Protesters grabbed off the streets by federal agents who refuse to identify themselves, placed unmarked vehicles, and taken to undisclosed locations. These same agents nearly killed a young man holding part of a sound system at a demonstration. This is the outrageous reality in Portland today, were Trump has deployed a paramilitary police force to carry out a wave of repression. The good news is that the resistance in Portland has been nothing short of heroic, as thousands have taken to the streets in a powerful display of opposition.
The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that it is deploying federal agents into cities across the U.S. without the approval of local authorities. This attack on our democratic rights is an attempt to elevate the level of repression and it needs to be fought every step of the way. And we need to oppose any moves by city governments to collaborate with these federal deployments. The must be no ‘partnership’ with Trump’s not-so-secret secret police.
Trump’s moves come in the context of the rapidly shifting political terrain within this country. The rebellion in Minneapolis after the police murder of George Floyd and the incredible movement against police crimes and against racist discrimination that came in its wake marks a turning point in U.S. history. The U.S. is a prison house for the oppressed, founded on genocide and the enslavement of African peoples. Millions have had enough and want to bring the current state of affairs to an end.
Add on the pandemic made worse by Trump, the biggest economic crisis since the 1930s, which impacts oppressed nationality communities the hardest, and an epidemic police crimes; we are now engaging in the greatest clash of forces since the 1960s. Our rulers are masters of trickology and, when that fails them, they turn to repression.
While we continue to build our movements for justice, it is vital that we defend our democratic rights, and push back hard against any attempt to encroach on them. We cannot rely on mayors or local authorities to do this for us. People should join protests and march in the streets, including at the upcoming March on the DNC in Milwaukee and RNC in Jacksonville.
We need to do everything in our power to stand in solidarity with those who are standing up in Portland, resist the further deployments of federal agents, and beat back repression. We can unite the many, to defeat the few!
