Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

In-Justice System

By staff

Community members at town hall meeting on misconduct of the sheriff's department.

Los Angeles, CA – On Thursday, February 27, at 6 p.m., Chicanos packed an East Los Angeles town hall meeting that was put on by the Civilian Oversight Commission of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and LA County. Over 60 Chicanos from East Los Angeles and the immediate surrounding area joined the meeting, both in person and virtually, to denounce the attacks on Raza by the East Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

Read more...

By staff

Town hall meeting challenges conditions in Milwaukee County Jail.

Milwaukee, WI – When Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball was asked why she chose to hold a town hall meeting for community members during first shift work hours, she chose to hammer home the point that community members were lucky there was a town hall happening at all. “Know that I am not obligated to have a town hall,” stated Sheriff Ball.

Read more...

By Cole Dunahugh

Portland, OR – On Monday, March 3, organizations involved in the February 23 anti-deportation protest held a press conference outside the Portland Police Bureau’s (PPB) central precinct headquarters to speak out against police harassment of protest organizers, harassment that endangered people participating in the march.

Read more...

By staff

Aurora, Colorado rally against police crimes.

Aurora CO – On March 1, during an unseasonably warm Saturday, family members of Kory Dillard and 15 of their supporters gathered outside of the Aurora Municipal Center, for a rally against police crimes.

Dillard, described by attendees as a beloved community member and veteran, was murdered by the Aurora Police Department (APD) on October 3, 2024.

Read more...

By staff

Brooklyn event demands justice for Eudes Pierre.

Brooklyn, NY – Eudes Pierre’s family, friends, and supporters filled the room at the Eastern Parkway library, March 1, for the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression’s (NYAARPR) event, kicking off their new campaign to demand justice for Eudes Pierre.

Read more...

By staff

Jacksonville, Florida protest against new jail.

Jacksonville, FL – Around three dozen community members gathered in front of Jacksonville City Hall on Tuesday late afternoon to say no to a projected billion-dollar proposal to build a new jail and incarcerate more Jacksonville residents.

Read more...

By Jess Sundin

Jae Yates and Syd Loving

Minneapolis – More than 100 people gathered at the New City Center for “We Keep Us Safe: A Teach-in on the Black History of Community Control of the Police,” hosted by Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The program featured panelists from National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression branches in different cities – all in various stages of the fight for local community control of the police.

Read more...

By staff

East LA Chicanos push to ban the Fort Apache logo that is worn by Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies.

Los Angeles, CA – In East Los Angeles, the grassroots organization Centro CSO has been fighting to ban the Fort Apache logo that East Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies proudly wear on the front right pocket of their uniform. The logo is disrespectful to Chicanos, as it was created by deputy gang members from the Little Red Devils gang out of the East Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (ELASD) station to glorify their attacks on Raza.

The logo depicts a riot helmet on top of a combat boot with the words “Low Profile” and “Siempre Una Patada En Los Pantalones (Always A Kick In The Pants).” The East Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputies created this logo after beating and killing Chicanos during the Chicano Moratorium on August 29, 1970, in East Los Angeles. The Chicano Moratorium was a large Chicano march, and protest against police brutality as well as the Vietnam War, where countless Chicanos were being sent to the front lines to die in the name of U.S. imperialism. Chicanos demanded an end to the draft and the presence of military recruiters in schools.

Read more...

By Philip Nguyen

San Jose, California event welcomes the release of Leonard Peltier.

San Jose, CA – 30 community members gathered at the San Jose Peace and Justice center, February 22, to celebrate the release of Leonard Peltier from prison and his return home.

Read more...

By staff

Two women hold signs and candles on a sidewalk at night. One sign says “Stop Killer Cops” and the other has a drawing of Antonio Guzman and says “Remember Antonio Guzman Lopez, father, husband, victim to SJSUPD. Justice for Josiah!”

San Jose, CA – On Thursday, February 20, the family of Antonio Guzman Lopez, Students for a Democratic Society, Justice for Josiah, the Aztec Dancers and several other organizations and community members held a vigil honoring the memory of Lopez, an undocumented man killed by San Jose State’s on-campus police 11 years ago, on February 21, 2014.

Read more...

By Freedom Road Socialist Organization - New York City District

The New York City subway system serves as the primary avenue in which diverse groups of people come into contact. Recently, it’s become the center of many national issues coming up against each other. Economic issues stemming from not being able to afford basic cost of living, the attacks on immigrants, over-policing affecting Black and brown communities, and the rise of vigilantes, are all broad issues that share the NYC subway system as a common thread.

Read more...

By Silas Gillett

Students hold a banner in front of Loyola University that reads "Defend student free speech, Protesting is not a crime."

New Orleans, LA – On Thursday, February 20, around 30 Loyola students and New Orleans community members rallied in front of Loyola University to demand that university administration drop the semester-long suspension of student activist Carson Cruse. The action was organized by the Liberate and Unite New Orleans chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (LUNO SDS).

Read more...

By Drusie Kazanova

Day of Remembrance marked in San Jose, California.

San Jose, CA – On February 16, around 350 people gathered at San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin to commemorate the signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese-Americans in U.S. concentration camps during World War II.

Read more...

By staff

Luis Lopez.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Orlando Against Police Crimes.

Orlando Against Police Crimes strongly condemns the murder of 24-year old Luis Lopez by Orange County deputies on the night of Saturday, February 8th in the Pine Castle neighborhood.

Officers arrived following reports of a burglarized home. In a statement to WFTV, a close friend of Lopez, Loida Zunun, said “Some guy was trying to get in his house, and he called my mom,” Zunun said. “He was scared, and he told us, hey, there’s somebody trying to come inside my house.”

Read more...

By Diana Terreros

Escena del asesinato cometido por la policía en Santa Ana, California.

Newport Beach, CA – Oficiales del Departamento de Policía de Santa Ana (SAPD, por sus siglas en inglés) persiguieron y luego mataron a José Velásquez, de 45 años, en Newport Beach el sábado 1 de febrero, alrededor de las 7 a.m.

Al menos siete patrullas y un helicóptero policial persiguieron a un vehículo hasta el muelle de Newport, con los policías llegando con las puertas de sus patrullas ya abiertas y con las armas en la mano mientras desaceleraban hasta detenerse. Dispararon más de una docena de tiros antes de dar cualquier orden verbal y antes de que muchos espectadores tuvieron tiempo de huir del muelle.

Leer más...

By staff

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, February 8, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression NAARPR-Dallas hosted its Black and Brown Unity: History of DFW Struggle for Liberation Town Hall at the Pan-African Connection in Dallas.

Read more...

By staff

Tampa FL – On Tuesday, February 4, over 40 people came out to listen to a panel hosted by Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TAARPR) and led by the families who survived police crimes.

The event was part of a weeklong series of events that honor the life of Andrew Joseph III – a 14-year-old boy who was killed in traffic after he was kidnapped by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies in February 2014 – and the struggle for justice and accountability being fought in his name.

Read more...

By staff

Glenn Foster Sr speaks to the press condemning the cover-up of his son's killing by law enforcement in Pickens County, Alabama.

New Orleans, LA – On Sunday, February 9, the family of Glenn Foster Jr hosted a press conference at noon in front of the Hale Boggs Federal Building in downtown New Orleans. As media came to town to cover the Super Bowl, Glenn’s mother, Sabrina Foster, seized the moment to bring light on her son.

Read more...

By staff

Protest against NYPD division that targets low income people.

New York, NY – On Friday, February 7, protesters gathered at City Hall facing 1 Police Plaza to protest the new NYPD Quality of Life Division. The creation of this division comes on the heels of cop-Mayor Eric Adams installing officers on every overnight train.

The Quality of Life Division targets poor and working-class New Yorkers. Officers in the division will go after panhandlers, public urination, those sleeping on the train, street vending, and other forms of “broken window” policing. The primary issue with this division is that it doesn’t address the underlying issues that cause people to resort to these actions.

Read more...

By Diana Terreros

Scene of killing by police in Santa Ana, California.

Newport Beach, CA – Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officers chased and then killed 45-year-old Jose Velasquez in Newport Beach Saturday, February 1, at about 7 a.m.

At least seven police cruisers and one police helicopter pursued a vehicle onto Newport pier, with police pulling up with their squad car doors already open and guns drawn as they slowed to a stop. They fired over a dozen shots before issuing any verbal commands and before many bystanders had time to flee the pier.

Read more...