Charleston, SC – On September 8, community members mobilized to the Charleston City Council meeting demanding a repeal of the repressive First Amendment Demonstration Ordinance (1A) and to drop the charges against Lowcountry Action Committee member Matt Colburn, who was charged under the ordinance in June 2025 and has yet to receive his day in court. 

17 people signed up for the public comment section to speak, but were only allowed one minute each, rather than the customary two minutes.

“The 1A ordinance hinders student gathering and activism on campus and in the city of Charleston,” said College of Charleston senior and Lowcountry Action Committee member Izzy Waldner. “Having an ordinance where people can go to jail for protesting is unfair and doesn't lead to safer protest.” 

Charleston Democratic Socialist of America member Mike Jones said, “It's inappropriate that law enforcement is involved in political speech and in regulating and requiring permission for First Amendment protected activity,” referring to a part of the ordinance which gives Charleston police the power to shut down an event, permitted or otherwise, if they deem it jeopardizes public safety. 

The Charleston City Council Safety Committee met for 30 minutes a week before to discuss the ordinance and potential “modifications” to it but rejected a full appeal. The committee cited that the ordinance was constitutional and balanced free speech with public safety, but organizers and activists reject this. They see the inference in ongoing court cases and discussions on modifications as indicators that the city of Charleston is not confident in their ordinances' validity.

“We know the reason you don't want these cases to go to trial is because you can't defend it in court,” said Lowcountry Action Committee member Matt Colburn. “The only reason you're even discussing modifications is the pressure being put on you by the people. But we don't need modifications, we need it repealed. Ordinances and police don't keep us safe. Police are the main instigators of violence at protests,” he asserted. 

After the public comments, the mayor briefly addressed speakers that the ordinance was being “edited” and those edits would be discussed at the next public safety committee meeting. Despite this, organizers say they will continue to push for a full repeal even if it's modified. “As long as the ordinance is on the books, we would love to see the threat of arrest removed, but our ultimate demand is that this ordinance be repealed,” said Erica Veal, co-founder of the Lowcountry Action Committee. 

The city of Charleston's Public Safety Committee is currently editing the ordinance and is set to meet on September 15 to discuss these edits. According to Veal, “Police don't make protests safer. Charleston police violently arrested protesters at an immigrant rights demonstration last year and these have a chilling effect on our rights. Until these bogus charges are dropped and the ordinance repealed, we'll continue to organize against it.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #PeoplesStruggles #FreeSpeech #LowcountryActionCommittee

North Charleston, SC – On Tuesday, September 8, over 20 community members joined the Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition’s picket of a Charleston County Council meeting to demand a cancellation of the tax breaks given to Elbit Systems.

Outside of the public services building, participants filled the plaza with signs linking Council Chair Joe Boykin to the body’s failure to end the tax breaks and chanted “Boykin, Boykin your hands are red, over five hundred thousand Palestinians dead!” and “County council you will see, we’ll kick Elbit out of SC!”

The picket was seen as an escalation of anti-war activists' efforts to compel the council to end the Fee in Lieu of Tax (FILOT) agreement with the Israeli weapons manufacturer, through meetings with councilmembers and public comment speakouts.

Two EOSC organizers also used the public comment period of the meeting to again demand an end to the FILOT, call attention to the picket happening outside, and read messages written by Boykin’s constituents who signed EOSC’s petition demanding an end to the tax breaks.

“In the almost five years since the FILOT was signed, our public schools have lost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars as a direct result of your action,” stated Zach Hall, EOSC organizer and member of Charleston Democratic Socialists of America. “At the same time, Elbit has made bomb bodies and howitzer cannons in Ladson that it sells to commit war crimes and genocide. This is a losing deal for working-class people in Charleston and working-class people around the world.”

The combined picket and public comment drew the attention of many council members who remarked on the anti-war activists' presence. Most notably, Boykin, who had previously missed an EOSC community meeting in his district because of a lobbying trip to Israel, noted there are two-sides to every story and that “it’s not a role for county council to involve itself in. We are here to serve the citizens of Charleston County and govern accordingly.”

Attendees of the picket listening in through the council’s live stream laughed at Boykin’s closing remarks.

“It’s amazing that after two years of organizing at county council that councilmembers can still peddle the lie that the FILOT is serving Charleston County,” remarked Nate Hubler, an EOSC organizer and member of the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC). “It's obvious that defunding Charleston’s public school system of millions of dollars doesn’t serve the citizens of Charleston County.”

The picket continued for another hour after the council meeting ended. “We wanted to make sure every single council member had to walk by the picket and make the choice to either ignore us or engage with their constituents,” said Matt Colburn, a member of LAC.

Boykin, almost an hour after the meeting concluded, was the final councilmember to leave the public services building. He was escorted to his car by multiple police officers and refused to make eye contact as the crowd chanted, “Boykin, Boykin you can’t hide! You’re supporting genocide!”

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #BDS #ElbitSystems

Charleston, SC – On July 29, 2021, Charleston City Council passed a restrictive and repressive First Amendment Demonstration Ordinance (1A). It makes protesting in the city without a permit from the Charleston Police Department (CPD) illegal under threat of arrest and jail time. The 1A ordinance is unconstitutional, restrictive and has -resulted in fewer people protesting; even requests for permits have drastically decreased.

Over 150 permits were requested in the year before the ordinance was passed and a little over 200 have been requested in the five years since the ordinance has passed. Legal experts have noted that the ordinance places time, size and location restrictions on demonstrations which create unnecessary hurdles on people’s right to assemble.

For the first two years of the ordinance, it largely remained unchallenged, effectively chilling protest in the city of Charleston. However, this changed on October 5, 2024, during an unpermitted rally where two organizers were charged specifically with violating this ordinance. Yet when the time came for trial, the city quietly dropped the charges. A string of arrests in 2025, using this ordinance as a pretext, have remained in legal limbo and shown that the very institutions that passed this ordinance can't defend it.

Background to First Amendment repression in Charleston

In May of 2020, George Floyd was murdered by Derrick Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department sparking historic rebellions across the entire country. This includes Charleston, where the King Street Business District, a tourist hotspot, became a battleground. People filled with rage fought back against police violence and several were arrested, some on federal charges. Many remain incarcerated.

In the aftermath of the uprisings in Charleston, Jamal Sutherland was tasered to death by Al Cannon Detention Center deputies in January of 2021. Sutherland suffered from schizoaffective disorder and refused to attend his bond hearing after being transferred to the jail from a behavioral health facility the night before. Despite being within his legal rights, two detention officers tased him at least ten times, resulting in his homicide. They were later fired but never charged for the crime. On May 13, 2021, the body camera footage of the Jamal Sutherland murder was released. It enraged the people of Charleston, who took to the streets in protest outside Charleston County Solicitor Scarlett Wilson's office a week later to demand she charge the deputies with his murder.

On July 26, 2021, Solicitor Wilson announced criminal charges would not be brought against Sutherland’s murderers. The next day, community members gathered downtown in Marion Square to protest. They attempted to march and were met with police violence, resulting in three arrests. On July 29, 2021, in an emergency session, Charleston City Council passed the repressive and unconstitutional 1A law, which criminalizes protesting without a police permit under threat of arrest. No public comment was allowed, and two council members abstained from the vote. The ordinance effectively halts protests in Charleston.

On October 5, 2024, this all changed with a protest held in Marion Square in response to the Palestinian Youth Movement’s call for a National Day of Action in solidarity with the people of Palestine and against the ongoing genocide. Organizers of the rally, members of the then newly-formed Elbit Out South Carolina (EOSC) Coalition, did not have a permit, nor did they attempt to get one, due in part to the fact that CPD had routinely denied or stalled permits for pro-Palestine protests and marches in the aftermath of Al Aqsa Flood.

EOSC organizers planned to use the rally to announce the kickoff of weekly pickets outside of Elbit Systems America in Ladson, South Carolina. A police liaison with the coalition spoke to officers, who said there were no issues with the gathering as long as it didn’t get out of control. A march was attempted, but under threat of arrest by officers, it did not proceed. The rally rebounded and continued in the park, but when it ended, police targeted two organizers out of the crowd, Chris Tittle and Matt Colburn, and charged them with violation of the 1A ordinance, specifically for being within, “15 feet of a statue or monument.”

No further protests were held in Marion Square moving forward and the two organizers retained legal counsel, entered not guilty pleas and prepared for their day in court. Over a year later, in November 2025, the charges were ultimately dismissed. These charges are the only known instance, since the passing of the ordinance in 2021, in which anyone was charged specifically with “violating First Amendment ordinance.” For example, in January 2025 in Marion Square, a spontaneous protest was organized and attended mostly by Latino youth, in response to Trump's mass deportation program. Over 200 people attended. CPD declared it unlawful under the 1A law and ordered everyone to disperse. As the protesters followed orders, seven people were brutally arrested and charged with “disobeying lawful orders.” The outcome of the cases is unknown.

Later that year, in June 2025, this scenario was repeated after a No Kings Day rally in downtown Charleston where Colburn was arrested during a spontaneous march. CPD officers claimed his use of a bullhorn, or amplified sound, while chanting was illegal under the 1A ordinance. He was subsequently charged with “disorderly conduct” and his megaphone was seized as evidence. The first prosecutor assigned to the case wanted to dismiss the charges, but the CPD refused to drop them. The second prosecutor, Kevin Hales, has offered a guilty plea for time served on more than one occasion, but Colburn and his legal team have consistently refused and demanded a jury trial. On two separate occasions, and only hours after public calls were made to pack the court, the prosecutor filed for a continuation. It has been over 14 months, and Colburn has yet to receive his day in court.

On January 25, 2026, at a protest against the recent ICE killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, a woman named Julia Tucker was arrested by CPD for wearing a keffiyeh over her face. Police cited the 1A ordinance ban on masks at protests as just cause for the arrest, despite ignoring several students in the crowd who also wore medical masks. Charleston was also experiencing an unusually cold front at the time, which had lowered temperatures into the freezing zone over the weekend. The outcome of Tucker’s charge is also unknown.

The recent continuation of Colburn's disorderly conduct charge in August 2026 brought news that the Charleston City Government allegedly reached out to the presiding judge and acting prosecutor Kevin Hales, requesting to push the trial. It appears that the city and municipal courts are not confident these charges will hold up in court. This ordinance has and continues to have a “chilling effect” on First Amendment rights. The police have made at least eleven arrests in less than two years using this ordinance as a pretext and they appear unwilling and unable to defend or try these cases in court, content to let them lay in limbo. The October 2024 arrests were the one and only instance in which charges were pressed specifically citing “violation of First Amendment ordinance.” Every arrest since then has been for standard misdemeanor charges.

Organizers in Charleston plan to continue to push for the repeal of this law. The unpermitted demonstrations on October 5, 2024, January 29, 2025 and June 14, 2025, have put the city of Charleston and CPD in a position in which they have to defend this ordinance in a court of law.

According to Colburn, “the unwillingness to let these cases go to trial suggest that the ordinance is very weak politically and agitation around it could prove to be its downfall, and forcing them to defend the indefensible is not a battle CPD or the city of Charleston wants to fight. But history shows that when people fight, they win, and this win is exactly what the city of Charleston is afraid of.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #InJusticeSystem #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech #PoliticalRepressin #LCAC

Ladson, SC – On Tuesday, August 11, more than two dozen community members joined the Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition’s first mass rally outside Elbit Systems of America in Ladson since the arrest of three picketers, collectively known as the Ladson 3.

The rally began with a reading of a speech written by Haley Sabados, a member of the Ladson 3, who has been barred from the premises of Elbit since her arrest and is actively fighting her trespassing charge.

The message from Sabados stated, “While sitting in state-detention for 19 hours, I reflected on this coalition and what we are building and struggling towards. How this community is showing up for one another and the people of Palestine. Your support and dedication is what liberation feels like.”

While the first EOSC rally demanding justice for the Ladson 3 was held in a location where all three arrested picketers could attend, the decision to return to Elbit was a conscious one.

“We’re out here tonight in front of Elbit because we stand in solidarity with the Ladson 3 and we refuse to be intimidated by off-duty North Charleston police officers working as security for a war profiteer,” said Nate Hubler, a member of EOSC and the Lowcountry Action Committee. “Their repression is not going to stop us from being out here and forcing Elbit employees and contractors to reckon with the death and destruction they are causing.”

Despite the picket being held in the evening, one employee left the facility to a chorus of boos from the crowd and one semi-trailer with a delivery was welcomed with chants of “Elbit, Elbit you will see! We’ll kick you out of SC!”

Many of the speakers reflected on the words and life of Anas Al-Sharif, a Palestinian journalist who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a tent outside the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City a year ago on August 10. Gia Ellis, an organizer with Free Palestine Charleston, read from Al-Sharif’s will, “I entrust you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be the bridges toward the liberation of the land and the people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland.” They went on to say, “We take this charge seriously and it’s why we’ll continue to organize against Elbit until this factory is shut down. Gaza is our compass.”

The EOSC coalition has been picketing in front of the Israeli-owned weapons manufacturer every week since for months. The crowd chanted “Elbit, Elbit your hands are red! Two hundred thousand dead!” as passing cars honked in solidarity and flyers were handed out to cars parked at the traffic light. As the rally ended, attendees were asked to attend the upcoming EOSC community meeting on August 15.

#LadsonSC #Ladson #SC #Palestine #Antiwarmovement #EOS

Charleston, SC – On June 14, 2025, at a spontaneous march immediately following a No Kings Day rally in downtown Charleston, I was unjustly arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for chanting with a megaphone. I have pleaded not guilty and, over a year later, I have yet to receive my day in court.

At the rally before the march, I heard reports from others present that officers with the Charleston Police Department (CPD) were threatening protesters with arrest by CPD for wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) masks, citing the First Amendment Demonstration Ordinance Act, or 1A, ban on masks at protests. Yet, PPE is specifically exempt in the ordinance. It was clear many of the CPD officers didn't approve of the action, which was an anti-Trump protest.

After the rally, I joined a group of community members who wanted to continue to protest with a march down the sidewalk in response to the Trump administration's immigration crackdowns. Before we began our own march, we witnessed two horse-mounted CPD officers attempt to intimidate two individuals for holding their banners up and chanting as they left the park. The officers approached them aggressively on their horses, telling them they couldn't protest. A blatant lie in an attempt to silence dissent.

Undeterred, they joined the group I was with. We all knew we were within our rights, and not even in violation of the repressive 1A ordinance, so we asserted these rights and began our march. We chanted as we marched in solidarity with our undocumented community members and against the Trump administration's racist immigration policies. We had a megaphone, so I offered to lead chants on it as we marched out of the park.

We didn’t make it very far before we were pursued by police officers telling me to stop chanting on the megaphone. They insisted we could march and protest but not with a megaphone. Given this was an unlawful command, not even supported by the 1A ordinance, I refused to acknowledge them and kept leading chants. A few minutes later I was violently arrested by CPD and the so-called “anti-riot” deputies of the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO).

The protesters in my group were understandably enraged by the arrest. One person attempted to shield me as officers moved in to detain me. A mounted officer responded by trying to use his horse to attack the group, but lost control of the animal, nearly trampling them as it smacked into a wall on the sidewalk and went running sideways into the road. All of this was captured on video, but CPD continues to deny this happened. It should be noted, despite my arrest and the continued police stalking of the other protesters, the march continued and was a success.

I was charged with disorderly conduct, my megaphone seized as evidence, and I spent a few hours in the notorious Al Cannon Detention Center where over 20 people have died in the past ten years; at least three of the deaths have been declared homicides. Thankfully, my community supported me and bailed me out the same day.

I retained counsel, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and have been prepared for trial for over a year. Yet, the city of Charleston refuses to grant me my day in court. The first prosecutor wanted to dismiss my case, but the police wouldn't drop the charges. The second prosecutor, Kevin Hales, has offered me guilty pleas for time served on more than one occasion. We have refused every time. We are not interested in anything other than a full dismissal or our day in court. Twice we have made public calls to pack the courtroom and each time Hales has since filed for a continuation. Most recently this happened related to my August 3, 2026 court date.

Additionally, it has come to light that the city of Charleston has allegedly reached out to the presiding judge and prosecutor to push my case because they are not interested in it going to court. In my opinion, city officials know they can't defend the 1A law, and they're feeling the pressure against the ordinance, and the multiple cases brought up using the ordinance as a pretext.

I am not the only person arrested under the law. In October 2024, I, and a fellow organizer, were charged with violating the 1A ordinance in the aftermath of a pro-Palestine demonstration. The charges were dismissed a year later. In January 2025, seven, mostly Latino, community members were arrested for “disobeying a lawful order” when police ordered a spontaneous protest to disperse, again citing the 1A ordinance as grounds for the dispersal. Lastly, in February 2026, a woman was charged for wearing a keffiyeh at a protest in response to the killing of an ICE observer. Again, in this instance, CPD cited the 1a ordinance.

Local organizers have continually spoken out against this law, including a Fight for the First march and rally which was attended by hundreds on July 25, 2026. Our demands remain the same. We want a full dismissal of these bogus charges and the full repeal of this repressive unconstitutional ordinance, because protesting is not a crime!

We are calling on all people of conscience to call the Charleston Prosecutor’s Office at 843-965-4148 and ask to speak to Kevin Hales to demand the disorderly conduct charge against me be dropped immediately.

And stay tuned for a day of action to call for the full repeal of the First Amendment Demonstration Ordinance.

#CharlestonSC #SC #FreeSpeech #PeoplesStruggles #Opinion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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