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

Ladson, SC – On Monday, September 22, organizers with the Charleston Community Service Organization (CSO) hosted a rally demanding an end to racial profiling.

The Legalization for All network’s call for a national Weekend of Action and protests were planned across the country in response to the September 8 SCOTUS decision allowing ICE to implement racial profiling tactics.

The Charleston CSO rally was held in front of Elbit Systems of America, an Israeli-owned weapons manufacturer located in Ladson, South Carolina, as a show of solidarity with the Elbit Out of SC coalition (EOSC), which hosts weekly pickets there every Thursday. Organizers from Charleston CSO, EOSC and the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC), an official branch of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression doing work to stop deaths at the Charleston County jail, all gave speeches and led chants to a diverse crowd of about 40.

“I am speaking up for those that are scared to go grocery shopping because they can be killed or kidnapped while grocery shopping or going to work,” said Lucía Peña, co-founding member of Charleston CSO. “We say no to racial profiling whether it's happening in California, New York City or South Carolina because it’s a denial of our human rights” one organizer said.

Charleston’s Latino community knows what it feels like to be racially profiled by law enforcement. In the early morning hours of June 1, ICE raided El Alamo, a popular Latino-owned night club in Ladson. “They let out all the ‘Americans’ without doing background checks, yet took any Latinos not caring of legal status,” one club patron said. “How was it not racially profiling?” she asked. About 80 people were arrested and transported to ICE facilities across the Southeast in the aftermath of the raid that night.

Regarding the rally, Lowcountry Action Committee co-founder Erica Veal said, “One thing everyone should take away from today is there’s power in solidarity.”

Veal continued, “The same systems that are kidnapping our Latino brothers and sisters off the streets are allowing our Black brothers and sisters to die in the Al Cannon Detention Center.” Approximately 20 people, mostly Black, have been killed by police at Al Cannon Detention Center or died from medical neglect incurred at the jail in the last decade.

“These same systems allowed Elbit to build a weapons factory in our community and take money away from our public schools,” stated Veal, referring to a fee in lieu of taxes (FILOT) agreement Elbit signed with the Charleston county council. The FILOT allows Elbit to operate without paying property taxes, the revenue from which is typically used to support the Charleston area public schools and their primarily Black and Latino student bodies.

Attendees chanted to the rhythm of African drums as they marched back and forth across the road in front of the Elbit factory, holding signs written in both English and Spanish. All the while, off-duty North Charleston police officers, paid $60 per hour by the company to serve as security, looked on.

Dozens of passersby honked in solidarity and two trucks attempted to antagonize the group. One with a Trump flag flying high drove back and forth yelling at the crowd and another deliberately spewed exhaust fumes on the activists as he passed. Despite this, messages of solidarity continued. “The people united can never be defeated. When we unite, we can win. We will not live in fear.”

#LadsonSC #SC #ImmigrantRights #CCSO #ICE #L4A

Charleston, SC – On September 15, an organizer with the Elbit Out Of South Carolina Coalition, Matt Colburn, appeared in court on a charge of “damaging or tampering with a vehicle.” The charge stemmed from an alleged incident on Thursday, August 7, during which time the Coalition was engaged in their weekly picket outside of the local Elbit Systems Facility in Ladson, South Carolina.

Elbit Systems America is a subsidiary of Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, and this facility is its “Ground Combat Vehicle Center of Excellence,” where they produce the SIGMA Next-Generation 150 mm Mobile Tactical Cannon for the Israeli military to use against Palestinians. The facility transported its first shipment of Howitzers to Israel this summer out of a military base in North Carolina.

The Elbit Out Of South Carolina Coalition is made up of local progressive organizations in the Lowcountry including Charleston Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Charleston DSA, Free Palestine Charleston and the Lowcountry Action Committee as well as numerous unaffiliated volunteers. They have been organizing to shut the Elbit factory down for over a year now.

Among the coalition’s strategies and tactics is a weekly picket in front of the factory. Coalition members also educate passersby with informational handouts and community meeting invitations at the intersection directly in front of the facility. At the August 7 picket, Colburn was arrested for allegedly hitting the roof of an Elbit employee's car with the pole of a handheld Palestinian flag. He spent the night in Al Cannon Detention Center, which has been in the news lately for a slew of inmate deaths, and was present in court for the charge, facing up to 30 days in jail.

On one side of the court room sat the Elbit employee and two Elbit security guards, all of whom admitted to being paid to be in court. On the other sat Colburn, his legal team working pro bono and dozens of supporters donning keffiyehs. “We aren’t being paid to be here like the prosecution's side, we’re here purely out of solidarity,” said one of those present.

The judge issued a not guilty verdict before the defense even called its first witness as the charge required both “proof of intent” to damage the vehicle and evidence of actual damage, neither of which were ever presented by the arresting officer, let alone proven.

The coalition was aware of the baselessness of the charges and made use of the trial for a fact-finding mission. Colburn and his team plead not guilty to allow Colburn's lawyer to cross examine the arresting officer, the security personnel who served as witnesses for the prosecution and the employee making the allegation. “We knew the charges were bogus,” said Gillian Bergeron, an organizer with the coalition. “They’re trying to tie us up with anything they have. But since we had them under oath we decided to use this opportunity to get some intel.”

The coalition walked away from the trial with new information on the Elbit facility. Most importantly, they received figures on how much Elbit is paying uniformed off duty North Charleston Police (NCPD) officers to serve as private security: $60 per hour.

The coalition has long talked of collusion between NCPD and the Elbit facility. “The police are being paid by a private weapons manufacturer to use state power to silence us,” said coalition member Alfred Peeler. “These cops have refused to give us their badge numbers, refused to file police reports when employees hit us with cars, allowed employees to break the law flagrantly by driving recklessly and covering their license plates.” He went on to say, “they have lied on official police reports and are now arresting our organizers on bogus charges that are being thrown out of court because they are so ridiculous.”

The coalition has been regularly attending Charleston County council meetings to push back against a “fee in lieu of taxation” agreement Elbit signed with the county, effectively giving the weapons manufacturer upwards of $10 million in tax breaks over the next two decades. Elbit Out Of South Carolina Coalition now intends to take the fight to North Charleston city council as well to fight the collusion between NCPD and Elbit Systems.

“The struggle will continue until Elbit is shut down and Palestine is free. So join our coalition and join us on the picket line. We are showing Elbit when we fight, we win. We are winning, Elbit knows it, and this verdict shows that they are desperate,” said Colburn. “We will not be intimidated by these genocide profiteers setting up shop in our community.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #InJusticeSystem

Elbit provides 80% of Israel’s land based weaponry and 85% of its drones. In the summer of 2023, Elbit built a facility in Ladson, South Carolina which produces the SIGMA Next-Generation Mobile Tactical Cannon – a massive 150mm vehicle-mounted gun – for the Israeli military.

“Make no mistake, there will come a day when everyone, including members of this council, act as if they were always against the genocide, just as people now act as if it was obvious to oppose Jim Crow or South African Apartheid,” one speaker told the council. “However, we will not let anyone in Charleston County forget that members of this body not only did not stand out against this genocide, but instead used their positions of power to financially incentivise these genocide profiteers to move into our community, and then y’all remained silent as they shipped weapons of death to erase generations of Palestinians.”

Elbit was subsidized financially by the Charleston County council to set up shop via a $700,000 grant awarded through the state and, more importantly, via a Fee In Lieu Of Taxation (FILOT) agreement signed with the county. The FILOT agreement awards Elbit decades of property tax breaks. Charleston County schools are funded with business property taxes, so the FILOT functionally takes money away from our local children and gives it to Elbit to produce weapons to murder Palestinian youth.

EOSC has been organizing for a year and a half to shut down the Ladson factory. Every Thursday since the one-year anniversary of Al Aqsa Flood, the group has held pickets in front of Elbit, including a massive rally on May Day 2025. Members have also canvassed nearby communities, tabled at local events, flyered the streets, held numerous teach-ins to educate the public, and disrupted a job fair where Elbit attempted to recruit employees from a local community college.

One condition of the FILOT agreement includes a hiring requirement of 300 employees, which Elbit has yet to reach. The coalition has been using agitational tactics to prevent Elbit from hiring the workers it needs to legally maintain the tax breaks. This would effectively will cost Elbit millions over the five-year term of its contract with the county.

These efforts have begun to yield results. Elbit officials warned the Charleston County Council they are uncertain about the future of the Ladson facility. Meanwhile, EOSC is continuing to escalate their tactics.

EOSC’s most recent action at the County council was prompted by news that, in mid-July, ships in the Mediterranean Sea were said to be carrying cannons that activists have reason to believe were produced at the Ladson facility in Charleston County. This is the first news of this kind to surface since the facility opened two years ago.

After coalition members left the council chambers, Larry Kobrovsky, a council member who frequently leaves the chambers and refuses to face EOSC organizers when they share public comments, compared the group to the KKK and nazis. While ESOC has developed a positive working relationship with some councilmembers, there is still more work to be done on this front.

“Ultimately, attacking the FILOT tax breaks is one tactic among many that our coalition is using to shut down this factory,” said another coalition member. “It will take a mixture of agitation, base-building, education, local labor and community solidarity to accomplish these goals. But we will win!”

For more information about the Elbit Out of South Carolina Coalition visit ElbitoutofSC.com.

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #WeaponsIndustry #Elbit #EOSC

Charleston, SC– On January 29, police violently dispersed protesters at Marion Square who were standing against Trump’s escalating war on immigrants. The demonstration, which began at 6 p.m., drew 200 to 250 people. Within 30 minutes, Charleston police declared the gathering illegal under the “First Amendment Demonstration Ordinance,” a law restricting protests.

By 9 p.m., officers forced protesters to leave. As they did, the police brutalized and arrested seven people. Video footage shows Karime De La Concha and her sister, Valeria Bernal, being detained while simply trying to walk to their car. De La Concha, who is 5’1” and 110 pounds, was thrown to the ground. She states, “Officers grabbed my arms and twisted them as I screamed, 'You're breaking my arm!'” De La Concha continued, “After that, I was picked up and slammed onto the pavement. While waiting to be booked, I started experiencing hot flashes, a pounding headache, and I was vomiting. Later, I learned that I had suffered a concussion.”

The arrested protesters, now known as the Charleston 7, were charged with disobeying a lawful order and taken to Al Cannon Detention Center. The community is demanding that these bogus charges against all seven be dropped.

Charleston has a well-documented history of infringing on the community’s right to assemble. At an emergency meeting that allowed no public comment, the city’s First Amendment Demonstration Ordinance was passed in 2021. It came as a response to protests over the police murder of Jamal Sutherland, a Black man with schizophrenia who was tased to death by jail staff. The law has since been used to suppress free speech and jail activists.

Lucca Acosta Navas, one of the Charleston 7, faced especially cruel treatment. Diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety, he was placed in solitary confinement for 15 hours under the pretense of a mental health evaluation.

Navas stated, “The injustice I faced that night, the arrest, the solitary confinement, and what followed, isn’t just about me. It’s about a system that’s determined to break us.” He continued, “This was an attempt to label me, to undermine my activism, to make me seem unstable, as though standing up for justice and calling out the corruption of our systems somehow makes me dangerous.”

Al Cannon Detention Center has seen 14 deaths since 2021, including D’Angelo Brown, who was denied psychiatric medication he was prescribed for his mental illness and subjected to long periods of solitary confinement. Routinely left exposed to urine and feces, Brown’s mental and physical health deteriorated rapidly until he developed an infection and died on December 29, 2022. Solitary confinement in Al Cannon can be a death sentence, especially for those struggling with mental health. Activists fear Navas could have been next.

Two days after the arrest of the Charleston 7, ICE raided a home in Goose Creek – with U.S. Representative Nancy Mace riding along. She boasted on social media that Trump’s policies were “putting America first.” The very same day, a disturbing viral video showed Sean Michael-Emmrich Johnson harassing a Latino truck driver. “You’re going back to Mexico,” he taunted before stealing the man’s keys and impersonating a police officer. He was later arrested for kidnapping and assault. While ICE raids and mass deportations surged under the Obama and Biden administrations, Trump's war on the undocumented has emboldened white racist vigilantism.

Activists say these events are part of a deeper pattern. Charleston was built on the massacre and displacement of indigenous peoples like the Etiwan, Kiawah and Sewee, and the enslavement of Africans. Descendants of both groups face some of the worst disparities in the country related to housing, income, health, education, policing and more. Gentrification threatens oppressed nationality neighborhoods, and now Latino residents – both documented and undocumented – face rising fear and repression.

This climate is what prompted the Charleston 7 and fellow demonstrators to take to the streets. Dulce Lopez, an activist at the January 29 protest, said “Charleston has thrived because of immigrants, yet harmful policies continue to target and criminalize our neighbors. A city that prides itself on Southern hospitality should be a champion for all who call it home, not a place where fear and division take hold.”

Karime De La Concha refuses to back down. “This fight is deeply personal to me. I never got to meet my father because he was deported when I was born. I grew up knowing what it feels like to have your family ripped away from you, to feel powerless against a system that doesn't care. That's why I was out there – to stand up for families like mine.”

Lucca Acosta Navas remains defiant: “They want us to stay silent, to let the injustice slide, to let them keep doing what they’re doing without anyone daring to stand up. But I won’t back down. No matter what they throw at me, no matter what they try to label me or how they try to break me, my spirit is stronger than their tactics. This fight is bigger than one protest.”

Justice for the Charleston 7: Drop the charges!

Stop the deportations!

Legalization for all and end Trump’s war against the undocumented!

#CharlestonSC #SC #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #Trump

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has been criticized for its slow response to an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) which has infected more than 100 people in rural Greenwood County, South Carolina since last March. More than 400 children at Ninety Six Primary School in Greenwood County were not tested for almost three months after TB was first reported.

Greenwood County is part of the Black Belt, named for the rich soil farmed by slave labor, which forms the heart of the African American Nation in the South. The national oppression that Black people face is most intense in the Black Belt South, even greater than other areas of the South. The poverty rate for Blacks, already much higher than that of whites, is even higher for Blacks in the African American Nation than other Blacks in the South. The infant mortality rate is also higher and the life span lower for Blacks in the African American Nation than Blacks living outside the nation but in the South.

The mishandling of the TB outbreak by the South Carolina DHEC is another example of the poor-quality government services and health care that are part of the all round economic, political, cultural and social oppression that African Americans face in the U.S.

I want to comment on two mistaken views in the left about national oppression. One incorrect view reduces national oppression to just a matter of racist attitudes among whites in general and white workers in particular. According to this view, if we can just overcome these racist ideas, then African Americans and whites can “unite and fight.” The problem is that there are important material differences in the lives of whites and African Americans, not just bad ideas. For example, African Americans are almost twice as likely as whites not to have any health insurance (19.5% vs. 11.1%). This is in part because many more whites (61.6%) than African Americans (44.6%) have jobs that provide health insurance benefits. White workers need to be won over to supporting demands for equality for African Americans, such as universal government health care, which would especially help African Americans, and also Chicanos, Mexicanos and Latinos, whose lack of health insurance is even higher than that of African Americans (at 30.1%) .

There is also a view that whites in general and white workers in particular actually benefit from the national oppression of African Americans. If this were true, we would expect to see a pattern where the more intense the national oppression is, the better off whites should be. But in fact whites in the Black Belt South where the African American Nation is based are worse off than other southern whites outside the Black Belt. An example of this is that the life span of whites is shorter, and the infant mortality rate among whites higher, in the Black Belt South than in other areas of the South.

This should be no surprise, for when the government doesn’t take care of public health, the tuberculosis bacteria doesn’t care if the body they are infecting is African American or white. So fighting national oppression is in the interest of white workers, because they face a common enemy: the wealthiest 1%, or the monopoly capitalists, who own and control the giant corporations that dominate the economy and control the government. But to upend the power of the 1%, we need an alliance between the working class and the national movements (the movements of oppressed nationalities such as African Americans, Arab and Asian Americans, Chicanos, Mexicanos, and Latinos, and Native Americans and Pacific Islanders). This alliance can only be forged by explaining to white workers that fighting national oppression is in their own interests and that they need to support the struggle for equality by Black people and support the right of self-determination, up to and including secession, for the African American nation.

#SouthCarolina #SC #healthCare #AntiRacism #selfdetermination #BlackBeltSouth