I have just received this petition from Courage California. [View all]
It's for Governor Newsom, asking him to refuse to let tRump's minions into our state as they have in Portland. I'm pretty sure anyone can sign it. I hope you all do!
From: Molly Watson, Courage California <info@couragecampaign.org>
Militarized police forces with no identification are grabbing Black Lives Matter protestors off the streets of Portland, Oregon, and shoving them into unmarked vans -- and California could see the same shortly.(1)
It's a terrifying civil rights abuse straight out of Orwell's 1984 or Soviet Russia, and it’s not just in Portland. Donald Trump is sending Department of Homeland Security (DHS) police to Chicago this week, and he said Oakland is next.(2)
We need Governor Gavin Newsom to send a strong, immediate message to Trump that he will not allow his state’s residents to be abused by unauthorized police. Will you sign our petition to call on Gov. Newsom to help in this fight for our basic civil rights?
Click here to sign our petition demanding that Gov. Newsom turn away Trump's secret police, and share with your friends.
It's unfathomable that we have people in military riot gear with no request or authorization from the local government, or warrants of any kind, who are patrolling America's streets with assault rifles and abusing innocent citizens -- but that is exactly where we are.
Portland's Black Live Matter protests were largely peaceful events until these forces arrived, deteriorating the situation into violent panic. There are reports of protestors having their bones broken, being shoved into vans to be mercilessly beaten, and having their lives threatened.(3)
Worse, the governor of Oregon has asked DHS to withdraw its out-of-control police—and DHS has refused.(4)
It's federal authoritarianism, plain and simple.
Sign our petition right away!
Now Trump has his eyes set on other sites of successful Black Lives Matter protests where change is taking place -- New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Oakland, among others. Just this week, Bay Area workers walked off the job in a Strike for Black Lives to fight for better working conditions.(5)
Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf said she does not want Trump's troops in her city, and that it is just more of his racism at work, saying, "We are not experiencing any civil unrest right now. But I can think of nothing more likely to incite it than the presence of Trump-ordered military troops."
6)
We need Gov. Newsom to use every resource at his disposal to keep these abusive secret police out of Oakland. If Gov. Newsom is able to stop this abuse of power, other governors will be able to follow suit, and we can shut down these secret police entirely.
Click here to sign our petition demanding that Gov. Newsom turn away Trump’s secret police, and share with your friends.
Yours in the fight for our democracy,
Molly, along with Angela, Annie, Brian, Caitlin, Deepthi, Gabby, Irene, Jay, Jen, Lindsay, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team)
Footnotes:
1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/20/christopher-david-portland-protest-video/
2. https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/20/trump-threatens-to-send-more-troops-to-democrat-cities/
3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/20/christopher-david-portland-protest-video/
4. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/07/20/dhs-refuses-to-remove-trump-ordered-federal-officers-from-oregon-after-tear-gas-filled-weekend/#6ed0f6f67df1
5. https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/20/bay-area-workers-to-join-nationwide-strike-for-black-lives/
6. https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/20/trump-threatens-to-send-federal-police-to-oakland-mayor-rejects-offer/
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