Supporters of Palestinians Rally in Philadelphia

  • October 30, 2023 1:57 am

from Unicorn Riot

Philadelphia, PA — Hundreds of supporters of Palestinians gathered at Philadelphia City Hall to protest the ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, part of a larger conflict that escalated on October 7 when Palestinian militant organizations crossed the “Green Line” that serves as the de facto border between the Strip and Israel. Protests have sometimes been tense in the US; a protest was attacked by an older man driving a vehicle in Minneapolis on October 22. Today’s “emergency rally” was called by the Philly Palestine Coalition.

See our thread on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Large protests have unfolded in many cities worldwide this week. In recent days Gaza has been extensively bombed and shelled by Israeli forces, while regular rocket and mortar barrages have been directed outwards at Israeli towns and bases. Around 7700 Palestinians have been killed according to reports; communications from the Strip were largely cut off in the last 36 hours. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz 1300 Israelis, both civilian and military, have been killed so far.

TV Host, professor and activist Marc Lamont Hill spoke during the rally and demanded a ceasefire and end to the “occupation” and “an end to apartheid.” See his full speech below.

“Tonight, we demand a ceasefire! Tonight, we demand that no more Palestinian children are killed! … We demand decolonization. We demand an end to the occupation. We demand an end to apartheid.

I can’t get free until you [Palestine] get free! As long as our police are training Israeli officers and as long as Israeli officers are training our officers, we will live in a hyper security state that treats every brown person, every Black person as an outsider, as a threat, as somebody worthy of death.”

For more Unicorn Riot coverage on Palestine see our reports below:

Report from the 10/28 Emergency Rally

  • October 30, 2023 1:55 am

Submission

Saturday night, October 28th, in light of the communication blackout in and increased bombing of Gaza, approximately a thousand people assembled in Center City Philadelphia for an emergency call to action in support of Palestinians.

The crowd included people responding to an additional call for anarchists and anti-colonial radical presence at the demonstration. We were among them. The call suggested attendees wear black clothes and keffiyahs or ski masks. We chose to wear both, layering keffiyahs over ski masks because the clear show of solidarity was important to us. A hot fashion tip: we were able to remove a layer and still be covered and anonymous.

Soon after the rally became a march, we and others began covering the walls with decolonial slogans. Some favorites: FREE GAZA, FUCK ISRAEL, DECOLONIZE, VIVA PALESTINA, FAUDA, FAGGOTS AGAINST EMPIRE, BLOOD$ (on banks along the way), and FUCK BIDEN WHOLE LIFE. Those in bloc were particularly good at looking out for each other as painting took place, and it felt thrilling to write on a wall, fuck up a bank, inhale the smell of fresh paint. Even more thrilling was the response from other demonstrators! Everyone had each other’s backs, whether they were in the black bloc or not. Other demonstrators pushed out snitches, shielded writers from cops and security guards, warned us vandals when the cops were looking for us, and also joined in, borrowing paint cans and markers to write their own slogans. There were some close calls with law enforcement but at the end of the night no one was arrested. We love to see it!

After a while things got hot (girl, it was 80º out) and the cops were on the lookout. People transitioned 😉 into new looks, and mixed into the crowd. Passing privilege, baby!

In Rittenhouse Square, the crowd paused, blocking the intersection and surrounding a sound truck. Activists gave speeches from the truck bed. It was cute until these two boys showed up, oh my god! They tried to put up Zionist propaganda (those “missing person” posters, you’ve seen them) in the middle of the crowd, but that wasn’t going to happen, obviously. People ripped down the only poster they got up, and then confiscated the rest. A very patient and generous activist escorted them away and down the block. This is a good place to remind you that these tactics are often a ploy to film, dox, and harass. If you’re going to interfere, go off, but like, be unidentifiable (no face, no tatts, no case).

The march had great energy and a lot of the chants were inspiring and like, literally revolutionary or insurrectionary so… Anyway, we had some fantasies after being in such an exciting environment. If this was the energy here, just imagine what could happen if this demo passed by as ugly as a military recruitment center or a weapons manufacturer’s office?

In all earnestness, people are angry, grieving, and fucking fed up with inaction in response to peaceful protest. While yes, we could have seen that last one coming, the warm reception to criminality and confrontation that night has us wondering what horizon we can reach for next. What could a more directed march be like? What can we do now, within the belly of this fucking empire? After all, the things around us are not disconnected from the genocide in Palestine – the politicians, the arms dealers, the funders, the surveillance technologists, many of them have offices, warehouses, or some physical presence here. They are real people doing things in real places, we can go to them and touch them, and it will effect their ability to collaborate on genocide.

Xoxo
Faggots for intifada

P.S. Going to the demo? Here’s some cute ideas to try with your friends: bring extra gloves, masks, t-shirts for people who might be under-dressed for the occasion. Bring extra art supplies to share! Many people around us are becoming disillusioned with the democratic avenues on offer right now, people are finding their way. If people are curious about anarchists, a little encouragement and support can go a long way.

Orgs VS. Liberty

  • August 9, 2023 1:42 am

Submission

On the weekend of June 29 through July 2nd, some folx had organized to do what would turn out to be more of a block party then a protest. The weeks ahead saw numerous virtual zoom meetings between members of various organizations which included ‘Act Up’ and ‘Young Communist League,’ and almost seemingly endless group chat conversations on signal. The event discussed was because folx had gotten wind that a right wing neofascist christian group called “Moms 4 Liberty were coming to town at the end of the month. Amongst those conversations there seemed to have been talks of a “diversity of tactics” with the basic goal to run these fuckers out of Philly.
The next coming weeks  saw a few actions at various locations. We should also mention that separate from all the orgs bullshit, local and non-local anarchists and anti-fascists also began to plot various actions for the last couple of weeks before the event.
Fast forward to the last meeting before the mums got here. Basically, more talks of a variety of tactics. The vibes that left that conversation was one of an acceptance of more autonomous actions. The event itself had been scheduled for every day and every time slot. Actually, kinda fucking crazy how scheduled shit was. It’s almost as though they were really afraid that any unscheduled time slot would like, deter their plans to ultimately just fucking yell at people. We remember at one point, folks had discussed not “peace policing” anyone. Would you believe that there basically wasn’t a day that some MC on a microphone didn’t peace police in a way?
Basically, the whole weekend went like this from what we saw: Big crowds gathered in the middle of 12th and Filbert street for roughly 12 hours to put on various events, but mostly set up a place for folx to just dance and “make noise” next to the Marriott where the mums for liberty (also referred to jokingly as the “mums 4 hate”) were staying and hosting their big event.
Round the evening of the first rally, anarchists and antifascists took to the streets to spread art and agit-prop throughout old towne. The rally goers and the art march briefly met, with art marchers ultimately turning down an alleyway and going their own way. Seems both groups had different ideas. There were no clashes for either side.
However, the same could not be said about the so called “peaceful protestors.” Since the first night, interactions with the police happened more than once. Protesters were detained practically at each event. They seemed to also be released hours later so, we can at least all be happy about that. Unfortunately, some interactions left scars. A comrade had alerted us to one time that a brave soul dared to throw a easily breakable object into the crowd of people supporting the mums for liberty. The next thing, and we couldn’t believe we heard it, that brave soul was essentially brought attention by the mc on the mic saying “Get your boi!” (exact words may differ) and then chased off… Oh, in case it wasn’t understood, by the people supposedly protesting the mums for liberty… Not the cops. And before that, being confronted by what people call “march marshals.” Fucked up right? We’ll say again that this is what we heard so, check up about it if ya feel (stories and recollections may vary). The other “clashes” if you even wanna fucking call it that, just us but like, clashes usually mean that both individuals involved equally try to inflict harm, but we digress… There was also another brave soul that ran to wave goodbye to the mums in their own special way and they tackled by security. They suffered injuries and had to be taken to hospital. For such a “peaceful” event, sure was some fuckery that went down. We guess we could also mention “struggles” for space.
Which, ultimately, were won by the cops. The cops were granted EVERY SINGLE FUCKING METER they wanted. The protesters lost, you know what, fuck it, GAVE space away at both locations. Once at the local “revolutionary” museum, and again outside the hotel. It seemed that these communists and other socialist types couldn’t defend or hold the space like their precious daddies back in the day. (Shocker.) To be fair to all involved, they were basically, well wait no, not basically, DEFINITELY fucking kettled the whole time. It just seemed like the whole event was just meant to be a place where there wasn’t much room to move.
Ultimately, not a fun time if you wanted to actually accomplish scaring those bigots away. They laughed at everyone multiple days. That one pragur u dude even came out to see the spectacle.  Comrades, we have got to start taking shit in our own hands if we wanna accomplish shit. Ours enemies get stronger and chose violence at every single turn, we can BARELY keep comrades from getting caught up. The protesters liberal agenda is going to more people killed. It’s not funny, and dancing round instead of showing these fuckers what is actually up, is just a bad look and not doing us any favours. Bleh… fuck it. We need to show people that there is a different way. A more autonomous way, a more direct way. You know that direct actions yields more results rather than waiting for some authority or these phantom “masses” they fucking go on about. Yeah, we need numbers, but we can attract those numbers when people see we’re fucking serious. We’re a force to be reckoned with when we all find our self determination. The orgs have become so big in this fucking city. These orgs will organize our way into the system. It’s just the fucking truth from what we’re seeing. It’s called a ‘DIVERSITY OF TACTICS’ not Only ‘organization of tactics’ 🙄
And like, definitely fuck the mums for liberty and all these conservative and transphobic cunts, but part of that is showing them why their wrong in a more conflictual way.

Gender Fascist “Mom’s for Liberty” Conference Met with Resistance in Philadelphia

  • July 6, 2023 1:57 am

from It’s Going Down

Report from Philadelphia on the recent protests against the ‘Mom’s for Liberty’ conference.

What follows is a short blow-by-blow report from the streets of Philadelphia, as people turned out to shout down the gender fascist “Mom’s for Liberty” conference which saw speeches from both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.

Thursday

 

Resistance to the far-Right and anti-LGBTQ+ conference started early with banner drops, an anarchist organized counter-march where graffiti slogans are written, and a direct action against a venue hosting Mom’s for Liberty attendees.

 

Friday

As the Mom’s 4 Liberty summit kicked off with their first day of meetings, the dance party outside enjoyed themselves with raucous joy. Despite an absurdly large police presence when Donald Trump arrived to speak, the partiers managed to hold the street in front of the Marriott for the day. With temperatures pushing 90 and and air quality advisory from the Canadian wildfires, revelers were encouraged to mask up, drink water, and take care of each other.

Speakers from Act Up Philadelphia, Indivisible and other local organizations spoke about the need for solidarity and compassion in the shadow of this most recent rise in fascism. Large groups of Philadelphians joined from simultaneous actions around the city including striking Starbucks workers and librarians and educators focused on keeping the Pride events at area libraries safe.

 

Reports from inside the Marriott shared that all of the speakers at the M4L summit mentioned the protests and door knockers were hung on room doors calling out the fascists meeting in the building. The message is getting across loud and clear that fascists are not welcome in Philly.

 

As attendees left the building, many with police escort, they were heckled and shouted at. Once again Philly showed that we are a city that will fight fiercely for each other. The party continues Saturday and Sunday, kicking off with a specifically tailored Children’s Protest from 11-1pm on Saturday and culminating in an amazing line up of local DJs.

 

Saturday

Saturday’s protests outside of the Marriott in Philadelphia began with a protest specifically tailored to youth. Coloring books, chalk, sign making equipment and a truck for the children to be able to climb on and look out over the demonstration made for a cheerful, exuberant family focused atmosphere.

While fascist dignitaries such as Dennis Prager and the IG account “transition_justice” attempted to argue with the protestors, most people kept up the joyous dancing in an effort to “Dance the Hate Away.” An impromptu line dancing workshop and the Drag Queen Gospel Choir kept protestor spirits high and showcased all that the incredible queer community has to offer.

Philadelphia pigs showed themselves to be more aggressive today and maintained an intimidating presence across the street in partial riot gear. In reality all they did was idle their trucks and busses in a tunnel next to signs that clearly said “no idling” and collect overtime.

Sunday is the fourth and final day of both the conference and demonstrations.

Sunday

As the fascist hate group Moms 4 Liberty wrapped up it’s final day here in Philadelphia, the dance party continued outside. Revelers took the block by 10am, dancing to classics and new beats alike. Cases of water, coffee, snacks and activities for kids kept the party vibes going. The skate ramp from the day before was rolled out and the people of Philadelphia continued to make it clear that hate and fear would be countered with love and joy.

At 11am five local activists took the intersection at 12th and Filbert outside of the iconic Reading Terminal Market. Chanting “Philly is a Trans City” and wearing large silkscreened patches that said “Protect Trans Kids,” the activists stayed focused and calm as police pushed and shoved them, arresting all five.

As the conference wrapped up and members checked out, more aggressive provocation came from the out of town attendees. Two M4L conference goers came running towards the barricades laughing and throwing tee shirts at the protesters. One of them was quickly and thoroughly egged by a protester, and walked back in with a look of shock that there had been a consequence to her action.

As some higher profile media activists strutted around wearing sandwich boards with bible quotes on them and videoing the protestors, a woman ran through the barricades waving a trans flag and dancing. She was brutally thrown to the ground by an officer and arrested. The incident was posted on several social media accounts owned by M4L attendees, celebrating the Philadelphia Police Department for serving as the front-line defending gender fascism.

 

All arrestees were cited and released, one received medical attention at a local hospital.

The Mom’s 4 Liberty fascists decided to come to Philly and definitely found out that Philly is a queer city.

photo: Kim Kelly via Twitter

Philadelphia: The Anti-Parent Turn: A report back from the art march

  • June 30, 2023 1:42 am

Submission

Tonight a group of around 20 people took to the streets to spread propaganda against the joyless losers and haters known as Moms for Liberty*. The march moved through Olde City toward the Museum of the American Revolution, which was hosting the opening reception for the Moms (booo!). They were being bused in from the bedbug ridden Marriott two blocks away because they’re too scared to walk through the city of brotherly love. Accompanied by a sound system and walking behind a banner reading “Revolt Against Misery + Moms (A)” the march put up posters and stickers, gave out fliers, and wrote graffiti. People joined the march as it went toward Center City. After passing the museum the march picked up a tail of two of Philadelphia’s swinest. The anarchists showed great professionalism and restraint to this affront to our freedom to be lawless vandals. After a couple more blocks the march dispersed without incident.
We appreciate everyone who came out to the march, especially the person who carried the sound system and the vandal with the cool handstyle. It’s been a while since anarchists were in the street like this, it felt like we were getting our bearings and relearning to move together despite a heavy police presence. We thought it was great that people talked to passersby, blocked traffic, and were looking out for each other during the march. The intent behind the march was to mobilize against Moms for Liberty, and create space for a smidge of crime while remaining relatively accessible, and to end America. We accomplished two of these three goals. Anarchist mobilizations in Philly can often feel intimidating and stressful, we’d like to get better at opening space for people to feel good, dance, chant, and grow confident in what we’re able to do together. Anarchy can be an expression of cathartic rage through which we feel fleeting moments of joy. We know this can be harder to do when we’re on federal property, surrounded by cops, in Olde City. We would love to hear about how other people felt about the march.

Death to birth! 😏
No future for hateful moms!
Long live mob vandalism!

xo
Moms for Anarchy — An informal organization of Baedan subscribers

*Moms for Liberty is a far-right organization that wields exceptional cultural and financial power over American politics. Their mask off brand of white supremacist, queerphobic, and transphobic genocidal beliefs and policy proposals increasingly shape the realities of daily life in the US. Pennsylvania has the second most chapters after Florida. Fuck em frfr!



No Dinner For Fascists

  • June 28, 2023 1:14 am

Submission

Philly’s Downtown Marriott Protested for Hosting “Moms for Liberty” Conference

  • May 16, 2023 1:21 am

from Idavox

Group of protesters outside the Philadelphia Mariott opposing the upcoming "Moms for Liberty' conference.

The soon to be regular protest actions seek the hotel to follow the company’s anti-hate policies, cancel the conference, and raise awareness of “Moms for Liberty” adverse efforts on anti-masking, LGBTQ+ issues, book-banning, and racial education policy efforts. 

Innocent Bystander

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Various groups and political actors kicked-off protests and call-in action on Friday, May 12, to have the city’s downtown Marriott reverse its decision to host the neo-fascist group, Moms for Liberty June 29 – July 2.

The groups, such as ACT UP Philadelphia and UDTJ (Understanding. Devotion. Take Action. Justice.), along with others, protested the Marriott on the 1300 block of Filbert Street where the main entrance is located.

Several state legislators also wrote Marriott management, led by state senator Nikkil Saval, whose district includes this hotel. The exchange of letters and more is located here.

“Moms for Liberty” has come under increasing scrutiny not only for the national conference, but also for its right-wing astroturf funding,  complained-of threats by its members and its leadership.

And yet while the national leadership has not responded to questions and complaints, that didn’t stop the newly installed Philadelphia chapter leader — 46 year-old Sheila E. Armstrong — from complaining about not being interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer although the conference is a national matter.

[Twitter Link]

Moreover, if Armstrong’s name rings a bell, it should. Armstrong has run for local public office in recent years as a Democrat and Independent, and has been defeated in these efforts by a nearly 99 percent voting margin and by being knocked off the ballot. Not to be outdone by this, she was a paid staff member for the Mehmet Oz campaign for U.S. Senate where she and Oz were outed for deceptively manipulating supporter testimony as the campaign closed.

Armstrong is also a Philadelphia public school parent of two children, one of whom has been diagnosed with autism. This has served as a vehicle for for her serving on the the state’s Student Parent Advisory Council. Obviously, this is one of many oppositional tensions Armstrong faces while trying to intertwine as a local face for “Moms for Liberty.”

The next protest at the Downtown Marriott is scheduled for Friday, May 26th. The late afternoon time is to be determined.

Clinic Defense Counter-Demonstration

  • April 9, 2023 1:18 am

from Twitter

#Philadelphia: This morning a clinic in #Chinatown that provides #abortions drew a handful of pro-life demonstrators and a counter demo of about 20 pro-choice people. Clinic defense call was from @PhillyDSA

Cities Across the US Take Part in ‘Week of Action’ Against Cop City

  • March 2, 2023 1:31 am

from It’s Going Down

[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]

Over the past week, dozens of cities across the so-called US took part in the recent week of action in solidarity with Tortuguita and the ongoing struggle to stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest. This out-pouring of solidarity has been amazing to see, both from the wider autonomous movement and even mainstream environmental and Left groups.

Many towns organized small events, including nights of writing letters to those facing charges, benefit shows, and informational teach-ins and film showings on the struggle itself. Other cities organized mass marches and protests, bringing attention to the various corporations and banks that are currently funding the Cop City project and demanding that they drop their contracts.

If you’re looking for more background on the Cop City project, check out the recent deep dive from CrimethInc. here and here. There is also currently a call for a week of action in Atlanta, that kicks off on March 4th. Check out a full week of events planned here.

Now, let’s dive into our roundup of actions against Cop City!

Northeast

[Twitter link]

In Pennsylvania, people in Philadelphia put up graffiti messages and held a mass march through the city center. Protests were also organized outside of the offices of Cop City’s major funders and a law firm supporting the project. A communique posted to Scenes from the Atlanta Forest also took credit for causing train delays on a mainline owned by Norfolk Southern, a Cop City investor and the company responsible for the recent chemical disaster in East Palestine.

[Mastodon link]

Supporters of ‘Cop City’ Opponents Rally in Philly

  • February 25, 2023 1:04 am

from Unicorn Riot

Philadelphia, PA – Protests around the U.S. have increased recently against the proposed Public Safety Training Center near Atlanta. At the Philadelphia City Hall on around noon on Friday, Feb. 24, opponents held a rally.

[Video Link]

The movement aims to have funders and contractors withdraw from the project in order to prevent the proposed site from demolishing the largest urban forest in the USA. Pending court cases claim that the Atlanta Police Foundation has ignored local laws and environmental regulations in order to rush construction of the complex against the concerns of nearby residents.

Groups calling for the rally included Extinction Rebellion Philly, and Fridays for Future Philadelphia. According to a flyer the call is to “support land defenders in Atlanta, resist police brutality & militarization, protect the right to protest.”

After rallying at City Hall, the protest coalition stopped outside the offices of AXA, an insurance corporation targeted for providing liability coverage to Brasfield Gorrie, a general contractor hired by the Atlanta Police Foundation to help demolish the Atlanta Forest to build the contested urban warfare training complex.

[Twitter Link]

Protesters attempted to deliver a letter to AXA but were reportedly denied the opportunity to hand-deliver it to executives inside the office suite. AXA has not responded to Unicorn Riot’s request for comment regarding today’s protest as of the time of this writing.

Philly demo at Greenberg Traurig in Solidarity with the Weelaunee forest!

  • February 24, 2023 1:03 am

Submission

On Tuesday February 21st, there was a demonstration in Solidarity with the Weelaunee Forest Defense / campaign to Stop Cop City at Greenberg Traurig who is on the board and a funder of the Atlanta Police Foundation. We demanded they cut ties to APF, handed out hundreds of flyers, people spoke to to how we must Stop Cop City everywhere, and chalked all over their sidewalks and building. ” RIP Tortuguita! ” “Stop Cop City! “- “FTP-ACAB!” – “Save Chinatown, the UC Townhomes, Cobbs Creek, The Meadows!” – “Defend Chingsessing Meadows! Fuck Cellicon Valley!” – referring to the efforts to stop Ecocidal development at the so called “FDR” Meadows and “Bartram’s” Garden that that are part of the Meadows that the Lenape referred to as Chingsessing.

Here is a zine for more info about that https://phlanticap.noblogs.org/fuck-a-cellicon-valley-zine/

The struggle continues on so keep organizing and take Direct Action, and escalate against colonial developers, their funders, and the police everywhere to dismantle the industrial capitalist state death machine and defend the community and land.

THOSE WHO DESTROY THE EARTH HAVE NAMES AND ADDRESSES!

RIP Tortuguita! Stop Cop City!

Temple University Grad Student Union Strikes; Rally on Campus

  • February 16, 2023 1:27 am

from Unicorn Riot

By Unicorn Riot February 15, 2023

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Temple University Graduate Students Association (TUGSA) has gone on strike, and undergraduates who support them have organized a walk-out from class and campus work on February 15. The graduate students are demanding base pay of $32,800, dependent healthcare, longer parental and bereavement leave and improved working conditions. The university administration has already revoked the striking grad students’ tuition remission and health insurance coverage in retaliation for striking.

An undergrads’ press release said in response to organizing, “university administration responded with an intimidating email directed to all students, even threatening students’ academic progress for participation.”

Live coverage here:

[Video Here]

The undergrads tell Unicorn Riot that while tuition was raised 3.9% this year, only 62 cents of every dollar are spent on instruction. A notice from the undergrad organizers reads:

“Forcing administration to give into TUGSA’s demands will take escalation involving students and workers across campus. In walking out from classes, undergraduate students show the way forward towards more and more workers in the Temple community taking escalating collective action.”

— Press release from undergrad students at Temple supporting striking graduate students

Opponents of Philly FDR Park Development Speak Out

  • January 27, 2023 1:11 am

from Unicorn Riot

By Dan Feidt, Unicorn Riot January 26, 2023

Philadelphia, PA – The FDR Park in South Philly is in the midst of a new redevelopment plan supported by the city and private groups like Fairmount Park Conservancy. Opponents of the plan have dubbed their cause “Save the Meadows,” referencing a wild area that was partly bulldozed late in 2022. The plan’s authors are finally hosting a community event on January 26, 2023, although opponents believe that they will not be allowed to speak inside.

A demonstration outside the Grand Yesha Ballroom in South Philly is highlighting reasons they oppose the plan. An ad-hoc coalition of several groups, under the flag “The People’s Plan for FDR Park,” has pushed local officials to reconsider the plan and preserve more meadows while unlocking often-shuttered sports fields around the city.

Among the main concerns opponents have is that the expansion of the Philadelphia International Airport will remove wetlands near the town of Eastwick, which can thus expect more flooding as climate change intensifies. (The airport’s expansion is a key part of the financing of the FDR Park project.)

Live coverage below:

[Video Link]

See our video report from last fall below:

[Video Link]

Opposition to the development plan was also an element in a large demonstration and march in November 2022 that highlighted several different, yet related causes in the city.

[Video Link]

Vigil and Stroll for Tortuguita

  • January 23, 2023 1:32 am

Submission

On Saturday 1/21 there was a vigil for Tortuguita Manuel Teran. A group of about 40 adults and children placed candles and homemade signs by the turtle in Clark Park.

People spontaneously made speeches about Tortuguita’s death. The speeches touched on people’s experience of them, grief, martyrdom, and continuing to struggle. People called on each other to target cop city’s sponsors and the contractors responsible for building.

After people had been speaking for a while a small group broke off from the vigil. They took the street with banners. Barricades from a nearby construction site were pulled into the street to block cops and traffic. As the march moved graffiti memorializing Tortuguita and against police was tagged. A realty office had its windows smashed.

The rowdy vigil is the first time things have popped off from Clark Park in a while. A few years ago Cark Park was a regular spot for mid sized black bloc demos to start from. We think that this is worthwhile to revisit because it’s a traditionally anarchist neighborhood and there are lots of alleys nearby to easily change in. It’s exciting to see this kind of energy re-emerge in Philly.

Even though Philly is far from Atlanta, Tortuguita’s death has been deeply felt here. We are angry. We are watching. We are acting. Cop city will never be built.

RIP Tortuguita
Neither innocent nor guilty
Neither terrorists nor protesters
Simply anarchists!
A warm embrace to those arrested in Atlanta, Seattle and everywhere else
Death to civilization

West Philadelphia Vigil Remembers Tortuguita

  • January 22, 2023 1:19 am

from Twitter

West #Philadelphia earlier tonight: A vigil at a turtle sculpture in Clark Park to remember #Tortuguita, the forest defender killed near #Atlanta. About 70 people joined a vigil and talked about local struggles. One shared a memory of meeting Tort in the forest last year.

In West #Philly tonight, a small breakaway march from the vigil at Clark Park looped thru the streets and someone tagged “RIP TORT” on a Jersey barrier. #CopCity #Tortuguita