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Jun 4, 18

This Is America #4: Portland Pushes Out Gibson, Trade War

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Welcome to This is America, June 4th, 2018.

Trump that Regime

A new letter from the Trump administration, published by the New York Times and sent to the Mueller investigation in January argues that Trump has the power to both end the Russia investigation and pardon anyone that could receive charges from it.

Meanwhile, Trump’s trade policies continue to cause a rift within the global ruling class and push for an escalated trade war. In a statement from the G-7, Canadian elites attacked Trump’s push towards trade war with China, and further signaled their desire to break with the US:

Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau said that “unfortunately the actions of the United States … risk undermining the very values that traditionally have bound us together.” He added that the Trump administration’s actions were “destructive to our ability to get things done,” and he asked US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to convey the “regret and disappointment” of the other six nations to President Trump.

The Japanese finance minister also attacked Trump’s calls for tariffs, while the French Finance minister stated that “the European Union was ready to proceed with retaliatory actions and Washington had only a few days to de-escalate the trade conflict.”

Such comments further signify the falling of the United States as a global power, and the rise of new economic relationships between States that could very well exclude the United States. For more information on this subject, check out our conversation with Peter Gelderloos and Scott Campbell on the It’s Going Down podcast.

ACAB

In California, police were let off the hook for the murder of Mario Woods in 2015. Wood’s killing sparked years of protests and violent clashes with the police.

In Georgia, a police officer has been fired after using his car as a weapon to run over a suspect. According to one report:

After initially trying to block the man, who was identified as Timmy Patmon, Saulters used his car to ram Patmon and send him flying across the hood of his cruiser.

In Florida, a Sheriff deputy has been suspended for 40 hours after racial slurs were caught on video. According to the Atlanta Black Star, Frank Di Orsini will be required to complete “diversity training” after he stated to another officer:

“It smells like f—ing dirty N-word in my f—ing car.”

Also in Florida, a jury awarded the family of a slain main in 2014 at the hands of law enforcement a total of $4. According to one article:

A Florida jury awarded total damages of $4 for the killing of a 30-year-old African-American man in 2014 by two sheriff’s deputies.

Adding insult to injury, the jury ruled that Gregory Hill Jr. was 99 percent responsible for the actions of the two cops who took his life, meaning that only four cents was actually to be paid out: a penny to cover his funeral costs, and a penny to each of his three surviving children, ages 13, 10 and 7.

But the news isn’t all bad. In Lubbock, Texas, youth in the middle of a block party hurdled water balloons and shot squirt guns at police who attempted to stop the fun. One person stated on Twitter:

The Point Everyone Is Missing Is That We Were Having A FRIENDLY Waterballon Fight Not Just 10-20 People Nah This Was 2 Sides Of The City That’s Been Shooting/Killing Eachother For Years And We Finally Get Along And Having Fun would You Rather Us Shoot Water Ballons Or Guns

https://twitter.com/NikoWavyWavy/status/1003156565342412802

https://twitter.com/mkayluhhh/status/1003072666553765888

Violent Clashes in Portland Push Patriot Prayer off the Street

On June 3rd in Portland, violent clashes broke out between members of the far-Right umbrella group, ‘Patriot Prayer’ and antifascists. Patriot Prayer is led by Joey Gibson, a self-described “semi-Libertarian” who is currently running as a Republican for Senator. Over the last two years, Gibson’s so-called “Free Speech” rallies have been a recruiting ground for a mix of MAGA diehards, members of the Alt-Right, neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, and militia members.

Clashes began almost right off the bat in Portland, as Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer members, numbering around 50, attempted to attack and pepper spray antifascists who numbered over 150.

Patriot Prayer then began marching around the city, until they were stopped by police and told that either they could face arrest or end their march. The marching continued however, as a dwindling number of Patriot Prayer members were literally chased out of Portland.

Wanting to know more, we spoke with antifascist author and researcher, Shane Burley about what all went down.

The Frontline is Everywhere

  • Unions bureaucrats in Las Vegas has squashed a potential city wide strike by service workers by upwards of 50,000 workers.
  • Upwards of 15,000 AT&T workers have gone on strike across several states. One website stated: “The strike is member-driven, not called for by the union, officials said.” However, as another report wrote, “The CWA has refused to call a system-wide strike as it attempts to diffuse worker anger and militancy through a series of isolated and disjointed actions.” What is needed is a strike like in West Virginia, a broad and mass strike across job lines.
  • Action took place this weekend for #InternationalWhoresDay which also called for the decriminalization of sex work and against such laws as SESTA/FOSTA. In various cities marches and demonstrations took place, and in Minneapolis, graffiti slogans were written:

https://twitter.com/KristaMorning/status/1003162776745971712

  • In Hamilton, three more people were arrested by police on suspicion of their involvement in an anti-gentrification march that ended in several broken windows.

  • Another J20 defendant has had their charges dropped during trial, while three other defendants in a different trial block also had their charges dropped. Currently, three people are still waiting sentencing for supposedly breaking glass windows. It also remains unclear as to if the State will move to drop all remaining charges or a vast majority of them, as they did in the wake of the 1st trial. Check Unicorn Riot and DefendJ20 for more updates.
  • Across the US this Sunday, Running Down the Walls events took place. Check out the roundup of collected tweets below:

  • Resistance to the Bayou Bridge pipeline continues. Check their Facebook page for the newest updates.
  • Despite ongoing arrests against Water Protectors in the Hellbender Autonomous Zone, this morning a lock down took place which stopped construction for over four hours. On Facebook Appalachians Against Pipelines wrote: “The 3 arrestees from this morning have been arraigned and are each charged with 3 misdemeanors. These folks successfully stopped Mountain Valley Pipeline construction for 4 hours! Their bail is set at $1,500 each — can you help us get them out?” Support here.

  • In LA, as the rent strike continues, so does the viral campaign to take down “We Flip Houses” sign.
  • On Tuesday there is a call to support Kinross prison rebels in Michigan with a call-in campaign. See the call on IGD.
  • In South Bend, Indiana, an “Abolish ICE” banner was dropped.

  • Lastly, in Boston, MA, fascist and Alt-Right trolls with “Resist Marxism” held a pathetic rally of about 25, which was shouted down by several hundred more counter-protesters.

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