Olympia Solidarity With Minneapolis

Submitted to It’s Going Down

On Sunday November 29th a handful of people gathered outside the Olympia Police department with signs and banners to show support for people in Minneapolis fighting against the police and facing attacks from white supremacists.

Here is a statement:

We are standing in solidarity with rebels in Minneapolis who have been fighting a fierce struggle against the police and white supremacy. Since the police murder of Jamar Clarke they have occupied the area around the 4th precinct demanding the release of the video of Jamar’s murder. Conflicts with the police have escalated into an uprising that has inspired the country.

As is often the case, white supremacists have shown their ugly faces in Minneapolis to support the police. On Monday night the 23rd three white supremacists entered the encampment at the 4th precinct and shot 5 people. Fortunately no one was killed but the shooting highlights the extreme danger posed by far-right groups who seek to defend the police and white power.

Here in Olympia we have also seen a rise in white supremacist action. Last May, Olympia police officer Ryan Donald shot two young black men Andre and Bryson Chaplin. In response, Black Lives Matter and other groups went to the street to denounce the shooting. This triggered local white supremacist and pro-police groups such as the Black Top Demon crew, the right-wing militia South Sound Citizens Defense League and even blatant neo-nazis, the Hammerskins. Fortunately many of those individuals were chased and beaten out of town on May 30th. However, the threat continues here in the Pacific Northwest as much as it does across the country. For this reason it remains ever more important to express and act in solidarity with those comrades near and far, known and unknown, who continue to fight against the police and the tyranny that is white power. We want those in Minneapolis to know that they are not alone in their struggle and we will keep fighting.