Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 protesters gathered in front of the FBI offices here, June 16, to demand that the charges be dropped against veteran Los Angles Chicano activist Carlos Montes. Protest organizers blasted the growing attacks by the FBI and other police agencies on anti-war, international solidarity and progressive political activists.
Chicago, IL – Chicago activists, including those from the immigrant rights and Chicano movements, rallied at the Dirksen Federal building on June 16 in solidarity with veteran Chicano activist, Carlos Montes. Montes was raided by the Los Angeles County Sherriff and FBI on charges of a firearm code violation. They seized his personal effects and over 40 years worth of political movement documentation.
Milwaukee, WI – On June 8, representatives of Students for a Democratic Society, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the Nation of Islam held a panel discussion on the current conflict in Libya.
_Mick Kelly states he will donate settlement money to anti-war activists fighting repression _
St. Paul, MN – The case of Mick Kelly, whose lawyers filed the first lawsuit resulting from police violence at the 2008 Republican National Convention on his behalf, was resolved in a settlement conference at the U.S. Courthouse here.
Salt Lake City, Utah – A group of students and anti-war activists protested a visit by Alvaro Uribe – Colombia’s former president here May 26. Zions Bank invited Uribe to speak at a Trade and Business Conference. Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch welcomed Uribe as he promoted a free trade agreement with the U.S., claiming human rights in Colombia are improved. The U.S. Congress and President Obama are unable to pass the free trade agreement due to the terrible human rights record of the Colombian government.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following petition demanding an end to the prosecution of veteran Chicano leader Carlos Montes. We urge all of our readers to sign it.
Los Angeles, CA – On May 20, a lively crowd of over 100 supporters gathered in front of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles to denounce the recent home invasion and arrest of Carlos Montes. Montes is a veteran Chicano activist and member of the Los Angeles Committee to Stop FBI Repression. The crowd represented a diverse range of local activist groups and movements – including LAUSD teachers and parent activists, members of the immigrant rights movement, anti-cutback activists from the University of California, organizers against police brutality and representatives from international solidarity movements.
Call-in campaign to Office of Foreign Assets Control announced
Chicago, IL – More information trickled out to the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) and Chicago’s Coalition for People’s Rights (CPR), May 9, about the previous week’s freezing of the Abudayyeh family’s bank accounts. The family and supporters learned that entity behind the freeze is the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Update: Since the publication of this article, activists have learned that the U.S. Treasury Department, not the U.S. Attorney's office, is responsible for the account freezings. See this story for more details.
St. Paul, MN – Peace groups here organized a special demonstration at the weekly Wednesday vigil at the Lake Street-Marshall Avenue Bridge, April 27, to oppose the ongoing and escalating U.S. and NATO intervention into Libya. “We are not there for humanitarian reasons but for control of Libya's oil and its strategic location in North Africa and the Middle East which has been rocked with popular uprisings,” said organizers of the bridge vigil.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Dozens of students and community members protested Karl Rove at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) on April 25. Karl Rove was George W. Bush’s Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff, and among those responsible for engineering the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan which have cost millions of lives. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led their second protest against Rove, demanding Rove return an estimated $50,000 he has been paid for two visits to the school. SDS demanded that money go to Iraqi and Afghani children who have suffered at the hands of U.S. occupation.
New York City, NY – Over 10,000 protesters gathered here at Union Square, April 9, to demand an end to U.S. wars and occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Libya. Diverse organizations, including anti-war, labor and student groups across the country, united under slogans like, “Bring our war dollars home.”
Washington, D.C. – About 350 people came together here, April 9-10, to attend the Latin America Solidarity Coalition (LASC) conference. The LASC is an association of national and local U.S.-based grassroots Latin America and Caribbean solidarity groups working towards common goals and strategies of self-determination. 82 groups co-sponsored the LASC.
San Francisco, CA – About 3000 people joined a spirited anti-war rally and march here, April 10, to demand an end to the war on working people at home and aboard. Organized by the United National Anti-War Committee, protesters gathered at the Dolores Park, marched through the Mission District and returned to the park for a closing rally.
Newark, NJ – Around 600 people turned out on here April 4 for a March for Jobs, Peace, Equality and Justice initiated by the People’s Organization for Progress. The date marked the 1968 assassination of Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. A speaking program followed at Essex Community College.
Minneapolis, MN – On one of the first warm spring afternoons here, over 50 people joined an anti-war protest on April 2 to demonstrate against the U.S. war on Libya.
Milwaukee, WI – Students for a Democratic Society successfully disrupted two Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruitment events at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), Wednesday, March 30. SDS members questioned the CIA's involvement in overthrowing democratically elected governments, training assassins to kill civilians and trafficking drugs.