SOCAL Repression news.

[Matthew X]

CALL FOR AN INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT CAMPAIGN FOR THE LONG BEACH/SOUTHERN 
CALIFORNIA ANARCHIST MOVEMENT

By Lorenzo Komboa Ervin


Recently I visited Los Angeles for a speaking tour, and learned of the 
harassment and frame-ups of Anarchists in Long Beach/Los Angeles county, 
California. It seems that repressive police And FBI terrorism is being used 
to crush the Anarchist movement there. During May Day protests against 
capitalism held in Long Beach, police without provocation attacked a street 
demonstration with brutal violence, arresting about 100 persons, and 
physically injuring several others. People were shot with rubber bullets, 
beaten with baton, and sprayed with chemical Mace.

One of those arrested, Robert Middaugh, was later railroaded to prison with 
a three year sentence for "assaulting" the one of police officers attacking 
the protesters. He is now in prison as an Anarchist political prisoner of 
the government at a California penitentiary.

Police justified the police riot by claiming protesters threw rocks, 
bottles, and other projectiles, and even feces at them, which has been 
proven to be a total lie. These attacks were unprovoked, and just designed 
to break up the demonstration and stifle the organizing of the Anarchist 
movement. They were political repression.

Since those protests last year, several other Anarchists have been arrested 
on bogus charges, and others have received numerous threats and harassment 
from the police, including constant visits to the Anarchist infoshop. A 
goon squad of cops have followed them at demonstrations, and tried to goad 
them to violence.

Yet, through it all they have continued to protest pig/stage repression. 
And they are now being supported by the Black community, especially folks 
who have witnessed or been the victims of police brutality. The Black 
community in not only Long Beach, but throughout L.A. county, has been 
subjected to police racist violence and police racial profiling.

Add to this the continuing FBI spying and the January arrest of Sherman A., 
founder of the radical website, RaisetheFist.com, then one can clearly see 
that the American government's police forces have singled out the Long 
Beach area as a test for how to crush the Anarchist movement in this period.

As has happened in the past, whenever Anarchism became a dangerous and 
potent political force, the government then engages in a policy of 
systematic political repression. This is similar to the FBI's COINTELPRO 
campaign against the 1960's Black Panther Party and New Left. They framed 
activists, set groups against each other to prevent joint support, and used 
massive violence to put down protests.

We must support these Anarchists, or they will be coming after us next. 
Today it's Long Beach and L.A., tomorrow it will be those of us in New 
York, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Detroit, or wherever Anarchists are 
organized. The new "anti-terrorist" laws give the government a strong hand 
to put down political dissent, but solidarity is our major weapon. We must 
support each other, and not allow government lies and misinformation lead 
us to inaction.

I am calling on the international Anarchist Black Cross movement, and 
Anarchists all over the world to support the Long Beach Anarchists, Sherman 
A., Robert Middaugh, and others caught up in the government's dragnet. We 
cannot let this repression go unchecked, and injury to one is an injury to 
all.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. Send donation for legal defense of these Anarchists to: Long Beach 
Infoshop, 684 Redondo Avenue, Long Beach, CA. 90814-1453.

2. Send letters of complaint to Long Beach city and L.A. County officials 
demanding that they drop these prosecutions and end the harassment of 
Anarchists: Mayor Beverly O'Neil, 333 West Ocean Beach Blvd., Long Beach, 
CA. 90802 e-mail: Mayor at ci.long-beach.ca.us ; Tom Reaves, City Prosecutor 
also needs to hear from you: prosecutor at ci.long-beach.ca for bring the 
misdemeanor charges, as does Steve Cooley, L.A. County District Attorney, 
who is bring the felony charges, lada at co.la.ca.us

3. Send letters of support for the victims of these frame-ups or this 
repression to: Los Angeles Anarchist Black Cross, P.O. Box 3671, Anaheim, 
CA. 98203-3671 email: LA_blackcross at hotmail.com or Blackcross at disinfo.net


4. Spread the word on the case of the Long Beach Anarchists, and when the 
time comes for a mass solidarity protest (Day of Action) and a tribunal on 
police crimes, be ready to come there. (dates to be announced)

For more information on the Long Beach struggle, or to see pic(s) of the 
May 2001 police riot, plese go to: http://www.infoshop.com , 
http://www.StopLBRepression.org , http://www.raisethefist.com/index1.html