Above photo: From ElbitOutofSC.com.
North Charleston Police Arrest Local Artist Protesting Elbit Systems in Ladson.
Ladson, SC – January 2, 2025 – On Thursday, North Charleston Police arrested a local artist participating in a picket of Elbit Systems at their facility in Ladson. The protester is part of the group Elbit Out of SC, a coalition of local organizations and concerned citizens upset with the company’s role in the ongoing genocide in Palestine. For months the coalition has picketed the facility, canvassed nearby neighborhoods, and spoken out at Charleston County Council meetings to raise awareness about the weapons Elbit Systems is producing in our community.
Elbit Systems, LLC is an American subsidiary of Israeli company Elbit Systems, Ltd. which has produced weaponry and surveillance technology used in multiple global conflicts, including Palestine and apartheid South Africa. The company received large local tax breaks – including a $700,000 Set-Aside Grant from the SC Coordinating Council for Economic Development and a Fee in Lieu of Taxation agreement with Charleston County – that will reduce the private company’s property taxes for decades. While the total amount of lost public revenue as a result of these agreements is unknown, Charleston County School District lost $34M in funding in 2019 alone to similar corporate hand-outs. Elbit Out of SC is asking that these tax dollars instead support public education, more affordable housing and other local initiatives.
“I’m a taxpayer and the parent of a child in the Charleston County School District, and I have every right to be here,” said Alfred Peeler, a member of Elbit Out Of SC who was not surprised by the arrest. “NCPD ignored our complaints about the violence Elbit employees perpetrated against us – but if we cross any lines, they jump into action. I’ve lived in Charleston my whole life, and I am well aware that the police are far more interested in protecting this weapons manufacturer, than they are in protecting me and my family.”
In November, one member of the coalition was purposely struck by an Elbit employee’s vehicle, but NCPD refused to follow up despite the victim filing a police report. Two members of the coalition were also ticketed by City of Charleston police in October and are now facing jail time for peacefully gathering in Marion Square at a demonstration to support Palestine and protest Elbit Systems. These citizens were charged under a controversial and potentially unconstitutional ordinance passed by the City of Charleston in 2021 following repeated protests against police violence targeting Black people, including the police murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Jamal Sutherland inside Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston, SC.
“What we see is a pattern of corruption and repression here,” said local resident and group member Chris Tittle. “Our local government has secretly negotiated tax deals with foreign companies producing weapons to be used in a genocide; then pass laws that criminalize free speech; then intimidate and arrest us when we use our voices to protest. Everyone in the Lowcountry should be deeply concerned by this, whether you care about Elbit Systems or not.”