This is America – It's Going Down

Welcome, to This Is America, August 10th, 2022.

On this episode, we feature three interviews, the first with Michael Laufer of the Four Thieves Vinegar Collective, a group of anarchists creating DIY biohacking tools with the intention of producing free to low cost medicine for people who lack access to care. In July, the group made waves at a hacker conference by announcing they had “developed a DIY kit to make and discreetly mail abortion medication…”

We also get an update on tenant organizing efforts at a mobile home park in upstate New York and hear from two participants in the ongoing fight to stop the construction of Cop City in the Atlanta forest. Together we discuss the recent week of action and how the movement is building.

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

As this episode was wrapping up, Donald Trump’s resort home in Mar-a-Lago was raided by the FBI following reports earlier this week that Trump had tried to flush documents down the toilet and also destroy visitor logs and phone records. Destruction of such records could mean that Trump violated the Presidential Records Act, which in theory could bar Trump from running again for president. FBI agents reportedly took with them documents, electronics, and cell-phones from the raid. In a statement, Trump in classic conspiratorial tone, blamed the “Radical Left Democrats” for persecuting him and far-Right grifters across the spectrum quickly responded by escalating their rhetoric while Trump supporters called for protests against the FBI. Stay tuned This Is America for a deeper dive next week.

In Boston, MA, over 100 community members held antifascist banners and marched against repeated attacks and flash demonstrations by neo-Nazi groups.

https://twitter.com/wbzSausville/status/1553517739737845761

In Berkeley, CA, Los Angeles, CA, and Atlanta, GA, the fight to save autonomous space continues. Last week, protesters in Berkeley tore down fences and pushed back riot police from People’s Park, disabling construction machines and retaking the space. At the time of this writing, people remain at the park and have begun work again on the land while a judge has halted the construction of a student dormitory upon the historic site until October.

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1556752043301224448

In Atlanta, GA, a week of action in defense of the Atlanta forest wrapped up recently, with street actions, music festivals in the forest, and various educational and outreach events. A contractor’s vehicle was also set on fire, after a construction crew attempted to tear down a gazebo while people were under it. Check out our interview on this episode for a further report and be sure to watch It’s Going Down for a complete roundup of the week of action.

https://twitter.com/MPHProject/status/1554837639924105222

In Los Angeles, people tore down fences around Echo Lake Park, dropping banners reading, “Community De-Fence.” This comes in response to ongoing attacks on the houseless community. Meanwhile in Oakland, private security tried to violently evict the ongoing occupation by parents, staff, and community members at Parker Elementary School, one of several schools recently closed by the Oakland Unified School District, a move which would force working-class students, largely of color, to travel much further to attend a public facility.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1555460391815168001

Finally in New York, defenders of reproductive freedom once again faced off against far-Right protesters at a monthly defense of a local clinic. Clinic defenders were successful in holding off the anti-abortion demonstrators, even as police made several arrests of clinic defenders.

https://twitter.com/nycforabortion/status/1555960407105355776

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photo: Screenshot from Unicorn Riot

Welcome, to This Is America, July 21st, 2022.

On today’s episode, we speak with Minerva, a full-spectrum mid-wife, herbalist, and abolitionist, about the struggles ahead now that Roe v Wade has been overturned and how we should be thinking about organizing our communities to meet our needs directly.

We then switch to our discussion, where we touch on the mass police repression in Akron, Ohio in the wake of the police murder of Jayland Walker, the growing housing crisis, and much more.

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

Class War

Hundreds of independent truckers are holding pickets and disrupting commodity flows at the Port of Oakland in protest of a new law that threatens a large section of the workforce from being able to pick up jobs from shipping companies. Meanwhile in cities like Seattle, Detroit, and Boston, Starbucks workers have gone on strike in the face of ongoing attacks by management against newly unionized stores.

https://vimeo.com/723895602

In Minneapolis, camp defenders mobilized to push back against yet another tent city eviction. According to Unicorn Riot:

On July 8th, dozens of community members rallied at the encampment in the early morning hours and staved off what many thought was an eviction attempt by the city. [One resident] told Unicorn Riot that she’d heard the police will stay away “as long as there’s defenders present.”

In Lockport, New York, mobile home owner’s rent strike has now entered its third month. Tenants in Laurel, Maryland launched a rent strike recently over housing conditions and have forced landlords to the table as tenants in Louisville, Kentucky have also launched a rent strike to demand repairs.

ACAB

https://twitter.com/bitebackdc/status/1546691481292906499

Community members in Albuquerque, New Mexico protested after police murdered a 15-year old after a SWAT raid resulted in a house fire. In New York, Copwatch Media has a new report about Sunset Park vendors organizing to push back against police harassment.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1546225381241266176?s=20&t=DS2pCInwuNBzoDoWpPBDxw

Solidarity actions with the ongoing protests in Akron, Ohio have take place across the US, from banner drops to militant street marches in Pittsburgh, PA, Sacramento, CA, Bronx, NY, Washington DC, and Portland, OR.

https://twitter.com/taliaotg/status/1545479909094612997?s=20&t=DS2pCInwuNBzoDoWpPBDxw

Fighting Back Against Gender Fascism

https://twitter.com/JustinGarciaFL/status/1548333495491055618?s=20&t=DS2pCInwuNBzoDoWpPBDxw

In Tampa, Florida, a massive crowd took to the streets and protested outside of the Christian Nationalist ‘Moms for Liberty’ conference.

https://twitter.com/Acabalicious/status/1548458421304799232?s=20&t=DS2pCInwuNBzoDoWpPBDxw

https://twitter.com/VPS_Reports/status/1548373541686374401?s=20&t=DS2pCInwuNBzoDoWpPBDxw

In Santa Monica, California, antifascists mobilized to defend a Planned Parenthood clinic that had been targeted the week before by Proud Boys and other far-Right groups. Antifascists and defenders of reproductive freedom rallied in front of the clinic and also protested against a small far-Right rally, successfully keeping the fascists from harassing the clinic. On Twitter, one person wrote: “Antifascists held it down for folks seeking services from Santa Monica Planned Parenthood today. Folks kept fascists antagonized at the waterfront so clinic defense could focus on access to services. Well coordinated & organized. A win for reproductive rights & community today.”

https://twitter.com/EFJBGC/status/1546219090481659905?s=20&t=DS2pCInwuNBzoDoWpPBDxw

In Dallas, Texas, Elm City John Brown Gun Club reported: “On [July 9th], thousands of locals marched in 107 degree heat. The message was clear, “We will not go back.” Fascist streamers were kept out, all medical emergencies were handled. Dozens of armed protesters kept watch for politically motivated mass shootings & vehicle attacks.”

https://twitter.com/chiforabortion/status/1546104692060700672?s=20&t=PNTpWlAc3I5sKQ9UwiEMJw

In Chicago, Illinois, forced birth counter-protesters were vastly outnumbered by supporters of reproductive freedom. Also in Orlando, Florida, “Hundreds took to the streets of [the] downtown to protest the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade. Demonstrators destroyed several signs held by fascist anti-choice preachers, and were able to resist a later attempted cordoning off of the area by police,” reported Tequesta Black Star.

https://twitter.com/TBSFlorida/status/1543614775388737536?s=20&t=dAiubiqJ36EZrH9k_hS-hg

Sabotage and targeted vandalism has also continued, often under the moniker of “Jane’s Revenge,” across the US. Reports of vandalism to pro-life centers has been reported in Nashville, TN, Raleigh, NC, Hialeah, FL, Overland Park, KN, Madison, WI, St. Paul, MN, and Baton Rouge, LA.

In Worcester, MA, according to a communique posted to Abolition Media Worldwide:

Defend the Atlanta Forest

https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1549529520859856897?s=20&t=CwaKROLZCCjItxLAgQpEmw

The fight to save the Atlanta forest from destruction and stop the construction of ‘Cop City’ continues. Check out a recent message from a tree-sitter here. In early July, a report posted to Scenes from the Atlanta Forest wrote:

This last week, barricades were erected to protect the South Atlanta Forest from police incursions with chainsaws. The north gate was sealed off…with an array of concrete, thick wood, broken glass, & cunning! To make matters worse for the police, a lovely bucket of shit was chained to the gate as well! In conjunction, a banner reading, “Give Up,” was aptly placed on the front of the Barricade to rightfully celebrate the WITHDRAWAL of subcontractor Reeves Young from the Cop City project, as well as what appears to be (but not yet confirmed!) Main contractor Brasfield & Gorie.

Barricades will continue to be constructed as long as the South Atlanta Forest is threatened by cops and is in any danger of clear-cutting to build Cop City. If the cops keep trying to enter the forest on UTV’s with hopes of terrorizing forest defenders, abusing non-human animals, or killing trees with evil tools, they will be consistently met with treacherous roadblocks…

https://twitter.com/safeboulder/status/1547245532204113922?s=20&t=DS2pCInwuNBzoDoWpPBDxw

On July 4th, a communique took credit for busting out the windows to a construction firm involved in the cop city project in Springfield, MA and a few days later another report wrote that a larger surveillance post was taken down. The communique read:

…We noticed that police escorted a white work truck with boom lift affiliated with The City of Atlanta to install a very large & approximate 40 foot wooden pole on Key Road near the prison ruins in south Atlanta yesterday, for what appeared to be a high altitude surveillance tower…Us beavers just so happen to LOVE a good hardwood pole, & will surely gnaw down more if you bring them! Thanks for the snack APD! We saved some leftovers for you on the side of the road in what also appears to be a mounting pile of broken surveillance cameras…

In Solidarity with Forest defenders holding it down in the South Atlanta Forest,

Outside of the forest, a chorus of activity continued, with supporters continuing to drop off supplies to tree-sitters, canvas neighborhoods and put up posters, and across the US, drop banners and put up graffiti in solidarity with the campaign. There has also been a widespread speaking tour taking place across the US, so be sure to check out our upcoming events list for more info.

https://twitter.com/GraffitiRadical/status/1536500944917393408?s=20&t=-BKF0gz5VQmajxmsOSDGMQ

On July 17th, as Atlanta Community Press Collective reported that law enforcement put up concrete barricades and “private property” signs at one of the entrances to the forest, drawing backlash. Lastly, mark your calendars, because there is a week of action to defend the Atlanta forest that kicks off on Saturday, July 23rd. Be sure to follow Scenes from the Atlanta Forest and Defend the Atlanta Forest on social media for more updates.

https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1546997160998313984?s=20&t=DS2pCInwuNBzoDoWpPBDxw

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Welcome, to This Is America, June 30th, 2022.

On this episode, we speak with anarchist youtuber and podcaster, Andrew, about anarchist media, climate change, and much more. Support them on Patreon here!

We then switch to our discussion, were we are joined by Lee, an anarchist writer and theorist at Butch Anarchy, as we discuss the recent Supreme Court decision, ongoing protests, and their meaning. Support Lee on Patreon here!

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

https://twitter.com/saveparker510/status/1542977983945748480?s=20&t=R72ZwDY7SEQ41bzg6u90AQ

Last Friday, East Oakland community members marked the one month anniversary of an occupation of the Parker Elementary school in the Bay Area of California. Parker is one of several schools that the Oakland Unified School district has recently targeted for closure. Parents and students have been protesting the wave of attacks on public education, angry that school closures will hit working-class communities of color the hardest, forcing student to travel farther, often through unsafe environments, just to go to school. Over the past month, a collection of students, staff, and community members have occupied the campus, creating a radical summer school program complete with food, classes and a wide range of activities. Despite ongoing angry protests at budget meetings, the Oakland Unified School district has remained firm in its commitment to close the school, but community members remain committed to continuing the resistance.

https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1537484467085856768?s=20&t=YleGfXI1VlPgOsxQv2Hu5Q

The fight to defend the Atlanta forest continues. Currently, there is a speaking tour happening across the West Coast and the East Coast, with more speaking events being organized all the time. Meanwhile in Atlanta, a wide variety of actions continue in defense of the forest – from weekly community gatherings were local residents drop off supplies to tree-sitters, to the canvassing of local neighborhoods, direct physical disruption of construction in the forest, and a continuing chorus of direct action against the project.

https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1537859930950090753?s=20&t=YleGfXI1VlPgOsxQv2Hu5Q

On June 2nd in Columbus, Ohio, an office belong to Atlas, one of the construction firms involved in the Cop City project was smashed up. On June 5th, a new road blockade went up, complete with old cars, blocking a path for police to enter the forest. The day after, Defend the Forest activists visited the church of Michael Keller, leaving flyers on cars during a service, demanding that Brasfield & Gorrie (where Keller works), the project’s general contractor, drop out of the Cop City project. Then on June 7th, a communique was posted that stated: “The Earth destroying machine that entered the forest yesterday, along with a few others, has been torched.’

https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1536026116607074304?s=20&t=Fmd59xEvlgjd52fazjL-vA

On June 8th, a noise demo and protest was organized outside of the New York City office of Atlas, calling on them to drop the Cop City project. On June 10th, windows at an Atlas office in Tallahassee, Florida were busted out. Then on June 12th, “every window and door of the Atlas construction office in Kansas City area [was smashed] in solidarity with the Atlanta forest defense.” Also, more tree-sits have been erected in the forest, which are actively blocking construction, and there has been a new wave of tree spikings. Lastly on June 30th, protesters took to the streets of Charlotte, NC and protested outside of the offices of Brasfield & Gorrie.

https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1542635996088524802?s=20&t=R72ZwDY7SEQ41bzg6u90AQ

With a call for a week of action from July 23rd to the 30th, resistance, and support for it, shows no signs of slowing down.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1542683012625596416?s=20&t=RiJ9TsB7SHHm38fXBm2AvA

Hundreds of thousands have hit the streets in the last few days, following the overturning of Roe v Wade, a decision which has triggered many states to ban and criminalize abortion for millions of people. For a look at protest action directly following the ruling, check out our roundup here. Since last week, thousands more have continued to protest and face police repression. In so-called Sioux Falls, South Dakota, riot police arrested several protesters for shutting down a street as over a thousand marched against abortion becoming illegal in the state without exception and doctors now facing felonies for performing the operation. In Boise, Idaho and Dallas, Texas, clashes broke out between protesters and in New York City, people disrupted a Federalist Society event for funneling dark money into anti-choice, reactionary causes and politicians.

https://twitter.com/jergong/status/1542275737893355521

Direct actions in the struggle for bodily autonomy continued. On June 9th, according to a post on Puget Sound Anarchists:

Anonymous vandals in Vancouver, Washington defaced Options 360, an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center, late June 8th or early June 9th. They splashed red paint on the building and wrote “Jane’s Revenge” in spraypaint. This follows on the heels of similar attacks in Lynnwood, Washington, and Olympia, Washington in the last month.

On June 12th, a communique posted to Philly Anti-Capitalist read:

We smashed out all of the windows of the “Hope” pregnancy center on Broad st. We are tired of your “family values” and you forcing families, and your values onto our bodies. This fake clinic spread lies and is part of a broader attempt to strip away body autonomy from hundreds of women and people. We are inspired by the actions of comrades in Wisconsin, Colorado, New York, and a growing list of places.

On June 16th:

“Minnesota Citizens Concerned For Life” (sic) or MCCL is the largest anti-abortion organization in so-called Minnesota and responsible for untold amounts of suffering as a result of their anti-science propaganda campaigns, ghoulish legislative attempts at social control and support for hateful bigoted politicians. So, in a small gesture of defiance and joy, we decided to smash all their windows and leave them a message from our friend Jane.

Their offices and infrastructure deserve the same fate if not worse than that of the dozens of fake pregnancy clinics in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that carry out the vision of MCCL toward a hellscape in which pumping out the “domestic supply of infants” is the only thing people with a uterus are good for. Fuck them – the time of us reluctantly permitting their hatred for actual living people is over. We should’ve done more.

Just because the task at hand is an urgent one, does not mean it cannot be met with glee. If we are continuously repressed, murdered, left to starve or to the hands of right-wing militias, there’s no reason why we can’t dance while we destroy. Turn our scream into a song and laugh in the face of an empire as it burns.

And then on the 21st, a post on Abolition Media took responsibility for an action in Detroit. According to the post:

…[A] gang of criminal queers smashed the windows of two fake abortion clinics in the greater Detroit area leaving the messages “if abortion isn’t safe, neither are you” and “fake clinic.”

On June 24th in Glendale, California – night of the Supreme Court decision:

We decided to attack a crisis pregnancy center in Glendale, California with spray paint. The phrases written were “Jane was here”, “abort the court” , and “If abortions aren’t safe neither are you”.  All across the country people protested and revolted against this attack on bodily autonomy.

As we predicted almost a month ago, the United States Supreme Court stripped millions of people of bodily autonomy and access to abortion. This is only the beginning of the attacks on autonomy in store from the courts and fascists. Up next on the chopping block is access to contraception, the legality of everyday queer life, and gay marriage. But this is part of a broader pattern of fascism within the United States.

https://twitter.com/TBSFlorida/status/1541942735170568194?s=20&t=RiJ9TsB7SHHm38fXBm2AvA

The same night, an anti-abortion center was set on fire and covered in graffiti messages in Colorado, windows were busted out at a similar center in Vermont, while other acts of targeted vandalism took place in Everett, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Winter Haven, Florida, and in Lynchburg, Virginia. From the Lynchburg communique:

Lynchburg is a hotbed of Christian fascism, home to the Neo-Nazi Wolves of Vinland group and Jerry Falwell’s “Liberty” university. We smashed out their windows, and vandalized their building with slogans and imagery ranging from coat hangers to “vote blue lol.” The ground in front of their now smashed front door reads “if abortion ain’t safe you ain’t safe.”

https://twitter.com/abol_media/status/1541300994893660160?s=20&t=RiJ9TsB7SHHm38fXBm2AvA

A new communique from Jane’s Revenge, an underground group which has claimed responsibility for direct actions across the US in the struggle for reproductive freedom and autonomy, has also been released. Here’s a snip-it:

The infrastructure of the enslavers will not survive. We will never stop, back down, slow down, or retreat. We did not want this; but it is upon us, and so we must deal with it proportionally. We exist in confluence and solidarity with all others in the struggle for complete liberation. Our recourse now is to defend ourselves and to build robust, caring communities of mutual aid, so that we may heal ourselves without the need of the medical industry or any other intermediary. Through attacking, we find joy, courage, and strip the veneer of impenetrability held by these violent institutions.

And for the allies of ours who doubt the authenticity of the communiqués and actions: there is a way you can get irrefutable proof that these actions are real. Go do one of your own. You are already one of us. Everyone with the urge to paint, to burn, to cut, to jam: now is the time. Go forth and manifest the things you wish to see. Stay safe, and practice your cursive.

—Jane’s Revenge

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1535885023596818432?s=20&t=RiJ9TsB7SHHm38fXBm2AvA

On June 11th, people came together to hold events, write letters, and show solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners. In Philadelphia, people held a BBQ and wrote letters, in Portland, people held an event in a park and wrote letters, in Minneapolis, people held an event outside, and in Cincinnati, people help a fundraiser in solidarity with Marius Mason.

If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis and have the means, please sign up to support us monthly! Help autonomous revolutionary media grow into 2021!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCWp52hZFqM

Welcome, to This Is America, June 2nd, 2022.

In this episode, we speak with two folks involved in ongoing resistance to development by the University of California at People’s Park in so-called Berkeley.

https://twitter.com/defendppark/status/1532529999533711371?s=20&t=jx-hFlGMZyRqOmckfskmqw

We then switch to our discussion, where we tackle the culture of mass shootings and growing tensions within the Republican party and the rise “Dark MAGA.”

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

A hunger strike that began in mid-May at the Northwest detention center in Tacoma, Washington ended after a week with concessions being made. According to The Seattle Times:

According to the group La Resistencia, detainees were provided clean clothes — but only in the unit where the strike began — and improved food portions. The group said more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were sent to the detention center to handle cases, which was one of the protesters’ demands.

The strikers also asked for better cleaning of the facility and units, more nutritious food, better access to medical services and jobs that pay a minimum wage. Nine people took part in the hunger strike at the fenced facility, which is among the largest immigration detention centers in the U.S., and where people are held as they go through immigration-status proceedings.

https://twitter.com/ResistenciaNW/status/1529891836902273024

Soon after, another hunger strike began. As one local report wrote:

It’s the second hunger strike in as many weeks at the facility, both over concerns over a recent rise in Covid cases there. Detainees also complain that the food is often cold and the commissary is expensive.

La Resistencia alleges that those in quarantine are in conditions similar to solitary confinement, and that the solitary unit at NWIPC (called unit H) is currently full.

[On May 26th]…detainees in unit F4 have ended their hunger strike, according to advocacy group La Resistencia. Maru Villalpando says that Jack Lippard, ICE Assistant Officer in Charge, met with the hunger strikers Wednesday. She says Lippard told them that after reviewing their cases ICE did not think they could be released. Instead, Villalpando says, “he told them to request bond at their next court hearing. Despite the setback, the hunger strikers are not backing down; they have expressed their willingness to organize another hunger strike soon.”

https://twitter.com/amirazizphotos/status/1529909215682187269

The ongoing fight against school closures in Oakland, which so far has seen teacher strikes, student walkouts, hunger-strikes, and protests, has now evolved into an occupation of one high school that is scheduled to be shuttered, Parker Elementary, in Deep East Oakland. A coalition of students, staff, and local residents have launched an occupation of the facility and set up programming during the summer.

As one report wrote:

The group of about half a dozen families has occupied Parker since then, and doesn’t have plans to leave unless Oakland Unified School District reverses its decision to close the school. Other community leaders, neighbors, and education advocates stop by to take shifts for supervision and security, or to drop off donations.

The occupation is the latest community action against school closures, which the school board announced in January and approved in February. Parker and Community Day, a school for students who have been expelled from traditional middle and high schools, won’t reopen in the fall. Next year, five more schools will permanently close…

The occupation is reminiscent of a similar action that took place 10 years ago, at the site of what was then Lakeview Elementary School. Much like now, OUSD had announced it would be closing several schools, including Lakeview, in an effort to save money. Protesters occupied Lakeview for more than two weeks until OUSD police cleared them out.

https://twitter.com/velenajones/status/1531688591822188550?s=20&t=dEEyGYK5vYNkQ5nLyfctRA

According to Prism Reports:

…[M]ore than half of the students enrolled in four of the seven schools that will close are Black. Across the district, Black children made up 21% of the student population enrolled in the 2020-2021 school year, and over 47% are Latinx. The closures follow a 20-year pattern of school closures that deprive Black students of equal educational opportunities.

Donate to help the occupation grow, here.

https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1531790192410906624?s=20&t=dEEyGYK5vYNkQ5nLyfctRA

The fight in the Atlanta forest continues. One report on the ground stated:

[There have been reports of] clashes in the woods as Long Engineering/Atlas Technical consultants are accompanied, by a massive deployment of police in order to begin construction of a perimeter fence at the proposed future Cop City location. [Reportedly], protesters dispersed the bulldozer, workers, and police…using stones and fireworks; no detentions or arrests so far…

Forest defenders are calling on supporters to continue to put pressure on various construction firms to drop the Cop City project. Meanwhile, actions in solidarity with the Atlanta forest continue. In the bay area, a communique posted to Indybay read:

We smashed windows at Consolidated Engineering Laboratories in Oakland, an Atlas company, cause smashing is fun, engineers suck, and they smashed our camp in Atlanta…They want to build a “cop city’ to train pigs to put down urban insurrections, and erect souless soundstages to make shitty movies. They’ve buddied up with the FBI and a clusterfuck of police agencies to unsuccessfully drive forest defenders out of the woods.

We hope they don’t succeed, but our eternal hostility remains. Let’s see how long these monuments to liberal society stand.

Another communique took credit for an action in Erie, PA, also against Atlas, a company contracted out to build the “Cop City” project. In a anonymous post sent to Scenes from the Atlanta Forest the note read:

Stop cop city! Defend the atlanta forest and forests everywhere.

As a ruling from the supreme court on the possible overturning of Roe v Wade is expected this month, the fight for reproductive freedom continues, with ongoing targeted acts vandalism happening across the US. In Lynnwood, Washington, a pro-life pregnancy center was vandalized with graffiti reading, “If abortion isn’t safe, neither are you,” and also, “Jane’s Revenge,” a nod to various groups across the US who have also carried out similar acts of pro-abortion sabotage.

Screenshot of news report on Lynnwood vandalism.

In nearby Olympia, according to a communique posted to Puget Sound Anarchists:

Last night we vandalized four anti-abortion churches in Olympia. All of these churches have ties to anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers,” religious fake clinics that manipulate mostly poor people into having & keeping children they don’t want or aren’t ready for and marrying whomever impregnated them whether or not that relationship is healthy or safe. Crisis pregnancy centers are exploitative and serve the aims of upholding the patriarchal family, a primary site of violence against women, queers, and children.

A Mormon church, Calvary church, Harbor Church, and St. Michael’s Catholic church all received facelifts in the early hours of Sunday morning. We dumped red paint over the entryways and left messages of “If abortions aren’t safe then neither are you,” “Abort the church,” and “God loves abortion.”

Even in the likelihood that abortion remains legal in western Washington after roe v. wade is overturned, there are still local enemies who are doing everything in their power to make it as difficult and inaccessible as possible. These churches are terrified of people exercising bodily autonomy – whether aborting unwanted pregnancies or taking gender-affirming hormones/surgery or fucking whomever we want – because they need the rigid hierarchy of the family as the basic unit of control. It’s not even conspiratorial to say the Mormon church, Catholic church, and all others that punish abortion and reward marriage are patriarchal sex abuse cults. From the beginning the church has sought to control and destroy every impulse toward pleasure and self-determination.

While a little graffiti may be a small gesture in the war against patriarchal religious control, we wish to highlight that it’s easy and fun to attack. Our enemies are vulnerable and easy to find. In acting we learn to act, in waiting we only learn to wait. The secret is to really begin.

We echo the words of some crazy bitches from over a decade ago when we say that we are not asking for the right to choose, we are taking into our own hands the ability to abort a pregnancy. We are not asking for advertisements or media that pander to trans people, we’re wresting the tools to change our bodies out of the control of doctors. We are not appealing to state power for an end to patriarchal violence, but threatening: “If abortions aren’t safe, then neither are you.”

For joy, pleasure, and self-determination,

An “autonomous call to action against patriarchal supremacy” from under the banner of Jane’s Revenge has been published on a new website. The statement reads:

Within the month we anticipate a verdict will be issued that overturns Roe v Wade, setting in motion an evisceration of abortion access across the so-called United States.

This is an event that should inspire rage in millions of people who can get pregnant…and yet, the response thusfar has been tepid.

We have agonized over this apparent absence of indignation. Why is it that we are so afraid to unleash hell upon those who are destroying us? Fear of state repression is valid, but this goes deeper than that.

To this we say: no more. We need to get angry.

We need to express this madness fully and with ferocity. We need to quit containing ourselves.

Last week, an evil creature slaughtered 19 children and two teachers in their classroom in Texas. While some may call this horrific act “senseless” or “random,” we know that’s not the case. We know that this was an act of male domination and patriarchal violence, meant to make women, children and teachers live in fear. We know it is deeply connected to the reproductive violence about to be unleashed on this land by an illegitimate institution founded in white male supremacy.

We cannot think of a clearer example in this time of the need for autonomously organized self-defense networks. We cannot think of a clearer example of the desperate need for those who can get pregnant to learn how to confront misogynistic violence directly. We also believe this unlearning of our self-containment can begin in the streets when we organize alongside one another to confront state forces of evil and domination.

Several weeks ago, we watched and waited as self-proclaimed “feminist organizations” and non-profits took the lead on arranging their demure little rallies for freedom. We were told to let them handle it, and to defer to the political machinery that has thusfar failed to secure our liberation. In a world where the news media has an attention span of about 24 hours on their best day, we knew these hollow gestures would fail to capture attention. We knew we were witnessing counterinsurgency in action. We cannot sit idly by anymore while our anger is yet again channeled into Democratic party fundraisers and peace parades with the police.

We were even told we must cooperate with them because they work alongside abortion providers and clinic escorts…a group of people who, at this moment in time, cannot possibly risk their lives or their livelihoods any further than they already are. We honor these providers and their service. We do not honor those who would use them as a shield against direct and militant action. We believe the greatest honor we could give them would be to act meaningfully in their name.

The time to act was decades ago. The next best time is now.

The next step is carrying that anger out into the world and expressing it physically.

On the night the final ruling is issued——a specific date we cannot yet predict, but we know is arriving imminently——we are asking for courageous hearts to come out after dark.

Whoever you are and wherever you are, we are asking for you to do what you can to make your anger known.

We have selected a time of 8pm for actions nationwide to begin, but know that this is a general guideline. There may be other considerations involved in planning time and place. We do not claim to speak for every community or crew. We are simply calling out to you. And we hope you answer our cries.

To the cis male allies who would be interested in joining us in the streets, we say: you are certainly welcome, but you must use your privilege to shield and support us in a way that also enables us to get angry. Do not police us. Do not tell us what is and isn’t appropriate. But do aid us when we are in need.

Make plans now. Take action now.

It is not enough to share images on Twitter and Instagram (though that is still important to do). We cannot sustain this movement any longer with the same few hundred people who have been beaten down over and over again. We must not only circulate this call on social media, but reach out to communities who may not be in touch with “radical circles” online.

We would not be issuing this call if we did not believe in our bones that this kind of action *is* possible. We have witnessed the wom*n of Argentina, Mexico and Poland organize autonomously for their reproductive liberation. We know it can be done…but we need every soul reading this to do their part.

Rent strikes are currently ongoing in a manufactured home park in Lockport, New York and in an apartment building in South Minneapolis, where tenants are fighting to force landlords to make basic improvements.

Across the so-called US, people held events remembering George Floyd, and the wider uprising that was launched following his brutal murder in the early summer of 2020. Marches, film screenings and other events took place in Portland, Minneapolis, New York City and elsewhere.

According to a report back from Portland:

2 years have passed since the massive worldwide uprising began after the murder of George Floyd. In the span of 2 years the government has refused to change and instead has continued to push for more police and increasing police budgets. After 2 years activists in Portland planned a memorial in downtown Portland, while this event of remembrance was happening another group of activists planned a direct action event to show that we’re still here and this fight is far from over.

While the main event downtown marched from Pioneer Square to the Justice Center the smaller group went to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department on the other side of Portland. The group planned a quick action that left 4-6 massive windows shattered along with all the front doors which were also made of glass. Several large pieces of graffiti were drawn on the building including “Say His Name”, “George Floyd” and “Revenge Is Here.” The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department was targeted due to the fact it is also used as the county probation office, several people in Portland have been excessively charged over the last 2 years and this building directly has attacked and tried to intrap protestors from the 2020 George Floyd uprising in the probation system.

One thing that is constantly being learned and explained is how to adapt when police and the government continue to follow the same ways that got us here in the first place 2 years ago. Portland will continue to show up and do all the work that is needed to hopefully get to a better world one day.

Solidarity with Minneapolis

RIP George Floyd

In New York, people held marches and also a film screening.

https://twitter.com/AshAgony/status/1529854314621161476?s=20&t=dEEyGYK5vYNkQ5nLyfctRA

https://twitter.com/cinemovilnyc/status/1531688314633342976?s=20&t=dEEyGYK5vYNkQ5nLyfctRA

In Minneapolis, “protesters marched with a banner reading, “Remember May 28th,” to the third precinct tonight where fireworks were sent up and shopping carts were set on fire before moving on.”

https://twitter.com/daviss/status/1530763586812919808?s=20&t=dEEyGYK5vYNkQ5nLyfctRA

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Photo: People’s Park Berkeley on Instagram

Welcome, to This Is America, May 21st 2022.

On this episode, we speak with Kamau Franklin of Community Movement Builders about the struggle to build self-determination and community power in Atlanta in the face of gentrification, police violence and racialized capitalism. We also discuss the growing fight to defend the Atlanta forest and react to the recent anti-Black attack in Buffalo, New York by a white supremacist.

https://twitter.com/kamaufranklin/status/1527016762310795264?s=20&t=IGTU8MAPsN3qWn21KKu5og

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

https://twitter.com/protest_nyc/status/1527073405719150594

Across the so-called US, people showed solidarity with the Buffalo community, holding marchers and gatherings in Oakland, California, Charlottesville, Virginia, and taking to the streets in New York. Students in Charlottesville also organized a walk-out.

https://twitter.com/thisistamica/status/1527679720699138054?s=20&t=-GN_UcbWgDVkpy1-zweyTg

Mutual aid groups have also been working around the clock to help feed people in the wake of the horrific white supremacist attack at a neighborhood grocery store. If you want to support mutual aid programs on the ground, head to Buffalo Community Fridge to support.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1527757406196756480?s=20&t=-GN_UcbWgDVkpy1-zweyTg

Action News

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1527740894144647168?s=20&t=-GN_UcbWgDVkpy1-zweyTg

Holding banners reading, “Always Punch Nazis,” and “One Love,” in Southern California, people again rallied and held space at an overpass where neo-Nazis had previously held banners promoting the genocidal “Great Replacement” theory.

https://twitter.com/safeboulder/status/1526272622123573248?s=20&t=-GN_UcbWgDVkpy1-zweyTg

In Boulder, Colorado, people marched against attempts by the local police and politicians to criminalize people sleeping in their cars.

https://twitter.com/lacrise_ucd/status/1526998020021112832?s=20&t=-GN_UcbWgDVkpy1-zweyTg

In Davis, California, Cops off Campus dropped massive banners reading, “Feed the People, Cops off Campus,” and shut down debit machines, allowing students to eat for free at the dining hall on campus. A communique released online stated: “In solidarity with those who still believe in freedom; in solidarity with those who suffer the violence of hunger; in solidarity with those principled history of people’s free food programs – we are today taking the action of liberating the food in this dining hall.”

https://twitter.com/SC_IWW/status/1527331104700919808?s=20&t=-GN_UcbWgDVkpy1-zweyTg

Members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) rallied in Columbia, South Carolina in solidarity with workers fighting back against union-busting tactics by management. According to The Guardian:

Starbucks has fired over 20 union leaders around the US over the past several months as union organizing campaigns have spread across the country, the Guardian can reveal. The news comes as Starbucks workers have filed petitions for union elections at more than 250 stores, spanning 35 states in the US.

The NLRB has accused Starbucks of more than 200 violations of federal labor laws over the course of union organizing campaigns since late 2021. NLRB regional offices have issued complaints in regards to 45 cases against Starbucks, according to the NLRB. Starbucks also incited more legal concerns over recently announcing the rollout of new benefits for all employees, but exempting workers at unionized stores. Workers at several Starbucks stores have held strikes in protest of the company’s behavior toward union organizing.

In Reisterstown, Maryland, an anti-abortion center was vandalized with various pro-choice slogans. Banners were dropped in Los Angeles and in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Tucson, Arizona and La Jolla, California, students organized walkouts in support of reproductive freedom.

https://twitter.com/VPS_Reports/status/1525170080136544264?s=20&t=nsCVrtAeE8ZbA5Ur-5JT9A

Various far-Right groups also attempted to stand off against pro-choice demonstrators, but were vastly outnumbered. In Los Angeles, as one reporter on Twitter wrote:

Anti-abortion counter-protesters arrived at a high school and displayed graphic photos of fetal tissue of questionable authenticity. They were made fun of, and signs were stolen…by high schoolers.

https://twitter.com/ACatWithNews/status/1527413340963627008?s=20&t=nsCVrtAeE8ZbA5Ur-5JT9A

https://twitter.com/Songstress28/status/1521872473037279233?s=20&t=IGTU8MAPsN3qWn21KKu5og

As the RCMP continues to harass Indigenous Wet’suwet’en people on their lands, solidarity actions continue against the Coastal GasLink pipeline. In Montreal, people covered a branch of the Royal Bank of Canada with red paint. A communique posted online to Montreal Counter-Info stated:

In “Montréal” this Friday May 13. We decorated an RBC Branch, in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en land defenders. We used red paint, like the colour of the blood staining this bank’s hands.

Another RBC bank was also targeted, with the communique reading:

RBC is a dirty bank that fuels the climate crisis and global injustice. In solidarity we visited this RBC Westmount branch as a little reminder.

https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1527756116205125640?s=20&t=IGTU8MAPsN3qWn21KKu5og

The fight to save the Atlanta forest from both the construction of a massive police counter-insurgency training center and the expansion of a movie studio continues. Since out last episode, police have made several attempts to invade the forest and destroy structures made by those defending the land; making several arrests on Tuesday, May 17th. Since then, police have made another attempt at entering the forest on Friday, May 20th, however no arrests were made.

Solidarity actions remain ongoing. According to a communique posted to Scenes from the Atlanta Forest:

On the evening of may 10th I smashed 7 windows at the office building where the northeast offices of ATLAS are located in Albany, NY. I also tagged “ATLAS – STOP DESTROYING THE ATLANTA FOREST.” Destroying hundreds of acres of forest during the 6th greatest mass extinction of species to build a police training facility following one of the largest anti-police uprisings in decades is fucking disgusting. With this vandalism I urge ATLAS to do the right thing and drop any contracts with Brasfield and Gorrie and the Cop City project.

An action report about a protest on Scenes from the Atlanta Forest stated:

On May 11, 30-40 people visited the home of Keith Lanier Johnson Jr. Keith is the Eastern Regional President of Brasfield & Gorrie (B&G). B&G are the current general contractor for the Atlanta Police Foundation’s Cop City project in southeast Atlanta. The low-barrier fencing did not seem to deter assembled protesters from approaching the home directly in order to deliver fliers to Jr. Neighbors did not seem overly concerned with the assembled group when they approached the four building estate set back from the road.

Brasfield & Gorrie will eventually drop the Cop City contract. Anonymous groups are developing new methods for disincentivizing the project.

A report from Alabama read:

ON THE MORNING OF THE 13TH, THE WINDOWS AND GLASS DOORS TO THE BRASFIELD & GORRIE CORPORATE HQ IN BIRMINGHAM, AL WERE SMASHED. THE WORDS “DROP COP CITY OR ELSE” WERE SPRAYPAINTED ON THE WINDOWS.

Another communique from Georgia read:

EARLY MONDAY MORNING A HOME ASSOCIATED WITH DODD DRILLING, LLC WAS PAINTED WITH SLOGANS INCLUDING “DODD DRILLING STAY OUT”, “STOP COP CITY”, AND “DROP APD.”

From Lane County in Oregon:

Over the past month or so many construction vehicles(lost count) in so called Lane County had their windows smashed in. Many more will be smashed in the future. These actions are being done in solidarity with forest defenders in so called Atlanta GA.

Finally, a communique posted to Scenes from the Atlanta forest from Minneapolis stated:

We smashed up the windows of the Bank of America on Hennepin Ave in Minneapolis, and painted the front to read “DEFUND COP CITY.”

Our attack was in solidarity with those arrested in the recent raid on the forest, and we pray for the safe return of our comrades and a continuation of the fight for life against cop city and hollywood dystopia. Bank of America will need to end their sponsorship of the Atlanta Police Foundation or they will continue to be under threat from our friends across the so-called united states.

a toast to the nights we gave ’em hell.

https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1526669613160927232?s=20&t=IGTU8MAPsN3qWn21KKu5og

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Welcome, to This Is America, April 14th, 2022.

On today’s episode, first we bring you an interview with Adi Callai, the creative force behind a new anarchist YouTube channel that investigates the George Floyd uprising, identity politics and modern revolt. We speak about the idea of “elite capture,” how neoliberalism has weaponized identity politics, how this played out in the midst of the George Floyd uprising, and much more. Be sure to check out their channel here.

Next, we dive into our discussion, were we tease apart the ideology of those on the so-called Supreme Court, who cite medieval sources in their push to bring down Roe v Wade.

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

As people across the US this week scrambled to find baby formula and gas prices again spiked, the US Department of Agriculture predicted that inflation would continue to drive the cost of food up by another 5-6%, as corporations report record profits against a backdrop of increasing domestic repression, an escalating threat of war, and a deepening social crisis. Sickeningly, the US has now officially past the 1 million deaths mark due to COVID-19 – yet as cases again continue to grow, “federal pandemic funding dried up in March, and over 30 million uninsured Americans can no longer access free testing or treatment.” Not to be outdone, Biden has pushed states with remaining COVID-19 funds to spend it not on vaccines, testing, or relief, but instead on “crime prevention programs and [the hiring of more] police officers.”

https://twitter.com/micahinATL/status/1525144026088980484?s=20&t=0V1s375mzEq0GouzUI6SsQ

Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans pushed through another $40 billion in military and financial aid to the Ukrainian war effort, bringing “the total amount allocated to the war to a staggering $53 billion.” This latest package of war funds again shows the priories of the ruling parties, as Republicans also fought to block a much smaller COVID-19 package of $10 billion, supposedly in an effort to block Democrats from lifting Title 42, a racist Trump era policy that bars refugees and migrants from seeking asylum in the US, ironically under the auspices of stopping the spread of COVID-19.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1522722035260006401?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

Democrats, moved not by a desire to protect migrants and refugees from such Nativist legislation, instead argued that Title 42 should be scrapped because it does not prosecute those crossing the border and instead called for harsher penalties for migrants and increased deportations. In fact, amidst outcry over horrific conditions inside detention centers, the Biden administration is readying the incarceration of another 20 thousand migrant children alone.

https://twitter.com/chadloder/status/1521720909274378240?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

Over the past two weeks, people have hit the streets in opposition to attacks on access to abortion access and reproductive autonomy, after leaks from the supreme court showed that it would likely overturn Roe Vs Wade. For a deeper dive into the implications of this decision, check out our last episode of the It’s Going Down podcast.

https://twitter.com/StreamerWayward/status/1522180635779031040?s=20&t=fFsZZ_9dGhJiLekzRNHU_Q

Protests kicked off last week almost immediately after the leak from Politico went viral, with protests forming first in DC, where people rallied into the night and confronted anti-abortion protesters outside the US Supreme Court building. Over the next few nights, rowdy demonstrations and clashes broke out with police in Austin, Texas, Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles, California. In Washington DC, Phoenix, Arizona, and Denton, Texas, people also squared off against various far-Right groups who showed up attempting to intimidate pro-choice protesters.

https://twitter.com/LiteraryMouse/status/1523095557035675648?s=20&t=LjNSulpyzvO3_rPvpqpovA

Over the past week we also saw the proliferation of demonstrations outside the homes of several on the Supreme Court, which quickly pushed Congress to pass new laws, extending security to the immediate families of those on the court. Republicans are also now calling for a clampdown against the protests, citing a law from 1950 which they claim prohibits demonstrations outside of the homes of judges.

https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1523838862627426306?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

Ironically, since the pandemic broke out, far-Right groups opposing masks, lockdowns, and mandates have demonstrated outside of the homes off elected officials – none of which drew the same amount of concern from the finger pointing bureaucrats in DC or the hand-wringing neoliberals in the press.

https://twitter.com/KXAN_News/status/1524826845195165696?s=20&t=LjNSulpyzvO3_rPvpqpovA

While not grabbing the same amount of headlines, students across the US have organized walkouts on their campuses. On May 5th, hundreds walked out of the University of Washington in Seattle. On Monday, May 9th, “students from over 40 high schools across Virginia organized” walkouts. On Thursday, May 12th, hundreds of students in New York walked out of class. In Louisville, Kentucky, students walk out, building off of previous walkouts that had started the week before. High schools across Utah saw walkouts, as did Austin, Texas on May 6th and 12th, students across Iowa, Little Rock, Arkansas, Eugene, Oregon and in Kansas also saw action. In Colorado, “students from more than a dozen high schools throughout the Denver metro walked out” along with schools in Jefferson County. In California, students in Berkeley, CA and San Luis Obisbo County also walked out in protest.

https://twitter.com/meganmmenchaca/status/1524815734983081987?s=20&t=Ll6IEE1pwTzAT7nL2q2h3Q

On Friday, May 13th, medical staff and students in Boston organized a walkout, as large-scale student walkouts, rallies and protests took place in Philadelphia, Madison, Wisconsin, Seattle, Washington, New York City and many more.

And while thousands have flooded the streets, marched on the homes of the powerful and walked out of schools and workplaces, a wave of autonomous actions have also targeted anti-abortion groups and their offices, often referred to as “crisis pregnancy centers.” As American Progress wrote:

Fake women’s health centers—sometimes referred to as crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs)—are a vital part of the anti-choice movement, supported by major national organizations and anti-choice policymakers alike, while receiving significant taxpayer funding in states across the country. Since [a] Supreme Court [ruling in 2016] restricted the movement’s ability to shut down legitimate women’s health clinics, the movement has attempted to bolster the ability of fake centers to manipulate women and block them from accessing comprehensive care—essentially, to secure the legal right to lie to women and politicize health care.

Fake centers2 are sophisticated organizations designed to dissuade women from seeking comprehensive reproductive health services. The vast majority use misleading tactics—such as advertising that they provide information on abortion care and using names similar to those of comprehensive health clinics3—to hide their anti-choice mission and lure those whom they call “abortion-minded women”4 through their doors in order to manipulate them further. Any “counseling” provided is an attempt to further their political agenda.

In Portland, Oregon, a pro-life center was hit with pro-abortion graffiti and had its windows broken out.

https://twitter.com/SegaCD8/status/1522723305257590786?s=20&t=4vda5qf-NVXL_rwMv4mAYQ

In Frederick, Maryland, a pro-life pregnancy “clinic” was covered in pro-choice graffiti.

https://twitter.com/StreamerWayward/status/1522185702418616324?s=20&t=fFsZZ_9dGhJiLekzRNHU_Q

In Boulder, Colorado, as Abolition Media reported:

An anti-abortion Catholic church…was tagged with circle-As and messages, including “Fuck the Church, Fuck the State” and “Keep Your Religion Off Our Bodies.” A window of the church was also smashed in the action.

The anti-abortion church is well known locally for an annual display featuring thousands of crosses, which say they represent the number of abortions performed each day in the United States.

In Denton, Texas, a pro-life “clinic” was vandalized with graffiti reading “Forced Birth = Murder” and “Not A Clinic.”

https://twitter.com/doloresgalvaaan/status/1523073277601665027?s=20&t=kZ1GAnmoBfWLgLBGtki58A

In Keizer, Oregon, the “Right to Life” building was reportedly vandalized.

In Houston, Texas, a Catholic church was vandalized with graffiti reading, “Pro-Choice is Pro-Life.”

In Manassas, Virginia, a pro-life center was vandalized with slogans such as: “Abortion is a right,” “Fake Clinic,” and “Liars.”

In Fort Collins, Colorado, according to a communique posted to Abolition Media:

Colorado Anarchists visited the St. John XXIII Catholic Church of Fort Collins last night, leaving multiple broken windows and painted messages, in retaliation for its material support of dangerous anti-abortion groups like 40 Days for Life. These groups have terrorized local visitors of Planned Parenthood for years now and must not be tolerated.

https://twitter.com/AlexanderShur/status/1523320097993076737?s=20&t=fFsZZ_9dGhJiLekzRNHU_Q

In Madison, Wisconsin, windows were busted out and pro-life graffiti was written over the office of a pro-life organization. A Molotov cocktail was also throw inside one of the office rooms, destroying office equipment. A communique sent to the media read:

This is not a declaration of war. War has been upon us for decades. A war which we did not want, and did not provoke. Too long have we been attacked for asking for basic medical care. Too long have we been shot, bombed, and forced into childbirth without consent.

This was only a warning. We demand the disbanding of all anti-choice establishments, fake clinics, and violent anti-choice groups within the next thirty days. This is not a mere “difference of opinion” as some have framed it. We are literally fighting for our lives. We will not sit still while we are killed and forced into servitude. We have run thin on patience and mercy for those who seek to strip us of what little autonomy we have left. As you continue to bomb clinics and assassinate doctors with impunity, so too shall we adopt increasingly extreme tactics to maintain freedom over our own bodies.

We are forced to adopt the minimum military requirement for a political struggle. Again, this was only a warning. Next time the infrastructure of the enslavers will not survive. Medical imperialism will not face a passive enemy. Wisconsin is the first flashpoint, but we are all over the US, and we will issue no further warnings.

And we will not stop, we will not back down, nor will we hesitate to strike until the inalienable right to manage our own health is returned to us.

We are not one group, but many. We are in your city. We are in every city. Your repression only strengthens our accomplice-ship and resolve.

-Jane’s Revenge

The response from the Right, which for years has been building coalitions between the GOP and fascist, paramilitary groups while openly calling for violence, murder, and the targeting of entire communities of people, has been predictable: paint “conservatives” as victims of escalating Left violence. Yet many have been quick to point out that for decades the so-called pro-life movement has carried out a bloody campaign of mass murder, violence, and bombings in an effort to terrorize clinics into closing by force and pushing the State to criminalize bodily autonomy.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1480131358693363715?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

Members of groups such as the Army of God, such as Eric Rudolf, carried out horrific acts of murder and terror, including the indiscriminate bombing of the 1996 Olympics in the name of attacking “socialism” and “abortion on demand,” which killed 2 and injured over 100. Rudolf would go on to bomb an LGBTQ nightclub and two abortion clinics before being arrested. But Rudolf was only part of a wider, much deadlier movement.

According to NARAL:

Anti-choice zealots murdered 11 people—including doctors, clinic employees, a clinic escort, a security guard and a police officer—between 1993 and 2016. There were 26 attempted murders in the same period.

According to Vox:

[From] 1977 [to 2015] there have been…42 bombings, and 186 arsons targeted at abortion clinics and providers across the United States. In some cases, a small group of clinics have been targeted multiple times.

Since 2015, according to the National Abortion Federation, there has been 8 more arson attacks on abortion clinics, with four happening in 2015 alone.

Outside of the increasingly fascist Right and the neoliberal center that tries to paint all forms of self-organization or direct action as criminal or conspiratorial, response to the various forms of action by many has been positive, with many people realizing the threat posed by increasingly minoritarian rule which seeks to curtail basic freedoms under the threat of State violence and authority, needs to be opposed – and that the Democratic party is not the vehicle to continue that fight forward.

Defend the Atlanta Forest

https://twitter.com/lets_go_wild/status/1524104498041565185?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

The fight to defend the Atlanta forest from destruction to make way for a police counter-insurgency training facility and expanded a movie studio lot continues.

According to post on Scenes from the Atlanta Forest:

On Wednesday May 4th police…encountered a flaming barricade as soon as they opened the fence. They eventually cleared the barricade and drove into the forest a little ways. Then promptly backed off when met with a barrage of rocks and smoke bombs. It is not clear what the objective of the police was that day, but they definitely did not achieve it. It was also observed that barricades and the Atlanta steamer were restored by the next day. Nature is healing.

https://twitter.com/scenesatl/status/1523734510516711424?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

Four days later, kicking off a week of action, forest defenders placed a flipped over black car in the middle of a major entrance into the forest, along with a banner reading, “Fuck this World And Its Cops.”

On May 9th, as Unicorn Riot reported: “A group of 30-40 people gathered in front of the home of Shephard Long, principal of Long Engineering, one of the subcontractors hired to build the “Public Safety Training Center,” also known as “Cop City” in the Atlanta Forest.”

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1523827997467316225?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

The next day:

On Wednesday, two DeKalb County park police entered the forest to inspect the path created by bulldozers on Monday... As they were exiting, forest defenders ambushed them by throwing rocks and bottles at their cars, smashing windows.

At Noon, a van with “LAW ENFORCEMENT – DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE”…pulled into the parking lot of Intrenchment Creek Park by the gazebo. Around an hour later, the van was attacked suddenly by a barrage of rocks and multiple tires were slashed. The van attempted to escape but was left stranded in the parking lot until DeKalb Police were able to escort it out. Police were nervously walking backwards in order to keep their eyes on the tree line where they knew forest defenders would be watching them…

Multiple police vehicles were damaged. Nobody was detained or arrested. Juvenile justice was served, but probably not in the way they meant. Atlanta will remain a forest.

The same day, on May 11th, over 60 people rallied in front of a downtown Atlanta AT&T office to demand that the telecommunications giant pull out of the “Cop City” project.

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1524512618999861248?s=20&t=J-2Nn9Px5NxmKRLYQ1xhNw

Then on May 13th, the offices of Brassfield and Gorrie, subcontractors involved in the destruction of the Atlanta forest, were covered in paint with graffiti slogans reading: “No forest, no peace,” and “No Cop City.”

https://twitter.com/scenesatl/status/1524862574558429187?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

https://twitter.com/TCparkresponder/status/1523973166934208512?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

https://twitter.com/Stop_Sweeps_SEA/status/1524228271579156482?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1522055170837729280?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

https://twitter.com/FangCollective/status/1524813524349878272?s=20&t=bZnqpeo7h6-NpVSn9bSuOw

https://youtu.be/z88qkA81SJA

If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis and have the means, please sign up to support us monthly! Help autonomous revolutionary media grow into 2021!

Welcome, to This Is America, April 30th, 2022.

On this episode, first we present an interview with someone on the ground in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who speaks about the recent round of street protests that kicked off following the brutal police execution of Patrick Lyoya.

We then are joined with Marcela from Feel the News as we discuss Eric Adams, the eviction crisis in New York, and attacks on the houseless.

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

https://twitter.com/johntunison/status/1515456251337089026?s=20&t=iDRF0705qxq04D6yIh78zQ

Over the past week, thousands continued to take to the streets in Grand Rapids, Michigan following the police murder of Patrick Lyoya, a “refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo—who was  killed by a Grand Rapids, Michigan police officer on April 4th. Lyoya was fatally shot in the head while laying face down on the ground” following a police traffic stop. Following Lyoya’s murder, protesters held the streets for hours each night essentially laying siege to the embattled police station.

https://twitter.com/jwcroxton/status/1515557172553289731?s=20&t=iDRF0705qxq04D6yIh78zQ

There was also a rowdy night-time solidarity demonstration in Portland, Oregon. As Double Sided Media wrote:

On the evening of April 16, nearly 50 people in black bloc gathered under the pavilion at Portland’s Peninsula Park for a vigil and march in honor of Patrick Lyoya…A local Starbucks Coffee Shop was the scene of both window smashing and firework-launching. The nearby bus stop—one of several throughout the night—was also smashed. Banks, too, had their windows smashed and received spray-paint.

The crowd arrived at its apparent destination—the Portland Police Bureau’s North Precinct—after about 45-minutes and confronted a rooftop police officer with a firework launch. Three PPB cruisers full of officers in riot gear appeared shortly after a dumpster inside the precinct’s parking garage was lit on fire…The crowd dispersed in various directions as soon as the police arrived. According to a PPB press release, no arrests were made…

As Canadian Tire Fire has been reporting, actions in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en and against Coastal Gaslink remain ongoing. In so-called Olympia, according to a communique posted to Puget Sound Anarchists:

On April 20th some anarchists…armed with a bottle of brake fluid and a can of expanding spray foam to carry out an act of solidarity with the ongoing resistance of Wet’su’weten land defenders and their supporters. The fight against CGL and its funders has been long and inspiring, and one that we feel needs to be more supported, especially through direct anarchist tactics. The colonial project is ever expanding, and its allies and funders are in every neighborhood and on every street. These are our enemies, and the makers of artificial deserts. They must be attacked– by any means and at any given opportunity, no matter how big or small the enemy or the action may seem. We do not expect this small action to stop the Leviathan and bring about healing to this near destroyed planet, but we hope to channel the spirits of this land, the lifeblood of all water, and the goblins of anarchy. We want to inspire destruction to all manifestations of colonial powers and institutions. We need it. The struggle on Wet’suwet’en territory is one that has explicitly called for and employed anarchist tactics, and we encourage you all to heed that call and support their actions through your own.

Meanwhile in a communique posted to Montreal Counter-Info, another group wrote:

Over the past 2 months, the RCMP has ramped up their continued harassment and intimidation of the people living at and defending the Yintah from CGL, at km 44 camp, on Gidimt’en territory. A few days ago, cops decided to arrest someone, using the pathetic excuse of “mis-identification”.

We believe that active solidarity is always important, even more so when our comrades are facing repression. This solidarity can be expressed through easy attacks, which break the isolation and fear that the state tries to trap us within. Those involved in funding the pipeline have names and addresses. They might not always be esay to find, but usually, they are the ones trying to protect their peace and tranquility tucked safely away in big houses, far from the social war they are a part of.

With this in mind, and rage in our hearts, this past wednesday we decided to spend the evening in the streets of Westmount. Using a fire extinguisher filled with paint, we had a good time vandalizing the facade of the house where the…RBC Quebec president lives.

Back in Portland, a claim of responsibility took credit for a sabotage action in solidarity with the expanding struggle to defend the Atlanta forest. A communique posted to Rose City Counter-Info wrote:

The doors, windows and ATMs of Bank of America financial center were broken and the building was redecorated with messages against the destruction of Atlanta forest.

https://twitter.com/submedia/status/1519385736386068487?s=20&t=CUDWIZOzBCvvTWF4CElZSQ

Not to be left out, another communique posted to Indybay.org stated:

The week of so-called “Earth Day,” autonomous hooligans super-glued the card readers at two SF banks. This echoes anti-bank and anti-civ actions across other occupied territories (see Philly, Quebec and Chile) in strikes against capital and those funding the destruction of human and nonhuman animals alike.

In other Defend the Atlanta Forest news, Reeves Young, an Atlanta based construction contractor, has officially backed out of the so-called “Cop City” project. Forest defenders and abolitionists are still calling for May Day actions to pressure other firms to drop the project as well. Go here to find an office near you. There is also a call for a week of action to Defend the Atlanta Forest from May 8th – 15th, with marches and rallies already being called on May 11th and 14th!

Looking towards the midwest, in Minneapolis, following more ongoing encampment evictions, several public works trucks were targeted. A communique posted to Abolition Media Worldwide stated:

Thursday night, some angry faggots slashed tires and smashed up a few trucks, disabling three vehicles belonging to the public works department of so-called Minneapolis.

This was done in retaliation for the cruel eviction of an encampment the day before, in which 120 pigs were mobilized, shutting down two city blocks in order to destroy neighbor’s homes and steal their belongings. During the eviction, one encampment defender was brutally arrested.

The truth is that an eviction carried out in such excessive force is only done because the state is terrified of the strong relational networks of those who make their home in tents, and of their neighbor’s willingness to defend these communities.

We intend to give them something to be scared of. It is imperative to develop a language of revolt involving a rhythm of retaliatory actions against the state’s brutality. The people of so-called Minneapolis are mobilizing to defend our neighbors, and this fight will continue until the final dissolution of the American plantation. It’s time to fight dirty.

https://twitter.com/DeedeeKIRO7/status/1519452264150102016?s=20&t=rvznKYHfn_ljVlaqru5KVQ

According to a corporate news report from so-called Seattle, several people took action against ongoing attacks on the houseless. One article reported:

Vandals smashed windows and city cars at a Seattle Parks and Recreation office building in downtown Seattle. The people behind the damage also left a spray-painted message, “You sweep, we strike.”

Also in Seattle, Washington, around 1,000 people gathered for a mutual aid fair put on by a variety of autonomous groups across the Pacific Northwest.

https://twitter.com/abolitionist206/status/1518134424298156032?s=20&t=iDRF0705qxq04D6yIh78zQ

https://twitter.com/stargazersasha/status/1518001814896971776?s=20&t=iDRF0705qxq04D6yIh78zQ

In Hartford, Connecticut, a Black Lives Matter group organized an antifascist demonstration and march following a flash-demonstration by a neo-Nazi group the week before.

https://twitter.com/ctblogger/status/1518320980682289159?s=20&t=iDRF0705qxq04D6yIh78zQ

In the bay area, rebel youth and community members on the Berkeley/Oakland border, reigned down a righteous barrage of eggs against a far-Right convoy, pushing them out of the area.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1517666287924641792?s=20&t=iDRF0705qxq04D6yIh78zQ

In New York, police continue to make arrests of houseless people on ‘Anarchy Row’ demanding housing and in so-called Bloomington, the strike by graduate workers continues at Indiana University, with workers and students organizing sit-ins, walkouts, and holding pickets which have stopped deliveries.

https://twitter.com/ChrisTorresLugo/status/1518628206433165313?s=20&t=CUDWIZOzBCvvTWF4CElZSQ

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Welcome, to This Is America, April 14th, 2022.

On today’s episode, we first speak with someone involved in the ongoing strike at Indiana University in so-called Bloomington. We talk about why graduate workers are striking and how other workers and students are standing in solidarity them. For a deeper dive into the strike, be sure to check out this recent article on It’s Going Down.

We then turn towards our discussion, where we tackle the continuing spread of gender fascist legislation and the impact of US sanctions abroad.

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

https://twitter.com/MaxLewisTV/status/1514637719380627470?s=20&t=qCZID9HxjuL6_4V5R5LX0A

As discussed in our earlier interview, a massive graduate worker strike in Bloomington has officially kicked off, with the first day of pickets and walkouts however being cancelled due to severe weather. Be sure to follow @IUonStrike for future updates as the strike proceeds.

On Wednesday, pickets went up around the University, with graduate workers refusing to carry out any sort of work, including completing grades and teaching classes. According to a report on the ground:

As of Wednesday, the first official day of the strike, university administration has put all 2,500 graduate workers on probation regardless of their involvement in the strike, until further notice. In addition, faculty members who have signed letters of neutrality are being threatened with being “reprimanded,” for supporting the strike. Workers are fighting for living wages and against international student fee remission. Despite the escalation of these intimidation tactics, the Graduate Workers Coalition is standing strong and building even more solidarity with undergraduates and faculty who refuse to buckle in the face of this attempt at union busting.

https://twitter.com/IUonStrike/status/1514329550611701774?s=20&t=-zzg1VP_c4G1I9HTv8ZWFA

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, over 100 people took to the streets and marched on the City Commission meeting on April 12th to demand “justice for a 26-year old Black man, Patrick Lyoya, who was shot and killed last week by a city police officer.”

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1514068574293291009?s=20&t=06ULvTP4ANf19hrAsb-bOA

On April 13th, hundreds took to the streets following the release of video footage which showed an unarmed Lyoya being shot and killed by a white police officer during a traffic stop. For several hours, people marched – rallying outside the police station, throwing objects and pulling on a makeshift fence. More demonstrations are expected in the coming days.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1514369887996588032?s=20&t=jo9wZ4yKUe5-0kAZKfj2SA

Nearby in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a tree-sit was launched by a group calling itself, FIGHT Concord Pines, to stop the building of a gentrifying luxury apartment complex and save a section of forest. This is only the latest in a string of actions which have taken place in the last several months, including door-knocking campaigns, lockdowns, and community gatherings.

A statement released from the group stated:

The Concord Pines development is proposed by the nation’s largest luxury homebuilder, the Toll Brothers. The development would create 57 single-family luxury homes on the wooded site just north of Concordia University. The homes will cost over $600,000.

FIGHT Concord Pines, the group responsible for the work stoppages, opposes the creation of new luxury homes in the midst of Washtenaw County’s affordable housing crisis, and particularly objects to the destruction of hundreds of landmark trees – large, old, and/or historical trees– in order to create these homes.

There is no time left to stop the climate crisis by appealing to weak-willed government officials. Direct action must be taken to stop the destruction of our planet.

https://twitter.com/AdiCallai/status/1513525930400137218

A report from the person engaging in the tree-sit wrote:

I’m up here because if we could vote our way out of our current climate disaster, we would have done so long ago…from Indigenous groups fighting against pipelines across Turtle Island, to Black liberation groups fighting for justice during the George Floyd uprisings, to the four IPCC scientists just a few days ago begging the world to listen as they chained themselves to the door of a Chase Bank…We aren’t just fighting Toll Brothers– we’re fighting the systems that support them, the systems of white supremacy, capitalism, and oppression of all kinds.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1513601622378627072

Last week in Buffalo, New York, students mobilized, protested, and ultimately shut down a talk by former Tea Party activist and Texas Republican party chair, Allen West, who was on campus to give a talk about how “racism did not exist” in the US. Last year, ironically, West spoke at far-Right Qanon conference. Students chanted and rallied outside of the room where the talk was scheduled, leading West to then be walked out of the area by police. Student organizers with the Kock brothers funded astro-turf group, Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), later claimed that they were chased off campus and followed back to their cars by an angry “mob” of protesters.

https://twitter.com/AshAgony/status/1512595383033159689?s=20&t=b9prZSdHme-oi8G6ZV7lPg

In New York last week, as Ash J reported, “Protest[ers] marched from Tompskins Square Park to Washington Square Park to denounce Eric Adams and the NYPD, demand an end to violence against homeless folks (such as sweeps and evictions), and to demand housing for all. Radical artwork was placed up during the march” and people hung banners reading “Community Self-Defense.” The march came after arrests several days before, when demonstrators were arrested for protecting tents from eviction by police.

https://twitter.com/protest_nyc/status/1512522921066987524?s=20&t=b9prZSdHme-oi8G6ZV7lPg

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1513296992327282688?s=20&t=b9prZSdHme-oi8G6ZV7lPg

The following is a statement from someone involved in the Tompkins Homeless Collective which was read during a recent protest:

I’m a homeless person and member of the Tompkins Homeless Collective, and I’d like to read a statement. Recently myself and my homeless neighbors were victims of police violence, as our belongings and homes were ripped apart and thrown in the garbage. My peaceful homeless neighbor was attacked and violently arrested by police under orders from Eric Adams. We moved our camp around the corner, but police harassment only increased. It is clear that they will return again soon to rob us of our belongings, homes and use violence against us, just because we’re trying to live. We are asking for help from our beloved neighbors across New York to bring homelessness to an end, and finally break us free of the stranglehold that wealthy landlords and real estate have on us, on all of us, on you. There’s only one way to end homelessness: by moving all homeless people into the vacant apartments that already exist and ending evictions. You can’t end homelessness without stopping it from happening in the first place. We ask that our beloved people living in New York protect us, the homeless, the most vulnerable, from any further state violence. A new sweep defense network is building through organizations like @brooklynevictiondefense, @rentrefusersunited, @_t_h_e_g_y_m_ , @sweepalertnyc, @eastvillagemutualaid and @wspmutualaid. If we can build up this new community volunteer network to protect our homeless neighbors from sweeps, then we can together use the same network in the future to block evictions. This is everything to us. The suffering of our people is heartbreaking, and the violence against them by the state can not be allowed. Thank you for listening. This is one for all our people being victimized by the state. Peace, and love.

Resistance to the Coastal GasLink pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory continues, as the company pushes closer to digging under the Wedzin Kwa, or Morice River. Check out our recent installments of Canadian Tire Fire for a roundup of ongoing protests, direct actions, and growing divestment campaign.

https://twitter.com/submedia/status/1514339543767519233?s=20&t=jo9wZ4yKUe5-0kAZKfj2SA

In so-called Montreal:

In the early afternoon, a small group of anarchists snuck into the RBC offices at Place Ville-Marie. Armed with flyers, stickers and spray paint cans, they left a message for the bank: DIVEST FROM CGL. Since the Fall of 2021, the Wet’suwet’en have been actively campaigning for RBC to stop funding the destruction of their land, but RBC continues to ignore them…As long as RBC is funding pipeline projects, they will find us in their way.

From a communique on North-Shore Counter-Info:

This week across southern Ontario and Quebec, we’ve lost count on how many RBC branches were targeted (we estimate 10+) for disruption and attack. These actions respond to a need to target investors in the Coastal Gaslink pipeline project – which is currently behind schedule thanks to the direct attack that took place in february as well as the successful campaigns to block the project thus far lead by Gidimt’en Clan – but is still rapidly being constructed on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory.

RBC is one of its largest financial backers, and in the past week and preceding months, has been the subject of pressure tactics ranging from direct action interfering with bank branches, to pushing elites/clients to pull their money out of RBC accounts, to organizing to disrupt RBC’s Annual General Meeting in Toronto. The message is clear: the Royal Bank of Canada needs to divest from CGL immediately.

In hamilton, where we’re writing from, bank branches were vandalized, had their locks glued, and ATMs damaged. We chose these methods to directly interfere with the operations of the bank, hurt them financially and in their public image, and to contribute to the spread of easily-replicable, anonymous actions.

The fight for the Atlanta forest continues full steam ahead, with a call for a week of action coming up from May 8th – 15th.

https://twitter.com/defendATLforest/status/1502725046061748231?s=20&t=-zzg1VP_c4G1I9HTv8ZWFA

According to a communique posted to Scenes from the Atlanta Forest:

Trees within a 300 yard radius were spiked to prevent clear-cutting in the South Atlanta Forest…Whether it be logging and construction for a police training facility, new subdivisions, or yet another unneeded bank or coffee shop, we oppose it’s existence and choose life over destruction.

Defend the Forest! Defend Yourself!

https://twitter.com/stopreevesyoung/status/1513370783808212992?s=20&t=jo9wZ4yKUe5-0kAZKfj2SA

There is also a call for May Day actions in defense of the Atlanta forest. From the ‘Stop Reeves Young’ website:

This May Day, we are calling for solidarity actions in defense of the Atlanta Forest and against Cop City. Find your friends, make a plan, and fight for the forest. Across the world the police want to take what’s ours. We will stop them and we will win. Another word for world is forest.

Reeves Young, the primary developer behind the Cop City project, works with smaller companies such as Long Engineering, a subsidiary of Atlas Technical Consultants. Their smaller entities specialize in various aspects in construction for projects in over 40 states such as the Apple Campus 2 in Cupertino, California.

The contract between Atlas and Reeves Young is one of the pillars of the Cop City project that is threatening the forest. Through autonomous efforts of small groups and individuals we can convince Atlas to do the right thing and divest from their involvement with Reeves Young.

Check out how to plug into the campaign here.

More info on all events here.

If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis and have the means, please sign up to support us monthly! Help autonomous revolutionary media grow into 2021!

Welcome, to This Is America, April 8th, 2022.

First up, we have a special interview with someone involved in the Certain Days calendar, which benefits political prisoners and are joined by anarchist prisoner, Eric King, who talks about the ongoing call-in campaign to support him. During our discussion we talk about a variety of political prisoners including Mutul Shakur, Sundiata Acoli, Sean Swain, and Oso Blanco.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1511109948658257921?s=20&t=3Dfzz8GPpkEKyzRaeUkQSA

Also on today’s episode we bring you analysis and news, plus a discussion on the continuing investigation into January 6th and its implications within the halls of power.

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive right in.

New studies show that under the pandemic global life expectancy has dropped nearly two years, the poor are upwards of five times more likely to die due to lack of access to healthcare – and the rich are richer than ever, while workers have been rocked by inflation, the rising cost of health-care, rent, fuel, and food. On one report wrote:

On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that median pay for CEOs rose to $14.2 million last year, up from a record $13.4 million in 2020. The report said that half of the companies reported wages for their workers increased in 2021 by 3.1 percent. However, this is less than half of last year’s inflation rate of 6.7 percent…[meaning] workers took an effective paycut.

Another study also showed that:

…people living in the lowest income counties died at five times the rate of those in the highest income counties. The United States is the only wealthy nation not to guarantee health services for all, and witnessed the biggest decline in male life expectancy during the COVID-pandemic of 29 nations…More than 980,000 Americans have died of COVID, the most of any country in the world.

According to the Guardian, states like California also allocated large amounts of COVID-19 relief funds to the police. As one report reads:

As part of the American Rescue Plan Act (Arpa), the Biden administration’s signature stimulus package, the US government sent funds to cities to help them fight coronavirus and support local recovery efforts. But most large California cities spent millions of Arpa dollars on law enforcement. Some also gave police money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (Cares) Act, adopted in 2020 under Donald Trump.

For instance:

San Francisco received $312m in Arpa funds for fiscal year 2020 and allocated 49% ($153m) to police, 13% ($41m) to the sheriff’s department, and the remainder to the fire department, according to the city controller. San Francisco also gave roughly 22% ($38.5m) of its Cares funds to law enforcement. Los Angeles spent roughly 50% of its first round of Arpa relief funds on the LAPD…

What this meant was:

In Fresno, the city allocated more than double of its Cares money to police than it did to Covid testing, contact tracing, small business grants, childcare vouchers and transitional housing combined. [In] Oakland, police allocation was greater than the amounts spent on a housing initiative, a small business grant program and a workforce initiative.

This reality is compounded by rising repression at home and abroad, as US political elites have blocked additional COVID-19 funding while pushing for a massive war budget. Moreover, according to Guardian, two years after the George Floyd uprising and amidst calls by Biden to ‘fund the police,’ police continue to kill on average three people per day. According to the report, “Police have killed roughly 1,100 people each year since 2013. In 2021, officers killed 1,136 people – one of the deadliest years on record, Mapping Police Violence reported.” This continuing mass death has been coupled with an increasing crackdown on houseless encampments as the US prepares to unleash a wave of evictions. In New York alone, thousands face eviction and the city has even run out of public defenders to represent them.

In the face of this deepening social crisis, Republicans have continued to push a series of draconian social measures attacking queer and trans people and reproductive freedom. In Tennessee, the GOP pushes a bill that would remove the bar on age for marriage. In Oklahoma, the legislature passed a near total ban on abortion, while Ohio has introduced its own “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which Florida’s governor has recently signed into law.

In the face of this wave of draconian gender fascism, students have been leading the charge, organizing walkouts, protests, and rallies. Here’s an update on student actions since the last episode.

On March 22nd, “Disney employees and their allies staged a walkout from various departments to protest the company’s donations to the Republican legislators behind Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.”

On March 25th, hundreds of high school students in New Orleans walked out against proposed bills.

https://twitter.com/JennsenBentley/status/1507373855295348747?s=20&t=HkwwEdOPactFdAQLFgT4pw

On March 28th, dozens of students in New Jersey take part in walkout against bans on students flying the PRIDE flags.

On March 29th, high school students in Virginia were suspended “following their participation in a student-organized walkout on March 18th.”

On March 30th in South Dakota, 50 students walked out and took to the streets. In Jacksonville, Florida, around 70 students walked out against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

https://twitter.com/TBSFlorida/status/1510960247569104900?s=20&t=HkwwEdOPactFdAQLFgT4pw

On March 31st, 100 students in Waterloo, Iowa walked out in protest of a bill barring trans students from playing sports. More than 100 students walked out of class in Missouri in protest of anti-LGBTQ+ bills being proposed for the state. In DC, students organized a walkout. In Dallas Fort-Worth, about 200 faculty, students, and community activists gathered at the University of Texas to protest the decision to close the state’s only transgender youth health care program. At Park City High School, students and staff walked out of class to protest anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Utah and elsewhere…” Meanwhile in Minnesota, “Risking disciplinary action and braving near-freezing temperatures, over 20 Mankato West High School students walked out.”

On April 1st, students in George “rallied in front of the school against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.” In Montana, “about 50 students walked out of class…as part of protests nationwide.” Students in Dayton, Ohio also walked out and held a rally.

https://twitter.com/LindsayOnAir/status/1511835088232726529?s=20&t=ZshkTPxCJfmCmiHTMVm1xw

On April 2nd, anarchists students at Cypress Bay High School put up antifascist stickers in response to a recent fascist attack against a walkout opposing the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

https://twitter.com/TBSFlorida/status/1510287684492795906?s=20&t=HkwwEdOPactFdAQLFgT4pw

On April 6th, over, 1,000 West High students in Utah walked out against a ban on trans athletes.

Solidarity actions in defense of the Atlanta forest continue. In a communique posted to Defend the Atlanta Forest: 

This month we sabotaged card slots of Wells Fargo and Bank Of America in Center City, Philadelphia. This attack was done in solidarity and complicity with those disrupting the construction of a police training grounds in Atlanta. Cops in Atlanta want to cut down a forest to build a mock city to practice squashing uprisings. In response, individuals are occupying, protesting, and sabotaging. People have started staying in the forest and fucking with the construction. The Atlanta Police Foundation is being funded by Wells Fargo and Bank Of America. We are excited to hear about construction workers being chased out and construction vehicles being messed up.

As proponents of self-directed revolt we decided to target the banks contributing to building the cop city. We hope that by communicating our action others feel encouraged or inspired to attack and disrupt the social order in their own context. While it would be preferable if the police project in Atlanta collapsed, for us destruction is an end in itself. We take pleasure in disrupting capital.

On Long Island, people blocked streets in opposition to the North Brooklyn Pipeline.

https://twitter.com/nonbkpipeline/status/1511318435350958083?s=20&t=ZshkTPxCJfmCmiHTMVm1xw

Starbucks workers continue to organize as more workers push for unionization in various states as corporate heads raise the alarm. Meanwhile, Amazon workers in New York had a historic win against a massive union-busting campaign, following a successful unionization vote at a warehouse in Staten Island, as corporate continues to try and crack down on unionization efforts.

https://twitter.com/TBSFlorida/status/1510383838089863175?s=20&t=HkwwEdOPactFdAQLFgT4pw

In West Palm Beach, Florida, anarchists marched in solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, protesting Wendy’s for their refusal to address concerns over wages, conditions, and sexual assault.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1510157635705716746?s=20&t=HkwwEdOPactFdAQLFgT4pw

Anti-racist and antifascists counter-protested a group of white nationalist Groypers speaking at a College Republican event at Fresno State in California. Community members also held a counter-protest in Keizer against a far-Right event which brought together Qanon supporters, COVID conspiracy theorists, and grifters like Eric Trump. The event was followed by a Groyper organized event celebrating “Anglo-American Identity,” which was disrupted and reportedly shut down by protesters. Also in San Marcos, anarchists dropped banners denouncing neo-fascist millionaire and Fox News conspiracy troll, Tucker Carlson, who spoke at a far-Right mega-church.

https://twitter.com/TBSFlorida/status/1508185081940221954?s=20&t=HkwwEdOPactFdAQLFgT4pw

Finally, there’s an ongoing call-in campaign in support of anarchist prisoner Eric King – please make calls and send emails. In Orlando, a banner was also dropped in solidarity with King.

If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis and have the means, please sign up to support us monthly! Help autonomous revolutionary media grow into 2021!

photo: @DivestMcGill

Welcome, to This Is America, March 25th, 2022.

On today’s episode, first we speak with someone involved in a recent occupation at a university in so-called Montreal. We then present an interview with several folks in Merced, California who are supporting an ongoing hunger-strike in local jails.

https://twitter.com/DivestMcGill/status/1507185642626850821?s=20&t=m9YdisrPIuLLNEenpxBQNg

We then turn towards our discussion,were we look at what is driving high gas prices and how its connected to war profiteering and the ongoing Russian invasion of the Ukraine.

All this, but first, let’s get to the news.

https://twitter.com/NYCAmazonians/status/1504109539406270467?s=20&t=bngVIhkjhBboDbSN2lYZXg

Amazon workers at different facilities and across two different states organized a walkout to demand a $3 raise.

Resistance to anti-LGBTQ bills and attacks on trans and queer people continued across the US. Last week in Rhode Island, students across various high schools walked out against proposed pieces of legislation. This week in Idaho, students rallied against anti-LGBTQ bills at the state capitol. In Iowa, “About 100 students from [two] high schools marched out of the school and [marched to a rally in a] park.”

https://twitter.com/RedoubtAFA/status/1505214768658874368?s=20&t=L_82fvzlwqI5NCd2ng1L4Q

https://twitter.com/TBSFlorida/status/1503743283448750087?s=20&t=bngVIhkjhBboDbSN2lYZXg

At the University of North Texas, over 100 people mobilized against a group of self-described “Christian fascists” who were scheduled to hold an event featuring a speaker connected to the white nationalist “Groyper” movement. The speaker ended up being (ironically) cancelled and only about 30 people attended a meeting by the group on campus while a much larger crowd rallied and protested outside. The rally was only the latest in a string of ongoing actions against the presence of far-Right activists on campus linked to neo-Nazis and white nationalists.

https://twitter.com/NYCAntifa/status/1506828001148821510?s=20&t=bngVIhkjhBboDbSN2lYZXg

In other student news, at Edina High School in Minnesota, students walked out and marched against the surfacing of a racist video. Students in Seattle also walked out in protest of the state ending mask mandates. As the Seattle Times wrote:

The newly formed Seattle Student Union, a group of student activists that organized the rally, have been demanding stronger safety protocols since January, including district-issued high-quality masks. The group has been threatening a walkout since Gov. Jay Inslee announced plans to end mask requirements in schools, child care facilities, and most other businesses. “Every time we try to get hasty and toss our masks off, we have another spike and another thousand people die,” [one student stated].

Meanwhile in Minneapolis, in solidarity with teachers who have been on strike for two weeks, students occupied “the administration building for Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), calling for striking teachers’ demands to be met,” as Unicorn Riot reported. Students said ” they were occupying the admin building because they were “tired” of the district using the media to say “that the teachers are taking advantage of the students and using” them.”

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1506761619010899971?s=20&t=bngVIhkjhBboDbSN2lYZXg

Resistance against development of ‘Cop City’ continues in the Atlanta forest. A new communique posted to Scenes from the Atlanta Forest reads:

Last week, we sabotaged six Earth-raping machines——including two large excavators and a bulldozer——at a Reeves Young construction site in Flowery Branch, Georgia.

We do not need more training centers for the police to practice killing us. We do not need more Amazon warehouses for two-hour delivery of fleshlights and Quest bars. What we need is what we already have, what Reeves Young aims to ruin: spaces free from Empire; soil, roots and water, mutually healing; trees bending in the wind; a friend’s eyes shining in the light of the fire.

We will not rest, so neither will our enemies. In solidarity with all those locked in cages; in solidarity with all those combating Russian and Amerikkkan imperialism——let us strike without fear at everything which confines and assails us. May the flame that burns inside us burn everything around us.

https://twitter.com/AshAgony/status/1506784260933689344?s=20&t=bngVIhkjhBboDbSN2lYZXg

In the Bronx, people took to the streets against the police after 18 year old, Luis Monsanto, was shot in the head and hospitalized after law enforcement opened fire into a moving car.

https://twitter.com/mynameishef/status/1507055312179585052?s=20&t=m9YdisrPIuLLNEenpxBQNg

Finally in Los Angeles, protesters have been disrupting Mayoral debates in protest of the cities ongoing attacks on the houseless. As Sam Levin recently reported in The Guardian, a year after the violent mass eviction of Echo Park, the vast majority of those displaced still remain on the street, despite promises from politicians. On a positive note, a group called the Crosswalk Collective is installing DIY crosswalks to make the streets safer for pedestrians and bicycles. On the group’s Twitter they stated, “The city doesn’t keep us safe, so we keep us safe. Until City Council acts, we paint crosswalks.” Their Twitter account also includes a link to request a crosswalk.

https://twitter.com/CrosswalksLA/status/1506765525224894467?s=20&t=bngVIhkjhBboDbSN2lYZXg

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCcknsOCY60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM7Jxb_n4xM