Portland, OR – For weeks now, officers under the oversight of the Department of Homeland Security have been terrorizing the residents of Portland Oregon in new attempts to stamp out the protest movement that has been ongoing since the killing of George Floyd. These officers can be seen in various videos wearing nondescript camo fatigues with no markings indicating who they are or, or what agency they are working for. These same federal officers nearly killed a protester in Portland last week after shooting him in the head with a 'less-lethal' impact device.
Salt Lake City, UT – Hundreds gathered at the Utah Capitol building Saturday, July 18, to demand community control over the police and demand Governor Gary Herbert call a special session of the legislature to repeal a recent law that bans community control in Utah, known as HB 415.
Tampa, FL – On July 18, members of the Tampa community rallied to demand justice for Josiah Pinner and community control of the police. Josiah Pinner was a 15-year-old who was struck and killed by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputy Philip Montesi, who was going 21 miles per hour over the speed limit in a residential area. The rally was called by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC).
Los Angeles, CA – Answering the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression’s call for a national protest against police crimes, Centro CSO held a rally at Los Cinco Puntos in Boyle Heights, July 18. At the action, Centro CSO pushed for Black and brown unity and demanded the end to the killings of Blacks, Chicanos and Latinos by the Los Angeles Police and LA Sheriff’s Departments.
Chicago, IL – About 500 people and at least 200 cars responded to the call from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression for a caravan on Chicago’s South Side, July 18. They drove through the 3rd, 6th and 17th Wards to call on the alderpersons there to support the movement for community control of police.
Arlington, TX – July 10, marked the culmination of the Progressive Student Union’s call-in campaigns, email-ins, and callouts against Teik C. Lim’s administration for not doing enough for Black students at the University of Texas-Arlington. Through both private email and public statements, UTA had conceded to several demands made by PSU in regards to doing specific actions to make “Black lives matter” truly mean something at UTA as opposed to simply being a simple statement made by the administration at the height of the movement calling for justice for George Floyd.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Jose Maria Sison, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Chief Political Consultant.
Frank Chapman, a longtime leader in the Black liberation movement and Executive Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, talks about the upsurge against police crimes and the need for community control of the police.
Salt Lake City demands justice for Bryan Valencia and Chad Breinholt
Salt Lake City, UT – Protesters gathered in front of Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill’s office, July 8, to demand justice for Bryan Valencia and Chad Breinholt and all victims of police violence. Protesters chanted, “Justice for Chad Breinholt!” and “Justice for Bryan Valencia,” as posters with the same demands were hung on the DA’s office building.
Portland, OR – In a display of state violence, federal officers sent by the Trump administration brutally attacked protesters near the Justice Center in downtown Portland. In video capturing the incident, the officers can be seen firing tear gas as well as so-called ‘less-lethal’ munitions at the crowd. We can see Donovan LaBella, 26, being struck in the head by one of these projectiles, immediately causing him to fall to the ground unconscious and bleeding profusely before being moved to safety by fellow protesters. The attack has left LaBella with facial and skull fractures requiring reconstructive surgery.
Colombian revolutionary and political prisoner of the U.S. empire, Simón Trinidad, will have his 70th birthday in solitary confinement in a federal Supermax prison. Simón Trinidad, born Ricardo Palmera, is languishing in the Florence, Colorado Supermax prison after a bogus extradition to the United States in 2004, convicted on trumped-up charges, and sentenced to 60 years.
Los Angeles, CA – Over the last few years, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has been in the hot seat as deputies have killed a staggering number of Black and Chicano young men. With the recent Minnesota rebellion and protests across Los Angeles, the heat continues.
The U.S.-backed government of Philippines and its President Duterte is putting in place the legal framework to carry out a wave of repression against activists in the popular movements who are fighting for social and national liberation. Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns the recently signed Republic Act 1147, also called Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, for what it is: an attempt to criminalize trade unionists, environmentalists, women’s groups, student organizations or anyone else who wants to challenge the cruel rule of Duterte.
Green Bay, WI – On Sunday, July 5, the Oneida Nation held a memorial ride and rally for Jonathon Tubby, an Oneida man killed in police custody nearly two years ago. Jonathon’s family, which has filed a civil lawsuit against members of the Green Bay Police Department, had requested a one-year mourning period before beginning public advocacy. That one-year period ended in November 2019 and the family has been pursuing justice ever since.
Beachgoers stumbling on human femur bones in the sand – just a few feet from world-class resorts. Families sifting through corpses, decayed beyond recognition and piled up on the beach, in search of missing loved ones. Roadways littered with human heads impaled on bamboo spears. Ordinary homes and buildings converted into charnel houses of unspeakable torture. Parents ripped from their beds in the middle of the night and led deep into the jungle by their captors, for all-night, around-the-clock execution sessions.
Los Angeles, CA – On June 27, exactly one year after an East Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed 18-year-old Paul Rea, his family and friends gathered in East Los Angeles to hold a vigil in his honor. Taking place at the site on South Gerhart Avenue where Rea was murdered, the vigil included speeches from families of other Chicano and Black victims of police brutality in Los Angeles, a sermon from a pastor, and a balloon release.
Los Angeles, CA – On June 27, exactly one year after an East Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed 18-year-old Paul Rea, his family and friends gathered in East Los Angeles to hold a vigil in his honor. Taking place at the site on South Gerhart Avenue where Rea was murdered, the vigil included speeches from families of other Chicano and Black victims of police brutality in Los Angeles, a sermon from a pastor, and a balloon release.