Submission
Passed this OCF construction site at wharton and 20th with the windows busted
Windows Busted at OCF Construction Site
Solidarity w Anaheim Rebels
from Instagram
Solidarity w Anaheim Rebels spotted downtown. #ftp #anaheimrebels #philly
Resistance, Repression, and Media Lies in Philadelphia: Reportback from the Black Resistance March, 2/17/17
from Crimethinc
Donald Trump has taken to his soapbox to carp about “fake news,” as if the corporate news media were a subversive force. On the contrary, while biased or outright dishonest reporting is the rule rather than the exception, it almost always serves those in power. The interests of the corporate news media cannot be disentangled from the advertisers who fund them and the authorities they count on for scoops. In this eyewitness report from a demonstration in Philadelphia last Friday, participants relate how police attacked them with batons and pepper spray, then persuaded local media to report that it was the demonstrators who pepper-sprayed them.
Last night in North Philadelphia, four people were arrested and many were injured by batons and mace during a march organized by a local militant Black Lives Matter group, Philly Coalition for REAL Justice. The flier described it as a “Black Resistance March.” The online description expanded on this:
“All are welcome as long as they make space for black people at the front of the march. The issues contained in the assaults on LGBT folks, on Muslims and refugees, occupation and militarization abroad are intersectional. Today we center our black women, our black immigrants, black LGBTQ family, and our black Muslims. Dress warm and be vigilant.”
The march kicked off with a line of Bodyhammer-style shields made from large city traffic cones. Each one had a letter painted on it so that together they read “U-N-G-O-V-E-R-N-A-B-L-E.” Even the protest chants had an air of militancy. “Bullets Trump Hate” resonated throughout the streets as the march headed north on Broad Street. One person with a megaphone paid homage to the words that became a rallying cry after police officers murdered Eric Garner. “They say ‘hands up, don’t shoot,’ but we have another one for you… ‘guns up, shoot back.’”
The march made its way north towards the Temple campus. We stopped at the bustling intersection of Broad and Girard, a main artery for traffic and public transit. The crowd blocked the streets and burned American flags while people of color talked about police repression and terrorism through a megaphone. “This is not my flag. It has never been my flag. We’re burning this flag for Emmit Till. Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Freddie Gray. This is for Brandon Tate Brown.” There was more talk about the current racist stop-and-frisk policy, and, of course, the MOVE bombing of May 13, 1985. The list went on while the fire grew.
After it began to burn out, the march started to move again. The group wasn’t half as large as some anti-Trump demonstrations that brought out thousands only a few weeks ago. In a fashion typical of Philadelphia Police, the march was followed by dozens of squad cars and at least two police helicopters, and surrounded on either side by bike cops who seemed to outnumber participants by at least two to one. The strategy for policing mass mobilizations in Philadelphia is heavily influenced by former Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey; usually, the police avoid making arrests, while oversaturating the area with officers. This approach is informed by the “Vancouver Model” as outlined in the police manual Managing Major Events: Best Practices from the Field by the Police Executive Research Forum.
As soon as we neared Temple University, the march became confrontational. Those with megaphones tried to rush into the campus dining hall. Uniformed officers tripped over each other as they hurried to block the entrance and exits, using their bikes to shove people who stood in their way. They formed a line in front of the doors with their bikes as blockades.
Someone noticed a Bank of America across the street and everyone rushed in that direction. Only one officer stood guard before all the shielded protestors formed their own line at the entrance. Bike cops rushed over, clumsily tripping over each other again as they scrambled to catch up with the crowd. A scuffle broke out. Someone threw black paint over the bank window and perhaps an officer or two. Cops extended their batons. Shielded protesters stood their ground and moved forward, chanting “Kill the Rich.” Police pepper-sprayed a large portion of the crowd, then began swinging their batons and hitting many people. Four arrests took place. There was an unsuccessful attempt to de-arrest someone. I saw at least one person bleeding from the head after being hit by police. Street medics took care to help flush the pepper spray out of the eyes of those struck.
All the local news media outlets that covered this event reported that protestors pepper-sprayed the police and that police were hospitalized with injuries. No one I spoke with has witnessed anything other than the police pepper-spraying protestors. One person’s account is as follows: “Here’s what happened. We wanted to get inside Bank of America. A bunch of cops started beating people up with bikes and batons because they care more about capitalist institutions than people. One of them started spraying us with pepper spray. I got it in my eyes. The cops started shouting to their own guy, “Who’s spraying? Stop spraying!” Now, in order to cover up their incompetence, the press is implying that we were the ones who injured them.”
Six more people were arrested outside the precinct the next day while doing jail support. It took over 24 hours before everyone was released. The Up Against the Law Legal Collective worked nonstop to find out where everyone was being held and when they would be eligible for bail, while the local Food Not Bombs chapter fed the gathering crowd of people expressing support outside the jail. The charges being filed against the arrestees are outlandish, but we plan to fight the system with solidarity.
The courts and the police want us to feel scared and isolated. As long as we have each other’s backs in the mounting resistance to come, we can win. And we will win.
Valentine’s Day Graffiti on Baltimore Ave
from Instagram
Make Anarchy Romantic Again
Anathema Volume 3 Issue 1
From Anathema
Volume 3 Issue 1 (PDF for printing 11 x 17)
Volume 3 Issue 1 (PDF for reading 8.5 x 11)
In this issue:
- Resistance Escalates in Philly
- Just as Bad
- Generalizable Strike
- The Women’s March
- Police Harass Antifa
- Against the Couple Form
- Assault Loneliness
- Witches VS Fascists
- Philly J20 Reportback
- Sports
- Local Actions and more
Philly J20 Solidarity Financial Support Fund
Donate Here
Please donate to Philadelphia area residents who were wrongfully arrested during the January 20th inauguration protests in Washington DC. All funds raised will help pay for defendants’ legal fees, transit and housing costs.
This fund is being used to support people from the Philadelphia region who were wrongfully mass arrested during demonstrations in Washington DC on the day of Trump’s inauguration. On that day, Metro DC police attacked and cornered a large crowd of protestors with brutal, excessive force. Prolonged detainment and mistreatment over the course of 36 hours culminated in an evidence-less blanket felony charge on each of the 230 innocent demonstrators. These antagonistic actions by the state signal a dangerous intent to intimidate and discourage future protest from taking place. All charges should be immediately dropped, and the repression should end now.
Astronomical court and lawyer costs, as well as travel and housing expenses place substantial financial hardships on protestors dealing with baseless felony charges. Backing this fund not only supports those who were unjustly arrested, each donation is also an act of solidarity for those directly under threat from the police simply for their political affiliation and public expression of resistance. These cases will likely set a precedent for the way the Trump administration will handle protest throughout his four year term.
Your donation will directly assist those arrested by allowing defendants to alleviate the financial burdens imposed on them from court, lawyer, travel, and housing costs.
“Voting Failed” Graffiti
from Instagram
Lol this wall stay up #votingfailedprepforriots
Micetrap Radio Shut Down
from Philly Antifa
“We recently preformed an attack on the ShoutCast hosting service that was providing the 24/7 radio stream on micetraps website. The stream was constantly playing the record labels racist music. We contacted shoutcaststreaming.us after we knocked them offline for a long time and told them to remove the micetrap radio from their systems. As of today the radio station is now offline.
…
Just wanted to let you know, the fight is on going, and you are not alone in wanting to take micetrap down.
We are anonymous
We are legion
We do not forget
We do not forgive
Expect Us!” [sic]
Looks like Micetrap Radio is down, which is run by Steven Wiegand.
Bright spots on rainy days
from Instagram
Bright spots on rainy days. #makeamericanothingagain
Benefit-Event: Voices From Standing Rock!
from Facebook
VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINES OF STANDING ROCK,
Mothers Against METH Alliance & Red Warrior Society
DATE: Feb. 12, 2017
DOORS OPEN: 6PM
LOCATION: First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
____________________
DESCRIPTION:
We are pleased to announce that the Mothers Against METH Alliance & Red Warrior Society are traveling through Philadelphia (occupied Lenape territory) to share stories of resistance and report backs from the frontlines of Standing Rock and the fight against the Black Snake Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
Suggested donation $5-20. Funds will go to support M.A.M.A. & Red Warrior Society’s work and their tour “Ride For Resistance”. (No one will be turned away from lack of funds.)
IF YOU CAN NOT MAKE IT TO THE EVENT BUT WOULD LIKE TO DONATE to support their work and tour you can send donations via PAYPAL TO: julzzzzrich@gmail.com
____________________
GENERAL PROGRAM:
PRESENTATION FROM M.A.M.A. AND RED WARRIOR SOCIETY
Julz Rich (Lakota Tribe), founder of Mothers Against METH Alliance (M.A.M.A.) and member Red Warrior Society
Victor Puertas (Yagua Nation), member of the Red Warrior Society.
INTRODUCTION / Q&A FACILITATOR
Liz Ellis (Peoria Tribe), historian and member of Philly with Standing Rock / Philly NoDAPL
____________________
ABOUT:
—
Mothers Against METH Alliance (M.A.M.A.) out of the Pine Ridge Reservation in so called South Dakota has been fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline from the very beginning alongside with the RED WARRIOR SOCIETY. They are strongly building resistance to colonization in the many forms in which it manifests––in the Black Snake pipelines and addiction in both bodies and minds–wherever resource extraction is imposed onto their land and their people. They see the ways that colonization has attacked them, but as they state: “Our Warriors Are Strong, OUR ARROWS ARE SHARP.” —
—
Julz Rich — is the founder of Mothers Against METH Alliance (M.A.M.A.) out of Pine Ridge. She is a Lakota Grandmother who works to rid the presence of meth on the reservation. She also founded the MAMA camp at Standing Rock to provide shelter and safety for mothers and children at the camp. She and her loving family are fierce land-defenders who have resisted the first proposed tar sands mine in the (so called) U.S., on Ute territory/Utah. She organizes educational prevention workshops in schools and the community, exposes dealers and meth houses, and all night patrols to give youth safe rides home at night.
—
Victor Puertas — is a member of the Yagua nation in so called Peru. He is a fierce land and water protector who has been active in direct action mobilization against tar sands mining in Ute territory/Utah and has provided sustained solidarity to Lakota, Diné and other indigenous, anti-colonial and anti-border imperialist struggles.
Statement: Philly Police Harass Philly Antifa and Wooden Shoe Books
from Up Against The Law
Bundle Up With Solidarity and Resist The Chill
A Statement From Up Against The Law Legal Collective
On Saturday January 28th Philly Antifa held an event at Wooden Shoe Books featuring anti-fascist researcher Matt Lyons of the blog threewayfight. Some people arriving at the event noticed an unusually large police presence outside and across the street, others noticed a car parked out front that contained plain clothes officers from Civil Affairs, Philly’s protest police. Text messages bounced around to different people expressing concern. Were the cops going to try and come in and mess with people? Were they targeting Philly Antifa? What exactly was happening? Why were the Philadelphia Police staked out in front of public speaking event at a bookstore?
After the event some disturbing details were relayed by Wooden Shoe staffers to Philly Antifa organizers. Plain clothes officers from Civil Affairs had visited the Wooden Shoe the day before to voice concern about the Philly Antifa event. They alleged that Philly Anitfa may have been involved in a protest at which vandalism occurred, misidentified Philly Antifa as a fascist group themselves and speculated that right wing violence might occur at the event. They asked the staffers at the Wooden Shoe if they would consider canceling the event.
That the PPD thinks its acceptable to try to get anti-fascist public speaking event cancelled should be of concern to everybody in this city.
That the PPD thinks its acceptable to try to get anti-fascist public speaking event cancelled should be of concern to everybody in this city. For their officers to think they can enter a bookstore and suggest, imply or request that a speaking event should be cancelled is reprehensible.
What should be equally concerning is the ‘divide and conquer’ technique at play. We saw this tactic at play at Occupy Philadelphia in 2011 when the Civil Affairs warned Occupiers new to political movements to ‘watch out of the anarchists and black hate groups like Uhuru’. We saw it at play back in 2000 when civil affairs warned anti-stadium organizers in Chinatown that they had to watch out for the anarchists without knowing that the organizers trusted those same West Philly anarchists and that they were involved in providing security and marshaling for their march the next day. We’ve seen Civil Affairs deploy this tactic time and time again. The PPD has a history of trying to wedge movements and to cultivate suspicion among organizers and groups who may not know each other well or who they suspect may have some initial distrust toward each other.
We can resist by dragging this tactic into the light and letting other people know about it especially those new to organizing. When we let people know in advance that the PPD might spread misinformation about other groups it prepares them psychologically to resist this tactic and to dialogue with each other when the PPD attempts to play the divide and conquer game. It should go without saying that you should exercise your right to remain silent and refuse to answer the cops questions about others in the movements. However, If the cops approach you to speak about an organizer or organization you should absolutely contact that organizer or organization right away to talk about what happened and let them know the cops were asking about them and/or making claims about them. Exercise your right to dialogue with others in the movements and build with them.
That this is a seemingly clumsy use of this tactic should be no less concerning. It’s probable that the Civil Affairs knew their intervention would be rebuffed but knew that through speaking to Wooden Shoe staffers their primary message would be relayed to rebellious movements: we are watching you. This was especially clear the next day with the large police presence outside and around South Street. Cultivating paranoia is an important weapon in the cops arsenal.
While the Matt Lyons event was standing room only the police harassment and presence outside had a chilling effect. Some people received texts from friends warning people to stay away from the Wooden Shoe. In the future we would recommend the opposite. If you hear that a group is being harassed by police go down to stand by them and support them if it as at all possible for you to do so.
In 2014 we wrote this in response about police surveillance and harassment of Black Lives Matter activists at their homes and on their campuses:
“We would argue that surveillance’s primary function is for its targets to know they are being watched. It is used to instill fear; to get people feeling as if they are always being watched, monitored and scrutinized and that, implicitly, the police, like any other predator, might pounce on those they are watching. It is a powerful psychological weapon and one reason is that it’s viral. Once one person gets visited or gets a phone call or is followed home, other organizers are looking over their shoulder. Its goal is to make people feel isolated and targeted….
…Our response should be to resist this psychological war with our solidarity. The movement in Philadelphia will never let individuals be targeted and face the authorities alone. To borrow a phrase: our solidarity is our weapon. We should talk openly more about how we will support each other than how the cops may or may not be watching us or ways to evade their gaze.
They will be watching. But so will we. We, as a movement, will be watching to see if they try to start any shit with anybody and we will have each others’ backs. We, in the big picture are a powerful network that can mobilize people on the streets, support people in the courts and move ‘unlikely allies’ to our side. We, as a movement, will never let people face the authorities alone.
Our best defense is to build meaningful relationships with each other across organizations and sectors of the movement. Trust, clear lines of communication and relationship building are the inoculation to the viral fear and intimidation that surveillance tries to instill.”
This statement is more important than ever. Now is the time to have each others backs, build meaningful relationships across the movements and resist paranoia with public solidarity. Now is the time to draw a hard line and let the authorities know exactly what we will not tolerate and what we will not allow them to do to others in the movements. As the old anti-fascist slogan goes ‘No Pasaran’. They shall not pass. We will not let them harass or menace anybody in the movement unchallenged. We will be there for each other.
See Also:
Philly Antifa’s Statement: https://phillyantifa.org/repression-on-south/
