By Wisconsin FRSO
Milwaukee, WI – Last week, unmarked federal agents in military uniforms grabbed protesters off the streets of Portland, Oregon, and threw them into unmarked black vans. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed responsibility for the shadowy operation, citing “graffiti” as their justification for snatching activists off the street and interrogating them.
Now, Milwaukee has been named by the Trump administration as one of the cities that would likely be targeted for deployment of Homeland Security Investigation agents. Some Milwaukee activists have reported spotting unidentified agents in military gear near the federal courthouse.
Trump’s deployment of DHS to counter ongoing protests against racist police crimes comes as he has been using dangerous and racist rhetoric to encourage his supporters to take action against “leftist” protesters. The deployment of federal agents is a dramatic escalation and a threat that aims to intimidate and shut down the mass uprisings against police crimes. In Portland and Chicago, the presence of federal agents has already backfired, and driven up protest turnout.
The Wisconsin district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns the deployment of paramilitary police. We demand that local authorities end all collaboration with Trump’s federal agents immediately. We call on the people to continue to stand strong amidst such blatant acts of state-sanctioned violence.
Federal agents out of Milwaukee now!
No collaboration with Trump’s secret police!
Defend the right to protest police crimes!
