Reid J. Epstein and Patricia Mazzei
The New York Times
As the nation reacts to the guilty verdict a jury handed to Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd, Republican-led states are introducing punitive new measures governing protests.
"This effort has one goal: silence, criminalize, and penalize Floridians who want to see justice for Black lives," said ACLU of Florida executive director Micah Kubic.
Many observers—including Republicans—worry that he is. They’re organizing now to stop him. Given the administration’s record of embracing “numerous corrupt and authoritarian practices,” huge numbers of Americans must be ready to take to the streets
Protesters are being snatched from the streets without warrants. Can we call it fascism yet? First Portland, then Kansas City, Chicago, Albuquerque, and plans for Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee, to coincide with the Democratic National Convention.
Prosecutors are charging protesters with federal crimes, exposing them to long prison sentences, in another example of the Justice Department’s grotesque overreach under Attorney General William Barr.
We need to come away from the current upheavals with organization, with vision and goals, with program and campaigns that all persist and mature and strengthen rather than folding back into business as usual.
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Two-hundred thirty-six current and former staffers for Mayor de Blasio signed an open letter calling on him to live up to the promises of reform that initially drew them to work for him. One demand is to cut the $6 billion police budget by 1/6.
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