Charleston, SC – As immigration enforcement intensifies across South Carolina, the Charleston chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO) has launched rapid-response “Barrio Walks”, with volunteers canvassing apartment complexes and neighborhoods being targeted by ICE.

Working in coordination with the Charleston Immigrant Community Hotline, CSO identifies areas seeing significant ICE activity and mobilizes quickly to distribute whistle kits to residents. Each kit contains know-your-rights cards, a zine with planning resources, trusted local legal contacts, tips for identifying ICE, and a whistle which can be used to alert neighbors when ICE is present in the area.

“People are being pulled out of their homes, taken to detention centers, and families are left scrambling,” said CSO organizer Lucía Peña. “When neighbors know their rights, have the right resources, and can warn each other, that's how we defend our communities. We keep us safe.”

The urgency is grounded in real numbers. Nearly one-third of all South Carolina immigration arrests in 2025 occurred in Charleston County, according to ICE. That surge is driven in part by the expansion of 287(g) agreements – arrangements that authorize local and state law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement tasks in coordination with ICE, including executing immigration warrants and flagging individuals in custody for transfer to ICE detention centers.

Detainees are frequently transferred to facilities out of state, compounding the chaos for families trying to locate loved ones and secure legal representation. The resulting fear has had a chilling effect on daily life for immigrants in an area known as the Lowcountry. Community members are missing work, pulling their children from school, and avoiding critical medical appointments rather than risk an encounter with ICE.

CSO's Barrio Walks aim to cut through that fear with direct, neighbor-to-neighbor outreach offering both practical tools and a reminder that their community stands with them and families do not have to face these fears in isolation.

#CharlestonSC #SC #ImmigrantRights #CSO #Featured

Charleston, SC – On Wednesday, May 13, organizers with the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC), a South Carolina branch of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR), gathered in support of members of the family of Walter Scott against the early release of former North Charleston Police Department Michael Slager.

In 2016, Slager pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations and was sentenced to 20 years in prison; this was after a South Carolina grand jury indicted him on a state murder charge, which ended in a mistrial. For many who have lost loved ones to police brutality, the outcome of the federal trial felt like a rare instance of justice.

Yet, nearly ten years after the sentencing, the Scott family says they recently received news from the Department of Justice (DOJ), that Slager’s sentence has been reduced through the First Step Act (FSA), a federal law aimed at reforming federal sentencing laws and lowering the federal inmate population. It allows eligible inmates to earn time credits for early release.

Inmates convicted of murder are typically ineligible for early release under FSA, but because Slager was charged with a federal civil rights offense – deprivation of a person’s rights under color of law as protected by the constitution – not murder, it appears he has been quietly shaving time off his sentence since 2020.

LAC co-founder Erica Veal, who has been working closely with the Scotts since 2025, said, “This is a clear misuse of prison reform law to allow a killer cop to skirt responsibility.” She went on to say, “The Lowcountry Action Committee and the National Alliance will push back every step of the way against Slager’s release. This is not justice and the Scotts deserve better.”

Since Walter Scott’s murder, his brothers Anthony and Rodney have become a voice for victims of police brutality. Anthony attended his first NAARPR Conference in Chicago, Illinois in November 2025 along with his wife Denise, who spoke on behalf of the family during the plenary session for Families of the Movement. Little did they know that, in April 2026, while planning the eleven-year Angelversary for Walter, they would receive news of the changes to Slager’s sentencing. Devastated by the news, the Scott family called on local organizers to help launch a campaign against Slager’s release.

At the press conference, Rodney said, “This news is deeply disturbing to our family, considering the pain and senseless killing made to our brother.” He went on to say, “We are standing here at the Four Corners of Law [a Charleston landmark] today demanding that justice be served and upheld for my brother Walter Scott.”

LAC member Matt Colburn said, “This is clear evidence of a two-tier justice system. Trust and believe, if the roles had been reversed, Walter Scott wouldn't be eligible for early release.”

LAC and NAARPR plan to launch a coordinated call-in to the Bureau of Prisons to demand the rescission of Slager’s early release. In the meantime, the Scott family is asking for the community to support their campaign by signing a petition and sending impact statements to the DOJ.

#CharlestonSC #SC #InJusticeSystem

North Charleston, SC – Members of the Elbit Out of South Carolina Coalition met with Major Michael Aiken of the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD)’s Office of Professional Standards on April 29, to discuss the disturbing patterns of behavior by off-duty NCPD officers working as paid security at Elbit Systems America’s facility in Ladson, South Carolina. That location is a subsidiary of Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.

For the past year and a half, organizers from the coalition have picketed outside of Elbit’s Ladson facility weekly to bring awareness to its role in manufacturing Howitzer cannons for the Israeli use in the Palestinian genocide.

“Over the course of the past year, we’ve seen Elbit employees act aggressively towards picketers, all while NCPD officers have stood by in their uniforms and cars, fraternizing with Elbit security and doing absolutely nothing to protect community,” said Miranda Xiong, one of the coalition members who attended the meeting. “Elbit employees have hit us with their cars, swerved onto the grass and pavement where we’re standing, and threatened us verbally.”

Throughout the meeting, Mayor Aiken claimed that off-duty NCPD officers have an obligation to protect private citizens, collect reports when crimes occur on scene, and act in an unbiased manner. However, members of the coalition brought up the fact that Elbit pays NCPD officers $60 per hour, a number Aiken himself confirmed during the meeting.

“North Charleston Police Department leadership is lying when they claim there is no conflict of interest between Elbit and NCPD officers,” said Matt Colburn of the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). “It just shows that even when cops are off duty they exist to protect profits of companies like Elbit and not Lowcountry residents.” Colburn was arrested at a picket in front of Elbit in August 2025, but won a not guilty verdict.

During the meeting, coalition member Collin Holloway discussed his experience of being verbally threatened by an Elbit employee and forced to call NCPD’s non-emergency line because the off-duty NCPD officer present refused to file a report.

“The officers that work for Elbit are openly corrupt by pretending not to notice Elbit workers committing crimes, while treating us as criminals,” said Holloway.

Throughout the meeting, Major Aiken repeatedly resorted to explaining the perspectives of NCPD officers and the “potential” security threats that picketers posed. When pressed for more information on what exactly he meant, Aiken cited instances of vandalism and fears that the Elbit facility in Ladson would be “hijacked.”

Coalition member Christopher Newhard expressed his concern that such language is frequently weaponized to demonize organizers and activists within the pro-Palestinian movement.

Xiong added, “It’s clear that NCPD doesn’t see us as equal because if they did, they wouldn’t be trying to gaslight us into thinking that we are somehow the threat here, when Elbit is a multimillion-dollar corporation profiting directly off the Palestinian genocide.”

Another area of conversation surrounded the failure of existing NCPD channels for community feedback, such as CRIMEWATCH. In December 2025, LAC led a conversation with NCPD Chief Ron Camacho and North Charleston Mayor (former Police Chief) Reggie Burgess to discuss community control of the police.

Denise Scott, the sister-in-law of Walter Scott, the unarmed 50-year-old African American man shot and killed by an NCPD officer in 2015, was also present at the December meeting. When LAC representatives raised similar concerns related to NCPD officers’ behavior, whether on or off duty, Chief Camacho and other NCPD officers present explicitly urged community members to file complaints about misconduct through the CRIMEWATCH website.

The CRIMEWATCH website was launched haphazardly in response to the recommendations from a 2021 Racial Bias Audit, which determined “community members have not filed complaints even after negative experiences with NCPD personnel, and the complaint process is confusing to most.”

At a NCPD town hall meeting officers the day before the LAC’s December meeting with the mayor and chief, officers prided themselves at having fulfilled 89% of the audit’s recommendations. Yet, since the December meeting, coalition members have submitted at least five complaints concerning officers’ behavior at Elbit, four through CRIMEWATCH and one over the phone.

Major Aiken admitted that he had not seen anything regarding these complaints and that they must have “fallen through the cracks” via technical difficulties because CRIMEWATCH was supposedly a “new” system.

The Racial Bias Audit recommended NCPD revise the complaint process to make it more accessible and ensure residents are updated on the status of their complaints and involve community members in the complaint review process, among other suggestions made back in 2021, but NCPD only launched the new process days before the December 2025 meeting. “The inability of NCPD to acknowledge the concerns of their community is yet another unfulfilled and false promise to the community by NCPD,” said Xiong.

Erica Veal of LAC and FRSO said these inconsistencies are precisely why they advocate for community control of the police, “Law enforcement has proven they are unwilling or incapable of adhering to protocols and recommendations to keep communities safe and are not committed to transparency and accountability,” Veal said. “We have presented ample evidence of their officers’ unequal enforcement of the law at pickets, we used the channels they insisted we use to document the misconduct and we have been met with excuse after excuse.” She went on to say, “The Racial Bias Audit was not enough. We demand community control of police now!”

#NorthCharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #Elbit #EOSC

Ladson, SC – The Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC), a coalition of local grassroots groups, held a press conference on Tuesday, March 24, outside Elmec, Inc.’s office to announce Elmec as a new campaign target alongside their current target, Israeli based weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems. Elmec, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, is an international defense company specializing in aerospace manufacturing.

Elbit Systems is a privately owned Israeli weapons contractor that provides 80% of Israel’s ground equipment and 85% of its drones. Its Ladson based “Ground Combat Vehicle Assembly and Integration Center of Excellence” was constructed with several tax incentives granted by Charleston County, including a Set Aside Grant and a Fee In Lieu of Taxation (FILOT) agreement.

The press conference highlighted Elmec’s relationship to Elbit, the company’s role in profiting from war and genocide, and the material cost of their presence to community members in the Lowcountry.

The event began with a satirical speech from a stand-in Elmec executive to welcome the crowd to company’s grand opening, who said, “At the end of the day, do we really want Charleston focusing its investments on the needs of working people, spending money at Saint Andrews School of Math and Science or C.E. Williams or Burke, wasting its funds on handouts to working-class nobodies, instead of expanding business opportunities in mass surveillance and hospital destruction for the titans of industry?”

The press conference featured speakers from EOSC’s coalition organizations, Free Palestine Charleston, Charleston Democratic Socialists of America, Lowcountry Action Committee, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization Charleston District.

Autumn Waddell of Free Palestine Charleston stated, “Right here in Charleston we have the opportunity to make a real difference. Elmec and Elbit are our access to international politics. We decided to stand up and fight for the parents in Charleston County who want to send their kids to good, well-funded schools, and for the parents in Gaza who want to know their children will come from school at the end of each day.”

Chris Tittle of Tri-County Tenants Union remarked on the connections between tenants in America and tenants in Palestine, stating, “From Charleston to Palestine, tenants are exploited by the arms and AI economy. Elbit and Elmec use the same AI systems in their weapons that corporate landlords like Cushman and Wakefield use to artificially and illegally inflate the rent. And local politicians are happy to call this ‘economic development,’ we call it economic warfare on the working class.”

The press conference was followed by a mock ribbon cutting ceremony for Elmec, and a car caravan from the Elmec facility to the nearby Elbit Systems facility, which culminated in a picket. Elbit Out of SC and community members have picketed Elbit Systems weekly since October of 2024 and worked to raise public awareness of the weapons manufacturer since spring 2024.

“It was important to end the press conference with our weekly picket at Elbit because it not only shows how physically close these two facilities are, but it gives people an opportunity to do more than talk about the issues affecting workers in Charleston and Palestine and actually take action against war crimes and genocide in Palestine,” said Alfred Peeler, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization Charleston District.

#CharlestonSC #SC #LadsonSC #AntiWarMovement #Elbit #Palestine

Charleston, SC – Upwards of 50 people gathered at Elbit Systems of America’s facility in Ladson, South Carolina, on Sunday March 15 to join the Anti-War Action Network’s day of action demanding no United States war on Iran.

A dozen local organizations united with the Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition to protest President Trump’s ongoing assault on Iran.

Nate Hubler, a member of EOSC representing the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC), said that the decision to hold the protest at Elbit was purposeful: “It can feel like American forever wars are thousands of miles away, so it's always important to draw the connection to companies like Elbit, who are profiting from this unjust war on Iran and the ongoing genocide in Gaza while simultaneously defunding our county’s public school system.”

The crowd chanted, marched in front of the facility’s entrance, and held signs speaking out against the war and Elbit’s presence in South Carolina along the busy Palmetto Commerce Parkway. The Elbit facility in Ladson is one of eleven Israeli-owned weapons manufacturers around the country.

Speakers from the organizing groups spoke throughout the afternoon and related the devastating U.S. and Israeli backed war to their own local organizing work, though they often had to pause while passing vehicles drowned them out with supportive honks.

Joel Milliken, a member of the South Carolina Tenants Union, spoke to the crowd, “Our taxes are paying for the bombs being dropped on schools and hospitals in Iran and the subsequent double tap strikes on aid workers searching for survivors in the rubble. Meanwhile, tenants are going to be forced between paying $5 a gallon for gas to get to work and paying their rent.”

Students were also out in force at the rally and spoke out against the attacks on Iranian schools.

“Cry for humanity – for the life and youth foolishly wasted by the right-extremists of this administration, claiming that they wage such aggression in our name,” remarked Sasha Bozanic, National Representative for the College of Charleston Students for a Democratic Society. “Were 170 schoolgirls massacred in our name? Are the Army, Navy and Marines being sent to assail a civilian population in our name? How many must suffer and die before we learn that a blow to one family is a blow to us all?”

“Working-class people here know they have more in common with the working class of Iran than they do the billionaires, imperialists and war-profiteers that are starting this war,” remarked Alfred Peeler, a member of the Charleston District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “They know what’s actually needed to materially improve their lives and together, we can build a very real form of political power in the Lowcountry.”

The protest ended with organizers urging the crowd to only continue to show up to future rallies and events, but to speak out against the United States and Israeli war of aggression and to get involved with the groups present.

“We are going to win, but we need everyone to find a way to get involved in the work and we’re more than happy to help them get connected to the right organization,” said protest organizer Gillian Bergeron.

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #Iran

Charleston, SC – Over 500 people gathered at Marion Square in Charleston, South Carolina on January 25 for an emergency protest after ICE shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis the day before.

“This is the third time this month that we’ve had to organize an emergency protest,” Erica Veal, of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Lowcountry Action Committee, remarked. “The violence of the Trump administration doesn’t let up but every time we rally together, more people show up and want to get involved. Their actions will be their downfall.”

The emergency protest was organized by a newly formed the District of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Lowcountry Action Committee, the Charleston Community Service Organization, Charleston Democratic Socialists of American, College of Charleston Students for a Democratic Society, the Charleston Climate Coalition, Indivisible Summerville, and others in another showing of the broad, united front against Trump in the Lowcountry.

Speakers at the action repeated their demands like “ICE out of our communities,” “End 287(g),” “Justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti,” and “Legalization for all.”

The Charleston Community Service Organization led the crowds in chants alternating between Spanish and English and gave moving speeches about the immigrant rights movement in Charleston.

“Filming ICE is not a crime. We must continue to stand up in solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters. We are not domestic terrorists, they are,” organizer Lucia Peña said.

During the rally, which was surrounded by nearly 50 police, one attendee was arrested for violating South Carolina’s anti-mask law by wearing a keffiyeh over her face. As law enforcement led the woman away, some of the attendees confronted police, who were unable to hold the line against the people advancing until officers on horseback arrived. The woman arrested has since been released.

“The law isn’t meant to protect us, it’s meant to hurt us and keep us down,” event organizer Matt Colburn told the attendees. “If ICE agents were at this protest, they’d all be hiding their faces with masks and the police surrounding us right now wouldn’t do a damn thing about it. You have to remember whose side they’re on!”

During her speech, Syd Loving, standing committee member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, reminded the crowd that they’re joined in protest by hundreds of thousands across the country. “Trump and his racist gang have done everything to snuff out the waves of protest against his anti-immigrant agenda, up to deploying the National Guard. But there's not less and less protests, there's more.”

Loving continued, “There's not less and less people taking the streets. There’s more! In spite of the danger, in spite of the fear because in our unity there's strength and we are going to build that unity against each and every attack. We are not going to stay home and be quiet like they want us to.”

Throughout the protest, speakers stressed the need to get involved with the organizations who helped plan the emergency rally.

“All of our struggles are connected,” said Nate Hubler, organizer with the Elbit Out of South Carolina Coalition and the Lowcountry Action Committee. “Whether you’re organizing for immigrant rights, fighting against Elbit Systems, building the campaign against our city’s unconstitutional First Amendment Ordinance, rallying to keep Dominion Energy out of the Santee, or working to end police violence, you need to be a part of an organization fighting for the liberation of all of us.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #ImmigrantRights #AlexPretti #ICE #KillerICE #LCAC #FRSO #CCSO

Charleston, SC – On January 19, Charleston’s Elbit Out Of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition marched with a large contingent in the city’s Martin Luther King Day parade. Around 40 community members carried Palestinian flags, large banners, and a variety of signs criticizing Elbit Systems of America for producing weapons for Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The coalition handed out hundreds of flyers with information about Elbit’s Charleston County facility as well as ways to get involved with the coalition's efforts to shut the factory down.

“It was so great to see families watching the parade from the sidelines light up when they saw a contingent in solidarity with Palestine,” said Alfred Peeler, of the Charleston District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). “It showed that the community supports our efforts to do our part locally in demanding an end to the U.S.’s role in supporting the genocide.”

Elbit Systems of America opened its Charleston factory in 2023 to construct Next Generation Sigma 155 mm Howitzer cannons for Israel, and at least two loads of weapons and other munitions have already been shipped.

“It’s important for us to take every opportunity we can to publicly show our support for Palestinians and bring attention to the ways our community is wrapped up in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza,” stated Nate Hubler, an EOSC organizer. “Most people are unaware that Elbit was given tax breaks by our county council to operate here, depriving the public of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.”

The Elbit Out Of SC Coalition formed at the end of 2024 to shut the factory down and has pursued a variety of tactics including weekly pickets in front of the facility for over a year, regular teach-ins at community meetings, speaking at county council to scrap the tax breaks, and appealing to labor unions and religious institutions.

The Coalition consists of Free Palestine Charleston (FPC), Charleston DSA, the Lowcountry Action Committee and FRSO Charleston as well as numerous at-large organizers.

The coalition kept the energy up for the entire length of the parade, chanting for an hour and a half. Attendees were led in chants like “Free, free Palestine!” and “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!”

“It was so great to see the people chant along with us, especially the kids,” said Autumn Waddell, an organizer with FPC and EOSC.

Volunteers with the Charleston Linea Directa Comunitaria Inmigrante, the local Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) verification hotline, also marched with the coalition. Representatives handed out flyers to spread the word about the hotline’s phone number and made connections between attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and attacks on immigrants in the U.S.

“It looks like the local news covering the parade turned off their coverage as we approached, which they did last year as well,” said Alfred Peeler. “But it’s all good, we’ve been getting more and more coverage, more and more engagement, and Elbit facilities are shutting down across the globe. We are winning!”

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #MLKDay #FPC #EOSC

Charleston, SC – Over 250 people gathered at Marion Square in Charleston, South Carolina, on January 8 for an emergency protest against the deadly shooting of Renee Good by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis the day before.

Members of the local chapter of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Lowcountry Action Committee, the Charleston Community Service Organization, the College of Charleston Students for a Democratic Society, Charleston Democratic Socialists of America, 50501 SC, and others came together in what they referred to as a “broad, united front against killer ICE agents.”

Representatives presented clear and direct demands like “Justice for Renee Good,” “Jail Jonathan Ross,” “ICE out of our communities” and “End 287(g).”

“Chinga la migra!” was the rallying cry of the Charleston Community Service Organization, which opened the emergency protest with a heartfelt speech by leading member Dulce Lopez. “I am somebody,” she called out to the crowd. “I deserve justice. Right here. Right now.”

Organizers attempted to connect the dots between the tragedy in Minneapolis and the recent U.S. aggression against Venezuela. “We just saw some of you four days ago at the No War Against Venezuela protest,” remarked Erica Veal of the Lowcountry Action Committee and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “And we will continue to show up and show out every time the U.S. commits war crimes abroad and domestic terrorism at home.”

The city of Charleston passed a law referred to as the “First Amendment Demonstration Ordinance,” which requires a police permit for gatherings of 25 or more. Organizers say that when permits are submitted, the Charleston Police Department employs strategies to delay their processing by requesting repeated location and time changes. The one caveat to the law, which many call an infringement on First Amendment rights, is the “48 hour clause,” which allows community members to assemble without a police permit within two days of breaking news. Organizers took advantage of this clause over the past week to mobilize multiple rallies.

“We are exhausted from planning back-to-back actions, but it is important for us to be out here to make our voices heard,” said Nate Hubler of the Lowcountry Action Committee Solidarity Network and the Elbit Out of SC coalition. “Time is of the essence. We don’t have the virtue of waiting to protest because we are contending with a repressive law that police have repeatedly used to disperse lawful assemblies and brutalize protesters.”

As the sun set over the crowd, organizers emphasized the importance of joining justice-centered and action-oriented organizations. Matt Colburn, also of the Lowcountry Action Committee and Freedom Road said, “we are not outnumbered. We are out organized. This administration’s top officials are living on military bases. ICE covers their faces despite being one of the most well-paid and well-funded federal agencies. Why? Because they're afraid of the people.”

The first week of 2026 has attendees convinced it will be a year of heightened activity and protest. “There will continue to be mass mobilizing events that force us out into the streets,” Veal said in her closing remarks. “What’s most important is the organizing that happens in between.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #ICE #ReneeGood #KillerCops #KillerICE

Charleston, SC – Over 100 people gathered in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, January 4 for an emergency protest against U.S. military aggression in Venezuela. Protesters condemned Washington’s attempts to destabilize the Venezuelan government through sanctions, military posturing and political interference and demanded the release of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

Members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s Charleston District, the Lowcountry Action Committee, Charleston Democratic Socialists of America, the Charleston Climate Coalition, Free Palestine Charleston, and others led chants like “Up, up, up with liberation; down, down, down with occupation” and “Free, Free! President Maduro!”

Attendees held signs denouncing U.S. interference in Venezuela and condemning the ongoing attempts to overthrow the democratically elected Maduro government. Speakers rejected U.S. narratives used to justify sanctions and military threats.

“The Venezuelan people are the only ones who have the right to determine who leads their country. Not Trump and his cronies,” said Erica Veal, member of Freedom Road and the Lowcountry Action Committee.

Organizers also pointed to the devastating humanitarian impacts of economic warfare imposed by Washington, D.C.

“When the U.S. government pours billions into war and sanctions, it’s working-class people here and abroad who pay the price,” said FRSO member Sasha Bozanic. “We’re out here today to say we refuse to accept war budgets while our communities face housing insecurity, climate disasters and police brutality.”

Speakers and participants stressed the local and environmental consequences of U.S. militarism, drawing clear connections between massive military spending abroad and underfunded housing, education and mitigation of climate change efforts in Charleston. Surrounded by dozens of Charleston Police Department officers, including several mounted on horses, organizers highlighted how militarization abroad mirrors the conditions of police occupation and surveillance in working-class, Black and brown communities at home.

Protesters also connected U.S. aggression against Venezuela to sanctions imposed on Cuba and other countries resisting U.S. imperial control, emphasizing how these policies harm everyday people while enriching weapons manufacturers and corporate elites.

Shaquille Fontenot of the Lowcountry Action Committee emphasized international solidarity, stating, “What the U.S. is doing to Venezuela is the same logic it uses to justify policing and repression at home. Imperialism abroad and occupation at home are two sides of the same system, and our fight against it has to be collective and global.”

Organizers concluded by calling for an end to U.S. sanctions, military threats, and respect for Venezuelan sovereignty. They urged Charleston residents to continue organizing locally while standing in international solidarity against imperialism, occupation, and war on Venezuela and elsewhere.

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #FRSO #LCAC

North Charleston, SC – Monday, December 29, marked the three-year anniversary of the death of D’Angelo Brown, and organizers with the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC) honored the day by gathering in remembrance of him and the more than 20 other lives stolen by Al Cannon Detention Center.

Brown, who suffered from schizoaffective disorder, was murdered by medical neglect at the jail in 2022. His death was ruled a homicide and, according to LAC members, is part of a larger pattern of abuse and neglect at the facility.

“Over 20 people have died at Al Cannon since 2015 and most of them have been Black and struggling with mental health issues like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or addiction,” said Erica Veal, co-founding member of LAC. “Mental health is not a crime, but for people detained at Al Cannon it’s a potential death sentence. That’s not right and we want to see the jail shut down immediately.”

At the vigil, organizers poured libations and read the names of 24 people who died at Al Cannon. One of the names was that of Jamal Sutherland who was tasered to death by corrections officers on January 5, 2021 after being transferred to the jail from a mental health facility. In the aftermath of his murder, which was also ruled a homicide, LAC members formed part of the Justice for All Coalition to demand accountability.

Brown and Sutherland were both Black, but the jail’s most recent victim was white. Mary Brucato was murdered at the detention center on August 11, 2025 and it took nearly six months for her death to be ruled a homicide due to medical neglect and complications from withdrawal. Brucato had been struggling with substance use disorder.

“Mary Brucato, D’Angelo Brown and Jamal Sutherland should still be with us today,” said Shaquille Fontenot, a co-founding member of LAC. “We are here to honor lives taken by police violence and to speak the names the system tries to erase. This vigil is not an ending, but a checkpoint in a longer struggle for justice and community control.”

Alfred Peeler, LAC Solidarity Network member explained to the crowd that community control means the community determining how they are policed and by whom. “The community decides if it wants to shut down a jail that is under DOJ investigation for medical neglect while there are still people literally right to this day dying from medical neglect in it.”

He went on to say that the community “should have a say if it wants a portion of the police budget to instead go to attacking real material concerns like food deserts and afterschool care,” all of which are known to reduce violent crime, according to Peeler.

On the same day as the vigil, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office announced they would no longer publicly release information on inmates who die in the county jail from natural causes. “It just screams coverup,” said LAC Solidarity Network member Matt Colburn. “Hopefully this will push more families to open up and trust in us to support them in their demands for justice for their loved ones. Accountability is not symbolic,” Colburn said. “True community safety requires honesty, transparency and consequences. We will continue to fight until these families find justice.”

#NorthCharlestonSC #SC #InJusticeSystem #PoliceCrimes #KillerCops #Jail #LAC #Incarceration

Charleston, SC — The Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC) hosted the National Network on Cuba (NNOC) for its annual fall meeting in Charleston, South Carolina November 7 through 9. Founded 35 years ago, the NNOC is composed of over 70 member organizations dedicated to normalizing relations between the United States and Cuba, organizing support for the Cuban people and actively opposing sanctions, in the form of the economic blockade, against the island. The United States blockade of Cuba is the longest in human history, beginning in 1960.

The theme for the NNOC fall convening was “Unity in Action,” and Cuba solidarity organizers from across the country came together to strategize ways to end the ongoing economic blockade and to remove Cuba from the United States’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list. The event kicked off Friday night with a film screening highlighting Cuba’s solidarity with Palestine and an art build hosted by the Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) Coalition.

During their opening remarks, NNOC Co-chair Onyesonwu Chatoyer stressed the importance of the NNOC’s work, “Let us be clear about our objectives, our politics, and our history. We are not here to merely resist. We are here to build a unified, strategic and disciplined force that can win. The work of the National Network on Cuba – from delivering medicine, to forming brigades, to passing resolutions – is a direct contribution to a world beyond imperialism, a world where a sovereign Cuba can continue to thrive and inspire, and where global solidarity is not just a slogan, but a practiced reality.”

During breakout groups, attendees discussed national growth strategies, material aid strategies, ways to organize around local resolutions in support of Cuba, and renewed efforts in cultural activism. Participants left the groups feeling energized about the work ahead.

“We have a duty to stand in unwavering support of the Cuban people and their just struggle. It’s important that we leave this meeting with a clear plan in place to carry out the steps necessary to support the ongoing revolution there,” said LAC co-founder Erica Veal.

The annual convening also featured a panel with representatives from the Charleston Community Service Organization, Free Palestine Charleston (FPC), EOSC, and the Cuban Embassy, who discussed their shared struggles. Two new organizations presented their formal applications for membership in the NNOC; both organizations were voted in unanimously. An election was also held for two co-chair positions.

The convening concluded Sunday morning on Sullivan’s Island with a tribute to Assata Shakur led by Carlie Towne, a Gullah Geechee elder. The tribute included the offering of libations, poetry readings and a performance by the Harambee Dance Company.

“Assata’s legacy reminds us that the fight for liberation is never isolated, but instead a living, breathing continuum of resistance crossing borders, languages, and generations. Honoring Assata means moving past empty remembrance, and accepting the revolutionary charge to struggle forward with deep courage, clarity and disciplined political action,” said Shaquille Fontenot, co-chair of the NNOC, and LAC co-founder.

After the event, attendees had the opportunity to join the EOSC coalition and FPC in a keffiyeh walk and banner drop in the heart of downtown Charleston. The banner was painted with the phrases “Elbit out of SC,” “ICE out of SC” and “U.S. out of Cuba.” When asked about the banner, Nate Hubler remarked that “The phrases are a clear reminder of our shared struggles and that we must look for unity in action as our work continues in the coming year.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #CubaSolidarity #International #Cuba

North Charleston, SC – On October 28, organizers with the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC), a branch of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, attended a North Charleston Police Department (NCPD) Town Hall meeting to stand in solidarity with Black young people who have been brutalized by police for selling Palmetto Roses at various stores in North Charleston.

In September a CVS drugstore employee harassed and profiled a 17-year-old attempting to shop in the store. He was subsequently tackled and aggressively restrained by NCPD officers who arrived on the scene after the employee falsely claimed he threatened her with a knife – a misunderstanding due to his use of the common colloquialism “bands” in reference to having money. Many are upset that charges were filed against him for third-degree assault and breach of peace and not the CVS employee for filing a false report.

The town hall was led by NCPD Chief Ron Camacho and was advertised as an open conversation and “opportunity to engage with local leaders” but community organizers felt that, in practice, the event was an attempt by NCPD to control the narrative surrounding their recent brutalizations. The family of Walter Scott, who was shot in the back and killed by an NCPD officer in 2015, attended the town hall out of concern for what they believe is the inevitability of another police killing of an unarmed Black person. Chief Camacho stated he had plans to assemble and lead an “advisory board” to address community concerns, but local organizers pushed back.

“We don’t want an advisory board,” LAC co-founder Erica Veal said. “We want community control of the police.” Veal went on to describe an all-civilian elected council with final authority over police policy, oversight policy, and budget, including writing and reviewing, hiring, firing and subpoena power. Attendees also asked how community members who made false reports against Palmetto Rose artists would be held accountable. But answers from the panel of officers were unclear.

This past July, a white Circle K store employee called the police on a young artist who makes Palmetto Roses, claiming vandalism after the teenager tucked a bunch of Palmetto Roses into a vase of water. The incident went viral on social media. The police response was overwhelming, with eight officers and a K-9 unit arriving to help former Corporal Casey Ray Pace detain the juvenile. He was released without charges, and the corporal was suspended and eventually fired, but the damage to the young artist and community had already been done.

NCPD debuted a public service announcement they created in response to the admitted officer misconduct. “They played this PSA video about how children need to treat the police but refused to accept criticism of how they engage with children,” said LAC member Alfred Peeler. “The brunt of their message was blaming children and parents for the actions of police.”

The police coordinated with Charles Middleton, a leader in the police’s Reclaiming Every Community Around Peace (RECAP) program, who correlated the rise of police violence toward children to the ending of “prayer in schools” and lack of corporal punishment on the part of parents. When pressed about the need for violence interrupters and “a community group to be trained to take calls that don't go to police,” Chief Camacho asked for research of its effectiveness.

LAC will hold a press conference on Friday, October 31, at 11 am in Ralph M. Hendricks Park in response to the NCPD’s lack of accountability during the town hall. They plan to discuss their demands for community control and provide a platform for community members who were silenced during the town hall to share their views.

#NorthCharlestonSC #SC #InJusticeSystem #LAC #NAARPR #PoliceCrimes

Charleston, SC – On October 22, the College of Charleston (CofC) chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) staged a protest against the so-called “Combat on College” event, at which an IDF soldier was scheduled to speak.

The protest was held in the Cistern Yard in front of Randolph Hall, the college’s central administrative building. It was timed to coincide with the university-sanctioned and Hillel-sponsored Israeli propaganda operation taking place just blocks away at the College’s Jewish Studies Center.

With support from the CofC student body, members of Free Palestine Charleston and other members of the Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition, CofC SDS rallied 75 concerned students, faculty and community members to speak out in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Despite an extensive Charleston Police Department presence, observed to extend well beyond the site of the protest and characterized by attendees as “excessive” and a “scare tactic,” enthusiasm for the cause was high.

CofC SDS members and allies chanted slogans of solidarity, held signs and flags high, and delivered remarks about the importance of speaking out for Palestine despite the escalating legal and extralegal measures that have been imposed to chill such speech.

Attacks on free speech include a state budget proviso signed into law by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster in July which included a bill defining antisemitism for consideration at public colleges and universities. The proviso defines antisemitisms in part as “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” and “blaming Israel for all inter-religious or political tensions,” which critics call an infringement upon First Amendment rights. CofC administration warned SDS leadership of this proviso before the action.

SDS member Sasha Bozanic gave the first speech of the evening, declaring, “The student body of the College of Charleston will not stand for the whitewashing of genocide; we will not become a front in Israel’s propaganda war.” They concluded by citing a slogan that has become ubiquitous in the global movement in support of Palestine, “Despite the best efforts of the IDF, aided by the Biden and Trump administrations, one day, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!’”

Later in the evening, members of Free Palestine Charleston and the EOSC issued calls to action on behalf of their organizations, voicing their approval for the student movement and urging their fellow demonstrators to stay involved in the struggle to end Israel’s genocide against Palestinians, including by joining the ongoing picket campaign against Elbit Systems’ manufacturing site in Ladson, South Carolina.

“You’re on the right side,” one attendee said. “Be proud of where you are. Continue your fight. This is a moral issue of our time.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS

Charleston, SC – On October 4, the Elbit Out of South Carolina coalition joined an International Day of Action and hosted a rally outside of the Elbit Systems’ factory in Ladson, South Carolina. Organizers demanded an end to the genocide in Gaza and the tax breaks Elbit receives.

More than 50 people joined the Saturday morning picket which marked the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the coalition’s weekly picketing against the local Elbit facility and two years of the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The Ladson facility opened in the summer of 2023 with several tax incentives facilitated by Charleston County Council, including a Fee in Lieu of Tax (FILOT) deal that has faced increased scrutiny.

Beyond the county’s support for the factory, speakers also criticized Elbit Systems' role in supplying the Israeli military with howitzer cannons, which have killed and injured Palestinians, as well as a recent shipment of hundreds of tons of munitions.

Speakers at the rally represented the coalition’s different members including Free Palestine Charleston, Lowcountry Action Committee, Charleston Democratic Socialists of America and other local groups that are invested in Palestinian solidarity.

Nizar Hurraa spoke to his experiences as a Palestinian-American living in the United States, stating, “As a Palestinian-American physician, I am here not out of anger, but out of a profound sense of duty to protect human life. We are calling for the closure of this Elbit Systems facility because its products are used to harm civilians, including children, in Gaza and beyond.”

As one of the fastest gentrifying communities in the U.S., Charleston area residents are all too familiar with what it feels like to be displaced. Tri-County Tenant Union member Ila Navarro gave comments that compared the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with local Gullah Geechee residents, saying, “Redevelopment is forcing so many families, mostly Black families, off of a land that some of them have lived on for generations, some for over 40 years, to make way for new residents and tourists.”

Dozens of passersby honked in solidarity and received fliers while they were waiting at red lights. Some even decided to pull over and join the rally once they realized the purpose.

Organizers kept up the energy until the end with regular chants of “I believe that we will win!” as well as reminders to join the weekly Thursday pickets outside of the facility. “We are winning and the enemy is terrified, because they know that if the workers of the world free Palestine, then it’s on,” said Alfred Peeler, an organizer with FRSO’s Charleston District and the Lowcountry Action Committee.

“If we build the power to shut down this factory of death, then we can wield that power to kick ICE out of our communities, we can wield that power to end the blockade on Cuba and to end sanctions regimes starving workers across the globe,” said Peeler. “We will have the power to take community control over the police and we can wield that power to put the wealth created by working people to work for us instead of for the war machine.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Elbit #LAC #FRSO

In preparation for the hotline’s launch, a team of volunteers has spent months training operators to take calls and texts reporting suspected ICE activity as well as link callers to community resources when available. After receiving a report, the operators work with a team of verifiers that have been trained to arrive at the site of reported ICE activity, investigate and confirm or deny the report. When ICE activity is confirmed, volunteers alert the operator so that the hotline can make an announcement public.

The Charleston hotline developed in the aftermath of an ICE raid of El Alamo, a popular Latino-owned nightclub in Ladson, South Carolina back in June. This, along with spotty reports of ICE activity in the area set organizers in motion. “We want to keep the community informed of ICE activity so they don’t feel the need to isolate themselves out of fear of being racially profiled and kidnapped,” says Gillian Bergeron, one of the hotline organizers.

More South Carolina counties have been signing 287(g) partnerships with ICE in recent months. These agreements effectively turn local police into arms of ICE and make federal immigration law a priority underlining the importance of the hotline. As a result, many community members are self-isolating and self-deporting due to the threat of heightened ICE activity and the persistence of many false reports of ICE in the area. The launch of the hotline is meant to support communities to take their power back and live fuller, more dignified lives.

Trainings for both the operator and verifier roles have been well attended. “I think people in Charleston see the harm this is doing to the local Latino community,” another organizer said. “Family members, friends, and coworkers are being kidnapped and trafficked to immigration facilities and we are fighting back and saying no, this is our community. They belong here.”

Since launching, the hotline has primarily received calls from community members verifying that the phone number is online and working, but the team is confident that they’ll be ready to alert the community once reports start coming in. While the training of operators and verifiers continues, work to spread the hotline’s phone number has become a primary focus. Organizers have posted online, flyered in Latino neighborhoods, businesses, at Latino heritage festivals and more.

Hotline organizer Dulce Lopez said “We have been working hard all summer to get this hotline off the ground and we love that it came together just in time to celebrate Latin American Heritage Month in the Lowcountry.” Charleston has a well-documented history of a strong Latino presence reaching back to the 1840s and beyond. There are many events going on in the community celebrating this history and hotline organizers plan to be present to make the existence of this new and important community resource known.

#CharlestonSC #SC #ImmigrantRights