After the GWU encampment raised the flag of Palestine, the university responded with a huge US flag hung from a building. Students responded to this with a projector and a giant “Genocide Joe” image indicating what that flag REALLY stands for.

Also on video: Jewish students in the encampment demanding a ceasefire and not afraid to show who they are.

On Mayday (May 1), protesters assembled for a press conference at 56th and Fowler near USF. First up was a press conference, which was heavily attended by the corporate press. There was so much corporate press in fact, I was mistaken for one of these liars by one of our good people! Some of the questions they asked were quite hostile, crap about what parents would think of disrupted graduations etc. Well, nobody gets to graduate from a bombed university in Gaza, especially from under the rubble!

After the presser came a march. This time around,we went past the usual turnaround point for 56th and Fowler Palestine marches, going all the way to the big entrance to USF that goes to the library and MLK Plaza. Cops made a showy entry to campus at that point but the massive march had them heavily outnumbered. Awaiting orders that never came, they stood and watched as hundreds of marchers (maybe more) swarmed onto the campus.

Marching up almost the same approach route used on Monday save that it began at Fowler, protesters marched straight to MLK Plaza, scene of the previous days tear gas, rubber bullets, knee on neck incident et all.

Once on MLK Plaza, Muslim evening prayers were held. This was probably one of the things the administration least wanted to see on the Plaza. Any attempt to break this up by force would have been potentially very ugly international news, like cops raiding a church but between different religions. Even US embassy protests and/or rioting in US allies in the Middle East would not have been out of the question! After concluding prayers, protesters marched out in a single strong unit, staying together and leaving no stragglers for cops or other violent Zionists to pick off.

No attempt was made to pitch tents and stay the night. Doing so would have required very strong logistics support combined with shields and gas masks, not the sort of protest people want to bring their kids to. Since this was a family-friendly event, pushing that far was off the table, but this does not mean it was impossible by any means.

This was a “thunder run” against USF, a show of force to drive the flag of Palestine back onto campus and put the supporters of genocide in their place. This was a real “who run Bartertown? moment as in Mad Max for Tampa’s Mayor and IOF trained cops.

Note that Tampa has one of the largest Palestinian populations in the entire US, and for Palestinian students at USF this fight is existential.

April 30 was Day 2 of the Palestine solidarity encampment (tents and all) at University of South Florida in Tampa. Remembering the failed police attack the day before, this time police used far more force

Protesters had shield too, but not enough for everyone and obviously didn’t have enough if any gas masks to go around.

One of the worst gas canisters was picked up and thrown out of the encampment, but as it did not land in the cops any “assault” charge or warrant for this is crap. Drone footage proves it didn’t go into the cops.

The cops told everyone they were firing into with the gas canisters to “consider yourselves under arrest.” Arrest estimates range from 10 to 25, so there is a good chance at least some protesters were able to escape.

Cops warned further resistance would cause them to use injurious force, but they should remember that’s a game two can play. Any amount of force is justified in resisting a genocide like the one the US is funding in Gaza as far as I am concerned. Cop City is just the beginning…

Raid warnings the evening of April 30 proved to be a false alarm. The daytime scene was quite peaceful.

This was two days after an attempted late-night police raid was driven off and unarrests made. Note the piled up police barricades, ripped down as protesters went from defense to offense after the raid.