The city of Philadelphia announced on Monday that it will be paying out nearly $10 million to protesters and a community fund to settle a lawsuit brought by demonstrators who were brutalized by police as they rose up in opposition to that same violence in the summer of 2020. Philadelphia has agreed to pay $9.25 million to the roughly 350 protesters who brought suits against the city. Source Source / Read More: Philadelphia Will Pay $9M to Settle George Floyd Protesters’ Suit Over Brutality
Police Violence
Atlanta Was a Constitution-Free Zone During “Stop Cop City” Week of Action
Southeast Dekalb County, Georgia—Belkis Terán raised her arms wide to welcome the rain now pounding hard over the newly thatched pavilion in the parking lot of the “Weelaunee People’s Park,” a space once known to residents of Atlanta and Southeast DeKalb County as Intrenchment Creek Park. Long before settlers dubbed the South branch of the Ocmulgee River here as simply the “South River… Source Source / Read More: Atlanta Was a Constitution-Free Zone During “Stop Cop City” Week of Action
We Must Refuse “Normal Life” After Police Violence Like Killing of Tyre Nichols
My stomach turned when I first watched the video of Memphis police officers yanking Tyre Nichols out of his car to Tase and pursue him, and then beat him. I felt my heart wrench while watching the police officers prop a beaten and handcuffed Nichols against a patrol car only to hear one officer yell, “Bruh, sit up!” after Nichols fell over, as if he were in any condition to comply. Source Source / Read More: We Must Refuse “Normal Life” After Police Violence Like Killing of Tyre Nichols
Cori Bush Calls for Investigation Into Police Killing of Activist Tortuguita
Progressive lawmakers are calling for an independent investigation into the death of climate justice activist Manuel Terán, who also went by the name Tortuguita, who was killed by police last week as law enforcement officers were carrying out a violent raid of a protest camp in a wooded area in Atlanta, Georgia. Activists say that the police raid of the camp was only law enforcement’s most recent… Source Source / Read More: Cori Bush Calls for Investigation Into Police Killing of Activist Tortuguita
Local Alabama Police Arrested 82-Year-Old Woman for Overdue Trash Bill
On November 27, the local government of Valley, Alabama caused a scandal by sending two cops to the home of Martha Menefield, an 82-year-old Black woman living alone, to arrest her for failing to pay $77.80 worth of garbage collection fees. Locals and online commenters slammed the Valley Police Department (VPD), and the story was picked up by the Washington Post and NBC. The police actually cuffed… Source Source / Read More: Local Alabama Police Arrested 82-Year-Old Woman for Overdue Trash Bill
Mississippi Town Hired Racist Cop to Terrorize Black Residents, Advocates Say
A flagrantly racist and violent ex-cop is bringing national attention to a small town in Mississippi where Black residents say they were systematically “terrorized” by police and the court system. Civil rights advocates condemn the officer’s actions and say they are a symptom of a larger problem that extends far beyond one rural community and a “bad apple” among the local police. A lawsuit filed in federal court this week claims white police in the rural, majority-Black town of Lexington, Mississippi, targeted Black residents and subjected them to false arrests, brutality, excessive fines and unreasonable searches. The department’s discriminatory intent…
Capitol Police Arrest 181 Protesters Waging Sit-In for Abortion Rights in DC
Capitol Police arrested 181 pro-abortion demonstrators in Washington, D.C. on Thursday as they waged a sit-in to protest the Supreme Court’s recent overturn of Roe v. Wade. During the protest by Center for Popular Democracy Action, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Working Families Party – joined by prominent figures like Rep. Judy Chu (D-California) – demonstrators blocked a street near the Supreme Court, demanding that lawmakers take action to protect abortion seekers across the country. Capitol Police began arresting people around noon on Thursday after surrounding them as the protesters marched to the Supreme Court building, calling for mass civil…
Bigoted Attacks Are Injecting Fear Into Pride Month, But We Won’t Back Down
This year the tide of anti-trans and anti-queer hate has surged to new heights. More than 300 anti-trans or anti-LGBTQ laws have been introduced in 2022 alone — often by the same Republican lawmakers introducing anti-Black and anti-abortion bills. Over 25 have passed, most of them targeting trans teens and children. Republican politicians, as well as right-wing pundits and influencers, have encouraged their followers to murder or otherwise harm trans people, drag queens, queer people and parents who support trans children. In times like this, it’s all the more important for LGBTQ people to come together in community to express…