Photo: Sarah-Ji @loveandstrugglephotos
Across the United States, activists protesting the ongoing genocide in Palestine are facing extreme police suppression. For decades, police have employed violence and militarized tactics to stifle social movements nationwide, resulting in persistent police killings and brutality. This national trend towards increased state repression is a serious threat to social movements.
Throughout May, over 2,500 protesters were arrested at university encampments opposing the genocide in Gaza, calling for academic institutions to cut ties with companies supporting Israel's military efforts. At UCLA and Emory, protesting faculty and students were attacked by police with rubber bullets. In New York, over 200 protesters at Columbia and City College were brutally arrested by police officers in riot gear. Many of the officers came from the New York Police Department’s Strategic Response Group, or SRG, a heavily militarized, rapid-response unit of several hundred officers. Many of the student protesters are also facing potential criminal charges.
The response to these recent protests exemplifies a broader trend toward militarized policing, the repression of free speech, and the increasing use of force to silence dissent.
This pattern extends beyond isolated incidents, bolstered by projects like "Cop City" in Atlanta. Proposed as a $90 million police training center, "Cop City" aims to instruct officers in extreme military tactics, disproportionately used on people of color, and to surveil and suppress activists. Such facilities directly contribute to the nationwide militarization of police forces.
Over the past three years, opponents of "Cop City" have faced severe police crackdowns. In Atlanta, activists endured aggressive tactics, tragically underscored by the murder of 26-year-old forest defender Manuel “Tortugita” Teran, who was shot over shot over 50 times by Atlanta police. Currently, 61 Atlanta protesters face charges of racketeering and domestic terrorism.
The extreme charges against Atlanta protesters illustrate a broader national trend of criminalizing dissent. Since 2017, 21 states have enacted at least 41 anti-protest laws, with several proposing terrorism offenses broadly targeting protesters. These laws expand post 9/11 laws, to criminalize constitutionally protected activism, aligning with increased militarized policing and threatening democracy.
In addition, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has worked to quash a people’s referendum on Cop City. In 2023, community members and organizations, including AFSC, launched a successful campaign to gather signatures calling for a vote on the facility. Although we collected more than 117,000 signatures—well over what was required—the mayor is now using voter suppression tactics to keep the issue off the ballot.
The expansion of militarized policing is part of a larger national pattern. Following the racial justice protests of 2020, new police facilities have been proposed or constructed in 47 states, according to the Substack newsletter “Is Your Life Better?” using local news sources. These centers signify a commitment to militarized policing strategies aimed at surveilling and repressing social movements. Such approaches not only threaten protest rights but also undermine democratic principles of free speech and assembly. As long as these facilities operate, movements advocating for peace, justice, and equality for all will face significant state repression in their quest to build a fairer world.
Amid escalating state surveillance, police repression, and activist criminalization, it is crucial to unite in collaborative organizing, resistance, and action. Each of us can contribute by promoting grassroots alternatives to policing within our communities. That includes training in mental health crisis response and de-escalation, and utilizing local resources effectively. Collective action against police repression entails demanding that corporations and local governments cease funding and expanding militarized policing, and refusing to let state violence stifle our voices as we push for global justice.
Here are some ways you can speak out against police repression:
1. Sign the Think Twice pledge: Commit to choosing alternative solutions to community safety instead of relying on police. This is an important first step in unraveling state repression. Sign this pledge to think twice before calling the police.
2. Tell CEOs to stop funding Cop City and militarized policing. Use our message tool to email the companies invested in Atlanta's Cop City and urge them to stay out of policing and our communities!
3. Support the struggle for Palestinian rights: These movements are met with brutal police suppression as they challenge the genocide funded by the U.S. government. Explore our list of action items to learn more about supporting the cause.
Sources:
https://www.vox.com/24140769/free-speech-israel-palestine-protests-columbia-university-college
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/campus-police-arresting-student-protesters/
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/5/2/us-gaza-protests-calling-the-cops-on-free-speech
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-05-01/la-me-ucla-camp-police
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/08/1248935672/campus-protests-police-arrests
https://theintercept.com/2024/03/28/safety-college-columbia-stanford-antisemitism-israel-palestine/
https://theintercept.com/2024/05/01/nyc-gaza-college-protests-police-outside-agitators/
https://www.vera.org/news/police-violence-on-college-campuses-is-unacceptable
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/atlanta-cop-city-other-cities
https://theintercept.com/2023/04/20/atlanta-cop-city-protester-autopsy/
https://theintercept.com/2021/04/07/nypd-strategic-response-unit-george-floyd-protests/
https://theintercept.com/2024/05/01/nyc-gaza-college-protests-police-outside-agitators/