This is America – It's Going Down

This is America – It's Going Down

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This is America – It's Going Down episodes

  • This Is America #191: Shane Burley on the Weaponization of Anti-Semitism, Resistance to War Heats Up

    Welcome, to This Is America, December 9th, 2023.

    On this episode, first we speak with antifascist journalist, author, and researcher Shane Burley along with Xeno, an anarchist and anti-Zionist Jew about the weaponization of anti-Semitism by groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the far-Right, amidst the growing movement to end apartheid in occupied Palestine.

    We then switch to our discussion where we tackle the political implications for a growing break between those rejecting Washington’s war plans and the Democratic Party and beyond.

    All this and more, but first, let’s get to the news!

    Defend the Atlanta Forest

    In mid-November, hundreds converged in so-called Atlanta, Georgia to participate in actions to “Block Cop City,” leading to clashes with the police and causing construction at the counter-insurgency training facility to come to a halt. Check out a report back on IGD here.

    Actions in solidarity with the movement against Cop City have also continued across the so-called US. At the construction site where Cop City is being built, persons unknown set fire to several cement trucks. The same concrete company was also targeted in Raleigh, North Carolina, with a communique claiming credit for breaking windows and sabotaging tires at one facility. In the bay area of California, two offices for Nationwide, the insurance provider for the Cop City project, were also vandalized, in Savannah, Georgia, several businesses funding the Cop City project were targeted with graffiti slogans and sabotage, and finally in Atlanta, people claimed credit for pouring 25 pounds of stinking fish guts into the air ducts of a theater hosting a fundraiser for the Atlanta Police Foundation, which is spearheading the project.

    From the communique:

    As two of us hauled buckets full of rotting fish-vicera and compost-sludge, another quickly undid the two hex screws holding the access panels in place. We then dumped the 25 pounds of reeking slurry into both of the theater’s air handling units, in the compartments where clean air usually reenters the building; bypassing the layers of filtration and purification. Nearby, three police cars sat idle, completely useless and oblivious.

    According to a post to the counter-info site Scenes from the Atlanta Forest, at the time of this writing, at least 5 different contractors have backed out of the project to build the Cop City complex since the campaign began several years ago.

    Trials for those facing RICO charges in the unfolding struggle against the Cop City project are scheduled to begin soon. Be sure to follow the Atlanta Community Press Collective and Defend the Atlanta Forest on social media for updates.

    Solidarity With Palestine

    As Israel expands and increases its bombing campaign across Gaza, mass actions, protests, targeted blockades, and shut-downs across North America have continued in solidarity with occupied Palestine and to demand an end to the ongoing genocide and war being carried out by the Israeli state and its imperial backers in the US.

    According to a communique posted to Indybay, anarchists carried out railroad stoppages in “Pittsburgh, Oakland, Niles, Bahia, and Lodi” California. From the communique:

    We did this in solidarity with the ongoing resistance to genocide being waged against Palestinians by the so called state of Israel…As anarchists we refuse to beg the masters of war for a ceasefire. We took it upon ourselves to sabotage the ability of so-called Israel to commit genocide, by sabotaging the flow of capital in the US, and thus the machinery for war abroad.

    Blockades of railroads, roads, and bridges also took place across Montreal along with a blockade in front of Lockheed Martin.

    At Columbia university, pro-Palestine students disrupted a class being taught by Hillary Clinton, in Tucson, people blockade the entrance to a Raytheon facility, in Ithaca, New York, students at Cornell University occupied buildings for two days, demanding the university divest from the Israeli state, and at George Washington University, students held a sit-in to demand that the University divest from Israel,

    Banners were dropped in Portland and across so-called Florida and sabotage actions also took place in so-called Minneapolis, where a bank was vandalized with anti-colonial slogans.

    Finally in a big win for direct action, Palestine Action reports that, “After two months of sustained pressure, Elbit’s main recruiters dropped the Israeli weapons makers as a client!”

    More Action and News

    In Davis, California, antifascists organized a rally on campus of over 100 people, which disrupted a far-Right, anti-LGBTQ+ event organized by Turning Point USA.

    In the San Francisco, California, during a day in memory of trans people killed, anarchists busted out the windows of a WalGreens, the corporate chain store responsible for the recent murder of Banko Brown, a 24-year old transgender Black man who was shot and killed by a security guard after being accused of shoplifting.

    In Florida, the #Tampa5, students facing charges stemming from police attacks on protesters denouncing Ron DeSantis’ attacks on education, recently had their charges dropped.

    Finally, dozens of foxes were liberated from a fur farm in so-called Ohio. According to a communique:

    Every fox that now has a chance for life in Ohio would have been brutally killed for their fur in the next 30 days. The Animal Liberation Front and other anonymous activists utilize economic sabotage in addition to the direct liberation of animals from conditions of abuse and imprisonment in order to halt needless animal suffering. By making it more expensive to trade in the lives of innocent, sentient beings, they maintain the atrocities against our brothers and sisters are likely to occur in smaller numbers; their goal is to abolish the exploitation, imprisonment, torture and killing of all innocent, non-human animals.

    Last year, approximately 25,000 to 40,000 mink were released from other fur farms in Ohio and the perpetrators left spray-painted graffiti saying, “ALF” and “We’ll be back.” The total number of fur farms in America has dwindled from more than 300 in the 1990s to less than 60 today, as the fur industry continues its steady decline into oblivion.

    It’s Going Down

    If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis, please help us grow the platform!

    • Write about what’s going down in your area! Contribute here.
    • Subscribe to our podcast, either by following our RSS feed or following IGD wherever you get your podcasts! While you’re at us, give us a good review and rating!
    • Follow us on Mastodon and BlueSky!
    • Tell a friend about IGD and check out more content on the Channel Zero Anarchist Podcast Network!
    • 2 hr 41 min
    • This Is America #190: Block Cop City Tour and Mobilization

      Welcome, to This Is America, November 1st, 2023.

      On this episode, we speak with Sam about the recent Block Cop City speaking tour across the US and the upcoming mass actions in Atlanta against the Cop City project from November 10th – 13th.

      We also speak with hosts of the Final Straw podcast about the recent Asheville Anarchist Bookfair, organizing anarchist and autonomous events in the current terrain with COVID-19 still a looming threat, how to make gatherings accessible and engaging to as many people as possible, and much more.

      Finally, millions of people across the world are taking to the streets in solidarity with Palestine. If you missed our recent podcast interview with IGD contributor Scott Campbell on the history of the settler-colonial project of the state of Israel, the role of the US in propping up apartheid, and what’s happening on the ground now, check it out here. If you’re looking for printable outreach materials to hand out at upcoming events and demonstrations, go here and here.

      Upcoming Events
      • November 5th: Sacramento Anarchist Bookfair and Rock Against Racism benefit show. Sacramento, CA. More info here.
      • November 11th: Bay Area Anarchist Study Group conference. Oakland, CA. More info here.
      • November 11th: Food Not Bombs Benefit Show in Bremerton, WA. More info here.
      • November 11th – 12th: Boston Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
      • November 18th: Anarchist Skill Share. Philadelphia, PA. More info here.
      • November 18th: Pushing Down the Walls. Benefit for political prisoners. Rowland Heights, CA. More info here.
      • December 2nd: Anarchist Bookfair in Lawrence, KS. More info here.
      • It’s Going Down

        If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis, please help us grow the platform!

        • Write about what’s going down in your area! Contribute here.
        • Subscribe to our podcast, either by following our RSS feed or following IGD wherever you get your podcasts! While you’re at us, give us a good review and rating!
        • Listen to us on the radio! We’re on Pacifica radio stations on Wednesdays at 11 AM PST. 94.1 FM in Marin County, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco, 88.1 FM in Fresno, 97.5 FM in Santa Cruz, 94.3 FM in Monterey, at 5pm on 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, and Saturday, 7pm on 96.9 FM in Seattle. If you have a Pacifica station or community radio station in your area, encourage them to stream our show!
        • Follow us on Mastodon and BlueSky!
        • Tell a friend about IGD and check out more content on the Channel Zero Anarchist Podcast Network!
        • 1 hr 51 min
        • This Is America #189: Rent Strike Grows in Eugene, Midwest Dual Power Conference, Trump Faces Indictment

          Welcome, to This Is America, August 15th, 2023.

          In this episode, we speak with two organizers of the Midwest Dual Power Gathering, taking place in Chicago next week. We then speak with Candice King, a resident of Eugene, Oregon who is currently on rent strike, along with a local anarchist who is helping organize eviction defense. We talk about how the rent strike is growing and the community that has been fostered around the defense of Candice’s home in the face of a recent failed police eviction.

          https://twitter.com/KEZI9/status/1687584389314813952?s=20

          We then turn towards are discussion, where we unpack the most recent Trump indictment, what it means, and what is says about the lengths in which the Republican party pushed for an authoritarian takeover of the State in 2020.

          All this and more, but first, let’s get to the news!

          Living and Fighting

          The struggle against Cop City in so-called Atlanta, Georgia continues, with the city government attempting to throw a wrench into attempts by voters to get a referendum on the facility on an upcoming ballot. In court, the city of Atlanta has attempted to claim the “referendum [is] “invalid” and a “futile” effort,” but a recent ruling has allowed the collection of signatures to go forward, as activists now boast to having collective over 80,000.

          https://itsgoingdown.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/10000000_1468240474022006_2909281583258015646_n.mp4

          Struggles against other similar projects are also spreading. In Michigan people wrapped up a week of action and educational events against the expansion of the Camp Grayling military base. In the bay area, people also mobilized to demand the halt to the construction of “a $42,000,000 mega complex and gun range in the heart of the City of San Pablo, directly behind a children’s library. The Mega complex “Cop Campus” will train officers in urban warfare, repression and murder. We are in a economical crisis and before community needs are even being met, an immense amount of money is being wasted into a completely unnecessary cop playground.”

          https://twitter.com/stopthemvp/status/1689637843881320449?s=20

          Actions also continued against the Mountain Valley Pipeline, with protesters continuing to disrupt work on the project.

          In Portland, fast food workers with the Burgerville Workers Union, part of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), walked out on strike at one store in late July after contract talks with the company broke down. In response to the strike, corporate attempted to send in scab workers as strike actions and protests continue. Meanwhile in Berkeley, wobblies are rallying at a recently unionized store by the IWW against the firing of one union member. For more info and how to participate in a call-in campaign in support, go here.

          https://twitter.com/BVWU_IWW/status/1685427085811343362?s=20

          Far-Right troll Andy Ngo has again lost in court, according to the Civil Liberties Defense Center:

          After seven days of trial, a 12-person Multnomah County (Portland) jury found no fault against [tw0] activists…in a lawsuit that was filed three years ago by conservative provocateur Andy Ngo. Ngo sought over $300,000 for a variety of alleged incidents involving many people between 2019 and 2021.

          The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by Ngo, in an attempt to weaponize the legal system against the right-wing boogeyman of what he has labeled “antifa” (short for “anti-fascist”). Ngo lumps together into his version of “antifa,” a wide range of social justice advocates, even including people from the moderate “Wall of Moms” – in an apparent attempt to gain access to personal information about those he perceives to be leftist activists and to make personal profit from patreon and other social media platforms. To use a term he often uses, he committed “lawfare.” His original complaint named individual people for “assault,” “battery,” and “intentional infliction of emotional distress,” as well as alleging an Oregon civil racketeering (RICO) claim against Rose City Antifa.

          Two weeks before the trial, a Multnomah County Circuit Judge ruled that Rose City Antifa could not be sued because it is not a discrete legal entity, and dismissed the state RICO claims.

          In Alabama, prisons across the state went into lockdown as national guard troops, SWAT teams, and a host of law enforcement descended upon William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility “after an incarcerated individual took a guard hostage in the middle of the night.” According to the Alabama Political Reporter:

          The individual suspected of taking the correctional officer hostage is Derrol Shaw. According to a source, Shaw got into an altercation with the guard and took a gun and the officer’s vest. However, it is against ADOC policy for officers to have guns at the facility, but it is unclear at the moment how or why the officer had the weapon…Shaw posted two videos on Facebook Live of himself while wearing the officer’s vest…

          Shaw expressed in his Facebook Live videos that he is just “fed up” with the conditions inside the prison citing the constant chaos, violence and deaths, even of his own friends. Shaw also said that ADOC is upholding white supremacy and that the prison system is just “modern-day slavery.”

          As highlighted in our recent In Contempt column, several new political prisoners need support! Long time community activists in Pittsburgh Peppy and Krystal are facing federal charges over alleged participation in a demonstration against transphobia. Donate to help out with legal fees here. You can also write to Peppy at:

          Butler County Prison

          c/o Brian DiPippa
          #42322 PO Box 9156
          Seminole, FL 33775-9156

          Indigenous land defender Victor is in need of support after being arrested in Atlanta during a music festival in support of the Stop Cop City movement. Victor, has now been transferred to ICE custody, and a support site has been set up for him here. Write to Victor at:

          Victor Puertas

          095610252
          6B 215B
          P.O. Box 248
          Lumpkin, GA 31815

          South Chicago ABC and Chicago IWOC are organizing support for Hybachi Lemar, an anarchist organizer who is currently held in the Cook County Jail. To support Hybachi, go here.

          The support crew for antifascist prisoner Alex Stokes have now set up an online store selling fundraising merch. Write to Alex at:

          Alexander Stokes Contompasis

          DIN: 22B5028
          Upstate Correctional Facility
          P.O. Box 2001
          Malone, NY, 12953

          Also, antifascist prisoner Ben Varela has been moved, and his new address is now:

          Benjamin Varela #434577

          Cedar Creek Corrections Center
          CC18U
          Post Office Box 37
          Littlerock, Washington 98556-0037

          Upcoming Events
          • August 16th: Live music, tabling, presentation on revolt in Chile. Pittsburgh, PA. More info here.
          • August 17th – 20th: Midwest Dual Power Gathering. Chicago, IL. More info here.
          • August 19th: Fash Free Festival, Portland, Oregon, Colonel Summers Park, 12  PM – 5 PM.
          • August 26th – 27th: Seattle Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
          • September 8th – 11th: Bash Back! convergence. Chicago, IL. More info here.
            • September 11th: Running Down the Walls, Philadelphia, PA. More info here.
            • September 17th: Running Down the Walls, Los Angeles, CA.  More info here.
            • September 17th: Running Down the Walls, Brooklyn, NY. More info here.
            • September 30th: Hamilton Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
            • October 1st: Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair. Oakland, CA. More info here.
            • October 21st: Pushing Down the Walls, benefit for political prisoners. Los Angeles, CA. More info here.
            • November 11th – 12th: Boston Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
            • May 4th, 2024: First Annual Upstate Anarchist Bookfair, Binghamton, NY. More info here.
            • It’s Going Down

              If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis, please help us grow the platform!

              • Donate to help sustain this project!
              • Subscribe to our podcast, either by following our RSS feed or following IGD wherever you get your podcasts! While you’re at us, give us a good review and rating!
              • Listen to us on the radio! We’re on Pacifica radio stations on Wednesdays at 11 AM PST. 94.1 FM in Marin County, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco, 88.1 FM in Fresno, 97.5 FM in Santa Cruz, 94.3 FM in Monterey, at 5pm on 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, and Saturday, 7pm on 96.9 FM in Seattle. If you have a Pacifica station or community radio station in your area, encourage them to stream our show!
              • Follow us on Mastodon and BlueSky!
              • Tell a friend about IGD and check out more content on the Channel Zero Anarchist Podcast Network!
              • 1 hr 59 min
              • This Is America #188: Vishal Singh on Bloody Brawls Marking Pride in SoCal; Action Camp Kicks off in Michigan

                Welcome, to This Is America, July 21th, 2023.

                On today’s episode we present an interview with antifascist journalist and researcher Vishal Singh about the bloody brawls erupting outside of school board meetings in Southern California and how the fight against the far-Right is evolving as gender fascists double down against LGBTQ+ communities.

                We then feature an interview with members of the Black Rose Anarchist Federation about tenant and workplace organizing and their new position document.

                Finally, we discuss the unfolding ecological situation and its implications in the ongoing fight against repression and Cop City in Atlanta, Georgia. All this and more, but first, let’s get to the news!

                Living and Fighting

                https://twitter.com/seanmc_eth/status/1676417294778417153?s=20

                • The recent week of action to stop Cop City and defend the Atlanta forest has come to a close. The week of action featured community events, rallies, protests, direct actions, and marches. Check out Living and Fighting for a day by day breakdown of the action. Solidarity demonstrations also took place across the US as did banner drops, along with solidarity actions in the bay area and beyond.
                • https://twitter.com/AshAgony/status/1675265688317902848?s=20

                  • In other big news, the District Attorney of Dekalb County has “announced that after a formal review of the evidence, her office is withdrawing from the prosecution of 42 cases against individuals opposed to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center” which includes “[t]he 42 cases including [the] 29 counts of domestic terrorism charges stemming from arrests in December 2022 and March of this year.” Also, Atlas Technical Consultants has officially severed their ties with the Cop City project after officials told protesters in Minnesota during a recent home demonstration that they were pulling out of the project due to Stop Cop City activists being “fucking nightmares.”
                  • https://twitter.com/peetslaborunion/status/1672775875815956480?s=20

                    • Members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) continue to organize in the bay area. Recently, the anti-capitalist labor union has started a new campaign of union drives at Peet’s coffee locations in Oakland and Berkeley while also organizing pickets and rallies. Follow them on social media here.
                    • https://twitter.com/Ground_app/status/1666182618377756676?s=20

                      • Resistance to the Mountain Valley Pipeline remains ongoing as the project continues to face legal challenges in the courts and may soon even head to the supreme court. Protests again picked up after Senator Joe Manchin attempted to ram the project through the courts, but recent lawsuits have been ongoing. A communique posted to Scenes from the Atlanta Forest also claimed credit for sabotage actions against various worksites involved in the pipeline’s construction. The communique read:
                      • On the fourth of july, 20 machines across 6 sites of the construction of the mountain valley pipeline were sabotaged, using a variety of means to render them inoperable. Machines are often left unguarded, and when they’re not, the security are just prats. It was easy and fun. We gave a big cheer when these machines were seen being hauled off the mountains back to the industrial hellscapes they come from.

                        I have loved these mountains my whole life, and truly am a part of the forests. Mountain Valley Pipeline has been fought ferociously by locals every step of the last 5 years, but we need help. People have locked themselves to equipment and had their bodies maimed by police. People have precariously lived in treetops for years (literally, 2 and a half years at yellow finch). But MVP, supported by Joe Manchin and the full power of the US government does not care about the trees, the deer, the woodducks, the candy darters, or any one of us. Lockdowns and treesits are not enough anymore. I am inviting the full power and creativity of the movement to do whatever it takes to stop these fuckers from killing us all. Doom to the pipeline!

                        • The “largest private landlord in the City of Milwaukee, and his company Berrada Property Management (BPM), brought a defamation case against the Milwaukee Autonomous Tenants Union” recently, over statements made in the local media and online. Help out the Milwaukee Autonomous Tenants Union by going here.
                          • Strikes in Hollywood by writers and actors continue as another strike by UPS workers also looms. This week, union UPS workers held “warm-up” rallies demanding improvements to working conditions in the face of a massive heat-wave.
                            • In so-called Michigan, a week of action is kicking off to fight against “National Guard expansion…defend the forest and decolonize the land…” Follow Stop Camp Grayling on Instagram to stay up on the movement and see how you can help.
                            • Upcoming Events
                              • July 25th: International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners. 6 PM, gather Irving Park. 7: 25 PM, leave for community bike ride. Portland, OR. More info here.
                              • August 11th – 13th: Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair. Asheville, NC. More info here.
                              • August 12th: Los Angeles Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
                              • August 17th – 20th: Midwest Dual Power Gathering. Chicago, IL. More info here.
                              • August 26th – 27th: Seattle Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
                              • September 2nd: Halifax Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
                              • September 8th – 11th: Bash Back! convergence. Chicago, IL. More info here.
                              • September 11th: Running Down the Walls, Philadelphia, PA. More info here.
                              • September 30th: Hamilton Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
                              • October 1st: Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair. Oakland, CA. More info here.
                              • October 21st: Pushing Down the Walls, benefit for political prisoners. Los Angeles, CA. More info here.
                              • It’s Going Down

                                If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis, please help us grow the platform!

                                • Donate to help sustain this project!
                                • Subscribe to our podcast, either by following our RSS feed or following IGD wherever you get your podcasts! While you’re at us, give us a good review and rating!
                                • Listen to us on the radio! We’re on Pacifica radio stations on Wednesdays at 11 AM PST. 94.1 FM in Marin County, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco, 88.1 FM in Fresno, 97.5 FM in Santa Cruz, 94.3 FM in Monterey, at 5pm on 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, and Saturday, 7pm on 96.9 FM in Seattle. If you have a Pacifica station or community radio station in your area, encourage them to stream our show!
                                • Follow us on Mastodon and BlueSky!
                                • Tell a friend about IGD and check out more content on the Channel Zero Anarchist Podcast Network!
                                • 2 hr 50 min
                                • This Is America #187: Anger Erupts in New York; Democrats Push Farther Right

                                  photo: @protest_nyc

                                  Welcome, to This Is America, June 5th, 2023.

                                  On today’s episode, we start off with a discussion on recent protests in New York City, following the vigilante murder of Jordan Neely on a subway train last month. We talk about how the murder of Neely comes amidst growing calls to attack poor and houseless people, especially from Democratic leaders of large cities, like Eric Adams in New York. We then offer up an anarchist analysis of the unfolding electoral terrain as more Republicans enter into the 2024 race and Democrats embrace a right-ward shift around immigration and “crime.”

                                  All this and more, but first, let’s get to the news!

                                  Living and Fighting

                                  In the lead up to an upcoming week of action against the Cop City project in Atlanta, police carried out a raid against the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, a non-profit which provides bail for demonstrators arrested by the police and connects them with lawyers. The raid also comes before a major vote on the project’s funding, and amid news that the counter-insurgency training center will cost millions more in public funds that originally reported by local politicians. Leaked scanner conversations between police officers following the raid also show officers stating that the repression was carried out to suppress protest organizing in the lead up to the vote. Following the raid, over 150 rallied outside of the DeKalb County jail to demand the three volunteers be released and charges be dropped.

                                  https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1648912805213401088?s=20

                                  In the wake of the raid, on June 5th, over a thousand people rallied at Atlanta city hall, calling for the city council to vote against funding the project. As this episode was being recorded, over 100 people had already spoken out against the project, many calling on the public to continue to resist regardless of how the council votes, as protesters rallied outside with banners and food, chanting, “If you build it, we will burn it.”

                                  https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1665822141957255168?s=20

                                  Our first audio presentation includes a selection of several public statements from speakers opposed to the project, including a statement from those targeted in the recent raid against the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. At the time of this recording, it remains unclear as to what will happen with regards to the vote around Cop City or how long the comments against it will continue (activists are currently calling on people to stay overnight), but be sure to check back on IGD for more updates.

                                  Upcoming Events
                                  • June 8th: June 11th letter-writing to anarchist prisoners. Charlottesville, VA. More info here.
                                  • June 9th: Puget Sound Prisoner Support Benefit Show and Radical Zine Fair, Bremerton, WA. More info here.
                                  • June 11th: Portland, OR. June 11th letter-writing to anarchist prisoners. Wilshire Park, 3 PM. More info here.
                                  • June 11th: Eugene, OR. June 11th letter-writing to anarchist prisoners. Monroe Park, 5 PM. More info here.
                                  • June 11th: Houston, TX. June 11th day of solidarity with long-term anarchsit prisoners. More info here.
                                  • June 11th: Cincinnati, OH. June 11th day of solidarity long-term anarchist prisoners. 4573 Hamilton Ave. More info here.
                                  • June 11th: Minneapolis, MN. Film-screening and letter writing. More info here.
                                  • June 11th: New Orleans, LA. Film-screening and letter writing. More info here.
                                  • June 11th: Philadelphia, PA. Bike ride and letter-writing. More info here.
                                  • June 11th: Queens, NYC. June 11th day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners. 1 PM, 585 Woodward Ave. More info here.
                                  • June 24th – 25th: Autonomous Tenant Union Network West Coast Regional Meetup. More info here.
                                  • July 1st – 9th: Earth First! Gathering. Location TBA. More info here.
                                  • July 18th: Book Launch: Anarchist Popular Power – Dissident Labor and Armed Struggle in Uruguay 1956-76. Oakland, CA. More info here.
                                  • August 11th – 13th: Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair. Asheville, NC. More info here.
                                  • August 12th: Los Angeles Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
                                  • August 26th – 27th: Seattle Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
                                  • September 8th – 11th: Bash Back! convergence. Chicago, IL. More info here.
                                  • October 21st: Pushing Down the Walls, benefit for political prisoners. Los Angeles, CA. More info here.
                                  • It’s Going Down

                                    If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis, please help us grow the platform!

                                    • Donate to help sustain this project!
                                    • Subscribe to our podcast, either by following our RSS feed or following IGD wherever you get your podcasts! While you’re at us, give us a good review and rating!
                                    • Listen to us on the radio! We’re on Pacifica radio stations on Wednesdays at 11 AM PST. 94.1 FM in Marin County, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco, 88.1 FM in Fresno, 97.5 FM in Santa Cruz, 94.3 FM in Monterey, at 5pm on 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, and Saturday, 7pm on 96.9 FM in Seattle. If you have a Pacifica station or community radio station in your area, encourage them to stream our show!
                                    • Follow us on Mastodon and BlueSky!
                                    • Tell a friend about IGD and check out more content on the Channel Zero Anarchist Podcast Network!
                                    • 1 hr 31 min
                                    • This Is America #186: May Day; Fight Against Cop City Continues; Cleveland Anarchist Killed in Ukraine

                                      Welcome, to This Is America, May 3rd, 2023.

                                      On today’s episode, first we speak with longtime antifascist organizer, Daryle Lamont Jenkins of One People’s Project about Trump’s recent indictment in New York and an analysis of continued far-Right attacks on drag and LGBTQ+ events.

                                      We then speak with two organizers involved in the West Coast Dual Power Gathering, happening in June in the Pacific Northwest. We then turn toward our discussion, where we tackle the recent news out of Atlanta about the brutal police killing of 26 year-old anarchist Tortuguita, and the ongoing struggle to Stop Cop City.

                                      We’ve got a lot to cover, but first, let’s get to the news!

                                      Living and Fighting

                                      May Day

                                      Events celebrating May Day happened across so-called North America and the world. Starbucks workers launched strikes, in France heavy clashes broke out between demonstrators and riot police, in many cities, anarchists and autonomous groups organized a variety of public facing gatherings and interventions, ranging from festivals to mutual aid events. In Los Angeles, people marched on the LAPD, in Orlando, people rallied in protest of Ron DeSantis and gender fascism, and in Portland, Oregon, members of the Burgerville Workers Union, which is part of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), held a picket demanding an end to attacks on union organizers and better sick pay.

                                      Fight to Stop Cop City

                                      https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1650833978612494336?s=20

                                      The fight against Cop City continues with a recent week of action happening in late April to commemorate Tortuguita’s birthday. In Georgia, students carried out walkouts and short occupations of public space, a noise demo was organized in Brooklyn, New York, in Miami and Chicago, protests were held, a march was organized in Eugene, and across the US and beyond, people also took part in a variety of benefit events, rallies, vigils, banner drops, and other gatherings. Currently, there is a call for continued actions and benefits across the month of May and for a week of action in Atlanta, from June 24th – July 1st.

                                      Direct actions against the Cop City project also continued. In Atlanta, an ATM at a Bank of America, one of the banks funding the project, was sabotaged. In Eugene, posters and graffiti were put up.

                                      A communique posted to Scenes from the Atlanta Forest read:

                                      During the, “Week of Action,” a bulldozer-like machine with a subsequent drilling apparatus was completely decommissioned before it could continue to destroy more of the Weelaunee forest on the South Black Hall plot. The proposed huge-ass sound-stage adjacent to proposed Cop City will also never be built! We are advocates of actions that actually STOP WORK, & work gets STOPPED by directly confronting WORK, our enemies, & earth destroying machines. Let it be remembered that though other gatherings & gardens are also good, these types of activities are only made possible by actions that DISABLE OUR ENEMIES from being able to work & gain territory.

                                      Another communique also wrote:

                                      On the night of Wednesday, April 5, we set fire to three excavators owned by Brent Scarbrough Company on a site across from the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta. Brent Scarbrough is the company and individual responsible for clear-cutting the Weelaunee Forest.

                                      We are not done here. Tortuguita lives. Weelaunee lives. Cop City will never be built.

                                      In other news, as Natasha Lennard reported in the Intercept:

                                      Three activists involved in the Defend Atlanta Forest movement are facing charges of felony intimidation of an officer of the state and misdemeanor stalking for placing flyers on mailboxes in a neighborhood in Bartow County, Georgia, about 40 miles from Atlanta. The detainees were held for days in solitary confinement, a lawyer working on the case and a relative of one of the activists told The Intercept.

                                      The flyer, according to the lawyer, named a police officer who lives in the area where the activists were arrested and alleged he was connected to the killing in January of forest defender Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán during a multi-agency raid on the Atlanta Forest protest encampment.

                                      According to their lawyer, Lyra Foster, the activists drove once through the neighborhood and placed flyers on numerous mailboxes without exiting their vehicle or approaching any residents.

                                      If found guilty, they could each face up to 20 years in prison.

                                      “They were not handing out flyers, they were actually extremely careful in trying to avoid doing anything illegal,” Foster told The Intercept. “They posted the flyers on mailboxes, they did not even get out of the van to put flyers on the doors, and did not open the mailboxes because they thought that was potentially illegal.”

                                      In Bowling Green, Ohio and Iowa City, Iowa, anti-abortion clinics were vandalized with pro-choice graffiti.

                                      https://twitter.com/Ollie_XVX/status/1649206662346027009?s=20

                                      In other news, a 26 year old anarchist from Cleveland, Ohio, Cooper “Harris” Andrews, was recently killed in the Ukraine while fighting against Russian invasion forces. According to a post from the Rhizome House, an anarchist social center in Cleveland:

                                      Cooper was a dear friend to many of us at the RZH and he was a comrade to all of us. Cooper helped to found our project. When it was only a vague idea he saw its need and potential clearly. When we were fickle and on the verge of quitting, he kept us on the hook. When he was busy training and becoming the soldier we are honoring, he set aside funds that would go on to pay the costs of opening our brick and mortar location. The anarchist movement in Cleveland would be nothing without him, and his absence is painful. He is our hero, and his memory is an example of courage, self-sacrifice, and the principles of autonomy, solidarity and internationalism. We love you Cooper.

                                      Cooper’s mother has set up a GoFundMe to benefit various anarchist and mutual aid infrastructure projects in the Cleveland area.

                                      Lastly in other news, police in Oakland continued an ongoing wave of evictions of the Wood St Commons, in Kansas City, people took to the streets after the racist murder of Ralph Yarl, walkouts and protests continued in Florida, Texas, and beyond against anti-LGBTQ+ bills and attacks on education, and in Akron, Ohio, people also faced down violent riot police who attacked demonstrators protesting a grand jury who refused to indict police behind the brutal murder of Jayland Walker.

                                      Upcoming Events
                                      • May 25th – 27th: Healthcare Autonomy Conference. Durham, NC. More info here.
                                      • May 27th and 28th: Montreal Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
                                      • June 2nd – 4th: West Coast Dual Power Gathering. More info here.
                                      • June 9th: Puget Sound Prisoner Support Benefit Show and Radical Zine Fair, Bremerton, WA. More info here.
                                      • July 1st – 9th: Earth First! Gathering. Location TBA. More info here.
                                      • August 11th – 13th: Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair. Asheville, CA. More info here.
                                      • August 26th – 27th: Seattle Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
                                      • September 8th – 11th: Bash Back! convergence. Chicago, IL. More info here.
                                      • October 21st: Pushing Down the Walls, benefit for political prisoners. Los Angeles, CA. More info here.
                                      • It’s Going Down

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                                        • Donate to help sustain this project!
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                                        • Music

                                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW4bpJpcWbI

                                          0 min
                                        • This Is America #185: Bash Back Returns; Why Elites Like Trump Don’t Go to Jail

                                          Welcome, to This Is America, April 10th, 2023.

                                          On this episode, first we speak with someone involved in the upcoming Bash Back! convergence in Chicago, Illinois. We speak about the history of the group and why it is reforming after over 10 years on hiatus and then switch to our discussion, where we tackle why elites like Trump don’t go to jail and what that says about the “justice system” and abolition.

                                          Upcoming Events
                                          • April 13th: Resisting Repression: Security, Harm Reduction, and the Threats We Face. Webinar, 8:30 – 10 PM, EST. More info here.
                                          • April 22nd: Montreal Book Launch for “We Go Where They Go.” More info here.
                                          • April 28th – 30th: Call for Weekend of Distroing. More info here.
                                          • May 25th – 27th: Healthcare Autonomy Conference. Durham, NC. More info here.
                                          • May 27th and 28th: Montreal Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
                                          • June 9th: Puget Sound Prisoner Support Benefit Show and Radical Zine Fair, Bremerton, WA. More info here.
                                          • July 1st – 9th: Earth First! Gathering. Location TBA. More info here.
                                          • August 11th – 13th: Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair. Asheville, NC. More info here.
                                          • September 8th – 11th: Bash Back! convergence. Chicago, IL. More info here.
                                          • October 21st: Pushing Down the Walls, benefit for political prisoners. Los Angeles, CA. More info here.
                                          • It’s Going Down

                                            If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis, please help us grow the platform!

                                            • Donate to help sustain this project!
                                            • Subscribe to our podcast, either by following our RSS feed or following IGD wherever you get your podcasts!
                                            • Listen to us on the radio! We’re on Pacifica radio stations on Wednesdays at 11 AM PST. 94.1 FM in Marin County, Berkeley, Oakland, San and Francisco, 88.1 FM in Fresno, 97.5 FM in Santa Cruz, 94.3 FM in Monterey, at 5pm on 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, and Saturday, 7pm on 96.9 FM in Seattle. If you have a Pacifica station or community radio station in your area, encourage them to stream our show!
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                                            • photo: Austin Chan via Unsplash

                                              1 hr 38 min
                                            • This Is America #184: Eric King Prepares for Release; Interview with Directors of “Elements of Mutual Aid”

                                              Welcome, to This Is America, March 24th, 2023.

                                              On this episode, we speak with two members of the support crew for anarchist political prisoner, Eric King, who talk about a current fundraiser to help Eric get back on his feet as his release at the end of the year nears. We discuss how Eric has been standing strong following his successful trial and how people can support him as he prepares for life after prison. To donate to Eric King’s post-release fundraiser, go here.

                                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxSr9Dh8IZs

                                              We then speak with the two directors behind, The Elements of Mutual Aid, a “independently produced documentary series profiling a dozen mutual aid-based projects across North America.” According to the project’s website:

                                              This series gathers the voices of community organizers who are tending grassroots alternatives to systems of oppression. In intimate interviews, we discuss the nuanced work of building trust between neighbors, making decisions horizontally, protecting our communities, sharing the responsibility of communal infrastructure, and more.

                                              Currently in production, co-directors Payton McDonald and Leah Ayer will finish filming this summer. Post-production is scheduled for Aug 2023 – Aug 2024 and release is planned for late 2024. A screening tour back through many of the communities featured in the film will follow release.

                                              You can support the film and help it reach a wide, grassroots audience by supporting its fundraising campaign here.

                                              We then switch to our discussion, where we tackle Biden’s calls to ban Tiktok and also a recent push by politicians for a loosening of laws around child labor.

                                              It’s Going Down

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                                              • Donate to help sustain this project!
                                              • Subscribe to our podcast, either by following our RSS feed or following IGD wherever you get your podcasts!
                                              • Listen to us on the radio! We’re on Pacifica radio stations on Fridays at 12 PM PST (Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Fresno, and Santa Cruz). On Saturday, 7pm, at 96.9 in Seattle. If you have a Pacifica station or community radio station in your area, encourage them to stream our show!
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                                              • photo: Elements of Mutual Aid

                                                1 hr 28 min
                                              • This Is America #183: Report from Atlanta During ‘Week of Action’ Against Cop City

                                                Welcome, to This is America, March 16th, 2023.

                                                In this episode, we sit down with Clark, a member of the Atlanta Community Press Collective, who joins us to discuss the past week of action in Atlanta as the fight against Cop City continues, following the arrest of concert goers on trumped up ‘domestic terrorism’ charges.

                                                During our discussion, we talk about new revelations surrounding the police murder of forest defender Tortuguita on January 18th, as a new independent autopsy has revealed:

                                                The autopsy conducted of Tortuguita at the request of their family by Dr. Kris Sperry has found that when Tortuguita was shot and killed, their hands were raised in the air. According to the family’s lawyers, “The autopsy further reveals that Manuel was most probably in a seated position, cross-legged when killed.”

                                                The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says they have conducted their own autopsy, however they have yet to reveal the report.

                                                We also discuss the actions in Atlanta that took place last week, from mass marches and protests, to rallies at city council, a Food Autonomy Festival, and also attempts by the police to harass and silence activists. As Candice Bernd wrote in Truthout:

                                                The March 5 mass arrest touched off an unparalleled wave of police repression throughout the following week in downtown Atlanta and Southeast DeKalb County, where the park and proposed Cop City site are located. Police deliberately targeted First Amendment-protected activity by activists, legal observers and journalists — including me.

                                                On March 10, I followed and documented a group of about a dozen activists in downtown Atlanta as they demonstrated at local offices of organizations connected to Cop City or officials empowered to stop the project. The group, led by veteran direct action organizer Lisa Fithian, visited and attempted to get meetings at the offices of Atlanta Beltline, on whose board sits Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens; BoardWalk Consulting, which advises the Atlanta Police Foundation; and the Atlanta Hawks, whose owner, Tony Ressler, donated at least $1 million to the APF.

                                                An extremely disproportionate police presence stalked the traveling protest at each of the stops, with at least two full vans of police and constantly circling APD vehicles hounding the group’s every move. The group then headed to the Peachtree Center, which houses the Atlanta Regional Center where Mvskoke leaders attempted to deliver an eviction notice to Mayor Dickens on March 8. At least five APD officers followed the group into the center. At that point, the group decided to disperse.

                                                Our experience was just a small taste of the heavy-handed repression against First Amendment-protected activity throughout last week. On March 11, police raided the 10-acre property of the Lakewood Environmental Arts Foundation (LEAF), a nonprofit community food-distribution center based out of the owner’s house. The LEAF property had been serving as a welcome center and medic hub during the week of action, and the organization’s property was used as a secondary encampment site for activists who obtained permission.

                                                APD and Homeland Security officers entered the property with AR-15s and detained at least 22 people. They reportedly refused to provide an arrest warrant, saying it was offsite. One person was arrested for an outstanding parking ticket, demonstrating the state’s desperation to snatch up anyone associated with the “Stop Cop City” movement. Officers ruthlessly ransacked infrastructure at the LEAF encampment site, disrupting medic operations.

                                                Earlier in the week, another small group of about 15 people gathered downtown to hand out flyers explaining their opposition to the proposed police training center. Police responded with more than 50 officers and a SWAT team.

                                                We then switch to our discussion, where we look at the recent crash of Silicon Valley Bank, what it means for working-class people, and how Norfolk Southern trains keep derailing across the US.

                                                It’s Going Down

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                                                • Donate to help sustain this project!
                                                • Subscribe to our podcast, either by following our RSS feed or following IGD wherever you get your podcasts!
                                                • Listen to us on the radio! We’re on Pacifica radio stations on Fridays at 12 PM PST (Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Fresno, and Santa Cruz). On Saturday, 7pm, at 96.9 in Seattle. If you have a Pacifica station or community radio station in your area, encourage them to stream our show!
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                                                • photo: Midwest People’s History

                                                  1 hr 37 min
                                                • This Is America #182: Report from East Palestine; Week of Action Kicks off to Stop Cop City

                                                  Welcome, to This Is America, February 21st, 2023.

                                                  On this episode, we speak with someone who is involved in a coalition of various anti-capitalist and autonomous groups that is organizing to support people in East Palestine, Ohio and beyond, who have been impacted by the recent Norfolk Southern disaster. We talk about what’s been happening on the ground in East Palestine for the past two weeks and how people, the State, and also the far-Right are responding. Please contribute and share this fundraiser to help local organizing efforts.

                                                  We then speak with two folks in Atlanta, Georgia about the current week of action against Cop City. We talk about the state of the movement since the police murder of Tortuguita, attempts by local elites to split the struggle, and how people can plug into the current week of action.

                                                  We then switch to our discussion, where we do a deeper dive on the disaster in East Palestine.

                                                  It’s Going Down

                                                  If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis, please help us grow the platform!

                                                  • Donate to help sustain this project!
                                                  • Subscribe to our podcast, either by following our RSS feed or following IGD wherever you get your podcasts!
                                                  • Listen to us on the radio! We’re on Pacifica radio stations on Fridays at 12 PM PST (Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Fresno, and Santa Cruz). On Saturday, 7pm, at 96.9 in Seattle. If you have a Pacifica station or community radio station in your area, encourage them to stream our show!
                                                  • Follow us Mastadon!
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                                                  • 1 hr 59 min

                                                  About This is America – It's Going Down

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                                                  In Search of New Forms of Life