SOCAL Repression news.
Matthew X
profrv at nex.net.au
Sun May 9 07:10:51 PDT 1999
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
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