Above photo: Jalen Williams for Detroit Free Press.
Free All Arrested And Drop All Charges.
Detroit police brutally arrested activists who were protesting outside of Biden’s speech to the NAACP.
Detroit police arrested protesters, including members of Left Voice and Detroit Will Breathe (DWB,) at a demonstration outside of “Genocide” Joe Biden’s speech at the NAACP dinner. The protest was organized by several different Detroit based activist organizations and stood in solidarity with the people of Gaza against Biden’s continued support for the genocide.
In typical brutal fashion, the police seemingly targeted people as they were leaving the protest and even tased Lloyd Simpson, a member of DWB. The total number of people arrested is still being determined as are what charges, if any, will be leveled. At least two DWB organizers, Simpson and Matt Hollerbach, are still being held and are potentially being given felony charges. These arrests are part of an on-going crackdown of pro-Palestine protests happening across the country, showcased in the brutal repression of Gaza Solidarity Encampments. The line of the regime is clearly to force the movement off the streets with targeted and arbitrary arrests, heavy charges — such as the felony charges potentially faced by Simpson and Hollerbach and that some participants in encampments, such as at the City University of New York, re facing — and increased brutality in how protesters are arrested.
The arrests seen in Detroit today and the repression around the country are an attack on our basic right to protest and an attempt to silence dissent ahead of the presidential election. All who care about protecting our right to free speech and defending the right to protest must oppose these arrests and stand with the protesters against further repression.
We call for the immediate release of all arrested and the dropping of any charges.
Protestors are calling for Detroit Police Lieutenant Brandon Cole to be fired after a video shows him telling a protestor to “go back to Mexico.”
It happened at a protest in Detroit outside The Huntington Place where Biden delivered a speech at NAACP Dinner in Detroit. pic.twitter.com/bw0RVRRA5X
— Ibrahim Samra (@ISamraTV) May 20, 2024