Milwaukee Rallies Against FBI Raids on Anti-War Activists

Milwaukee activists protest to stop FBI raids and intimidation of anti-war activists. (Fight Back! News)

The following article by Kas Schwerdtfeger is from

Fight Back! News:

Milwaukee, WI – Students and community members held a rally in front of Milwaukee’s Federal Building to protest the Sept. 24 FBI raids on anti-war activists in the Midwest and elsewhere in the United States.

Members of a wide variety of community organizations showed their support, including speakers from the Latin America Solidarity Committee, International Action Center, AFSCME local 82 President Gilbert Johnson, and Milwaukee Graduate Assistants Association (MGAA) Co-president Lee Abbott.

Student speakers included Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in Waukesha and Milwaukee, as well as the Chicano organization MEChA.

Stop FBI Raids and Harassment: A call for action at Federal Buildings and FBI Offices

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following national call to action from the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee.

We denounce the Federal Bureau of Investigation harassment of anti-war and solidarity activists. The FBI raided seven houses and an office in Chicago and Minneapolis on Friday, September 24, 2010. The FBI handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to eleven activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. The FBI also attempted to intimidate activists in California and North Carolina.

This suppression of civil rights is aimed at those who dedicate their time and energy to supporting the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funded occupation and war. The FBI has indicated that the grand jury is investigating the activists for possible material support of terrorism charges.

Interview with FRSO student leader on the campus movement and October 7 protests

Education rights protest in Milwaukee, WI. (Fight Back! News/Staff)

The following is from Fight Back! News:

Interview with FRSO student leader on the campus movement and October 7 protests
States more students are becoming revolutionaries and communists

Fight Back! interviewed Kas Schwerdtfeger, a co-chair of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization student commission.

Fight Back!: What are the big issues on campus this fall? Where is the student movement at right now?

Kas Schwerdtfeger: Like last year, students are facing the effects of budget cuts on their campuses – from fee and tuition hikes to cuts in services. Most schools have only been in session for a few weeks, but already we are seeing students protest at the University of New Orleans over budget cuts, ending in a occupation of the chancellor’s office and confrontations with police. On some campuses the mood may be simmering resentment, on others, outrage, but students across the country are realizing that each semester brings more cuts, making education more and more expensive, inaccessible, and of less and less quality.

Freedom Road looks at the U.S. domestic situation

The following is the Domestic section of the Main Political Report from the 6th Congress of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. The Economic section has been previously published, and the section on the international situation is forthcoming.

Decline of American Power, Leftward Shift Define New Period

For the past three years, the conditions shaping domestic politics in the United States have been marked by the economic crisis, a qualitative shift away from the free market capitalism of Ronald Reagan on the part of the bourgeoisie, and a leftward political shift amongst the people. The massive economic and financial crisis, which began in December 2007, and the continuing decline of U.S. imperialism globally, have come together to judge the Reagan Era and its aftermath as a failure.  The economic crisis swept from power the party of George Bush and brought into office the first African-American President of the United States–Barack Obama.

This set of qualitative changes is in part the foundation of and in part manifestations of a new period.  It is this new set of conditions which sets the context for the peoples struggle against U.S imperialism.

Victory for the Milwaukee 16! UWM offers to drop charges!

The following article is from Fight Back! News:

Milwaukee, WI – The Milwaukee 16, the students who were arrested at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) on March 4, the National Day of Action to Defend Education, have achieved victory. On June 29, the University offered to drop the charges and the investigation into the conduct of the UWM campus police continues.

Progress for Kofi Adu-Brempong, charges dropped

The following article by Jared Hamill is from Fight Back! News:

Gainesville, FL – There is progress in the case of Kofi Adu-Brempong, the University of Florida graduate student shot in the face by campus police after they invaded his apartment on March 2nd. Kofi is still recovering after a white policeman shot his jaw off with an assault rifle at close range. One week ago State’s Attorney Bill Cervone agreed to drop charges against Kofi, an African immigrant. Fernando Figueroa of Gainesville Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) said, “When these racist police put criminal charges on Kofi, they really added insult to injury. We are relieved the charges were dropped, but there should not have been any in the first place.”

Gainesville: Video of Kofi shooting finally released

The following article is from Fight Back! News:

Gainesville, FL – The video of the March 2 shooting of Kofi Adu-Brempong has finally been released to the public. Students of the University of Florida and members of the community have been outraged about the shooting and have held demonstrations demanding justice for Adu-Brempong.

Justin Wooten, a member of Students for a Democratic Society and organizer for the coalition fighting for Kofi, said, “This is a big deal for us. This video shows just how outrageous the police response was. This video shows what happens when you hire racist thugs who want to play cowboy.”

Thousands rally in D.C. to protest occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq

About one hundred students joined the contingent of Students for a Democratic Society. Chapters from Washington D.C., Rochester, NY, Chapel Hill, NC, Asheville, NC, Gainesville, FL, and other cities participated in the contingent.

The following article from Fight Back! News is by Kosta Harlan. The photos are from the related Fight Back! photo essay.

Washington, D.C. – About ten thousand demonstrators filled Lafayette Park across from the White House to demand an end to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. March 20 marked the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, while the occupation of Afghanistan is now in its eighth year. A broad range of organizations mobilized for the demonstration, organized by the International ANSWER coalition. Military veterans, student groups, trade unions, Arab American organizations, church congregations, and many other groups brought thousands of people into D.C. for the rally. 

Justice for Kofi! Gainesville students protest police shooting

Community members speak out on the University of Florida campus before marching over to the Board of Trustees meeting. (Allan Brooks)

The following article by Jared Hamill is from Fight Back! News:

Gainesville, FL – Over 400 angry protesters – a coalition of students, local residents and university professors – rallied and marched to protest the racist police shooting of Kofi Adu-Brempong.

Adu-Brempong is an international graduate student from Ghana who was shot in the face by a University of Florida policeman. After receiving a call from a neighbor concerned that Adu-Brempong was screaming, due to stress over his studies and his immigration status, campus police stormed his apartment, tased him three times and then shot him in the face with an assault rifle.

FRSO: March 4 Education Protests Rock the Nation!

Occupation of an administration building at UCLA on March 4th. (Fight Back! News)

The following statement by Freedom Road Socialist Organization is from Fight Back! News:

The March 4 national day of action for education was a huge success! Over 100,000 people marched, rallied and took action at over 100 schools and colleges. The biggest protests were in California, both on college campuses and in city streets. College students and union members joined parents with their children, as well as high school students, to demand education funding from the state government. Across the country, students, union workers and faculty marched across campuses and rallied outside administration buildings, while administrators hid or snuck out the back door. In some cases university chancellors and presidents locked themselves inside their offices surrounded by police while students tried to deliver petitions.