Drop the Charges! Defend the Peoples' Struggle! Solidarity with the Tampa 5 and the African People's Socialist Party
ILPS-US stands with all movement leaders and activists facing trumped-up charges during this egregious moment of political repression against movements fighting for justice, truth and collective liberation across the US. As always, the full might of the US state comes down hard on all those challenging its policies of theft, lies and oppression.
From the statement of Students for a Democratic Society (an ILPS member): “On March 6, 2023, members of Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society held a rally on the University of South Florida campus to defend diversity in higher education. At the rally, four women activists were suddenly and violently assaulted by USF police before being arrested. Later, on April 4, another student received a communication of the university’s intent to charge her with additional misdemeanors and a felony – just like the other 4 activists. Once again, the police are lying about what happened, despite video evidence clearly showing the police going on an unprovoked rampage. Several of the activists lost their jobs after these unjust arrests.”
Subsequently on April 18, 4 members of the African Peoples’ Socialist Party (APSP) and Uhuru Movement based in St. Petersburg, FL and St. Louis, MI were charged with “acting as agents of the Russian government within the United States without prior notification.” after expressing their views against the ongoing US-NATO proxy war with Russia in Ukraine and in support of a 2015 UN petition decrying “the genocide of African people in the US.” This comes after an illegal FBI raid on one of the members charged, Omali Yeshitela, APSP chairperson, under the same phony charges. US Prosecutors falsely claim that the APSP covertly received campaign money from Russian agents to run a candidate in a local election.
The cases against the Tampa 5 and APSP members are blatant acts of repression against political dissent to US ruling class policies and imperialist activities. These policies, such as Florida’s HB 999, are rewriting school curriculum to hide historical truth, curtailing gender and cultural studies, and silencing minority groups attempting to share their stories. The suppression of free speech and people’s movements defending it are reminders the US state, be it the Republicans in the Florida state house or Democrats in the White House, has never been the protector of democratic rights it touts itself as.
The United States government has a long and wretched history with political repression. Targeting activists from all movements throughout the decades, we have seen the imperialist machine crack down on the activities of revolutionaries fighting for a better world. We’ve seen it from the days of the McCarthy era and the civil rights movement where the FBI assassinated Black leaders, infiltrated organizations fighting for liberation, disrupted events bringing communities together, and pushed violent schemes to entrap well-meaning organizers. The police are the first to break up protests – from worker’s struggles to student events and even free meal programs – to ensure that righteous and dissenting voices are silenced.
ILPS-US calls for the dropping of all charges against the Tampa 5, the APSP members and all those labeled criminals for defending truth and human rights. Under the Biden administration’s “Countering Domestic Terrorism” program, the US government has more legalized recourse than ever to arbitrarily label any dissenting voice as criminal and come down with the full force of the law. Militant grassroots organizing is the only way for the people to build the power to break free from oppression and exploitation. It is our duty to defend the right to fight for that power!
Drop the Charges!
Stand with the Tampa 5!
Stand with the African Peoples’ Socialist Party!
Defend Peoples’ Struggle!