Police/Legal/Prisons

On the 23rd of February, protesters representing groups from Code Pink all the way to the CATO Institute showed up in front of the FBI's J Edgar Hoover building to protest the FBI's demands that Apple help them defeat encrypted iPhones. Speakers emphasized that this is not about one iPhone but all iPhones. Several predicted that if the FBI is sucessful those who steal credit card information would also take advantage of it. A Black Lives Matter speaker emphasized the danger that police surveillance and especially phone snooping poses to their movement. She reminded everyone of the ugly history of COOINTELPRO and racist FBI suppression of people of color. To many in this world, the FBI is not fighting terrorists, they are the terrorists.

Video-activists warn true purpose of FBI snooping is to suppress domestic dissent

Earlier this year, Carling Sothoron and Heather Doyle climbed and hung a banner from a crane at the construction site for Dominion Resources's fracked gas export facility near Cove Point, Maryland. During the extraction and arrest, both Carling and Heather, who are expert climbers, experienced an unsafe extraction by the Calvert County Sheriff's Office and Heather was assaulted during her arrest. After the court proceedings for their action Heather filed an official complaint about their treatment. Instead of holding its officers accountable, Calvert County is now prosecuting Heather for “making false statements to an officer”.

On the 14th of January, Black Lives Matter activists confronted Mayor Bowser when she showed up at the Riverfront Bid Annual Meeting Luncheon. They condemned the racist crime bill she introduced last year and is still pushing, and demanded affordable housing and a higher minimum wage instead of more cops. Mayor Bowser is becoming famous not only for being in Wal-Mart's pocket but also for proposing more police, more fines, and more searches as the answer for seemingly everything.

On Dec 31, 2015, New Years Eve, Black Lives Matter protesters swarmed into Chinatown by the hundreds. They marched from Chinatown to 14th st to U st, shutting down strategic intersections along the way. This time around, protesters were demanding not only the prosecution of killer cops but also the removal from office of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. Muriel Bowser was behind 2015's failed attempt to greatly extend police search powers over African-American youth who have ever been in police custody.

Video highlights of the march and speakers