Data On The Crackdown On Gaza Protests Reflects Increasing Repression In US
Protests over the unfolding genocide in Gaza erupted across the U.S. in 2023, quickly becoming the largest mass demonstration since Black Lives Matter a few years earlier. In both cases, the protest movements took aim at state violence and oppression against marginalized groups.
Deeper scrutiny of the protests and law enforcement response reveals how the U.S. government at all levels has escalated its repressive tactics during the last five years. One telling statistic shows how a strong majority of cases filed against Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 were dropped or dismissed, but the crackdown on Gaza demonstrators has grown even more draconian and resulted in harsher punishments.