Anti-repression Rally & Speakout to support the ACAC 19: Mar 29!

Gather on the SF court house steps this Friday at Noon to support the ACAC 19! Our comrades will be in court for what will likely be the pivotal pretrial day that could be the final before a trial date is set. Please join the ACAC 19 support committee in an anti-repression rally and speakout over the Friday lunch hour and show your solidarity with our comrades.

Friday March 29, 12:00-1:00PM
850 Bryant St. San Francisco

This will be an important day in court for the Anti-colonial, Anti-capitalist (ACAC) 19 and those comrades who are interested in observing and listening to the full day of pretrial hearings put forth by their attorneys are encouraged to do so. However, the ACAC 19 support committee is not calling for comrades to pack the court for this specific date. Many thanks to all who made last month’s court date an impressive display of solidarity. Let’s return to the steps of the court house in even greater numbers this Friday at lunch and make sure the judge, the DA and the cops know that we have our comrade’s backs and that they are far from alone in their struggle against colonialism, capitalism and the state.

Bring banners, signs, buttons and more. Solidarity is our weapon against the state! Our love for our comrades is stronger than their cages and their courts!

Fax/Call the DA: For those unable to make the Friday rally & speakout, we encourage you to flood the phone and fax machine of the SF district attorney’s office throughout this week demanding they immediately drop all charges against the ACAC 19 and end their campaign of repression. Please see this previous guide for calling and faxing suggestions.

Background: The ACAC 19 is a group of anti-colonial, anti-capitalists who were beaten, arrested and then subjected to a media smear campaign by the San Francisco Police Department on October 6, 2012. The arrests occurred during a series of demonstrations on Columbus Day weekend against colonization and empire, as well as the racist celebrations of genocide and conquest. The actions were organized in solidarity with indigenous struggles in the Bay Area and beyond and to mark the eleven-year anniversary of the Afghanistan war and occupation. The police and DA have worked to make an example out of the ACAC 19, issuing sloppy and accusatory press releases, confiscating their cell phones, bringing the gang task force into the investigation, subpoenaing twitter accounts, and harassing individual members of the 19 since their brutal arrests. In the wake of rebellious and militant political activity across the country, we see this as one of many attempts to control, intimidate, and silence radical movements.

The ACAC 19 are currently facing multiple misdemeanor charges ranging from unlawful assembly to battery on a uniformed officer.

For more information on the ACAC 19 please visit the support committee’s blog at:
http://supporttheacac19.wordpress.com

Statement in Solidarity with Joel Bitar

The ACAC19 Support Committee would like to announce our solidarity with Joel Bitar, recently arrested in New York City and extradited to Toronto.

From SupportJoel.com: “On Thursday, February 14th, at 6 o’clock in the morning, federal marshals arrested an American activist, Joel Bitar, in his New York, NY home on a provisional arrest warrant issued by the US Attorney’s office, acting on a foreign extradition request from Canadian authorities. The complaint against Joel cites 26 counts, almost all relating to property damage that occurred during the G20 summit protests in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in June 2010. […]”

It’s unclear what the precise motivations for his arrest are but we understand fully the common denominator among our enemies – in this case, international enemies – is to promote fear among us. We want Joel to know that he is not alone as his capture seeks to make an example of him. Moreover we reject that his arrest would disable our organizing, confidence or acts of solidarity. We hope that a viral solidarity with Joel manifests in the many forms we have observed for those struggling against repression alike such as the Grand Jury Resisters, Felicity Ryder, those of the Mapuche People’s struggle, those of Villa Amalias and Skaramanga and Luke O’Donovan to name a few.

Freedom for Joel, the ACAC19 and all others who aggressively combat domination – Inside or outside of prison walls. Until then, our unrelenting solidarity,
The ACAC19 Support Committee

Report Back on Tuesday’s Indigenous Voices Event

On Tuesday February 19, the support committee of the Anti-Capitalist Anti Colonial 19 hosted “Decolonizing the New World Means Listening to Indigenous Voices” at the Holdout Social Center in Oakland. Local and regional indigenous leaders shared stories and information about their struggles to maintain control over their historical lands, which continue to be threatened by capitalist and colonial endeavors.

After an opening prayer by Corrina Gould, Desirae Harp from SNAG Magazine made it clear that in the struggle to protect sacred sites we must remember that everything is sacred, and that all land is indigenous land.  This paradigm recurred throughout the evening, as all speakers emphasized the colonial project is antithetical to an ecologically sustainable society.

Michelle Steinberg’s recent film titled “Buried Voices” highlighted how the East Bay Regional Park District is ignoring the efforts of Ohlone, Miwok and Yokut peoples to protect Brushy Peak, a sacred place that is a part of their origin stories. Despite ongoing demands by native people and allies, the park district continues to allow people to hike, bike and walk dogs throughout this sacred space. By labeling the native community a “special interest group,” the district has imposed a racist construct of native communities, which has led to the destruction of mortars and has relegated their story to phony interpretative signage. Such a designation and unwillingness to place native needs at the forefront of land-use decisions reinforces the white supremacist narrative and shows the level of obfuscation and lies used to maintain state hegemony.

Wounded Knee DeOcampo and Corrina Gould also shared information about the struggle to protect other sacred spaces such as, Sogorea Te and Rattlesnake Island in the Greater Bay Area.  They urged people to get involved and to support those struggles over native access to sacred ceremonial spaces.

The event then shifted to make space for voices from Diné and O’odham lands in Arizona. Norman Benally shared the stories of his elders on Black Mesa who have been fighting coal mining and its subsequent ecocide on the Diné community. Lastly, O’odham youth from their reservation along the Mexico-US border and the Phoenix area shared their ongoing organizing against the border patrol and Loop 202 freeway development. They highlighted the traitors within their nation who have created capitalist enterprises, which support the freeway development through the O’odham community. The use of bribes and other capitalist gimmicks to eliminate community autonomy over the land illustrates the immense challenges that come with struggles over land and resources.

But these tactics aren’t new: For centuries, settler-colonists have used divide and conquer to assimilate native peoples into the mainstream capitalist consumption culture. Nonetheless, there are still those who resist and see through the hollow masquerade of capitalist glitz. At the end of the night, this was made clear as the native hip hop group Shining Soul demonstrated that the culture we create at the grassroots and nurture in resistance is much more compelling than the culture of capital.

The voices from the event show that solidarity with indigenous resistance is tantamount to anti-capitalist organizing in the Bay Area and beyond. Native lands are continually being swallowed by the state to make profit for the ruling class. The indigenous relationship to the land is in direct opposition to private property, and as such should be an example for those struggling to pre-figure a society without borders and profits.

The ACAC 19 support committee hopes that this event leads to a more organized solidarity network for indigenous resistance. Please come out for a follow-up discussion and meeting on Thursday, February 28 7:30pm, at the Holdout.

Decolonizing the New World Means Listening to Indigenous Voices

 Decolonizing the New World Means Listening to Indigenous Voices

 Tuesday, Feb 19  7:30pm

 at The Holdout Social Center 2313 San Pablo Ave, Oakland

In understanding anti-colonial struggle and its intersection with anti-capitalist struggles, it is important to recognize the ongoing effects of colonization and the ongoing struggles of local indigenous people.

Please join the ACAC 19 Support Committee in an evening of report backs on indigenous struggles from the bay and beyond.

This event will feature a screening of Buried Voices directed by Michelle Steinberg, a film about Brushy Peak, a local sacred site.

Followed by report backs from Bay Area sacred sites struggles from:

Local sacred sites activist Corrina Gould, a Chochenyo/Karkin Ohlone woman, born and raised in Oakland, CA

Wounded Knee DeOcampo, a Miwok elder from Vallejo, CA who has also been organizing around preserving sacred sites

Desirae Harp who works with SNAG magazine (a local indigenous publication).

These local speakers will be followed by Norman Benally, an activist in what has become a multi-generational struggle against coal mining and other resource extraction from Navajo land in Black Mesa, AZ.

This event is semi-accessible to people in wheelchairs

Childcare can be provided on request please email events@theholdout.org for info

 

National Fax/Call in Day Week of 2/4/2013 and Pretrial Hearing this FRIDAY

On Friday February 8th, 2013 members of the Anti-Capitalist Anti-Colonial (ACAC) 19 will be appearing in San Francisco Superior Court at 850 Bryant Street for a pretrial motions hearing. We call on you, supporters, friends, and comrades to pack the courtroom. Also you can support the ACAC 19 by calling, emailing, and faxing the District Attorney to pressure him to drop all charges. Let us show that our comrades are not alone in their relentless struggle against colonialism, capitalism and the state.

The main phone number for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office is (415) 553-1751.
When calling we suggest something like the following script:
“Hi my name is _______________________ and I am calling in support of 19 anti-colonial anti-capitalists arrested during a protest march on Saturday October 6th. I demand all charges be dropped immediately and an end to the harassment of the ACAC 19 by the San Francisco Police Department and District Attorney George Gascón.

Below you will find a fax petition demanding that the San Francisco District Attorney drop all charges against the ACAC 19. To join the effort, please follow these simple steps:
1) Go to
http://faxzero.com/
.
2) Fill out the form with your name and email address under Sender information.
3) Fill out George Gascón under Receiver Name and (415) 575-8815 for the Receiver Fax Line.
4) Copy the text at the bottom of this email into the box that says “Type text to appear on the cover page”. Personalize the text in the box to include your name and also anything else you would like to say.
5) Enter the confirmation code
6) Click the Send Free Fax Now button at the bottom of the box.
7) Check your email and click on the confirmation link. Clicking on this link will actually send your fax.
8) Wait for the email that confirms that your fax has been sent.
9) Please send the ACAC 19 Support Committee a message to supporttheacac19@riseup.net to let us know that you sent the message, and what response you received when you called.

Fax message:
Drop All Charges Against the ACAC 19
(Fax Petition)
To: George Gascón
District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Fax Line : (415) 575-8815
District Attorney George Gascón:
I am writing in support of 19 anti-colonial anti-capitalists arrested during a protest march on Saturday October 6th. I demand all charges be dropped immediately and an end to the harassment of the ACAC 19 by the San Francisco Police Department and District Attorney George Gascón.
Signed,
__________________________________

This petition can also be emailed to these email addresses:
george.gascon@sfgov.org
laura.claster@sfgov.org

Support the ACAC 19! Pack the Courtroom on Feb. 8th!

Come pack the courtroom on February 8th to support the ACAC 19!

Solidarity is our weapon against the state! Our love for our comrades is stronger than their cages and their courts!

 

When: Friday February 8th, 12:30PM

Where: 850 Bryant St. San Francisco, Department 16

What: Pack the Court

 

On Friday February 8th, 2013 members of the Anti-Capitalist Anti-Colonial (ACAC) 19 will be appearing in San Francisco Superior Court at 850 Bryant Street for a pretrial motions hearing. We call on you, supporters, friends, and comrades to pack the courtroom. Support comes in many forms: banners and signs on the court steps, people in the courtroom and spreading the word about the trial. Let us show the District Attorney that our comrades are not alone in their relentless struggle against colonialism, capitalism and the state.

The ACAC 19 is a group of anti-colonial, anti-capitalists who were beaten, arrested and then subjected to a media smear campaign by the San Francisco Police Department on October 6, 2012. The arrests occurred during a series of demonstrations on Columbus Day weekend against colonization and empire, as well as the racist celebrations of genocide and conquest. The actions were organized in solidarity with indigenous struggles in the Bay Area and beyond.

After being released from jail, two defendants found threatening leaflets in their neighborhood with their home addresses and photos printed on them. At least one member of the ACAC 19 has also experienced continued police harassment at his workplace. In early December, two defendants received word that their Twitter accounts had been subpoenaed – evidence that the SFPD is using the case to map and surveill radical political networks in the Bay area.  In the wake of a year of rebellious and militant political activity across the country, we see this as one of many attempts to harass, intimidate, and control radical movements.

On January 5th the San Francisco District Attorney withdrew the Twitter subpoenas due to a successful call-in campaign and mounting public pressure from organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. While we recognize this as a limited victory, the withdrawal of the Twitter subpoenas shows the strength of community support and solidarity.  It is imperative that we show the District Attorney and the SFPD that repression will not stop us!

The ACAC 19 are currently facing multiple misdemeanor charges ranging from unlawful assembly to battery on a uniformed officer. We stand in solidarity with all those working to resist state repression and those who have been directly targeted by it. Come support your comrades on Feb 8th!

Fax/Call in Day Week of 12/17/2012

Recently San Francisco Superior Court Judge Andrew Y.S. Cheng denied demurrers for all but one defendant of the ACAC 19 signaling that the case will most likely go to trial in the coming months. This week we are asking all supporters to fax and call San Francisco District Attorney, George Gascón, starting Monday, December 17th to demand that all charges be dropped against the ACAC 19.

The main phone number for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office is (415) 553-1751.

When calling we suggest something like the following script:

“Hi my name is _______________________ and I am calling in support of 19 anti-colonial anti-capitalists arrested during a protest march on Saturday October 6th. I demand all charges be dropped immediately and an end to the harassment, intimidation, and invasion of privacy of the ACAC 19 by the San Francisco Police Department and District Attorney George Gascón.

Below you will find a fax petition demanding that the San Francisco District Attorney drop all charges against the ACAC 19. To join the petition effort, please follow these simple steps:

1) Go to
http://faxzero.com/
.
2) Fill out the form with your name and email address under Sender information.
3) Fill out George Gascón under Receiver Name and (415) 575-8815 for the Receiver Fax Line.
4) Copy the text at the bottom of this email into the box that says “Type text to appear on the cover page”. Personalize the text in the box to include your name and also anything else you would like to say.
5) Enter the confirmation code
6) Click the Send Free Fax Now button at the bottom of the box.
7) Check your email and click on the confirmation link. Clicking on this link will actually send your fax.
8) Wait for the email that confirms that your fax has been sent.

Fax message:

Drop All Charges Against the ACAC 19
(Fax Petition)

To: George Gascón
District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco
San Francisco, California

Fax Line : (415) 575-8815

District Attorney George Gascón:

I am writing in support of nineteen anti-colonial, anti-capitalists (the ACAC 19) who were beaten, arrested and subjected to a media smear campaign by the San Francisco Police Department on October 6, 2012.

I demand that all charges be dropped, all cell phones be returned to their rightful owners, and an end to the harassment, intimidation, and invasion of privacy of the ACAC 19 by the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

Signed,

 

This petition can also be emailed to these email addresses:

george.gascon@sfgov.org

laura.claster@sfgov.org