Police Take Aim at Sawant and BLM

Friends, The police killings of Stephon Clark in Sacramento and Saheed Vassell in NYC this past week continues a remorseless pattern of murderous violence against people of color by law enforcement.  In the face of this brutal reality, few political representatives have openly demanded the police be held accountable and even fewer have used their position to challenge the power of the police and the establishment through building movements of the oppressed, working people, and youth. Kshama Sawant, Socialist Alternative Seattle City Councilmember, is one of the few that has. And for that, two Seattle police officers involved in the killing of a person of color and a slumlord profiting off immigrants and people of color have filed two defamation lawsuits against Sawant.  This is clearly designed to silence and intimidate not only Kshama, but all movements of oppressed communities, people of color, and campaigns that demand justice and equality. The establishment has been furious at the growth of protest movements and are eager to publicly punish figures like Kshama in retaliation.   Please donate $5, $20, $100 today to support the Kshama Sawant Solidarity Campaign!   Sawant has played a leading role in calling for and building movements to demand justice for Che Taylor and Charleena Lyles, both killed by the Seattle Police Department.  Moreover, Sawant was at the forefront of the struggle to block a new multi-million dollar police bunker in Seattle, helped organize to stop a 400% rent increase in public housing that would have disproportionately impacted people of color, passed the Carl Haglund law against slumlord conditions, and spearheaded the successful fight for a $15 an hour minimum wage.  And now in coalition with other forces is pushing to Tax Amazon and other big business to build affordable housing. A broad-based independent defense campaign is being prepared to fight these attacks on Sawant and BLM, which Socialist Alternative will fully support.  Sawant, speaking at a protest outside City Hall in 2016 after Che Taylor was shot and killed by police, called the shooting by the officers a “brutal murder.” In a brazen attempt to intimidate Sawant and all those challenging police violence in the black community, these two policemen have filed a defamation lawsuit against Sawant. A defamation suit can cost hundreds of thousands in legal fees – clearly beyond the pay of the average Seattle police officer. Many speculate that the officers’ lawsuit is being secretly bankrolled by a group or an individual looking to silence BLM and Sawant. Seattle landlord Carl Haglund has also launched a lawsuit accusing Sawant of defamation for calling him a “slumlord.” In 2015, Sawant and tenant activists scored an important victory in forcing Haglund to back down from major rent hikes at one of his apartment buildings, which tenants complained was infested with mold, roaches, and rats among other code violations. Councilmembers Sawant and Nick Licata then successfully passed an ordinance to outlaw rent hikes in Seattle for housing units with code violations. Donate $5, $20, or $100 today to the Kshama Sawant Solidarity Campaign to help build a movement to fight these brazen attempts to silence dissent. Our movement must continue to point out how police officers who use excessive force and kill people are rarely prosecuted and even more rarely convicted. This is linked to the deep institutional racism in law enforcement and government policies, resulting in communities of color bearing the brunt of police violence. Yet now, for stating that such policies are murderous, Kshama Sawant and all who stand up or wish to stand up against the police and the establishment, is under attack. This fits within the wider right wing agenda of Trump and the Republicans who are supporting legislation that criminalizes dissent.  There have been various bills brought forward around the country, in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, imposing draconian penalties for different types of unauthorized protest. The Kshama Sawant Solidarity Campaign officially launches on May 4th in Seattle. Leading up to that we need to raise $10,000 to help get the defense campaign off the ground, by renting a venue for the launch, office space to organize our national solidarity campaign, and to hire organizers. In Solidarity, Ty Moore, Organizer Contribute today

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