeting of Nadia is a pattern of political repression from the federal government.”

Jasia Topete, older sister of both Nadia and Verita, stated, “Today was a very moving gesture of unity and support for my baby sister, Nadia. Seeing the tremendous support she has gained on a national level through the calls to action online by different organizations was very heartening to see. Witnessing how many people took the time to come out and show her love was very heart warming and reassuring to our family. We know she did nothing wrong. Amplifying the voices of our people is not a crime. She will continue to hold her head high like the confident resilient that she is. Nadia, we love you, Thank you so much to everyone that is rooting for Nadia!”

Mick Kelly of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression told the crowd, “I would like to salute Nadia, a woman of uncommon courage who is standing up for all of us. This will certainly not end here. We will stand with Nadia every inch of the way.”

Emiliano Martin Del Campo, member of Centro CSO, stated, “I see this attack from the DOJ and the Trump administration as not only a direct attack on our sister Nadia but a direct blow to all of us fighting against this administration. An attack on one is an attack on all!”

Speakers from Centro CSO, CSO OC, CLUE, ILPS, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Legalization for All spoke in defense of Topete, condemning the political repression of Immigrant Rights activists.

It is unclear what is next, but if the DOJ witch hunt continues, Centro CSO and their allies will be ready to defend their own, Nadia Topete, a daughter of Aztlan.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #GrandJury #PoliticalRepression #ImmigrantRights #CentroCSO #NadiaTopete #CSFR #Feature

The MORE Caucus stands in absolute solidarity with Nadia Topete, an immigrant’s rights activist who has been subpoenaed a second time to a grand jury for her role protesting ICE. We know grand juries are used by the DOJ and Trump as a weapon to target activists for speaking out.

Protesting and organizing against ICE terror is not a crime. Last year, the UFT’s delegate assembly adopted an organizing resolution that supports both the rights of immigrant students as well as anti-ICE activists and unionists in the face of bogus charges from the corrupt Trump government. We know very well that these blatant attacks will not stop at activists and will attempt to put a muzzle on the brave people’s resistance to ICE, and as progressive educators we cannot allow that to happen. Hands off Nadia Topete!

#InJusticeSystem #ImmigrantRights #NadiaTopete #PoliticalRepression #MORE #UFT

Santa Ana, CA – On the morning of July 8, immigrant rights activist Nadia Topete went before a grand jury at the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse. Topete was inside for a short time before reappearing out of the courthouse to state that she exercised her Fifth Amendment right to stay silent.

The crowd of over 50 supporters from Los Angeles and Orange County cheered her on, chanting, “DOJ: Hands off Nadia!” and “What do we want? Hands off Nadia! When do we want it? Now!”

Nadia Topete is a 21-year-old who twice had FBI agents show up at her door. Topete is a proud Chicana and immigrant rights activist. She has done nothing wrong and continues mobilizing to beat the attacks the Trump administration is enacting on immigrants.

Among those gathered outside were members of Centro CSO in Los Angeles and CSO Orange County. Others present were also with the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Gabriela – LA, ILPS, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), and others.

“We applaud the tremendous strength of my sister Nadia Topete and will be ready to fight back for her if she is summoned once again,” said Verita Topete, a member of Centro CSO and chair of the CSO immigration committee.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #OrangeCounty #LosAngelesCA #ImmigrantRights #NadiaTopete #PoliticalRepression #GrandJury #CentroCSO #Feature

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, alderwoman, 33rd Ward, Chicago City Council.

Last year, Donald Trump sent his ICE troops into immigrant and Latino communities across the country. I was physically assaulted by ICE in June when I advocated for my neighbors at an immigration facility.

Protesting ICE is not a crime. That’s my response to news that Nadia Topete of Centro CSO in Los Angeles has been subpoenaed to a federal grand jury for a second time.

Nadia did nothing wrong. All she did was exercise her right to speak out against the violence being perpetrated against her Chicano and Latino immigrant community.

I am from Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rican movement has been subjected again and again to grand juries. We know that grand juries are a prosecutorial tool to produce indictments instead of justice.

I understand this also could be an attempt to re-examine the case of Alejandro Orellana, another immigrant’s rights activist in LA who participated in the anti-ICE protests last year. Alejandro was charged with conspiracy to commit civil unrest. The false charges were later dropped.

When I confronted ICE last year, I said, “We would do whatever we can to help anyone in need.” I took that stand a year ago; I take that stand today.

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #NadiaTopete #PoliticalRepression #CentroCSO #Feature

Last week on July 1, Nadia Topete, an immigrant rights activist and organizer with Centro CSO, was issued a grand jury subpoena by police in Los Angeles. By now, it’s clear the purpose of this grand jury is to investigate and harass organizers who mobilized to resist ICE oppression in Los Angeles last summer.

The New York Alliance is proud to stand in solidarity with Nadia and all other immigrant rights organizers facing this vile repression throughout the country, which we condemn in the strongest possible terms. Repression against activists takes many forms, and the grand jury is one of the key legal tools weaponized against organized movements.

Grand juries are secret proceedings often used against activists in order to criminalize dissent and weaken our movements. 

Nadia was first subpoenaed to testify in June, and now they’ve come for her again. It’s clear this grand jury is being called to pressure Nadia into talking about last summer’s anti-ICE protests — which led to bogus conspiracy charges against fellow organizer Alejandro Orellana that were later dropped. 

We demand that US Attorney Bilal Essayli and assistant US Attorney Michael Wheat drop the grand jury investigation now! 

Hands off Nadia! 

End repression of all immigration activists!

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #NYAARPR #NadiaTopete #ImmigrantRights #PoliticalRepression

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Byron Sigcho-Lopez, the Chicago City Council member representing the 25th Ward.

The Trump administration is again intensifying the repression against immigrant, Latino and Chicano communities across the country. I add my voice to those speaking up to defend Nadia Topete in Los Angeles.

Nadia is an immigrant rights activist with the organization Centro Community Service Organization (CSO). Like many thousands of young people, she rose up to defend her community when ICE terrorized the LA barrios in 2025.

She is being subpoenaed for a second time to appear in front of a federal grand jury. Our movement is well aware that grand juries are unconstitutional tools of political repression.

Nadia acted heroically when she went out to protest ICE last year, and she is again showing real courage. We know Nadia has not committed any crime: it’s the Trump administration and ICE that are guilty of violating the rights of our communities, brutalizing us, breaking up families, and murdering members of the immigrant community, such as Silverio Villegas Gonzalez in a Chicago suburb.

This is a very serious attack on our movement. Nadia Topete is a courageous immigrant rights activist who deserves our support.

Hands off Nadia Topete!

#ChicagoIL #IL #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #NadiaTopete #ImmigrantRights #CentroCSO #Feature