This Hero Keeps Child Safe, Gets 4 Month Jail Sentence

We all remember January 20th.  Most of us around the country watched our TVs in disbelief, or quietly rolled our eyes to our coworkers as reality TV star, meat peddler, and notorious racist Donald Trump was inaugurated as the President of the United States.  It was a weird day for everyone, but for hundreds it began months of repression and terror.

People from across the country felt moved to take to the streets of Washington DC that day, ensuring that Donald Trump’s regime would be met with resistance. One of the many demonstrations that day was an anti-capitalist/ anti-fascist march that was repeatedly attacked by police before 230 of it’s participants were surrounded in a “kettle” police formation and arrested. 

In the video above you can see the immediate aftermath of that moment, where the police were indiscriminately pepper spraying bystanders, including the elderly and children.  The video also shows Dane Powell, a participant in the black bloc, helping to carry a child away to safety. Yet in a twist of irony, the courts of Washington D.C. have decided that it isn’t the police who ought to face consequences for committing acts of violence against children, the elderly, and innocent bystanders, but instead demonstrators like Dane Powell who will face legal repercussions.

On July 7th, Dane was sentenced to serve four months of a 36-month sentence in jail as the first person out of the hundreds being prosecuted to be slammed with a felony conviction. Check out this interview with Bloc Party to hear about Dane’s experience and how to support him.

Over 200 people arrested on J20 still face charges of up to 75 years in prison, essentially for being on the wrong side of a police riot. Tune into It’s Going Down to keep updated on the case, acts of solidarity with the defendants, and continued resistance to capitalism and the State.