Federal cops in cities: signs of a creeping dictatorship

Latest

Portland: Trump’s secret police.
Photo / Mathiew L. Rolland

 
Since July 1, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department have been dispatching federal police, including the Border Patrol, U.S. Marshalls, FBI, the Coast Guard and other agencies, to cities around the country, supposedly to help “fight crime” or rein in “anarchists.”
In Portland, Ore., federal agents began targeting Black Lives Matter supporters July 1. Lilith Sinclair, a Portland organizer, told Democracy, Now!: “It’s hard to encompass the depth of what we’ve experienced. This movement started with a single Black mom . . . to demand change. And has swelled into a movement, thousands and thousands strong that has proven to unite so many of our people here. . . . We’ve been facing severe police brutality . . . from our local police force for . . . decades. . . . [but this] is a solid escalation, flashbangs . . . CS gas and other munitions, tear gas. . . pepper spray bullets . . . unmarked cars . . . men in uniforms, no badges, no IDs . . . what’s happening in Portland is happening all across the country. The people . . . truly see the failures of this capitalist, white supremacist system . . . and so the movement is only swelling.”
Federal cops have also been sent to Kansas City, Mo.; Washington, D.C.; Gettysburg, Pa.; and Seattle, and more are headed to Chicago and Albuquerque as of July 24. Portland’s own police force is coordinating closely with federal police in attacking protests, and Chicago police reportedly asked for the feds to come in.
“We need . . . [to be] fighting for the abolition of the police department, the militarized police . . . the demilitarization and defunding of the entire U.S. military budget . . . abolition of the prison system . . .” said Sinclair.
These federal provocations are partly related to Trump’s desperate effort to get re-elected. But they are also part of a much bigger crackdown on protest at a time when millions are marching against a system that produces racism, poverty, injustice and violence. The people’s answer is: We will not tolerate continued tyranny in our country, under any government. We will keep marching, protesting, and fighting for freedom until we are all free.
 

Portland moms are among the thousands who joined the protests.
From FB Video Still.
PT Logo collage
+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Pushing People into a Really Bad System Will End Really Badly

President Trump's executive order fuses drug use and homelessness, ignoring that homelessness can cause or exacerbate substance use because people use drugs to cope with pain. Forced institutional settings rather than housing will not help the ill or unhoused.

Chicago Resistance Speaks: ‘Until All Are Free, None Are Free’

An uprising is growing as the government tries to impose a dictatorship. Chicago resistance leaders recently offered their thoughts in public remarks made at demonstrations and press conferences.

Los Angeles Continues to Rebuild and Resist

Angelinos, suffering from the profit over people economy, continue to rebuild after the fires and to protest immigration raids, while also experiencing joy in such difficult times.

Chicago Teachers Union Says: Trump, Stay Out of Our City

Chicago Teachers Union rejects any unlawful federal occupation of their city, while welcoming federal leadership that fully funds public education, restores SNAP, and expands Medicaid to healthcare for all.

Journalist Says Why ‘I Can No Longer Work With Reuters’

A photojournalist says why it is impossible for her to maintain a relationship with Reuters "given its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza."

More from the People's Tribune