Tallahassee, FL – 350 people took to the streets July 13 here for an “Emergency Midnight March” for Trayvon Martin. The tear-marked faces of every person flickered red and blue in the midst of a full police escort. The march was organized and headed by a Black and Brown-led student group called the Dream Defenders, who guided a community outraged over the Zimmerman verdict to the steps of the historic Florida Capitol, where the group held a rally.

Demand justice for Trayvon Martin

Sanford, FL – On July 13, activists and community members came together here, demanding justice for Trayvon Martin, the African American youth shot by vigilante killer George Zimmerman.

_Leonard Peltier and other political prisoners send messages of support _

Washington, DC – 50 people gathered at Columbia Heights Civic Plaza, July 12, to demand compassionate release for Lynne Stewart. Music and speakers rallied the crowd, reaching thousands of passersby at this busy square during evening rush hour. Undaunted by rain, protesters passed out hundreds of flyers and collected petition signatures urging the release of Stewart, imprisoned on bogus terrorism charges for her work as a defense attorney. Although Stewart has stage four cancer and qualifies for early release based on compassionate grounds, the Bureau of Prisons has refused to release her.

Milwaukee, WI – Following the not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman, who stalked and killed Trayvon Martin, emergency demonstrations started the night of Saturday, July 13 and went on into early Sunday morning.

Sanford, FL – Sixty people rallied in Sanford, Florida, to demand justice for Trayvon Martin on Friday, July 12. The protesters gave speeches and press interviews on the last day of George Zimmerman’s murder trial at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center. Members of the Sanford community, the NAACP, the Tampa and Tallahassee chapters of Dream Defenders, the New Black Panther Party, Students for a Democratic Society, union members, and others waved signs “Justice for Trayvon Martin” and “We are all Trayvon”. They chanted “No Justice, No Peace” while cops and media looked on.

Fight Back! is calling for protests in the wake of the verdict of the George Zimmerman trial. The trial of George Zimmerman is now concluded and the jury is deliberating. Across the United States, people are awaiting the verdict on this racist killer who stalked and shot dead 17 year old African-American student Trayvon Martin in February 2012. Odds are there is not going to be any justice for Trayvon Martin in the courtroom. The vigilante murder of an African-American will likely not result in a guilty verdict on a murder charge. Fight Back! is calling on people to protest the verdict!

Demand justice for Trayvon Martin

Sanford, FL – As the trial of George Zimmerman reaches its twelfth day, activists and organizers around Florida question whether the murderer of Trayvon Martin will face justice for killing the 17 year-old African-American student in cold blood.

Los Angeles, CA – On July 8, 30,000 prisoners in California began a massive, system-wide hunger strike and work stoppage. This is likely the largest prison strike in U.S. history. The prisoners have five demands, centered on stopping long-term solitary confinement, group punishment and administrative abuse, as well as other issues of appalling prison conditions, many of which can be classified as torture. The strike is uniting prisoners across lines of race and nationality throughout the California prison system.

Milwaukee, WI – Community members rallied in memory of Derek Williams, who was killed in the custody of the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) on July 6, 2011, two years ago to the day. Militant protests against MPD brutality and corruption have been happening regularly for over a year, and protesters routinely take over major streets for hours on end. This time however, the police response was far more aggressive, resulting in a heated confrontation on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Durham, NC – Chants of “No justice, no peace! No racist police!” and “Free Carlos Riley Jr.!” rang out on June 28, as about 40 people gathered outside the Durham police headquarters to demand the charges be dropped against Carlos Riley Jr.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the International League of Peoples' Struggle, written by Jose Maria Sison, in support of Edward Snowden. ILPS praises heroic act of Edward Snowden in exposing NSA surveillance program PRISM

Minneapolis, MN – In an effort to build support for the compassionate release of Lynne Stewart from prison, a delegation of community leaders met with staff at the office of Congressman Keith Ellison on June 20.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 supporters of civil liberties join a protest at the office of Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar under the slogan, “Say no to NSA surveillance.” The protest was organized by Anti-War Committee and the MN Committee to Stop FBI Repression, and had the backing of the Twin Cites peace and justice community.

New York, NY – Jess Sundin, of the Committee to Stop FBI repression, spoke on a panel at the Left Forum here, June 8. Entitled the “Targeted killings of Americans on American soil: the story of Lynne Stewart, political prisoners and all progressive struggles in America.” The panel included Ralph Poynter, husband of jailed people’s lawyer Lynn Stewart and a leader of her defense committee. Also speaking was Ricardo Jimenez and Luis Rosa, fighters for Puerto Rico’s independence who served long prison sentences, Sue Udry of the Defending Dissent Foundation, Reverend Pinkney, Pam Africa, and others.

Minneapolis, MN – About 25 protesters gathered in front of the Hennepin County government building here, June 11, to protest the massive National Security Agency spying program and to support whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Lynne Stewart, a heroic and long-time progressive lawyer, is serving a ten-year prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas for ‘material support of terrorism,’ after serving as defense attorney for Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman. On June 9 Fight Back! spoke with her husband, Ralph Poynter, about her case. Poynter is a Black community leader and retired New York City teacher.

In a whirlwind news week the public has become aware that the majority, if not all, of U.S. telephone calls are monitored by the NSA (National Security Agency) and have been for seven years, that the U.S. government is monitoring emails through a secret NSA program called PRISM, and that Edward Snowden is the whistleblower that made these revelations possible. On June 9, Snowden told The Guardian to publish that he was the leak even though it puts him in the crosshairs of the U.S. government. “I'm willing to sacrifice all…because I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building.”

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. Justice Department Tramples on First Amendment Rights of Associated Press and Anti-war Activists

Tampa, FL – On June 1 over 50 activists rallied at the MacDill Air Force Base, calling for the release of whistleblower Bradley Manning.

Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of people marched through the streets of downtown Minneapolis on May 31 to demand justice for Terrance “Mookie” Franklin, a 22-year-old African American man killed by the police in a South Minneapolis home on May 10.