From TC Radical Calendar
Sunday, August 28th
Walker Church
3104 16th Ave S
3:00 PM
A discussion-based event exploring the relevance of anarchism in today’s protest movements.
Childcare provided. (Registration not required, but if you know you’ll want childcare ahead of time, please email tcantirepression@riseup.net so organizers can get a kidcount).
Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota
Full solidarity to the militants in Milwaukee fighting back against a genocidal social order. Minneapolis shares many of the same inequities that are present in Milwaukee and many other cities in the Midwest. The rebellion in Milwaukee does not happen in a vacuum it takes place within the context of an ongoing struggle against white supremacy, capitalism, and colonialism that has been raging since 1492. Do not expect an end to this kind of unrest.
P.S. It’s worth noting a pro-cop event is being held on 8/20 at the Sabo Bridge in South Minneapolis. It would be a crying shame if there were some welcoming messages left for them along the way.
Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota
Minneapolis Convention Center at 5pm
Donald Trump thinks he will be having a fundraising event in Minneapolis on Friday, Aug. 19th. (The time and location are unknown at this time.) We think Trump and his supporters should get a rude awakening when they rear their fascist heads in Minnesota.
We are calling everyone who wants to stop the rise of fascism to come out and show Trump and his supporters that their racist, patriarchal, and all-around oppressive-as-fuck agenda will meet resistance and disruption wherever they go. We would like to invite people to engage in creative actions to show Trump that his politics and agenda will not find fertile ground in our communities.
Over the last number of months, the radical right has become emboldened by the rise of Trump and the success of his bid for the Republican nomination. As the Republican Party has moved even farther right with Trump and as the mainstream political discourse has shifted with it, the far right has become more public, vocal, and violent. Small racist gatherings around the country have been met with dozens or hundreds of counterprotesters, and some of those counterprotesters have been violently attacked–including being stabbed with a flagpole in Anaheim and with a knife in Sacramento.
Here at home, a white supremacist shot 5 people outside of the Fourth Precinct in North Minneapolis near the encampment set up to demand justice for Jamar Clark.
The violent fascism of the far right has hit close to home, and now they’re making yet another attempt to gain ground in our home. Join us on the 19th to show them that they have no ground to stand on here or anywhere!
We want to stress a few fundamental points about safety when engaging in struggle.
1) Due to the radical right’s willingness to shed blood, we urge everyone to have a buddy or crew at the protest to help keep each other safe.
2) We respect a diversity of tactics and an awareness of how everyone’s actions/inactions affect others in the streets.
3) We reject any public denunciations of other groups or individuals, as sowing distrust only serves to strengthen our enemies and does the work of the State.
Many people will come out to reject Trump and everything he stands for, and we will not all agree on our political analyses, preferences for tactics, etc. Yet we call on everyone to come out and focus their rage on the enemy at hand: Trump and his kind.
Love and rage,
some anarchists in Mpls
From TC Radical Calendar
Stand in solidarity with Louis at his court appearance on Tuesday, August 9th at 1:15pm. 425 Grove St. in St. Paul.
Louis Hunter is one of the protesters arrested as part of a Black Lives Matter protest after the police killing of Philando Castile. Police arrested and/or ticketed 102 protesters for participating in the action. Some are facing simple misdemeanor charges, others gross misdemeanor 3rd degree riot and facing up to a year in prison. Louis, however, is facing two felony counts of 2nd degree riot while armed with a dangerous weapon. He is facing up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. These are incredibly trumped-up charges.
Louis is the second cousin of Philando. His family is grieving and has been through too much already. Now, in addition to supporting his family in this difficult time, Louis is preparing to defend himself in court.
From Contra Info
Just as rush hour began on the 25th of July, a banner was dropped over a highway in Minneapolis, MN that was painted with the words “LOVE ANTIFA HATE COPS”.
This action was taken in solidarity with the 2nd annual international day of solidarity with antifascist prisoners.
As the Republican National Convention concludes in Cleveland, the anti-fascist task has never seemed so dire. While so many across the United States search desperately for an electoral solution to present itself, it is clear that one can’t vote against fascism, it must be fought and defeated.
Neither fascism nor democracy.
(///)
From Nightfall
Author’s Note: The following, originally published in the first issue of NIGHTFALL, is put in a new light given certain recent events. The murders of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge by gunmen who were motivated by the high profile killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile has cops everywhere terrified that they might be next. Numerous police departments—including Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Anthony and Maplewood locally—have announced that cops will patrol in pairs rather than alone for the foreseeable future. Rather than engaging in tired moral debates on the justifications or lack thereof to kill cops, we should turn our attention to the fact that the police have had their coverage of the city cut down significantly. Do the math: if every officer who previously patrolled alone now has to travel with a partner, there are now half as many. It is now less likely to encounter officers on patrol, and more likely to have longer response times when crimes are reported. This means less harassment, less brutality, and more breathing room. It’s not clear how long these orders will remain in effect, let’s make the best of it!
A news story made the rounds this spring about rumors of a slowdown in the Minneapolis Police Department’s 4th precinct. The story alleged that during the month of April there had been a 51% drop in stops in the precinct, a 45% drop in arrests, and a 32% drop in stop and frisks. We are told that the slowdown is because officers are reluctant to do their jobs if they will be chastised for it, supposedly related to some bad publicity MPD received after officers pulled over a Target executive. However, it is obvious to anyone that the heightened hostility between MPD and the local population sparked by the shooting of Jamar Clark is at least partly responsible.
Some community groups have spoken out against the officers’ unwillingness to “protect and serve.” We will join no such chorus. In fact, we would like to encourage MPD to do their jobs less, or not at all. We consider this slowdown to be a regrettably missed opportunity—just imagine how much more we could have gotten away with while the police took the scenic route to answer 911 calls! Squatters could have cracked a new home while MPD ignored a report of potential trespassing. A suspicious person or two walking down the street would be saved the frisk while out writing anti-police slogans that demoralized the officers even more, extending the slowdown. Unfortunately, not everyone missed the opportunity to capitalize on the strike; shootings have proliferated in the area so far this year. It’s important to emphasize that this occurs not because of the police’s absence, but due to the conditions imposed on these communities (often via police).
In any case, the residents of north Minneapolis were subjected to a few less interactions with the pigs this year. This slowdown simply directs our attention to the importance of conceiving of police not as a mythical entity but instead as a group of individuals who are tasked with controlling populations. We don’t say that to inspire empathy—the opposite, in fact—but to point out that as humans their control is not infinite. They utilize cameras, cars, and snitches to expand their reach but it is still far from total. Minimizing their capacity to function is in our best interest, not as a goal in and of itself but rather as a means to facilitate the transformation of life and the creation of new worlds.
From Contra Info
In response to the call for a day of solidarity with the Sacramento anti-fascists, and the call for solidarity with anti-fascist prisoners in Russia, some graffiti was painted in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.
This solidarity however does not exist separately from the current reality of struggle. The connections between a dozen neo-nazis being militantly run out of the California state capital and groups of black youth ferociously confronting the brutal St. Paul police department as happened on July 9th should be as clear as day.
All forms of domination must be attacked and destroyed.
Death to white supremacy
Death to the state
For a Black July
For Anarchy
Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota
On Sunday night a small gathering of anarchists and other supporters of the anti-police movement in the Twin Cities gathered outside the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center. After a short speech was given to the independent media journalist collective Unicorn Riot was given explaining the reasons for the noise demo, fireworks were lit and chanting began.
“Our passion for freedom is stronger than your prisons!”
“No justice, no peace! Fuck the police!”
“No nations, no borders, fuck law and order!”
Following reports from comrades who were incarcerated inside the Ramsey County ADC, it was discovered that the entire jail had been put on lockdown but cheers of support were spreading from cell to cell during the noise demo. COs attempting to clamp down and punish our comrades behind bars failed, as the show of solidarity from the outside inspired our friends inside.
It was also discovered that a full riot squad had been assembled in a courtyard near the jail. One comrade was briefly detained by police and issued a citation for the fireworks, showing the laughably petty levels the State will go to in order to discourage dissent. A small fine for a fireworks display is well worth showing support and solidarity to arrested comrades!
W/ no jail support avail, Anarchists show support to protesters jailed from #I94ShutDown #NoiseDemo #PhilandoCastile pic.twitter.com/rVmKATTym9
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) July 11, 2016
While this noise demo was specifically to show solidarity for those arrested and charged with misdemeanor riot for shutting down I-94 after the unjust killing of Philando Castile, it follows a time honored tradition of showing support for incarcerated comrades.
We stand with all prisoners in resistance to the state! We stand with migrants in resistance to the arbitrary separation of our species from each other by meaningless border walls!
We stand with our anti-fascist comrades who stood up to the Traditionalist Worker Party and Golden State Skinheads in Sacramento!
We stand with the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee and the nationwide prisoner strike planned for September 9th!
We stand with all of our comrades in arms in the struggle against white supremacy, police violence, patriarchy, fascism, and the State!
TOWARDS A WORLD WITHOUT POLICE, TOWARDS THE DESTRUCTION OF EVERY PRISON WALL!
BURN DOWN THE AMERICAN PLANTATION!
Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota
We hope you understand the circumstances of our delay. After weeks of flag hunting we wanted nothing more than to joyfully ignite these symbols of oppression. After last week’s thunderstorm had cleared, more important tasks presented themselves to us as another black person was shot and killed in the Twin Cities by the lap dogs of the social order.
This Fourth of July season, several Minnesota residents celebrated without their flag, and it is possible that those flags made their way to our torch. We also set fire to a Trump lawn sign which is something rare in the metropolitan area. We appreciate the hard work of anti-racists everywhere who have made the public support of Donald Trump a risky endeavor. However we found one person who hadn’t yet gotten the memo.
Alongside this we burnt a Bernie Sanders sign as well—signalling our complete opposition to the democratic system. Politics is the separation of our beliefs from our actions, therefore we reject politics. Sanders has gotten huge numbers involved in an electoral process who had until now correctly understood voting as a waste of time. Our fight can and will take many forms of diverse resistance, but elections will never be one of them.
Lastly, we burnt a fascist poster that had been torn down last week in Minneapolis. Despite their updated aesthetics, the “Alternative Right” is anything but an alternative, and we will make their development in the Twin Cities as difficult as possible. This task appears easy at the moment, given that only a single poster was put up in the city. And it burned quite colorfully thanks to the ink!
Anti-authoritarian greetings to all those who continue to act against oppression everywhere.
Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota
Over fifty people are still being held in Ramsey Adult Detention Center after hundreds took over the freeway and confronted police for hours the night of the 9th. Make some noise at the jail until every last comrade is free!
Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota
Despite a coordinated campaign of pacification deployed by activists, non-profit organizations, and the police (separately but also collaboratively), on the morning of July 8th, determined rebels took to the streets to fight back. Since the evening of Philando Castile’s highly publicized murder by the cops, protests have been ongoing, first at the scene of the shooting in Falcon Heights before quickly moving to the governor’s mansion in St Paul. Many of those responsible for quelling the unrest around the shooting of Jamar Clark were able to enforce their control over the demonstrations within the first hours, but it didn’t last long. The following is excerpted from Unicorn Riot:
LIVE: Group rolls into protests in front of Govs Mansion. #PhilandoCastile https://t.co/3hddgOuN2p pic.twitter.com/RImE5wNHoY
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) July 8, 2016
As night fell, the crowd thinned out. Around 1 a.m. some more community members arrived saying they didn’t want any press.
This group of 15-25 community members and friends of Philando, mostly masked-up, were fed-up with the pacification of anger by the ‘activists and organizers’. They confronted police in their cars on Oxford and Summit Avenues, prompting the police to drive away. To view this, watch here (around the 33:15 – 36:20 mark).
The attention then was focused on an empty police car that suffered some lashes of anger from the community. The vandalized car gave reason for a line of riot cops to approach the protesters. The police pointed their crowd control weapons at the protesters which backed the crowd up enough to get their car out and then they retreated.
Confrontations continued as the crowd moved to the upscale Grand Ave. saying “let’s go fuck Grand up…fuck these rich people!” Almost immediately police were shining lights as a few rocks were thrown and a window of a jewelry store was broken.
Ppl exercised some fury tonight [tiny bit] in #StPaul – #PhilandoCastile pic.twitter.com/a35osYPt4T
— EMPⒶTHY (@MrNikoG) July 8, 2016
These actions caused the St. Paul police to unload the riot squad again and start firing rubber bullets into the crowd, as well as using chemical spray.
A standoff ensued for over an hour. The community chanted, linked arms, sang, and tossed a few water bottles, apples, and insults at the police. The police reacted with brandishing an array of firepower, shooting what sounded to be rubber bullets, threats of “riot munitions to clear the block”, shining flashlights, and making one arrest.
The arrest-tee was the same person who was sprayed with chemical irritant. He also had a mask on most of the night and was walking with a camera. The explanation for his arrest by St. Paul officer Joshua Lego was that he was ‘sprayed with chemical irritants, we all saw it, and he was arrested’. Video of arrest is in tweet below:
Riot Squad just performed a Snatch & Grab ~ Night 2 #PhilandoCastile protests https://t.co/zcDC9t5ZR5 pic.twitter.com/pW4CnlfoTi
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) July 8, 2016
From IWOC
Salutations to my fellow soldiers of our rights,
I would like to share some vital information that may be pertinent to anyone who is interested in fighting for the working/lower class of America. This is a clear example of unity. It is proof that if we all come together we can be a force to be reckoned with.
As I sit on lockdown in Stillwater after the events that took place on March 11th, 2016 in the chow-hall, I feel a real feeling of contentment. A-west stood up for the rights of our community, the small rights we have left that is. They have taken so much from us in the past, things that I have never had the privilege to experience, but loved ones who have been incarcerated for years have explained. At a time there used to be so many things that have been snatched away from our community, such as quality food, the 4th of July picnic, freedom to watch adult rated movies and magazines, and a curfew set by 9:25pm. I would like to touch on each of these topics.
There was a time that we use to have a small refrigerator in our cell, we had the option to order fresh meat from an outside vendor, yes real cuts of meat, and then we could go out to the yard and grill the meat with our friends giving the population a small sense of normality. The fact of the matter is we were able to put essential nutrients in our bodies because the food here is horrible quality. I have worked inside of the kitchen and some of the product clearly states “not for human consumption.” So are we not human? The diet is based on a low protein and high carbs; it also lacks vitamins and minerals that the body needs. We get aspartame full “GoodSource” drink mix to substitute for the lack of vitamins in our diet.
I know what some of you are thinking…These thoughts that some of you may be having are the sole purpose of this message. So, if you have any thoughts that slightly resemble these, “you are a criminal” to “if you don’t do the time, don’t do the crime,” I am inclined to say shame on you. I will be explaining the real pain of incarceration soon enough.
Okay, so now I want to touch on this, there once was a time that administration allowed a Fourth of July picnic to occur on the yard. A time that a man could enjoy the company of his family on our nation’s Independence Day. This man could watch the fireworks with his loves ones off in the distance; he could eat a small meal with them and enjoy the moment for a couple of hours. I was told it gave the men an incentive to stay out of trouble because only those who met the criteria could attend the festivities.
I have a personal story I would like to share before I move on. My son is seven years old and he was getting ready to come visit me. Well he was with my mother, eating his breakfast before he came. Well my mother caught him trying to sneak his pop tarts into his pockets, so she asks “What are you doing?” and my son replied, “I am sneaking my Daddy some food in because I just want to eat with my Dad.” At seven he had the urge to just sit down and share a small snack with his father. I want to explain to you all, that hurt me very badly. The reason I shared that is to say this, once a year you use to be able to eat with your child. And if you did not have any children, you could share the moment with your woman, or family members. If it was a lucky lady, think of the confidence that some men would have. That feeling alone is immense. Yes, a man could enjoy that moment with a woman. Think of what that would do for a young man’s mental state that just got sentenced to life. Remember when I stated the true pain of being locked up? Well the pain is being forced away from your loved ones, watching your children grow up through pictures and in the visiting room, not being able to physically touch your woman and losing loved ones while incarcerated. That’s the true pain of incarceration so why do they want to make our lives ever worse?
It is true that this prison is populated with all different types of people with all different types of crimes. The one thing we all have in common is this; we are in an adult facility. But for some strange reason, we are not allowed adult magazines or movies or programming, but we can get a life sentence. I know that this is an uncomfortable topic, but it is the truth. It is a fact that having an orgasm releases testosterone and regulates the natural hormone balance in a man’s body.
Now I would like to jump to the events that caused the lockdown that I am sitting on as I write this. On March 10th, 2016, they changed the seating arrangements in the chow hall that have been implemented for 50 years or so. They took out the four main tables and put in six main tables in a row like the movie Harry Potter leaving very little room to eat. To top it all off they would like to integrate all the groups, races, gangs. They are forcing a cultural melting pot. I want to state that this prison is not completely race segregated but it is prison, and there is some segregation amongst the population. But for the most part everyone gets along. Through evolution we have learned to co-exist with each other, so we know the limits and take each other in moderation. Now they are forcing people to deal with other people that may have major differences, and options to interact with other another. We as convicts can clearly see this is problematic. So how can they not see that?
So, on March 11th a beautiful thing happened. The whole unit of A-West stood up in the chow-hall and went to the old sections in an act of peaceful protest. We let the administration know that we will stand up for our rights. It was a standoff for about a half an hour. The tension was high and you could see the fear on the CO’s faces. Then we all left together and locked in. The message was clear. So they locked us in for 11 days, and when we came out, they adjusted the seating arrangements. Not completely back to normal but, they did make it a little more comfortable for us that are forced to live here.
– Stillwater prisoner, participant in March 11th sit-down
Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota
On June 26th, anarchists and anti-fascists wearing balaclavas, communists carrying banners, liberals wearing Bernie Sanders shirts, and even a few autonomously self-organized and unaffiliated folks came together to successfully shut down the Traditionalist Worker Party and Golden State Skinheads attempted rally on the capitol steps of the California statehouse in Sacramento. In the melee, 7 brave comrades sustained injuries from stabbings on the part of the scumbag Nazis and racist skinheads. However, despite a few of our own sustaining these injuries the day was still a victory for those who desire to see such disgusting, hateful organizations like TWP and GSS shut down and completely crushed. The fascists failed to recruit anyone, their rally was never able to even start, and if the video footage that has been seen is any indication they were completely routed from the capitol very swiftly. In solidarity, anti-fascists in Minneapolis have hung a banner for our comrades in Sacramento who took the fight directly to the enemy. It reads
Solidarity with Sacramento Antifa, Bash the Fash!
We have experienced white supremacist terror here in our own backyard with the shooting at the 4th Precinct occupation by the very same sort of alt-right white supremacists that the Traditionalist Youth Network attempts to recruit. We know well enough that in order to stop the spread of these hateful organizations is to silence them with utmost force by directly and physically confronting them. It is thanks to forebears here in Minneapolis who founded Anti-Racist Action that organized white supremacists tend to avoid the Twin Cities metro area, and we intend to keep it that way by any means necessary. Fascists and racists are still not welcome here, and as we’ve seen they’re certainly not welcome in Sacramento either!
Solidarity with all who resist!
Death to fascism!
Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota
Wednesday, July 6th
Minnehaha Free Space
3747 Minnehaha Ave S
7:00 PM
“Welcome to Leith” is an award-winning documentary on the
attempted takeover of a small North Dakota town by notorious neo-nazis and white supremacists.
Update: On June 26th, anti-fascists converged on Sacramento to shut down a planned rally by neo-fascist Traditionalist Workers Party at the State Capital. Several hundred anti-fasicsts chased out the handful of nazis that showed up, but not without intense clashes. In the fighting several were stabbed, including some antifa comrades. Join us to raise money to support the injured!
Anti-fascists in California are preparing to shut down a neo-nazi rally in the state capital of Sacramento on June 26th. This rally is being called for by the Traditionalist Workers Party, the National Socialist Movement, the KKK and more. More information on this mobilization can be found here.
Donate to the support fund here.
